How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want to keep your existing wired or wireless earbuds and simply block more ambient noise with a better physical seal, choose New Bee 6; if you need a complete true-wireless earbud system with built-in active noise cancellation and long battery life, choose OpenListen NC09. That's the honest split. One is a fit-and-seal upgrade for earbuds you already own, and the other is an all-in-one pair of ANC earbuds.
• New Bee 6 — biggest strength: memory foam replacement tips that expand to create a real seal in the ear canal, which is the physical foundation of passive noise isolation. Slow rebound, three sizes (S/M/L), and a storage box.
• New Bee 6 — biggest trade-off: it is not an earbud at all. It is 12 pieces of replacement tip material (6 pairs) with a 4.9mm inner bore for in-ear headphones with 5mm–7mm nozzles. No electronics, no Bluetooth, no battery.
• OpenListen NC09 — biggest strength: an actual true-wireless earbud with active noise cancellation, Bluetooth 5.4, up to 35 hours of playtime, IPX5/IP7-rated water protection, four ENC call microphones, and touch controls.
• OpenListen NC09 — biggest trade-off: the noise cancellation is electronic and depends on the seal, the battery, and the case. It is a bigger commitment than swapping a tip.
• Who New Bee 6 is for: anyone who already likes their current earbuds but wants less outside noise and a more secure, less swollen fit.
• Who OpenListen NC09 is for: anyone who wants one self-contained pair of ANC wireless earbuds for commuting, calls, and workouts.
New Bee 6 is best understood as a comfort and isolation upgrade, not a gadget. The core idea is memory foam: the tip slowly rebounds to fill your ear canal, and that seal does two things at once. It keeps your music from leaking out, and it keeps outside noise from getting in. In the sheet's own framing, the seal isolates external noise interference, so even in a noisy environment you don't have to crank the volume up past the noise — which is easier on your ears over long sessions.
The fit story is the other half. Memory foam that's soft and slow-rebound is designed to be worn for long stretches without the swelling and pressure you get from stiff silicone tips. You get three pairs in small, medium and large, packed in a storage box that also gives you somewhere to keep your original tips. The 4.9mm inner bore fits in-ear headphones with 5mm–7mm nozzles, which covers a wide range of common earbuds.
So who should buy it? If you own a pair of wired or wireless earbuds whose sound and features you already like, but the stock tips never quite sealed, New Bee 6 is the cheapest-feeling way to fix the actual problem. The slow rebound also helps people whose ear canals are between sizes — foam is more forgiving than silicone.
Who should skip it? Anyone who wants noise cancellation as a feature, not a side effect. There's no chip, no microphone, no app here. If your earbuds don't fall in that 5mm–7mm nozzle range, this won't fit them. And if you want to stop carrying a charging case around entirely, this isn't the product category for you.
OpenListen NC09 is the full package: a true-wireless in-ear bud with active noise cancellation built in. Bluetooth 5.4 handles the connection with a claimed range up to 15 meters and auto-pairing the moment you lift the buds from the case, so the setup step is basically "take them out." The listed battery average is 35 hours, and a full charge takes about an hour — that's a commuter-week kind of number, not a charge-every-night kind of number.
On sound, the sheet lists dual 14.2mm low-distortion composite dynamic drivers and a high-resolution decoder, aiming for punchy bass, a full midrange, and crisp treble. There's also a mention of 13mm drivers in a separate feature line, so treat the driver sizing as the brand's own description rather than something to over-analyze. Either way, the emphasis is on deep bass and an immersive, concert-like feel. For calls, four built-in ENC noise-cancelling microphones are there to keep your voice clear when you're talking in a loud place.
The fit and durability details matter for daily use. The buds are shaped to follow the curve of the ear canal so they stay put during runs and gym sessions, and the case is pocket-sized. Water protection is listed as IPX5 in the title and IP7 in the features — enough that sweat and splashes aren't a worry in either reading. Touch sensors cover power, play/pause, track skipping, calls, volume, and voice assistant access, and the buds work with most Bluetooth devices, iOS or Android, plus computers and laptops.
Buy it if you want one pair that does everything: cancel noise electronically, take calls, survive a workout, and run for days between charges. Skip it if you're happy with your current earbuds and only want a better seal — you'd be paying for a lot of electronics you don't need.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for active noise cancellation → OpenListen NC09. It's the only one of the two with ANC as a listed feature.
• Best for battery life → OpenListen NC09. Up to 35 hours of average battery life and roughly a 1-hour charge time.
• Best for calls → OpenListen NC09. Four ENC microphones are there specifically to keep your voice clear in noisy places.
• Best for workouts and sweaty commutes → OpenListen NC09. The curved, ear-canal-following shape plus water protection is built for movement.
• Best for long, comfortable listening sessions on a budget-minded upgrade → New Bee 6. Slow-rebound foam and three sizes are designed to avoid pressure and swelling.
• Best for people who already love their current earbuds → New Bee 6. It fixes the seal without replacing the product you like.
• Best for a single all-in-one purchase → OpenListen NC09. Earbuds, case, controls, and ANC in one box.
The clean way to think about it: New Bee 6 solves a fit problem, and OpenListen NC09 solves a whole-product problem. If your only complaint is that outside noise leaks in, the tips are the surgical fix. If your complaint is that your current earbuds don't cancel noise, don't last, and don't handle calls well, the earbuds themselves are the fix.
I'd buy the OpenListen NC09 if I were shopping for a complete pair of noise-isolating wireless earbuds, because it's the only one of the two that actually is a pair of earbuds — with ANC, 35 hours of battery, call microphones, and water protection in one package. In my opinion, if you already own earbuds you love and just want a tighter, more comfortable seal, the New Bee 6 is the smarter, more focused pick, and it costs you nothing in features you won't use. Decide which problem you actually have: leaky fit, or no earbuds. Then check the current price on Amazon for whichever one matches.
FAQ
how to noise cancelling earbuds work
Active noise cancellation uses built-in microphones and electronics in the earbud to reduce outside sound, which is how the OpenListen NC09 handles it. Passive isolation is different: it's the physical seal, like the memory foam in the New Bee 6, that blocks noise before it reaches your ear. Most real-world results come from both working together.
On the OpenListen NC09, you take the buds out of the case and they pair automatically over Bluetooth 5.4, then use the touch sensors to control playback, volume, and calls. ANC is part of the bud's noise control, so there's nothing extra to plug in. The New Bee 6 works differently — you fit the foam tips onto your existing earbuds and the seal does the work.
how to noise cancelling earbuds apple
The OpenListen NC09 is compatible with most Bluetooth-enabled devices, including iOS and Android phones, and it supports voice assistant activation through its touch controls. It's not an Apple product and isn't affiliated with Apple — it simply pairs like any Bluetooth headphone. If you want Apple-specific features, that's a different purchase.
how to noise cancelling earbuds
If you mean getting the most isolation out of a pair, the priority is the seal. The New Bee 6 comes in small, medium, and large memory foam tips for nozzles from 5mm–7mm so you can find a fit that actually closes off your ear canal. On the OpenListen NC09, a correct fit lets the active noise cancellation plus the physical seal do their job together.
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