oladance OWS 2 headphones review – comfortable for all day use

REVIEW – I have a surplus of wireless earbuds and headphones around the house these days thanks to freebies with phone purchases over the years and other Gadgeteer reviews, but my partner has a very difficult time finding earbuds that fit her ear canals without pain or pressure and she hates headphones. I volunteered to review the oladance OWS 2 headphones to see if they could give her a good listening experience without the pain she’s constantly endured with in-ear buds.

What is it?

The oladance OWS 2 headphones are wireless Bluetooth headphones that loop around your ear (rather than in or over the ears). They can connect to just about any device that supports Bluetooth, and have up to 19 hours of continuous listening time. This style of headphones has been recommended to me multiple times specifically for people that struggle with in-ear buds.

What’s included?

• oladance OWS 2 headphones
• Carrying case
• Type-C USB cable
• User manual
• ear supports

Tech specs

Design and features

When I first opened the oladance OWS 2 headphones box, I was surprised by the size of the case. This case is almost as large as a case for a pair of compact reading glasses, and at least twice as large as the average set of earbuds (I have various Google, OnePlus, Sony, Creative, and Samsung models cluttering my drawers). It is light and thin though, so while it wasn’t comfortable for me for carrying in my front pockets in my pants, it was a good size and fit for my partner’s handbag.

Inside the case are the oladance OWS 2 headphones themselves, nestled against charging pins underneath each half. Judging from the weight and design, the battery is contained in the lower part of the headphones, while the speakers and microphones are in the larger section.

The case itself doesn’t contain any extra battery, it simply charges the headphones when plugged into USB-C power. The oladance OWS 2 headphones charge from empty to full in about 2 hours.

The headphones loop over the top of your ear, with the black speaker area in the photo above sitting right over your ear canal and small slits for the microphones facing forward.

Assembly, Installation, Setup

The setup of the oladance OWS 2 headphones is as simple as charging them by plugging the USB-C cable into an available power port (an LED indicates charging status). You can use them right out of the box by connecting to a mobile device or computer, though there’s also a dedicated mobile app for optional settings and extra features.

In fact, the headphones popped right up on my phone without me needing to go into Bluetooth settings (a feature that newer Bluetooth devices support, and I love). Once connected, battery status is reported on my phone. In the app you have an overview screen with some controls.

I was prompted to do a firmware update, which went off without a hitch after a few minutes. I played with the equalizer settings including the presets as well as fully custom EQ settings. Oladance gives pretty good granular control over the sound with 8 band adjustments.

The screenshots above show the user account page, additional settings screen, and customizing the touch controls – you can assign one of many different functions to single, double, and triple taps as well as sliding forward and back.

Performance

I tested the oladance OWS 2 headphones by using them as my primary headphones for several weeks, and with a variety of music genres, shows, and podcasts/audiobooks. I loved how comfortable they are, and on multiple occasions forgot I was even wearing headphones (something I never forget when I’ve got an earbud in either ear). Some of my earbuds have an ambient sound setting so you can hear the world around you better while wearing them, but none are as good as the OWS 2’s design. Since it’s not sealing your ear canal, you can hear everything around you as if you weren’t wearing earbuds or headphones at all. Obviously, if you crank your music up, then it’s harder to hear things, but if you’re someone who likes to listen while jogging or cycling, these could be a great option that would allow you to still hear traffic or verbal communication.

While I loved the ergonomics and ability to hear ambient sounds around me, I wasn’t blown away by the sound quality. I may have been spoiled by some great earbuds and headphones the last few years, but after trying all the equalizer presets and playing with the custom equalizer settings, I can tell a distinct quality difference between the OWS 2 headphones and my latest daily drivers (Google Pixel Buds Pro). In tracks with a wide sound space or lots of instruments, I can clearly hear each individual instrument on the Pixel Buds Pro, but not so much on the oladance OWS 2 headphones. The bass is good, and they don’t sound bad, and after using them for a few weeks I had forgotten the difference until I switched back (and the Google buds sounded fantastic by comparison).

What I like about the oladance OWS 2 headphones

• Possibly the most comfortable audio device I’ve ever worn
• Great for active workouts, I could do anything short of boxing with them staying perfectly in place
• All day battery life without requiring a fast recharge in the case

What needs to be improved?

• At this price point, I had expected better sound quality. The bass is good, but the overall quality is a peg below several other ~$100 earbuds and headphones I tested against.
• Case is larger than most earbuds (though smaller than most headphones)

Final thoughts

If the oladance OWS 2 headphones had just a bit better overall audio quality or a bit lower price, I would have suggested them to multiple friends and family that have also voiced annoyance at most earbuds. I think they’re a great set of headphones for active outdoor activities or for wearing all day, and my partner will definitely be using them instead of earbuds based on comfort alone. I like the long battery life in the headphones themselves, but the large case definitely would deter me from making them my carry-everywear headphones (unless I really couldn’t stand the more portable earbud options I currently use).

Price: $149.99
Where to buy: oladance, Best Buy, Target, and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by oladance. Oladance did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.