How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-04 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
• MAcnas Open Ear Clip — biggest strength: a true open-ear clip shape with Bluetooth 5.4, adaptive noise cancellation for calls, a wireless charging case and an LED power display, which suits movement-heavy listening.
• MAcnas Open Ear Clip — biggest trade-off: about 5 hours of playback per charge and a 1.5-hour charge time, so it is not a marathon-session headphone without the case.
• SOAR NBA Active Noise — biggest strength: active noise cancelling with 40mm dynamic drivers and roughly 8 hours of playback, plus official team graphics if you want your headphones to say something.
• SOAR NBA Active Noise — biggest trade-off: it is an on-ear, over-the-head design weighing around 1.6 pounds with a 5-hour charge time, so it is bulkier and slower to top up.
• Who each pick is for: the MAcnas is for runners, gym-goers and anyone who wants ears left open to traffic and surroundings; the SOAR is for commuters, travellers and fans who want to block the world out.
The MAcnas Open Ear Clip is built around one idea: keep your ears open. Instead of sealing a tip into your ear canal, it clips on and fires sound toward your ear, which is why the spec sheet talks about a real-time calibration of the sound beam entry angle to reduce leakage. That is the part that matters. Open-ear audio normally leaks, and the design here is explicitly aimed at tightening the beam so your music stays yours.
Around that core you get Bluetooth 5.4, which is the newer end of the wireless spec and generally means a more stable, lower-latency link than older versions. There is adaptive noise cancellation, but read that correctly on an open-ear product: it is there to clean up your voice on calls and tame the worst of the background, not to silence a plane cabin. The adjustable clamping angle is a genuinely useful touch, because clip-style headphones live or die on fit, and being able to tune the angle is how you keep them comfortable for a full run.
Battery is the honest weak point. Five hours of average life and a 1.5-hour charge time means you will be reaching for the charging case on longer days. The good news is the case itself is a wireless charging case with an LED power display, so you can see where you stand without guessing, and topping up between sessions is easy. It charges over wireless, which is convenient if you already have a charging pad on your desk.
SOAR NBA Active Noise: Who It's For
The SOAR NBA Active Noise is the opposite philosophy. This is a wireless over-the-ear headphone with active noise cancelling, 40mm dynamic drivers and official team graphics on the shells. The 40mm driver is the standard size for a proper over-ear, and combined with ANC it points at a fuller, more spacious sound than any clip-on can produce — crisp highs, rich mids and deep bass, with the background noise pulled down underneath it.
Connectivity is Bluetooth 5.3 with a stated range of up to 30 feet, which is plenty for walking away from your phone or laptop mid-track. Controls are on-ear push buttons for volume, tracks and calls, which is the reliable approach: physical buttons you can find by feel while wearing gloves or looking at a train platform. The cushioned earcups are there for all-day comfort, and the spec sheet lists a 1-year manufacturer warranty.
Battery here is 8 hours of average life with a 2-hour fast charge, which is roughly a full workday or a long travel leg. The catch is the charge time listed in the product information is 5 hours, so treat the quick-charge claim and the full-charge figure as two different things — you can get going faster, but a complete top-up is a slow affair. It is also a plastic-bodied on-ear headphone at about 1.6 pounds, so it is not the thing you want bouncing around during a sprint.
Buy it if: you commute, fly, study or work in a noisy room and you want ANC plus team pride on your head. Skip it if: you need something pocketable, sweat-friendly for hard training, or truly open so you can hear traffic.
• Best for running and outdoor training → MAcnas Open Ear Clip. Open-ear clip fit, adjustable clamping angle, no jack, nothing sealed in your ear.
• Best for blocking out noise → SOAR NBA Active Noise. Active noise cancelling plus 40mm drivers is the whole point of this pair.
• Best for longer single sessions → SOAR NBA Active Noise. Around 8 hours of average battery life versus about 5 hours on the MAcnas.
• Best for quick top-ups between workouts → MAcnas Open Ear Clip. A wireless charging case with an LED power display beats digging for a cable.
• Best for newer wireless tech → MAcnas Open Ear Clip. Bluetooth 5.4 versus Bluetooth 5.3 is a small but real edge on paper.
• Best for travel and commuting comfort → SOAR NBA Active Noise. Cushioned earcups and push-button controls suit long, seated listening.
• Best for showing team colours → SOAR NBA Active Noise. Official team graphics are the differentiator nothing else here offers.
• Best for keeping ears aware of your surroundings → MAcnas Open Ear Clip. Open listening is a safety feature as much as a sound signature.
If I had to pick one, I would buy the MAcnas Open Ear Clip. In my opinion the open-ear clip format is the more distinctive product here: Bluetooth 5.4, adaptive noise cancellation for calls, a wireless charging case with an LED display, and a fit you can tune with the adjustable clamping angle. It does one job — keeping you moving with your ears open — and does it without pretending to be something else.
That said, I would recommend the SOAR NBA Active Noise without hesitation to anyone whose listening happens on a train, a plane or in a shared office. ANC, 40mm drivers and 8 hours of playback are exactly what that life needs. The MAcnas wins for me on concept and portability; the SOAR wins on isolation and session length. Both are wireless on-ear bluetooth headphones in the broad sense, but they solve different problems — and that is the whole decision.
how do wireless bluetooth headphones work
The headphones contain a Bluetooth radio that pairs with your phone, tablet or laptop and receives the audio stream wirelessly, then amplifies it through the built-in dynamic drivers — 40mm drivers on the SOAR, and an open-ear beam design on the MAcnas. Controls on the headphones send commands back to the device for volume, tracks and calls.
how to put wireless headphones in pairing mode
Typically you hold the power or multi-function button until an indicator light flashes or you hear a tone, which puts the headphones into a discoverable state. The SOAR pairs over Bluetooth 5.3 and the MAcnas over Bluetooth 5.4, both of which are standard discoverable Bluetooth connections, so the exact button press depends on the model — check the manual that ships in the box.
how connect bluetooth headphones to phone
Open your phone's Bluetooth settings, make sure Bluetooth is on, and select the headphones from the list of available devices once they are in pairing mode. The SOAR is stated to hold a connection up to 30 feet from your device, so you have room to move once paired; the MAcnas works the same way with phones, tablets and laptops.
how to connect sony wh ch520 on ear wireless bluetooth headphones
That is a different brand and model, so the steps will not match these two exactly: power the headphones on, hold the pairing button until the light flashes, then choose the headphones in your phone's Bluetooth menu. For any on-ear bluetooth headphone, the same three steps apply — power on, enter pairing mode, select it on your device. If you are weighing these two instead, check the current price on Amazon before deciding.
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