Baseus Eli Sport 1: The Eli Sport 1 can be had for around $80. While they may not sound quite as good as some of the premium open earbuds out there — there can be a touch of distortion at higher volumes with bass-heavy tracks — they sound quite decent for their modest price and I found them comfortable to wear. They look more premium than their price would indicate. They have 16.2mm drivers, are IPX4 splash-proof and are rated for up to 7.5 hours of battery life at moderate volume levels.

Samsung Galaxy Buds FE: Carrying a list price of around $100, Samsung’s 2023 Galaxy Buds FE feature a single driver (Samsung isn’t saying what size it is), three mics on each earbud and active noise canceling. They charge in a case that’s the same size and shape as what you currently get with all of Samsung’s latest Galaxy Buds, including the Galaxy Buds 2 and Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. And they look a lot like an updated version of Samsung’s discontinued Galaxy Buds Plus earbuds, which also came with a set of swappable fins that helped create a secure, comfortable fit. Like those buds, the Galaxy Buds FE are sweat-resistant with an IPX2 water-resistance rating that protects against splashes. 

Bose Frames (Tempo) (Out of Stock): The Bose Frames are one of those products you have to try to fully appreciate — or dismiss. The concept is that you’re getting a decent pair of sunglasses with a pair of headphones that don’t actually go in your ears. Rather, integrated micro speakers in each arm direct a beam of sound to your ears. That design could be appealing to people who don’t like having headphones in or on their ears and also offers a degree of safety for runners and bikers who want their ears open to the world.

Jabra Elite 8 Active: Equipped with six microphones instead of four, slightly improved adaptive noise canceling and wind-reduction technology along with a higher durability rating, the Elite 8 Active looks, feels and performs like a modestly upgraded version of the Elite 7 Pro and Elite 7 Active. Jabra is billing them as the “world’s toughest earbuds,” and based on our tests (they survived several drops without a scratch), that may very well be true.

Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS: What makes these Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS buds special is that they sound surprisingly good for open earbuds — they’re pretty close to what you get from Apple’s AirPods 3 for sound. On top of that, they support Sony’s LDAC audio codec for devices that offer it. Not too many cheap open earbuds have good sound, but these Soundpeats have good bass response and clarity. They’re also good for making calls and have a low-latency gaming mode. Battery life is rated at 5 hours at moderate volume levels, and these are IPX4 splash-proof.