Meanings
- not comparableSynonym of open-back (“partially covering the ear”).
The open-ear nature of the 580s is IMO their only disadvantage.
2008 June 1, Arny Krueger, “headphone surround processors?”, in rec.audio.opinion (Usenet)3 more examples
I have a Dean Bass-in-a-Box. Even with cheap headphones, IMHO it sounds great. Fine for using open-ear headphones and playing along with "music in the room".
2008 August 4, dusto...@mac.com, “Bass headphone amp recommendations?”, in alt.guitar.bass (Usenet)Some of todays best phones are from Audio Tecknica. I have the ath ad700 an open ear design.
2009 April 21, GregS, “BOSE headphones”, in rec.antiques.radio+phono (Usenet)However, so far, there’s a fairly low ceiling on audio quality for open-ear headphones — so don’t expect audiophile quality regardless.
2021 January 8, Dieter Bohn, “The JLab JBuds Frames are open-ear headphones you clip to your glasses”, in The Verge, archived from the original on 27 Sep 2022Synonyms: open-back
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveSynonym of open-back (“partially covering the ear”).
Cite this entry
open-ear. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open-ear
“open-ear.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open-ear. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “open-ear,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open-ear.
Source: open-ear on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.