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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-01 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
• EGWAT ETSANDYS Q16s – biggest strength: open-ear hook design with bone conduction drivers, IPX6 waterproofing, Bluetooth 5.4, and a charging case with an LCD touch display that shows battery and lets you switch modes without touching your phone.
• EGWAT ETSANDYS Q16s – biggest trade-off: the open-ear, bone-conduction approach trades the deep, sealed-in bass you get from traditional in-ear or over-ear cups for situational awareness — and the package is heavier and bulkier than a typical set of earbuds.
• ak anklas P959 – biggest strength: over-ear build with 40mm dynamic drivers, 360° spatial audio, breathable mesh earmuffs and an adjustable ABS/metal headband made for marathon sessions.
• ak anklas P959 – biggest trade-off: Bluetooth 5.3 instead of 5.4, a shorter 10-meter range, and a 30-day warranty against the Q16s's 1-year coverage.
• Pick the Q16s if you're a runner, cyclist, traveler or student who needs to hear traffic and people — and who wants translation and a smart charging case.
• Pick the P959 if you want full over-ear immersion for gaming, movies and music at a desk or on a plane.
The Q16s is built around a specific idea: keep your ears open while you listen. The earpieces sit outside the ear canal in a hook design, with bone conduction drivers pushing sound through vibration rather than plugging you in. That means you can hear a car approaching on a run or a barista calling your name without pausing your podcast. In my opinion, that's the whole reason to buy this model, and if that isn't something you value, nothing else here will convince you.
What makes it unusual is the feature stack. The AI translation covers 144 languages and dialects in real time, which is a genuinely rare capability at the earbud level and useful for travelers, international students, and anyone in cross-border meetings. Bluetooth 5.4 gives fast pairing and a 15-meter range, and the smart mode switching moves you between Music, Call, and Translation modes without digging through menus. Sound is handled by dual mics with environmental noise cancellation for calls, plus an equalizer, spatial audio modes and adaptive ANC you can toggle. Battery is 15 hours per charge and 80 hours total from the case — and that case has an LCD touchscreen so you can check the level, skip tracks, change EQ presets or flip ANC on and off without opening an app.
Who should buy it: runners, cyclists, commuters, travelers, students, and anyone who works in a space where being deaf to their surroundings is a safety or social problem. The royal blue finish and 0.48 kg package (with a 2.5-ounce case measuring roughly 1.4 × 2.8 × 1.6 inches) is clearly designed to be carried around, not left on a desk.
Who should skip it: if you want the thump of sealed bass or you're buying purely for gaming immersion, the open-ear format will feel thin to you. The 1.5-hour charge time is fine but not instant, and the 3.5mm jack reference in the specs shouldn't be read as a wired mode — this is a Bluetooth-first product.
The P959 goes the opposite direction: it's a traditional over-ear headphone in black, with breathable mesh earmuffs and an adjustable ABS-and-metal headband. The design goal is long sessions without pressure build-up, and that's exactly what over-ear cups with mesh padding are good at. If you've ever pulled earbuds out after two hours because your ear canals were aching, this is the format that fixes it.
On the audio side, the P959 uses 40mm bio-composite dynamic drivers with 360° spatial sound. That combination is aimed at people who want a wide, cinematic stage — gaming, movies, and detailed music listening. There's also a 3.5mm audio cable in the box, so you can run wired when you want to, which is a real advantage for anyone plugging into a console controller, an older laptop, or an in-flight entertainment system. Bluetooth 5.3 handles wireless with low latency, which matters for gaming, and the 10-meter range is plenty for a room or a small apartment.
Battery is 10 hours per charge with a 2-hour charge time, via USB-C. That's a single-day figure — fine for a workday or a long flight, but you'll be plugging in more often than with a case-based earbud setup. The warranty is 30 days, which is short, so factor that into how you think about long-term risk. Noise control is adaptive noise cancellation, and the impedance is 32 ohms, which is normal for this class of headphone.
Who should buy it: gamers who want spatial audio and low-lag Bluetooth, remote workers on long calls, and anyone who prefers over-ear comfort to in-ear or open-ear fit. Also anyone who wants the wired fallback.
Who should skip it: if you need to stay aware of your surroundings while moving, over-ear cups seal you off. And if you want the smart-case features or the translation capability, the P959 simply doesn't offer them.
• Best for running, cycling and traffic awareness → EGWAT ETSANDYS Q16s. The open-ear hook design keeps your ears unblocked; the P959's sealed over-ear cups do the opposite.
• Best for travel and language barriers → EGWAT ETSANDYS Q16s. Real-time translation in 144 languages and dialects is the standout feature here, and the P959 has no equivalent.
• Best for gaming and spatial immersion → ak anklas P959. 40mm bio-composite drivers, 360° spatial sound and low-latency Bluetooth 5.3 are aimed squarely at this.
• Best for marathon comfort in one sitting → ak anklas P959. Breathable mesh earmuffs and an adjustable headband are designed for hours of wear without pressure.
• Best for total battery time → EGWAT ETSANDYS Q16s. 15 hours per charge and 80 hours with the case beats the P959's 10 hours per charge.
• Best for wired flexibility → ak anklas P959. The included 3.5mm audio cable lets you go corded; the Q16s is Bluetooth-only in practice.
• Best for newer wireless tech and range → EGWAT ETSANDYS Q16s. Bluetooth 5.4 with a 15-meter range versus Bluetooth 5.3 with 10 meters.
• Best for smart controls → EGWAT ETSANDYS Q16s. The LCD touchscreen case handles battery checks, track skipping, EQ presets and ANC toggling without your phone.
In my opinion, the EGWAT ETSANDYS Q16s is the more capable product overall, and it's the one I'd buy for most people. The open-ear design, Bluetooth 5.4, 80-hour total battery, LCD touch case and real-time translation add up to a feature set the P959 can't match, and the 1-year warranty is far more reassuring than 30 days. The P959 wins on two things that matter a lot to a specific buyer: over-ear comfort and immersive 40mm spatial audio. So if you live in a headset for gaming and long listening sessions, get the P959. Everyone else — runners, travelers, commuters, students — should take the Q16s. Check the current price on Amazon for both before you commit, since that's the one variable that can flip this decision.
FAQ
Yes — IPX6 is listed for the Q16s, which means it's rated to handle rain and heavy sweat during workouts. The ak anklas P959 also carries an IPX6 rating, so both are protected against the same class of water exposure.
It's built for that. Bluetooth 5.3 with low latency is designed for real-time gaming, and the included 3.5mm audio cable gives you a wired option if you want zero wireless delay.
The EGWAT ETSANDYS Q16s, clearly: 15 hours per charge and 80 hours total with the charging case, versus 10 hours per charge for the ak anklas P959 and no case battery listed. The Q16s also charges faster at 1.5 hours versus 2 hours.
Yes — real-time AI translation across 144 languages and dialects is a listed feature, along with a dedicated Translation mode you can switch to. The ak anklas P959 has no translation function at all.
It depends on the wearer. The Q16s avoids ear-canal pressure with an open-ear hook design, while the P959 uses breathable mesh earmuffs and an adjustable headband. If earbuds bother your ears, go over-ear; if over-ear cups feel heavy or isolating, go open-ear.
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