'An odd choice': Cleer has put audiophile-grade perks in open earbuds, and
I'm confused

Date:
Mon, 16 Mar 2026 12:52:11 +0000

Description:
Cleer Audio's new Arc 5 open earbuds offer THX and Dolby Atmos spatial audio, in a confusing package.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get the TechRadar Newsletter Sign up for
breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Cleer Arc 5 have been unveiled Premium open earbuds with sports loop Offer Dolby Atmos and THX Spatial Audio I was under the impression that the best open earbuds were designed for sports users, but I must have missed a memo. The Cleer Arc 5 have just been unveiled, and they're aimed at a very
different market.

These new earbuds, unveiled only four months after the Arc 4, are undoubtedly premium buds; they cost $219.99 (about 170, AU$340), and to my mind only the $299 / 299 / AU$449.95 Bose Ultra Open Earbuds cost more although the 2026-launch Shokz OpenFit Pro are roughly the same price as these new Cleer buds (and also offer spatial audio support, albeit not the THX-certified kind). From a glance at the specs list, there's a lot to like from Cleer
here. The buds have 16.2mm drivers, up to 12 hours of stamina in the buds (up to 60 with the case), support for a wide range of wireless codecs LDAC, aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless and a case with a built-in touch screen. But it doesn't seem like that's all. Article continues below You may like The best feature of Sonos' headphones is coming to earbuds at last Ive worn the
all-new Shokz open earbuds for 4 days and the noise reduction is so good, I forget theyre open-ear The best open earbuds, all real-world tested by our experts

The name of the Cleer Arc 5 game is, according to the company, that special kind of spatial audio. Not only are the earbuds optimized for Dolby Atmos,
but they're certified for THX Spatial Audio too, using head tracking. As far as I can recall, that's brand-new for open earbuds (the aforementioned Shokz set can do head-tracked immersive audio, but they don't come with the THX badge of approval). Traces of spatial audio Spatial audio tools like Dolby Atmos and THX aren't just useful for movies or gaming; they help build on the soundstage of your music. It's a feature popular with some (though not all) audiophiles, since it can bridge the gap between affordable and high-end kit.

But you know what's not so popular among audiophiles? Open earbuds. This form factor is useful for safety when you're in busy public areas, but the nature of the beast is typically that the audio quality suffers.

In this kind of earbud, the driver is held a little further away from your
ear there is no seal created betwixt ear canal and ear-tip to maximise the sound wave's journey from driver to ear drum. Surrounding sound gets in, and detail, definition and impact (particularly through the bass) are lost as a result. Even the best open earbuds usually struggle with audio quality, compared to budget in-ears. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from
us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

So it feels like an odd choice for Cleer to be offering fancy codec support and features within open earbuds, since you may not really get to appreciate them owing to their physical design.

Despite features like Dynamic Bass Enhancement, which could go some way
toward fixing this problem, I'd still be surprised if you can really appreciate spatial audio when noisy traffic is zooming and honking all around you.

I bet they'll sound fantastic when you're somewhere quiet, though: the specs list puts them above and beyond most alternatives I've tested recently.

I've been proven wrong about open earbuds in the past, and hopefully I will
be again. Otherwise, it's going to be hard to justify the meaty price tag on open earbuds you can't appreciate The best open earbuds for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best open earbuds 1. Best overall: Shokz OpenFit 2+ 2. Best cheap around-ear design: Huawei FreeArc 3. Best cheap clip design: Shokz OpenDots One 4. Best high-end clip design: Bose Ultra Open Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/earbuds-airpods/an-odd-choice-cleer-has-put-au diophile-grade-perks-in-open-earbuds-and-im-confused


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)