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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want to turn an old TV, stereo or wired speaker into a Bluetooth source you can share with two pairs of headphones at once, choose SOOMFON 5.3; if you need a lightweight open-ear headset for calls and meetings with a real mute button, choose CXK Open Ear Headphones.
• SOOMFON 5.3 — biggest strength: it's a Bluetooth 5.3 transmitter/receiver adapter, not a headset. It pushes audio from non-Bluetooth gear (TV, PC, MP3 player, stereo) out to Bluetooth headphones or speakers, and it can run two headphones at the same time.
• SOOMFON 5.3 — biggest trade-off: it has no microphone and volume isn't independent for the two connected devices, so it's useless for karaoke, instruments, or anything where you need to talk back.
• CXK Open Ear Headphones — biggest strength: a 23g open-ear design with dual noise-canceling mics, a triple-press mute, a 210° rotatable mic boom, and up to 12 hours of talk time on Bluetooth 5.4.
• CXK Open Ear Headphones — biggest trade-off: it's a headset only. It can't feed audio to your home stereo or to a second listener's headphones.
• Who each is for: SOOMFON for the person wiring up a TV or hi-fi and sharing sound; CXK for the person who lives on calls, meetings and online classes.
Think of the SOOMFON 5.3 as a bridge, not a pair of headphones. It's a small ABS adapter with a 1.8-inch LCD screen that shows you what the unit is doing, so you're not guessing which mode you're in. Around the back you get Optical, 3.5mm AUX and RCA inputs and outputs, which covers the majority of TVs, receivers, PCs and MP3 players made in the last couple of decades. The idea is simple: whatever wired device you own becomes a Bluetooth broadcaster.
The feature that earns it a place on my shortlist is dual connection. It pairs with two Bluetooth headsets or speakers simultaneously, then reconnects automatically the next time you power it on. That means a couple can watch a late-night film with two separate pairs of headphones and nobody in the next room hears a thing. With a 10–30 metre rated range (10–20 m through obstacles, 10–30 m with clear line of sight), you can walk to the kitchen or fold laundry and keep listening.
CXK Open Ear Headphones: Who It's For
The CXK Open Ear Headphones solve a different problem: staying reachable without stuffing silicone into your ear canals. At 23 grams they rest lightly on your ears with a hook-style, glasses-friendly fit and no clamping pressure — the kind of thing you forget you're wearing during a long call. Because they're open-ear, you keep awareness of traffic, coworkers and doorbells while audio plays, which is exactly what makes them work for commuting, workouts and desks.
The calling side is where CXK put the effort. There are dual microphones with noise reduction to pull your voice out of a noisy room, plus a 210° rotatable mic boom you can angle toward your mouth. The triple-press on the "-" button toggles mute on and off with a voice prompt, which is a genuinely useful detail if you're the person who forgets they're unmuted in a meeting. The same button handles play/pause, track skipping and call answering, and it's a push-button/touch hybrid rather than a fiddly single tap zone.
Audio comes from a 15mm dynamic driver. The maker's pitch is that air conduction delivers better bass than bone conduction while keeping mids and highs clear for podcasts and coaching cues — a fair description of what open-ear designs do well, though I'd set expectations at "balanced and voice-forward" rather than "room-shaking." Battery is rated at up to 12 hours of talk time, and the Bluetooth 5.4 link holds to about 33 feet (10 m). There's no headphone jack, so it's wireless only, and the box includes a cable, the headset and a manual, with a one-year warranty listed.
Buy these if your day is built around calls, online classes, meetings and gaming chat, and you want your ears left open. Skip them if you need serious isolation on a plane or in a loud open office — open-ear is the opposite of noise isolation — and skip them if your goal is to feed audio into a home stereo, which they simply can't do.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for making an old wired stereo or TV Bluetooth-capable → SOOMFON 5.3. Optical, AUX and RCA in/out cover the legacy gear CXK ignores entirely.
• Best for calls, meetings and online classes → CXK Open Ear Headphones. Dual noise-reducing mics, a rotatable boom and a triple-press mute.
• Best for all-day wear comfort → CXK Open Ear Headphones. 23g open-ear hooks beat a plug-in adapter you can't wear at all.
• Best for range and roaming around the house → SOOMFON 5.3. Its rated 10–30 m reach outdistances CXK's roughly 10 m Bluetooth range.
• Best for battery freedom → SOOMFON 5.3. It runs on a DC power supply, so there's no 12-hour ceiling to plan around.
• Best for situational awareness while listening → CXK Open Ear Headphones. Open-ear air conduction keeps you tuned into your surroundings.
• Best for a two-person movie night with no sound leaking to the bedroom → SOOMFON 5.3. Two headphones, one source, zero disturbance.
• Best for voice-only work where you never touch a stereo → CXK Open Ear Headphones. You'd be paying for ports you'd never use with the SOOMFON.
In my opinion these two aren't really rivals — they're answers to different questions, and the right pick depends entirely on whether you're wiring a room or wearing a headset. If I were setting up a TV or stereo for late-night viewing, or I needed two people listening at once, I'd buy the SOOMFON 5.3; nothing about the CXK replaces that job. But if my priority were clear calls, a mute button I can trust and a headset light enough to forget, I'd take the CXK Open Ear Headphones without hesitating. Buy the SOOMFON to fix your audio setup; buy the CXK to fix your conversations.
The SOOMFON 5.3, clearly. It transmits your TV's audio to up to two Bluetooth headphones at once, so you and a partner can listen while the room stays silent. The CXK is a headset — you'd still need a transmitter to get TV audio into it.
Yes — that's what they're built for. Dual noise-reducing mics, a 210° rotatable boom, triple-press mute and up to 12 hours of talk time suit long meeting days. Just remember open-ear means you'll still hear the room around you.
Both are sold on Amazon, and prices move around, so check the current price on Amazon using the button on this page rather than relying on any figure you've seen elsewhere. Value also depends on which job you actually need done.
The CXK lists Bluetooth 5.4, while the SOOMFON uses Bluetooth 5.3. In practice both are modern, stable versions; the bigger difference is role — the SOOMFON is a transmitter/receiver for other devices, the CXK is the device you wear.
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