We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-17 · 8 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a long-battery, app-tunable on-ear pair for music, movies and everyday listening, choose Sony WH-CH520; if you need an open-ear headset with a boom mic and a hard mute button for calls and meetings, choose NUROUM OpenEar Pro.
These two are not really rivals. They sit in different categories that happen to overlap on the word "Bluetooth." One is a music-first on-ear headphone with a 50-hour battery and a companion app. The other is a headset built around a microphone boom, a mute button and an open-ear fit that keeps your ears uncovered. If you are torn, the honest answer is that your main activity decides this, not the spec sheet.
• Sony WH-CH520 biggest strength: Up to 50 hours of playback from a 3-hour charge, plus a 3-minute quick charge for 1.5 hours of listening, with DSEE processing and EQ customisation in the Sony Headphones Connect app.
• Sony WH-CH520 biggest trade-off: It is an on-ear headphone with an adjustable headband and soft earpads, so it covers your ears — and the listed noise control is None, meaning no active noise cancellation.
• NUROUM OpenEar Pro biggest strength: An ENC noise-reduction boom mic with a one-button mute at the end of the boom, backed by Bluetooth 5.3 and multipoint switching between two devices.
• NUROUM OpenEar Pro biggest trade-off: Up to 15 hours per charge and a 2-hour charge time — a third of the Sony's runtime — and it is designed for adult use with a one-year warranty.
• Who Sony WH-CH520 is for: Listeners who want long sessions, personalised sound and a comfortable on-ear fit for music, podcasts and casual calls.
• Who NUROUM OpenEar Pro is for: People who talk for a living — calls, online meetings, voice chat — and want their ears open and their mic close to their mouth.
The WH-CH520 is a lightweight on-ear headphone — 147 g — with an adjustable headband and soft earpads. That combination matters more than it sounds. On-ear headphones do not seal your ear canal, so they stay bearable for long stretches, and a 147 g frame is easy to forget you are wearing. The beige finish and angular earcups give it a casual, everyday look rather than a studio one.
The headline number is battery. Sony rates it at up to 50 hours of average life on a 3-hour charge, and a 3-minute quick charge gets you 1.5 hours of listening. In practice that means you can take it on a week of commutes without thinking about the cable. It charges over USB-C, and the charging cable is included.
Sound is handled by a dynamic driver covering 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz at 24 ohm impedance. Sony's Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) works on compressed sources to restore high-frequency detail, and you can shape the result yourself with EQ presets and a custom EQ in the Sony Headphones Connect app. The same app handles 360 Reality Audio, which analyses your ear shape to build a more immersive presentation. Bluetooth is 5.2, with multipoint connection so it can hold two devices at once, and Swift Pair and Fast Pair for quicker setup.
Calls are covered by a built-in microphone with noise suppression processing, and you answer with a button on the earcup. Buttons also handle voice control. The listed noise control is None, so there is no active noise cancellation here — you get the natural reduction of an on-ear fit and nothing more.
Buy it if you want the longest possible runtime, app-based sound tuning and a comfortable on-ear design for music, podcasts, video and occasional calls.
Skip it if you need your ears open to your surroundings, or you need a boom mic and a physical mute button for back-to-back meetings. There is also no headphone jack — this is wireless only.
The OpenEar Pro is a different animal. It is an open-ear headset with soft silicone earhooks that sit in front of each ear rather than inside it, and a silicone neckband that wraps around your head. The design goal is stated plainly: avoid the pressure and fatigue of intrusive in-ear headsets and keep the fit stable during running or jumping. Because nothing plugs your ear canal, you stay aware of what is happening around you — useful outdoors, and useful in an office where someone might walk up behind you.
The real reason to buy this one is the microphone. It uses ENC noise reduction with a HiFi 4 DSP processor, and NUROUM describes a compressed neural network trained on a large body of noise data that reduces ambient noise so your voice stands out on calls. The boom mic swings down near your mouth for talking and stores back out of the way when you are done. At the end of the boom there is a dedicated mute button, so you can kill the mic mid-call without touching your phone — a small thing that anyone who has fumbled for a mute key during a meeting will appreciate.
Connectivity is Bluetooth 5.3 with a 10-metre range and multipoint, so you can hop between a PC meeting and a phone call. It is listed as compatible with iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux, which makes it a reasonable pick for a mixed-device desk. Controls are all physical: a multifunction button plus volume buttons for answering calls, skipping tracks and adjusting volume, with no app required.
Battery is up to 15 hours with a 2-hour charge over the included USB-C cable. The housing is silicone and the headset is described as sweatproof, which suits workouts and outdoor use. Note that charging powers the headset off and you need to restart it after a full charge, and the age range is listed as Adult. Nurom covers it with a one-year warranty.
Skip it if music quality is your priority. NUROUM itself notes that even with bass enhancement it will not sound as rich as typical in-ear headphones, and 15 hours is a fraction of the Sony's runtime.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for battery life → Sony WH-CH520. Up to 50 hours versus up to 15 hours, plus a quick charge that adds 1.5 hours in 3 minutes.
• Best for calls and meetings → NUROUM OpenEar Pro. The boom mic, ENC noise reduction and one-button mute are built for voice, not music.
• Best for sound personalisation → Sony WH-CH520. DSEE processing, EQ presets and custom EQ in the Sony Headphones Connect app, plus 360 Reality Audio.
• Best for staying aware of your surroundings → NUROUM OpenEar Pro. The open-ear design deliberately leaves your ears uncovered, which the Sony's on-ear fit does not.
• Best for workouts and movement → NUROUM OpenEar Pro. Soft silicone earhooks and a silicone neckband, described as sweatproof and stable during running or jumping.
• Best for long listening sessions → Sony WH-CH520. At 147 g with an adjustable headband and soft earpads, it is built for hours of music and podcasts.
• Best for mixed-device desk setups → NUROUM OpenEar Pro. Bluetooth 5.3, multipoint and stated compatibility with iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux.
• Best for multipoint on the music side → Sony WH-CH520. Bluetooth 5.2 with multipoint, Swift Pair and Fast Pair for quick switching between two devices.
In my opinion, these two should not be ranked against each other at all, because they solve different problems. If I had to pick one for a general buyer who mostly listens — music, podcasts, video, the odd call — I would buy the Sony WH-CH520. The 50-hour battery, the app-based EQ and DSEE processing, the 147 g on-ear comfort and the multipoint connection make it the more versatile everyday device, and its one clear limitation (no active noise cancellation) is a trade-off, not a flaw.
I would pick the NUROUM OpenEar Pro only if voice is the job. If your calendar is full of calls and online meetings, the boom mic with ENC, the physical mute button and the open-ear fit are features the Sony simply does not have. Buy it for talking, not for critical listening.
For music and long listening sessions, yes — in my opinion the Sony is the better pick because of its 50-hour battery, DSEE processing and EQ customisation. For calls and meetings, the NUROUM wins on the strength of its boom mic, ENC noise reduction and mute button. "Better" depends entirely on what you do with them.
No. Its listed noise control is None, so there is no active noise cancellation. It relies on the natural isolation of its on-ear fit. The NUROUM OpenEar Pro lists Active Noise Cancellation, but its focus is ENC — noise reduction aimed at your voice on calls rather than at blocking sound for you.
Sony WH-CH520: up to 50 hours, with a 3-hour charge and a 3-minute quick charge that gives 1.5 hours of listening. NUROUM OpenEar Pro: up to 15 hours, with a 2-hour charge over USB-C. If runtime matters most, the Sony is the clear choice.
The NUROUM OpenEar Pro. Its boom mic sits near your mouth, the ENC and DSP setup targets clear voice transmission, and the one-button mute on the boom lets you mute instantly. The Sony handles calls with a built-in mic and earcup controls, but it is not designed around voice the way the NUROUM is. Before you decide, check the current price on Amazon for both — prices move, and the page's button will show you the latest.
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