Budget never sounded so good

As a long-term resident of New York City, a pair of great wireless earbuds are almost a necessity. They help keep out some of the more jarring sounds of the busy city. They aren’t, however, the most helpful when it comes to staying aware of your surroundings. And depending on the shape of the bud, they can feel uncomfortable after some time. Baseus, a Chinese company that makes everything from mobile chargers to vacuums, offers a solution with the Baseus Eli Sport 1 Open-Ear TWS earbuds, its first-ever open-ear buds.

Wrapping around the earlobe, the Sport 1 never come in contact with your ear canal, eliminating discomfort while allowing ambient noise into the soundscape, so careful listeners can keep abreast of their surroundings. The best part about these new buds on the block is their price, which will be music to the ears of many music lovers. So, if you’re looking for some great budget earbuds, these might fit the bill.

Price and Availability

The Baseus Eli Sport 1 Open-Ear buds are currently on sale on Baseus’ page for $56 and $60 on Amazon. They come in three colors: black, white, and white and neon green.

What’s good about the Baseus Eli Sport 1 Open-Ear TWS earbuds?

I have tiny ears — like freakishly tiny. So, earbuds are a crapshoot. Will they be comfortable, and for how long? The Eli Sport 1 eliminates that worry completely, as they don’t come in contact with your ear canal at all. Instead, they wrap around your ear using the slim silicon friction hooks, leaving the earbuds’ speaker vent hovering just above the ear canal. I wore them for a little over seven hours without any problems.

During that period, I took my six-month-old Cane Corsos to the dog park, where we all worked up a sweat. The Eli Sport took it like a champ, as they’re IPX4 rated, which means the buds can withstand sweat and a light splash of water here and there. The open-ear conceit came in handy at the park, as I easily conversed with a fellow dog owner about training techniques while Michael Jackson’s “Heartbreak Hotel” played in the background.

Speaking of the sound, I was blown away by how good the Eli Sport 1 actually sounded. The sub-$100 earbuds were acceptably loud and delivered relatively clear audio with a spacious soundstage thanks to the oversized 16.2-millimeter driver. The low-end wasn’t as strong as I would have liked, but again, these are budget earbuds. And if you’re so inclined, you can tweak the audio via one of the 12 EQ presets featured in the free Baseus companion app or create your own. I settled on the clear preset as it gave me the best in clarity, warmth, and balance.

In addition to EQ presets, the Baseus app allows you to adjust the various gesture inputs, such as play/pause and skip forward/backward. You can also use the app to track down a lost earbud, enable low latency mode, or get a little more bass with the low-frequency enhancement.

As I mentioned, I wore the Baseus Eli Sport 1 for a little longer than seven hours, about 7 hours and 15 minutes. It’s a bit short of the 7.5 hours Baseus estimates, but still, that’s pretty good. During that time, I listened to music, took a few calls and watched a few videos about “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth” (Don’t judge me; those piano and sit-up mini-games are tough.), and watched the latest episode of “Shogun” on Hulu. Combined with its charging case, you can expect about 30 hours of battery life from the earbuds, which is on par with what you can expect from flagship buds. And just 10 minutes of charge gets you 2 hours of battery life.

What’s bad about the Baseus Eli Sport 1 Open-Ear TWS earbuds?

Of course, there are some kinks in the works. For one, the charging case is literally the biggest I’ve ever seen in all my years reviewing earbuds. It’s about the size of a small makeup compact. Sure, it can still fit in most pockets, but the case is huge compared to other earbuds.

While the earbuds are super comfortable, and I appreciate their durability, I’m not that big a fan of the design, particularly the little doodad on the end. Yes, I know it’s a counterweight, and it helps hold the earbud in place, but it’s not the coolest-looking design on the market. I asked my partner what he thought about them.

“No,” he said while walking away, shaking his head. This was the white and neon green colorway; he was much more open to the all-black variant. If a more typical design is more what you’re looking for, the Jabra Elite 4 might be more on par with what you’re looking for.

If the design doesn’t bother you, the controls might. My other gripe is the gesture controls, which can be hit or miss. I found myself pausing between deliberate and frantic taps to get the proper response. This was particularly true when skipping forward or backward between tracks, where I more often triggered play/pause.

Should you buy it?

If you’re looking to try out this growing trend of open-ear buds without breaking the bank, you should absolutely buy the Baseus Eli Sport 1 Open-Ear TWS earbuds. Or you can shell out $299 for the Bose Ultra Open-Ear Buds, which are definitely fashionable and come with all the premium bells and whistles, but you’re definitely paying a pretty penny. Even when the sale ends, they’re currently $56, the buds will only cost $80 on both Amazon and Baseus’ websites, a price that’s still well below $100.

For the price, you’re getting a pair of earbuds that are super comfortable with a measure of durability and offer a companion app with robust features. They sound great with a couple of caveats and can go the distance with over seven hours of battery life in a sitting.

While I’m not particularly fond of the design or the brighter colorway, a more inconspicuous color can solve that minor quibble. I’m more concerned with the massive charging case and the spotting gesture controls. If you can overlook those flaws, the Baseus Eli Sport 1 Open-Ear TWS earbuds can deliver a good listening experience without depriving you of awareness of the outside world.