They sound good in open mode. If they don’t cover your ear canals, the Aerofit 2 Pro rank among the best open earbuds in their price class, with an airy sound signature that naturally focuses on the upper registers. While no open earbuds I’ve tried emphasize bass as well as regular buds, the Aerofit 2 Pro has less resonance than most, along with splashes of intricate instrumental detail and clear stereo separation.

Stray Noise

Photo: Ryan Waniata

The biggest issue I have with these “best of both worlds” earbuds is the noise cancellation which is not only limited but also unstable and inconsistent. This is almost entirely due to the lack of eartips, which prevents a proper seal. We all have reasons favorite noise canceling buds comes with multiple eartip sizes to fit your ear canals; a good seal is paramount to effective noise cancellation.

High-register noises and midrange sounds are the worst offenders, especially voices. During one of my wife’s video calls, her voice seemed to constantly migrate from one ear to the other as the noise cancellation tried to adjust to the natural movements of my head. It was a dizzying experience, listening as the onboard microphones worked to drown out the noise like sailors bailing out a leaky ship.

The low-frequency drone sounds like bathroom fans or the noise of the refrigerator is better, but I continue to experience issues with important use cases like carrying my trash, where the rumble of the wheels keeps fading in and out.

Soundcore’s PR team is quick to point out the Aerofit 2 Pro’s limitations, saying the experience is “very subjective” and “not intended to replace fully sealed in-ear ANC earbuds in extreme noise environments.” That’s fine, but it begs the question: What are we doing here?

The Aerofit 2 Pro are a fair pair of open earbuds, but their heavy-duty design works too well for a feature that can’t compete with even standard noise cancellations. It’s hard not to think of noise canceling open buds as a solution looking for a problem, especially when you can get a solid pair of regular open earbuds like Acefit Air for under $30. On the other hand, the Aerofit 2 Pro fails almost to work. Can the eartips break the case? Honestly, I hope we get a second generation to find out.

If you can only buy one pair of earbuds, it won’t be the Aerofit 2 Pro. This is AirPods Pro, Bose QuietComfort Ultraor any of the many cheaper ANC buds that effectively block out ambient sounds and offer strong transparency mode to hear the world around you when you want. Better yet, you might just get one good cheap pair to each one. Open earbuds have a lot of benefits, and the idea of ​​giving them noise cancellation is a good one in theory, but the Aerofit Pro 2 has a lot of compromises that you can pair.