Cleer ARC 5 Review: The Open-Ear Headphones That Finally Got Everything Right

I Was Skeptical About Open-Ear Headphones. The ARC 5 Changed That.

Let me be honest with you: I’ve been testing the Cleer ARC line since the very beginning, from the ARC 3 onward. And each generation, the same question nags at me — can headphones that don’t go in your ear really compete with premium earbuds? The Cleer ARC 5 is the first version where the answer is a clear, unqualified yes. Not “yes, for the category.” Just yes.

But before I explain why, let me be upfront about what the other reviewers and real users are saying — because there are things about open-ear headphones that almost nobody tells you before you spend $219.

What Nobody Tells You About Open-Ear Headphones

The open-ear category has a marketing problem. The ads show people jogging on empty beaches or working at beautiful desks in silence. What they don’t show: what happens when you try to use them on a noisy subway, in a busy café, or anywhere with ambient sound above a gentle hum.

Here’s the honest truth that most reviews bury: open-ear headphones are not a replacement for traditional earbuds in loud environments. Multiple reviewers and long-term owners across the ARC line confirm this consistently. If you’re on a commuter train, walking through a busy market, or trying to focus in a noisy open-plan office, you will be fighting against ambient noise the entire time. The design that makes them comfortable and awareness-friendly is the same design that lets the world in when the world gets loud.

That said — for the right use cases, they’re extraordinary. And the ARC 5 has specific technology upgrades that genuinely make it a different product from everything that came before it.

What’s Actually New on the ARC 5 (And Why It Matters)

The Cleer ARC 5 isn’t a minor refresh. Three upgrades set it apart in a meaningful way:

1. THX Spatial Audio + Dolby Atmos — together. The ARC 5 is the first earbud ever to combine both certifications simultaneously. In practice, what this means is that when you play a spatial audio track on Spotify or Apple Music, the soundstage shifts as you move your head. Turn your head to the left, and the drums stay where they were in the room. Look right, and the vocals shift. It’s one of those features that sounds like a marketing bullet point until you actually experience it — and then you can’t un-hear it. Other reviewers have called it “feeling like your brain is directly in the center of a giant concert,” which matches my own experience exactly.

2. The touchscreen charging case. This is genuinely the best case I’ve seen on any earbud, period. The AMOLED touchscreen displays the time, battery level for each bud, and Bluetooth connectivity status. But more usefully, you can control playback — skip tracks, pause, adjust EQ — directly from the case without picking up your phone. Previous versions of the ARC had charging cases that felt like an afterthought. The ARC 5 case feels like the main product.

3. 60-hour total battery with fast charge. The earbuds themselves deliver around 8-10 hours, with the case contributing the rest. The fast charge feature gives you two hours of listening from five minutes in the case. For daily use, most people charge once a week.

The Fit: This Is What Converts Skeptics

Here’s what stopped me from buying open-ear headphones for years: the images looked uncomfortable. A rigid hook behind the ear, a floating driver near the canal — it looked like wearing a futuristic hearing aid.

Reality: you forget they’re there. The hook loops over the ear with a flexible membrane that makes contact so lightly it borders on imperceptible. I wore them for a three-hour session and genuinely forgot about them during a run. That’s the defining experience of the ARC 5 — not the spatial audio, not the case, but the moment you realize you’ve been wearing them for two hours without once thinking about your ears.

One note on fit and glasses: if you wear glasses or sunglasses regularly, the ear hook can occasionally interfere with the temples depending on your frame shape. It’s not a dealbreaker but worth knowing. Reviewers with larger ear lobes also note the driver can sit slightly higher than the ideal position, which can subtly affect the listening experience.

The Sound Quality: Better Than the Competition, But With a Known Trade-Off

Compared to the Shokz OpenFit — the most popular open-ear alternative — the ARC 5 wins clearly on audio quality. The ARC line has historically featured larger drivers than Shokz, and it shows in the midrange clarity and overall detail retrieval. One trusted reviewer who tested multiple open-ear models side-by-side found the ARC’s driver “outperformed” the Shokz OpenFit Air, describing the Shokz sound as “overly bright” by comparison.

Where the ARC 5 — like all open-ear headphones — concedes ground to traditional earbuds is in bass. There is bass. The DBE 4.0 (Dynamic Bass Enhancement) system does meaningful work. But physics is physics: without a seal in the ear canal, you lose the low-frequency pressure that makes bass feel physical. If bass is central to what you listen to — hip-hop, EDM, heavy electronic music — you will notice its absence. For everything else — podcasts, acoustic music, rock, jazz, spatial audio content, gaming soundtracks — the ARC 5 sounds exceptional.

For gaming specifically, the spatial audio performance is remarkable. The ARC 5 paired with a Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck produces directional audio that gives you a genuine competitive and immersive advantage in games that use full orchestral soundtracks and detailed sound design.

Real-World Use: Where the ARC 5 Wins and Where It Struggles

Living in St. Maarten, my use cases are probably different from someone in downtown Toronto — but the core scenarios translate universally.

Where they excel: Running and cycling where road awareness is a safety issue. Working from home where you need to hear a doorbell, a pet, or a family member. Long listening sessions where ear fatigue from silicone tips has been a problem. Movie watching with spatial audio enabled. Any outdoor activity where you want music without disconnecting from the environment.

Where they struggle: Noisy environments — busy streets, airports, crowded markets. If the ambient noise level rises above moderate, you’ll be fighting the world for your music rather than enjoying it. The open design that makes them comfortable for eight-hour sessions is the same design that lets every outdoor sound compete with your audio.

This isn’t a criticism unique to the ARC 5 — it’s the fundamental trade-off of the entire open-ear category. Cleer doesn’t claim otherwise. But it’s the most important thing to know before buying.

ARC 5 vs. Shokz OpenFit: Which Should You Actually Buy?

If budget is the deciding factor, the Shokz OpenFit at ~$179 is a solid, simpler open-ear option. If audio quality, spatial audio, gaming, and battery life matter more than price, the ARC 5 wins without much contest. The touchscreen case alone is worth the premium for many users.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict: 5/5 — For the Right Person

The Cleer ARC 5 is the best open-ear headphone available right now. The touchscreen case is genuinely innovative and makes every other charging case feel dated. The spatial audio — Dolby Atmos and THX together — is something you have to experience to fully appreciate. The 60-hour battery means you’re charging once a week. The comfort is exceptional for long sessions.

But we’ll say it one more time because it’s the most important thing: these are not the right headphones for noisy environments. They’re the right headphones for runners, cyclists, work-from-home professionals, gamers who want spatial audio, and anyone whose ears have suffered through years of silicone tips. If that’s you, you won’t regret spending the $219. Check today’s price on Amazon →