How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-22 · 8 min read · Independent comparison
• TREBLAB X3-Pro — best for running, gym work and long training blocks; pick this if you want an earhook that stays put, sweat resistance, and a case that can top up your phone.
• TONEMAC N18 — best for all-day wear and calls on a budget-minded neckband; pick this if you like a lightweight around-the-neck design with IPX7 protection and quick USB-C charging.
• CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 — best for commuters and gamers who want maximum noise cancelling; pick this if you want adaptive hybrid ANC, LDAC audio, and a smart dial on the case.
• Raycon Essential Open Ear — best for road running, cycling and office awareness; pick this if you want an open-ear hook that never blocks your surroundings.
This is an in-ear, earhook-style wireless earbud built around movement. The wrap-around hook is the headline design choice here, and it's the reason I'd hand these to a runner before almost anything else. Bluetooth 5.3 handles the connection, and each bud weighs in around 9g, so the hook isn't dragging a heavy shell around your ear.
The numbers that matter day to day: up to 12 hours per charge, and up to 192 hours total when you factor in the charging case. That case is the interesting part — it works as a power bank over USB-C, so on a long trip or a multi-hour training block you're carrying one brick that charges your earbuds and can bail out your phone. The case itself charges in about 2 hours, and the earbuds take roughly 2.5 hours for a full top-up. There's also wireless charging support for the case, which is a nice convenience if you already keep a charging pad on your desk.
Sound comes from 14.2mm dynamic drivers — a large driver for this category — with a 20Hz–20KHz range, 32 ohm impedance and 106dB sensitivity. In my opinion that combination points to a bass-forward, easy-to-drive tuning that works well for gym playlists and podcasts without needing to crank the volume. There's a 60ms low-latency mode for gaming and video, four ENC microphones for calls, and IPX5 sweat resistance. Five sizes of silicone tips ship in the box, which matters a lot for getting a seal with hooks.
The trade-off: IPX5 handles sweat and rain spray, not submersion, so don't swim or rinse these under a tap. The hook design is also more visible and slightly more fiddly to seat than a plain bud — you trade a bit of stealth for a fit that won't budge. And with sound isolation rather than active noise cancelling, you'll still hear a busy gym or a windy road.
The N18 is a neckband, not a pair of loose buds, and that single design decision defines who it's for. The band is composite fiber and memory silicone, and the whole unit weighs 19g. If you've ever lost a single earbud down a storm drain or spent a commute fishing buds out of a bag, a neckband removes that entire problem — the earpieces are magnetically held and always attached to you.
Battery is the other strong point. TONEMAC rates 20 hours of playtime per charge, and a 10-minute USB-C top-up gets you about 3 hours back. A full charge takes about 1.5 hours. For someone who wears earbuds through a workday and then straight into an evening run, that's a genuinely practical profile — you're not hunting for a case at 4pm.
Audio uses 10mm bio-diaphragm dynamic drivers with a 20Hz–20KHz range, 32 ohm impedance and 105dB sensitivity, tuned for deep bass. The listed latency is 16ms, which is low, and Bluetooth is listed at version 6.0 with a 33-foot range. Controls are physical buttons and an in-line controller rather than touch — press-and-hold for track skip, single click for volume, and so on. That's a real plus in cold weather or with gloves, where touch panels often refuse to cooperate.
The IPX7 rating is the standout spec: it's rated to survive water exposure far beyond sweat, which suits heavy training and rainy runs. ENC on calls suppresses ambient noise so your voice carries. The trade-offs are honest ones: the band sits on your neck, which some people find warm or noticeable, and the included warranty is 90 days rather than a year. It's also an in-ear design with active noise cancellation listed — but the physical neckband is the thing you'll either love or not.
If your priority is quiet, start here. The Buds Pro 2 use 50dB adaptive hybrid ANC that monitors leakage between the bud and your ear canal and adjusts accordingly — the practical benefit is that cancellation stays consistent even when you shift your jaw or wear a slightly different tip. There's also a transparency mode with ambient sound recognition, which is what you'd want while running near traffic.
The audio chain is unusually layered for this class. You get an 11mm ultra-bass driver paired with a 6mm tweeter, LDAC lossless transmission, and Dirac tuning, plus Dynamic Bass Boost 2.0. In my opinion the two-driver setup is the reason these can render both deep low end and detail up top without one smearing the other — a real advantage if you listen to dense mixes rather than just beats. Six microphones with AI-enhanced voice pickup handle calls.
Bluetooth 5.3 brings multipoint, so you can stay connected to a laptop and a phone at once. Latency is listed at 120ms for gaming, and there's a genuinely unusual feature: a smart dial on the charging case that controls volume, tracks and noise modes without touching your phone. Battery is 10 hours per charge and 43 hours total with the case; a 10-minute quick charge returns 3 hours. IP55 covers sweat and dust, and the manufacturer notes you can rinse them after a swim.
The trade-offs: ANC this aggressive means you'll want transparency mode on in traffic, and the tuning leans bass-heavy, which won't suit everyone. The case dial is a love-it-or-not design — it's an extra thing to learn. And this is a conventional in-ear bud, so it relies on a good tip seal for both isolation and sound; there's no hook holding it in.
The Essential Open Ear takes the opposite approach to everything above: nothing goes inside your ear canal. The earpiece is a hook that rests behind your ear and fires sound toward you while leaving the canal open. That's the entire value proposition — you hear your music and your surroundings at the same time.
For road runners, cyclists and anyone working in an open office or on a shop floor, that awareness is a safety and social feature, not a compromise. The design is described as featherlight and minimalist, and the spec supports it: the whole product weighs 0.14kg including the case, and the hook design is meant to stay put through intense movement. Battery is rated at 36 hours with a charging case that's pocket-sized. Bluetooth is listed at version 6, controls are touch, and the drivers are balanced armature with a 20Hz–20KHz range.
Who is this for? In my opinion, the person who has tried sealed buds and hated the pressure, the plugged-up feeling, or the sweat build-up. It's also the right pick if you need to hear a doorbell, a colleague, or a car behind you.
The honest trade-offs are the flip side of open audio. There's no noise control listed at all — not active, not isolation — so on a plane, a train, or a loud gym, your music competes with everything around you. Bass response from an open design will never hit like a sealed 14.2mm driver. And the case measurements listed are unusual, so if pocketability is critical, plan around the hook shape rather than assuming it disappears. Sweat and water resistance is listed, but not a specific IP rating, so I'd treat it as training-ready rather than swim-ready.
I compared the published spec sheets side by side — driver size and type, Bluetooth version, battery and charge times, water resistance ratings, microphone count, latency, fit design and controls — and weighed which attributes actually matter for the ways people use earbuds wireless bluetooth daily. The ranking is my independent editorial opinion, based on how those specs translate into real-world use cases rather than on any brand relationship. No brand paid for placement or had any say in the order.
It depends on where you listen. If you're on planes, trains or in a loud gym, ANC like the 50dB adaptive system on the CMF Buds Pro 2 makes a real difference. If you run or cycle on roads, you may actually prefer an open-ear design that keeps you aware of traffic.
For most runners, yes. A hook physically anchors the bud, so sweat and impact are less likely to work it loose. The TREBLAB X3-Pro pairs that hook with IPX5 sweat resistance; standard sealed buds rely on tip friction alone.
IPX5 means the product withstands water spray and sweat but not immersion. IPX7 means it can handle brief submersion, which is why the TONEMAC N18 suits heavy sweat and rain better than a spray-rated bud.
All four include microphones. The TREBLAB X3-Pro uses four ENC mics, the CMF Buds Pro 2 uses six with AI voice pickup, the TONEMAC N18 uses ENC to suppress ambient noise, and the Raycon Essential Open Ear relies on its open design, which keeps your voice natural but lets more background noise in.
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See also: wireless earbuds bluetooth, bluetooth earbuds, earbuds wireless