We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-27 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want an open-ear design that keeps you aware of traffic, trail and gym surroundings while your music plays from a touchscreen charging case, choose CNBRO TWS; if you need proper adaptive noise cancelling with a Transparency mode you can switch on whenever you want to hear the world again, choose Srhythm NiceComfort 95.
• CNBRO TWS biggest strength: true open-ear, air-conduction fit with ear hooks — nothing blocks your ear canal, so awareness is built into the design rather than switched on. Plus a touchscreen charging case and up to 48 hours of total playtime with the case.
• CNBRO TWS biggest trade-off: no noise cancelling at all ("noise control: None"), so it can't quiet a plane cabin or a loud office. The awareness is passive, not adjustable.
• Srhythm NiceComfort 95 biggest strength: adaptive hybrid ANC that automatically adjusts to your environment, a dedicated Transparency mode for hearing the outside world, 40mm hybrid drivers, spatial audio with head tracking, and up to 100 hours of battery life.
• Srhythm NiceComfort 95 biggest trade-off: it's a full over-ear headphone at 264 g — much bulkier than a pair of open-ear buds, and it costs you the total, unobstructed openness of an air-conduction fit.
• Who CNBRO TWS is for: runners, cyclists, hikers and gym users who want music without sealing off the world.
• Who Srhythm NiceComfort 95 is for: commuters, travellers, remote workers and gamers who want to control when they hear the world and when they don't.
The CNBRO TWS (model YJ33) is built around one idea: keep your ears open. It's an open-ear, over-ear hook design using air conduction, so the driver sits outside your ear canal instead of plugging it. That means you hear your music and your surroundings at the same time — the brand calls it "security situation awareness," and that's exactly the use case it's aimed at. Running, cycling, hiking, walking near traffic: you stay conscious of what's around you without pulling an earbud out.
The second thing that stands out is the charging case, which has a touchscreen. From the case you can answer calls, control music, trigger the camera remotely, switch languages and adjust EQ modes. It's a genuinely unusual control scheme — instead of fishing for a tiny button while you're moving, you tap the case. Battery is rated at up to 8 hours per charge and up to 48 hours with the case, with a 2-hour charge time (the product sheet also lists a 7-hour average life figure, so treat 7–8 hours as the realistic single-charge window). Bluetooth 5.4 and a 10-metre range cover normal phone-in-pocket use, and the earbuds are water- and dust-resistant for rain, dust and snow.
Sound is handled by a dynamic driver with a 20 Hz–20 kHz range and a 360° spatial field, and everything is touch-controlled on the buds themselves. The colour is nude, the shell is plastic, and the whole set weighs just 18.14 g — light enough to forget you're wearing it.
Srhythm NiceComfort 95: Who It's For
The Srhythm NiceComfort 95 (model NC95) attacks the problem from the opposite direction. It's a full over-ear headphone with adaptive noise cancelling that automatically adjusts its cancellation level to the ambient noise around you, and the brand claims it blocks up to 95% of ambient noise — the kind of low-frequency drone you get from a plane engine, a subway carriage or an office AC unit. Crucially, the ANC is independently controllable, so you decide how much of the world gets through.
And when you do want the world back, you press Transparency mode. That amplifies surrounding sound so you can hear a flight attendant, catch a platform announcement, or order a coffee without taking the headphones off. For a shopper searching for aware mode headphones, this is the more literal match: it's an on-demand awareness feature layered on top of serious noise reduction, not a permanent open-ear compromise.
The hardware is deliberately premium. 40mm hybrid drivers with a 20 Hz–40 kHz frequency range, 120 dB sensitivity and 16 ohm impedance; 360-degree sphere spatial audio with head tracking for a concert-like presentation; replaceable ear pads in superfine cotton and high-protein leather. There are five microphones with ENC for calls, a low-latency game mode for audio-visual sync, and a multi-function knob plus app and button controls, including Google Assistant and Siri. The build mixes leather, metal, plastic and stainless steel, with a 45-degree bevel polished aluminium finish, and it ships with a travel case, a 3.5mm audio cable, a USB-C charging cable and a two-pin airplane adaptor. Battery life is rated at up to 100 hours, and there's an 18-month warranty. It weighs 264 g.
Buy it if you commute, fly, work in a noisy space, or want one headphone that can be silent on demand and aware on demand — with the option to go wired via 3.5mm when you need to. Skip it if you want maximum openness and minimum bulk, or if you can't tolerate a full-size headband for long stretches.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for total, automatic awareness → CNBRO TWS. The open-ear air-conduction design means you never have to switch modes to hear your surroundings.
• Best for noise cancelling → Srhythm NiceComfort 95. Adaptive hybrid ANC with up to 95% ambient noise reduction versus no noise control at all on the CNBRO.
• Best for battery life → Srhythm NiceComfort 95. Up to 100 hours versus up to 48 hours with the CNBRO's charging case (7–8 hours per charge).
• Best for running, cycling and gym work → CNBRO TWS. 18.14 g, ear hooks, water- and dust-resistant, and nothing plugging your ears.
• Best for commuting, flights and office work → Srhythm NiceComfort 95. Over-ear cups, airplane adaptor included, and 5-mic ENC for calls.
• Best for unusual controls and features → CNBRO TWS. The touchscreen case handles calls, music, remote camera shutter, language switching and EQ.
• Best for sound quality ambition → Srhythm NiceComfort 95. Hybrid 40mm drivers, 20 Hz–40 kHz, spatial audio with head tracking and replaceable ear pads.
• Best for wired backup → Srhythm NiceComfort 95. It has a 3.5mm jack; the CNBRO is wireless-only.
If I had to pick one, I'd buy the Srhythm NiceComfort 95. In my opinion it's the more versatile headphone: adaptive ANC for the commute, Transparency mode when you want to be aware, spatial audio and hybrid drivers for real listening, 100-hour battery, a wired option, and a travel case in the box. The CNBRO TWS is the better choice only if openness is your whole reason for buying — if you run, ride or hike and want your ears permanently unblocked, its 18.14 g open-ear fit and touchscreen case are genuinely clever. But for most people who want "aware mode headphones" as a feature they control, the NC95 does more, in more places.
FAQ
Ambient aware — often called Transparency or aware mode — uses the headphones' microphones to feed outside sound into your ears while you wear them. On the Srhythm NiceComfort 95, Transparency mode amplifies surrounding noise so you can hold a conversation or hear announcements without removing the headphones. The CNBRO TWS achieves awareness differently: its open-ear design never seals your ear canal, so outside sound is always present.
On JLab headphones, aware mode is usually toggled by holding or multi-tapping the touch control on the earbud, or through the JLab app if the model supports it. The specific gesture varies by model, so the product's own manual is the reliable source. The general principle is the same across brands: awareness modes are a switchable state, not a permanent one.
No — they solve different problems. The CNBRO TWS has no noise cancelling at all and relies on its open-ear fit for awareness, which suits runners and cyclists. The Srhythm NiceComfort 95 pairs adaptive ANC with Transparency mode so you can block noise when you want and let it in when you need to. If you only ever want to hear your surroundings, the open-ear route is simpler.
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