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
If you want an open-ear design that keeps you aware of traffic and gym surroundings while still delivering punchy 15mm drivers and 14 hours of playtime, choose LEVN Open Ear Headphones; if you need a sealed in-ear fit with deep bass, four ENC mics for calls, and a charging case that stretches total listening to 60 hours, choose Matast Earbuds.
• LEVN Open Ear Headphones — biggest strength: an open-ear, hook-style fit with 15mm dynamic drivers, Bluetooth 5.3 multipoint pairing, and up to 14 hours of playback on a single charge.
• LEVN Open Ear Headphones — biggest trade-off: no noise control of any kind. You hear the gym, the street, and everything else, which is the point, but it means no isolation when you want to disappear into a playlist.
• Matast Earbuds — biggest strength: a sealed in-ear design with 14.2mm graphene drivers, ENC noise-cancelling mics, IP7 waterproofing, and up to 60 hours of total playback with the charging case.
• Matast Earbuds — biggest trade-off: they sit inside your ear canal, so you get pressure and blocked ambient sound, and the fit depends on matching one of the three ear tip sizes correctly.
• Who each pick is for: LEVN for the lifter or runner who wants situational awareness and hates things jammed in their ears; Matast for the gym-goer who wants bass, call clarity, and a battery case that survives a full week of sessions.
The LEVN Open Ear Headphones are built around one idea: never block your ears. The drivers sit outside the canal on a soft silicone frame, so air moves and sweat does not pool the way it does with sealed tips. For a gym context, that matters more than it sounds. You can hear a spotter, a rack being loaded, or a treadmill belt behind you, and you can still hold a conversation between sets without pulling anything out of your ear.
The spec sheet backs up the comfort claim with an ultra-light construction — the unit weighs about 0.09 kg — and 15mm dynamic drivers feeding a tuned sound chamber. That is a large driver for this category, and it's the reason the LEVN set can still deliver noticeable bass and crisp highs without sealing you off. Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint is the other standout: you can stay connected to your phone and your laptop at once, which is genuinely useful if you answer a work call mid-warmup and then switch straight back to your training playlist.
Battery is where this design quietly wins. LEVN rates it at up to 14 hours per charge, roughly double the 8-hour figure most sport earbuds hit. For anyone doing daily sessions plus a commute, that means charging once or twice a week rather than every night. The 14-hour figure is also the honest reason to pick it over almost anything else here.
Who should skip it? If you train in a noisy commercial gym and want the outside world muted, or if you care about deep, chest-thumping bass, the open design works against you. You are trading isolation for awareness, and that is not a flaw — it is the whole point.
The Matast Earbuds go the opposite direction. These are in-ear buds with 45° flexible ear hooks, three sizes of ear tips, and an IP7 waterproof nano-coating on the internal components. That last detail is the one I would underline for gym use: IP7 means sweat, rain, and accidental splashes are not a concern, which is exactly the failure mode that kills cheap earbuds three months into a training block.
Sound is the headline. Matast uses 14.2mm graphene drivers in a four-chamber design, and the numbers on the sheet are aggressive — a claimed 18Hz to 25kHz frequency range and a stated 70% boost in audio frequency over conventional drivers. Whether or not you take those percentages at face value, the design intent is clear: this is a bass-forward tuning aimed at people who want their music to hit. If you lift to hip-hop or EDM, that is a real advantage over an open-ear set that physically cannot pressurize your ear canal.
The call side is unusually well specified for this price bracket. Four high-definition microphones with ENC noise cancelling, claimed to boost vocal clarity by 75% and cut external noise by 80%, means you can take a call from the gym floor without sounding like you are inside a wind tunnel. Bluetooth 5.4 adds lower latency and a stated 50-foot range, and the hall effect sensor auto-reconnects the moment you open the case.
Then there is the battery architecture. Each bud runs about 8 hours, and the case recharges them six times for a total of up to 60 hours, with a 10-minute USB-C top-up adding roughly 2 hours. A dual LED display shows the charge percentage from 1% to 100%, so you never guess whether you have enough for tomorrow's session.
Who should skip it? Anyone who gets ear fatigue from in-ear pressure, or who runs outdoors on roads and needs to hear traffic. Sealed buds are the wrong tool for that job.
• Best for outdoor running and road awareness → LEVN Open Ear Headphones. The open design lets passing vehicles and conversation through, which is a safety feature, not a compromise.
• Best for bass and immersive gym sound → Matast Earbuds. Sealed 14.2mm graphene drivers in a four-chamber enclosure will always out-punch an open-ear set on low end.
• Best for long battery stretches → Matast Earbuds. Up to 60 hours total with the case versus 14 hours on a single LEVN charge.
• Best for charging once a week, no case required → LEVN Open Ear Headphones. One charge covers multiple sessions, and there is no case to remember.
• Best for calls from the gym floor → Matast Earbuds. Four ENC mics and dedicated noise reduction are purpose-built for voice clarity in loud rooms.
• Best for all-day comfort and no ear pressure → LEVN Open Ear Headphones. Silicone frame, no canal insertion, nothing pressing on the ear.
• Best for sweat and rain resistance → Matast Earbuds. IP7 nano-coating is the more explicit waterproofing claim of the two.
• Best for switching between phone and laptop → LEVN Open Ear Headphones. Bluetooth 5.3 multipoint handles two devices simultaneously.
In my opinion, the Matast Earbuds are the better pick for the average gym-goer. The IP7 rating covers the sweatiest sessions, the sealed fit delivers the bass most people actually want when they train, and up to 60 hours of total playback means the case lives in your bag and you stop thinking about charging. I would pick LEVN only if situational awareness or ear comfort is your top priority — for outdoor running, cycling, or anyone who genuinely cannot tolerate in-ear pressure, the open-ear design is the right answer and the 14-hour battery is a real bonus. Decide which of those two problems you have, and the choice makes itself.
what is best headphones for gym
There is no single answer, because it depends on whether you want awareness or isolation. If you want to hear your surroundings and avoid ear pressure, the LEVN Open Ear Headphones fit that brief with an open-ear silicone frame and 14 hours of playback. If you want deep bass and sweat-proofing, the Matast Earbuds with IP7 coating and 60 hours total battery are the stronger match.
what headphones for gym
Look at three things: fit security, sweat resistance, and battery. LEVN uses an ultra-light open-ear hook design that stays put during big movements but offers no noise control. Matast uses 45° ear hooks with three ear tip sizes and IP7 waterproofing, so it holds a seal through intense workouts and blocks sweat and rain.
what headphones for gym reddit
The recurring debate is open-ear versus sealed in-ear, and it comes down to safety and comfort versus sound quality. Open-ear sets like the LEVN let traffic and gym noise in, which runners tend to prefer. Sealed buds like the Matast give you bass and ENC call clarity but block the outside world, which some people find isolating on the street.
what headphone is good for gym
A good gym headphone stays in during movement, survives sweat, and lasts a full week of sessions. The Matast Earbuds cover that with IP7 waterproofing and up to 60 hours of total playback from the charging case. The LEVN Open Ear Headphones cover the comfort and awareness angle with a pressure-free fit and 14 hours per charge. Check the current price on Amazon before deciding, since both sit in different budget tiers.
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