I’m not too proud to admit when I’m wrong. I’ve never been a big fan of open earbuds, often arguing that they’re no match for the convenience and versatility of more traditional noise-canceling earbuds that can both let in and block out the world around you on command. But Bose’s lavishly addictive Ultra Open Earbuds (7/10, WIRED Recommends) have made me a believer.

The open-ear genre is one of the hottest in portable audio right now, even with mixed results. From audio sunglasses like the Meta Ray-Bans (6/10, WIRED Reviewed) to pulsing bone conductors like the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 (8/10, WIRED Recommends), there’s a flurry of gadgets designed to keep your ears open and attuned to your environment even as you blast your favorite sounds. Open earbuds are the most ubiquitous of the new breed, with nearly every major audio brand offering a version for better and, often, for worse.

Up to now, Sony’s Linkbuds (now in their second generation) provided the best experience with the least compromises I’ve tried thanks to solid sound and a relatively comfy fit. Bose’s meticulously designed Ultra Open Earbuds are better (albeit at a much higher price). After a rocky start, including some early connection woes, they’ve persistently, almost doggedly worn me down to become an integral part of my daily routine.

A Better Fit

A good fit is relatively easy to accomplish for traditional earbuds that insert into your ears—especially after several years of evolution. Open earbuds are trickier.

Bose engineers know this as well as anyone. The company’s first try, the Sport Open Earbuds, were essentially a flop. They used a now-common design approach, curling around the back of your ears and over the top to beam sound down toward the ear canals. It worked OK, but the buds were heavy, awkward, and the fit wasn’t particularly stable. So the company threw out the playbook and started from scratch.

The Ultra Open are like nothing I’ve tried before. Their unique, dare I say revolutionary design comprises a rollable coil that extends and retracts as needed to clip onto the bottoms of your ears. It’s a little awkward at first, but it provides a stable fit with minimal pinching, seeming to almost disappear after a few minutes. A barrel-shaped endcap harbors the battery and a push-button control, while a snake-like head at the other end spits sound toward your canal.

It’s a comfier, more wearable solution for my money than Sony’s, where the brand uses a figure-eight housing with a ring-shaped driver up top that lets exterior sounds pass through its center hole. The Ultra Open’s wrappable design keeps your ears fully unfettered for better transparency, while both designs easily outdo semi-open buds like Apple’s standard AirPods.

Bose’s design is also more versatile, letting the buds extend fully around your ears, and retract neatly to fit into a compact charging case. Even the magnets inside the case are thoughtfully designed, with whip-sharp force that snaps them in place to recharge their seven-hour battery.

The biggest pain point is clipping the buds on, which takes some getting used to. I put them on backward the first time, mistaking their backside vents for sound holes. You’ll likely need to make some adjustments to align them with your ear holes, or the stereo image may be out of balance which is disorienting and hinders the sound quality.

Sweeter Sound

Once they’re properly in place, the Ultra Open’s sound performance is the best I’ve heard in the genre. The company summoned all its acoustical trickery to target the sound so that music and podcasts almost seem to appear in your head for intimate yet airy performance.

I had a similar experience with Bose’s audio sunglasses, the Frames (sadly discontinued), but the Ultra Open’s sound is more advanced. It’s clear and polished, with more full-bodied bass than the Frames or the Sport Open. It’s still not as booming as you’ll get in traditional wireless earbuds, but it’s full enough to balance the sound signature, and trounces most cheaper open-ear models I’ve tested.

You’ll also get Bose’s 3D virtualization technology with head tracking. I’m not a huge fan of these formats, preferring straight stereo sound in the majority of circumstances. I’d gladly trade it for more convenience features like a wireless charging case or, better yet, a decent discount on the Ultra Open’s price tag. Still, it could come in handy, especially for video.

More Ways Than One

Even at more manageable pricing, the inherent limitations of buds that always let sound in has long been my biggest barrier of entry. In most cases, great noise-canceling earbuds like Apple’s AirPods Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends) fulfill my needs with natural-sounding transparency mode when I want to check in, and swift rejection of exterior sounds to check out.

The most obvious scenario for fully open buds is keeping naturally aware in precarious environments while walking, jogging, and especially bike riding, where wind sheer easily blows out the microphones in regular buds. WIRED editor Adrienne So loves open earbuds for keeping aware of others at the gym. I still never found those cases compelling enough to recommend most folks spend hundreds on a secondary pair you can’t use for a flight or a noisy coffee shop.

After testing the Bose long term, I began to unlock niche use cases that even the best noise-canceling buds can’t match. Dog walks are blissfully better, especially with any trace of wind, which can blast your ears when using transparency mode. I used to just roll with a single bud for those situations, with one ear open for awareness. Now, I recoil at the thought of settling for mono sound on our morning stroll, even if the traffic sometimes harshes the vibe.

I soon found other idiosyncratic ways in which these buds fill the gap, from working in the office or kitchen while chatting with my wife to strolling through a store or conversing with the neighbors over yard work. Why kill the tunes, when you can have it all?

Bose has been working on additional ways to give its pricey buds a higher value quotient. If you’ve got a new Bose soundbar like the Smart Soundbar (8/10, WIRED Recommends), the Open Earbuds can now double as personalized surround sound speakers, creating a sort of AR experience between the soundbar in the room and the surround effects in your head.

Maybe my favorite (and silliest) case for the Ultra Open came on a recent Thanksgiving trip to my wife’s parents’ house. American Football is a Thanksgiving staple in most households, but not theirs. There’s only a single basement TV, no cable or antenna, and no one else even casually interested. No matter! I had my Open Earbuds and my phone, allowing me to keep tabs on the games while still maintaining polite conversation. The pinnacle came while I casually imbibed a viewing of Tim Allen’s The Santa Clause, chatted with the family, and watched my alma mater win their first playoff game, all at the same time. Now that’s multi-tasking.

The Ultra Open Earbuds aren’t always the right choice, and many times they’re the wrong one. I think everyone needs a good pair of noise-canceling buds, and many may not be able to justify a second pair, especially one with a $300 list price. That’s higher than many flagship noise cancellers.

Even so, I can no longer deny the benefits of a good pair of open-ear buds, and these are the best I’ve found. To borrow a phrase, the Ultra Open spark joy, and I’ve come to rely on them on the daily. You win, Bose. I’m hooked.