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The open-ear market has expanded in the last couple of years. Competition has been heating up, but despite that, quality open-ear earbuds generally cost around $150. That can go even higher, as I discovered when I reviewed the Bose Ultra Open earbuds.
The Soundcore AeroFit 2 hits the market at a great time by offering a robust open-ear product with a customizable fit that punches above its price point, competing with some products costing much more. Let’s get into it!
Soundcore AeroFit 2: Price and availability
The Soundcore AeroFit 2 is available now on Soundcore.com and Amazon.com for $99.99. Both sites are having a sale as I write this, bringing the price down to $79.99. You can pick up a pair in one of four colors: midnight, White, Minty Green, or Midnight Blue.
If you’re reading this and don’t see that sale price currently, know that the previous AeroFit earbuds were on sale six times in twelve months, so you should be able to pick up the AeroFit 2 at the lower price if you’re willing to wait.
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Categories |
Soundcore AeroFit 2 |
|---|---|
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Connectivity |
Bluetooth 5.4 |
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Speakers |
20mm x 11.5mm racetrack drivers |
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Codec support |
SBC, AAC, LDAC |
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Battery life |
10 hours per charge, 42 hours from the case |
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Charging |
Qi Wireless, USB-C |
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App support |
Android, iOS |
|
Durability |
IP55 |
Soundcore AeroFit 2: What I like
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With Soundcore, you can always count on a variety of customization options in their app, but this time around, they took it one step further and gave you some customization options in the earbuds themselves.
We’ll return to that customization in a moment, but first, let’s examine the hardware. I like the way that Soundcore sets up the status lights on its cases, and the AeroFit 2 follows a similar design language. The front of the large case has a broad LED light that pulses to let you know the charging status, among other things. You get minimal Soundcore branding on the top of the case, a USB-C port on the rear, next to the pairing button.
I have the Minty Green AeroFit 2, and it is a gorgeous color! Opening the case, you’re greeted by the jellybeans and Hot Tamales. Despite being a Type 2 diabetic, it’s candy that the AeroFit 2’s design reminds me of. Yes, the battery housings that sit behind your ears look like Hot Tamales candy, while the portions that house the speakers look like large jellybeans.
The AeroFit 2 come in a few different colors, but I love the Minty Green hue!
With these open-ear earbuds, you get hooks that loop around your ears, with a piece that holds the battery that sits behind your ears and counterbalances the speaker units that sit over, not inside, your ear canals. The portion that houses the speakers is touch sensitive, and that’s how you control all of the functions.
The muscle memory acquisition is pretty quick, but they do require you to touch a specific spot on the earbuds to activate controls. Once you have that down pat, controlling playback and call functions is simple and works reliably.
The hook is comfortable and doesn’t feel heavy. It has some soft-touch material to it, but what makes it stand out from other options on the market is the 4-position, adjustable speaker module. Once you slip the earbuds on, that module can be repositioned with a satisfying click. Adjust it in one direction, and it feels like it sits tighter to the ear; with an adjustment in the opposite direction, loosening the fit a bit.
Soundcore says that you’re supposed to adjust the kidney bean-shaped earpieces so they sit right over your ear canal, which is what I did. They were very comfortable and felt secure during runs, and lying on my back during bench presses.
Wearing the AeroFit 2 for extended periods, 4+ hours, I didn’t experience any ear fatigue or hot spots. You won’t necessarily forget you’re wearing them, but you certainly won’t get antsy to get them off your ears. The metallic colors will stand out as you wear them, and they have a bit of a reflective quality to them that may help some runners at night.
The good news about extended wear is that the battery will hold up, as long as LDAC is not activated. With the volume around 60%, I got roughly nine hours of playback, but in real-world usage, expect to charge once every couple of weeks if your use is primarily for fitness.
A ten-minute quick charge will get you up to four hours of playback. Recharging via the case will get you a total of 42 hours use with LDAC off. The case itself is easy to manage, with regard to battery, as it supports both Qi wireless and USB-C charging.
One of the areas in which open-ear products have improved most over the last couple of years is the ability to deliver better bass response. My current favorites, in terms of bass and overall sound quality, are Bose Ultra Open, Nothing Ear (Open), and Beyerdynamic Verio 200. So, naturally, when I took the time to test how sonics are reproduced, I did some A/B testing with those competitors.
First, let’s get acquainted with how the AeroFit 2 stands on its own when it comes to sound quality. The power output was the first thing I noticed when connected to a Pixel 9. Volume was very comfortable at only 60% of the max—an experience I don’t often have with Bluetooth earbuds. The earbuds perform solidly in a quiet space without competing with ambient sound.
Listening to “Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes” by Paul Simon and “Down By The River To Pray” from the “O’ Brother Where Art Thou” OST, the soundstage is robust for open-ear earbuds. Simon’s vocals can sound a bit sibilant, depending on the headphones or earbuds I’m testing. That was my experience with that track and the AeroFit 2s. It wasn’t grating or harsh but right on the edge of sibilance.
Conversely, the horns on Art Blakey’s “Moanin” can be quite harsh and grating, but the AeroFit 2’s didn’t reproduce them that way, making the track a delight to listen to.
In a quiet space, these open earbuds perform solidly with plenty of power output and a robust soundstage.
When it comes to detail and nuance, you get LDAC support, and with that, you get a respectable level of detail and nuance. You just need to be aware of the fact that activating it will drain your battery much faster.
Revisiting “Moanin’” but this time with Charles Mingus at the helm, the stereo image separation and instrumentation are quite enjoyable, although the highs lack a bit of sparkle. The track sounds great, but that feeling of almost being there is somewhat lacking in the earbuds’ reproduction of this brilliantly recorded and mastered energetic Jazz romp.
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The good news is that if there’s anything you don’t like about the AeroFit 2’s sound quality, Anker Soundcore gives you decent EQ options in their well-appointed app. I found the Jazz EQ preset to work best for me, but you can also customize your sound preference by utilizing their eight-band customizable EQ to create your own presets.
Across the board, listening to music and movies proved to be an enjoyable experience with the AeroFit 2. The app gives you options like their spatial audio #D Surround Sound setting and low-latency gaming mode to help you, along with video and gaming content.
The most important aspect of an open-ear design is its ability to pump quality sound to your brain while allowing ambient sound in. The AeroFit 2 performed well here. Playing at volumes low enough that they don’t trigger (~76dB) volume warnings, the bass still had sufficient presence, and the overall sound quality was enjoyable. You will deal with issues of auditory masking, that is, when sounds that aren’t your music have similar but louder sounds than your music and overpower it. There is no way around that with open-ear designs.
A quick note: The Anker Soundcore team added new translation functionality to the earbuds as I was going to publish. After I’ve had some time to test that, I’ll update this article with my findings.
Soundcore AeroFit 2: What could use improvement
At $100, there isn’t much to dislike about Soundcore’s accomplishments here. The sound quality is solid, but it isn’t without some caveats, mostly due to the form factor rather than any shortcomings with Soundcore’s engineering choices.
My primary concern is that the AeroFit 2 can sometimes feel a bit too dark. The lack of sparkle in higher frequencies never makes things feel muddy; there’s just a lack of brightness in vocals and instrumentation.
On tracks, games, or movies with heavy bass, you will feel the speaker module vibrating energetically against your ear. You have to have turned the volume up quite a bit and be playing something with enough bass, but the vibrations can be a bit annoying. Thankfully, at regular volumes, this wasn’t an issue.
Commonly seen in Bluetooth TWS earbuds with multipoint, if you activate LDAC or the new translation feature, you will deactivate the multipoint functionality.
Soundcore AeroFit 2: Competition
After some A/B testing between these, Bose, and Nothing earbuds, I found the AeroFit 2 in the middle regarding sound quality. I prefer the more robust EQ options, bass response, and sparkle of the Nothing Ear Open, but you’ll pay $50 for the difference, even more of a cost difference when the AeroFit 2 goes on sale.
From my testing, I didn’t find a night-and-day difference in sound quality or features between Bose and the AeroFit 2, so I can’t recommend them over the AeroFit 2 unless it’s a matter of form factor. Bose has more clarity, but the more compelling difference is that of a product having a speaker that sits over your ear versus one that sits on your earlobe, thus leaving the ear canal completely unobstructed.
For most people comparing the Nothing Ear Open and the Soundcore AeroFit 2, the latter will be the better choice based on sale pricing, battery life, slightly better water resistance, and wireless charging capability. Overall, though, I prefer the sound quality of the Nothing Ear Open, but the difference doesn’t carry enough weight for me to wholeheartedly recommend spending the additional money for it unless you comfortably have it to spend.
Soundcore AeroFit 2: Should you buy them?
You should buy the Soundcore AeroFit 2 if…
- You want/need open-ear audio
- You want wireless charging
- Cost is a deciding factor between competitors
You shouldn’t buy the Soundcore AeroFit 2 if…
- You want fuller bass response
Anker’s Soundcore AeroFit 2 stomps with the big dawgs!! Many of the competitors in this space can cost at least 50% more without a similar increase in sound quality and feature set, so the AeroFit 2 punches above its price point.
You’ll get a great app with a lot of customization, multi-point and Hi-Res Wireless Audio support, IP55 dust and water resistance, wireless charging, and standout comfort in this package, making it easy to recommend at this price point, especially when it’s on sale!
