We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-01 · 8 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a hands-free wireless intercom that keeps one ear open to the world while you talk to a partner across real distance, choose Solid Signal Eartec Ultralite PRO16; if you need a wired open-back studio monitoring setup for mixing and critical listening, choose Audiosavings Presonus Eris Studio.
Solid Signal Eartec Ultralite PRO16 vs Audiosavings Presonus Eris Studio at a Glance
• Solid Signal Eartec Ultralite PRO16 — biggest strength: true full-duplex, hands-free wireless talk between two people, expandable to 16 headsets with no hub or base station, and a single-ear open design that leaves one ear free to hear your surroundings.
• Solid Signal Eartec Ultralite PRO16 — biggest trade-off: it is a closed communication ecosystem. It pairs only with other PRO16 headsets and will not connect to Eartec UltraLITE Classic or UltraLITE HD systems, and it does not play music or monitor audio sources.
• Audiosavings Presonus Eris Studio — biggest strength: a complete wired monitoring bundle — AKG K701 open-back reference headphones plus two 8-inch, 140W Class-AB powered studio monitors with acoustic tuning controls.
• Who the PRO16 is for: two-person crews who need to keep talking while their hands and eyes are busy — boat captains with crew, drone pilots with a spotter, photographers with an assistant, coaches on a sideline.
• Who the Eris Studio bundle is for: a home or project studio that wants one box covering both speaker playback and open-back headphone reference listening.
The PRO16 is a two-person, hands-free wireless intercom system built around one idea: two people should be able to talk continuously across distance without pressing anything. The kit ships with a main single-ear headset and a remote single-ear headset, two rechargeable LX950Li lithium polymer batteries, a two-bay charger, a padded softside carry case, and cleaning wipes. The stated range is half a mile, audio is full duplex so both people can speak at once, and Eartec rates the battery at 10 hours of continuous use — roughly a full workday — with a battery that pops out and back in by hand, no tools required.
The open-ear design is the part that matters most for field work. Because you wear a single cup, one ear stays free to monitor your environment: an engine, wind, a dog, an alarm. The boom mic rotates to whichever side you prefer and mutes automatically when you flip it up. That is a genuinely useful detail when you need to say something privately or when you are standing next to someone who should not hear the channel. The system is also expandable: add up to 14 more PRO16 headsets to reach 16 users, still with no hub or central unit, and the description notes two simultaneous talk channels so two separate groups can speak privately, plus a button-press conference mode for the whole crew. Control is via remote and touch, connectivity is RF wireless, and there is no headphone jack at all.
I recommend this for captains coordinating with crew on the water, drone operators staying in sync with a spotter, photographers calling instructions to an assistant, coaches working with a sideline partner, and off-road riders on a trail. The through-line is two people who need constant voice contact while their hands are occupied, and who benefit from hearing what is happening around them.
Audiosavings Presonus Eris Studio: Who It's For
This bundle is a three-item monitoring package: one pair of AKG K701 open-back reference headphones and two Presonus Eris Studio 8 powered monitors. The K701 is an over-ear, open-back design rated at 62 ohms and 105 dB SPL/V sensitivity, with a frequency bandwidth of 10 Hz to 39,800 Hz, a fixed 3 m cable, a 3.5 mm stereo plug and a screw-on 6.3 mm adapter, and a 235 g net weight. The listed applications are studio mixing and hi-fi listening, and the box also includes a pouch plus coiled and straight cables — worth knowing, since a coiled option is handy at a desk.
The Eris Studio 8 side is where the low-end and room-tuning capability live. Each monitor pairs an 8-inch woven composite woofer with a 1.25-inch silk-dome tweeter, driven by 140W Class-AB bi-amplification, with a frequency response of 35 Hz to 20 kHz and 105 dB SPL peak at one meter. The EBM waveguide is specified at 100° horizontal by 60° vertical, and there is a front-firing acoustic port — a genuinely practical choice if you have to place speakers near a wall. Tuning controls include HF and Midrange trim at plus or minus 6 dB continuously variable, an Acoustic Space switch with flat, -2 and -4 dB settings, and a highpass filter at 80 Hz or 100 Hz. Inputs cover balanced XLR and quarter-inch plus unbalanced RCA, and there is an internal power supply with an IEC connector and a power switch with an on/off LED. Presonus also lists protection circuitry: RF interference, output-current limiting, over-temperature, transient, subsonic, and amplifier soft start.
I recommend this for someone setting up a home or project studio who wants speakers and reference headphones from one purchase, and who has a fixed listening position with a little room to treat or tune. The Acoustic Space and highpass controls are the features that make it adaptable to a small untreated room rather than a purpose-built one.
Skip it if you need to move around while you work, if you need wireless, or if you need to talk to a partner hands-free — there is nothing in this bundle for that. It is also worth being clear-eyed about the K701: open-back over-ear headphones are meant to be transparent and airy, which is exactly why they are not the tool for tracking a vocalist in the same room as a live mic, and why they will not isolate you from a noisy space. The bundle exists to serve mixing and listening, not communication.
• Best for hands-free two-person communication → Solid Signal Eartec Ultralite PRO16. Full duplex, no button to press, half a mile of stated range.
• Best for staying aware of your surroundings → Solid Signal Eartec Ultralite PRO16. Single-ear open design leaves one ear free; the rotating boom mic auto-mutes when flipped up.
• Best for all-day untethered use → Solid Signal Eartec Ultralite PRO16. 10-hour rated battery with user-swappable packs and a two-bay charger.
• Best for scaling a crew → Solid Signal Eartec Ultralite PRO16. Expandable to 16 users with no hub or base station, with two private talk channels noted.
• Best for mix translation and low-end work → Audiosavings Presonus Eris Studio. 8-inch woofers, 140W Class-AB bi-amping, response down to 35 Hz.
• Best for fitting speakers into a real room → Audiosavings Presonus Eris Studio. HF and Midrange trim, Acoustic Space settings, highpass filter, and a front-firing port for close-to-wall placement.
• Best for connection flexibility → Audiosavings Presonus Eris Studio. Balanced XLR and quarter-inch plus unbalanced RCA on the monitors; 3.5 mm with a 6.3 mm adapter on the headphones.
• Best for a single open-box setup that covers both playback and headphone reference → Audiosavings Presonus Eris Studio.
• Best for open-ear freedom while working with your hands → Solid Signal Eartec Ultralite PRO16.
In my opinion, these two are not really competitors — they solve different problems, and the right answer is whichever problem you actually have. If your days involve a partner across distance and hands that cannot leave the job, I would buy the Solid Signal Eartec Ultralite PRO16: the hands-free full-duplex link, the single-ear awareness, and the 10-hour battery are the three things that make that workflow possible, and no wired studio bundle replaces them.
If your goal is critical listening and mixing, I would buy the Audiosavings Presonus Eris Studio bundle instead. The Eris Studio 8 tuning controls and 8-inch woofers give you a real room-adjustable monitoring foundation, and the K701 adds an open-back reference pair on top. Check the current price on Amazon for whichever one matches your work, since the numbers move around.
FAQ
how to open back headphones work
Open-back headphones use earcups that are vented rather than sealed, so air and sound can move between the driver and the outside world. On the AKG K701 in this bundle, that open design is paired with over-ear memory foam pads and a 10 Hz to 39,800 Hz rated bandwidth. The practical effect is a more spacious, less boxed-in presentation, at the cost of letting sound in and out.
what is open back studio headphones
what are the best open back headphones
There is no single best — "best" depends on the job. For mixing and hi-fi listening, the K701 in this bundle is a purpose-built open-back reference pair. But if what you actually need is hands-free communication while keeping one ear on your surroundings, the Solid Signal Eartec Ultralite PRO16 is the open-ear option here, and it is a wireless intercom rather than a listening headphone.
are open back headphones better
Not universally — they are better for some things and worse for others. Open-back designs like the K701 suit mixing and critical listening because they are airy and transparent. They are the wrong pick when you need isolation or when you must stay aware of a live environment while talking. For two-way field communication with one ear free, the PRO16 solves that problem in a completely different way.
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