Review: Acefast Acefit Air Open Earbuds

In the swelling tide of open earbuds, it can be easy to overlook an underdog. When Acefast’s Acefit Air first came to my attention, they seemed like any other pair of budget ear hooks, the baseline design for buds that let you listen to tunes while keeping your ears open to the world.

I was delightfully surprised once I got them out of the box, starting with their spyware-thin charging case harboring stylishly slim buds with a touch of metallic flair. The Acefit Air’s daily performance is similarly satisfying, marked by responsive controls and crisp yet warm sound for solid musicality across genres.

These aren’t the most feature-packed open earbuds, and the fit can be finicky, especially when you first stretch the pliable hooks across the back of your ears. At $80, those drawbacks are easy to overlook, and I had a blast using these buds across my outdoor activities for multiple weeks.

Slim and Stylin’

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

There’s something utterly satisfying about the Acefit Air’s case. When peeking through the bulky box’s plastic bubble, it looks like any number of oversized clamshells. That made it all the more impressive to find it's perhaps the thinnest case of any buds I’ve tested, slipping easily into jeans or shorts pockets. The flat-matte finish adds to the vibe, though it tends to collect oil from your skin inside and out over time.

The buds are similarly sleek. Though they weigh around 7.5 grams (the AirPods Pro 2 are just over 5), they’re lighter and less obtrusive than most earhook buds I’ve tested. Acefast says that’s due in part to an “ultra-fine titanium wire” within the hooks tested for 10,000 bends. The fit is so loose and comfy you’d think they’d fall off, but they’re well balanced and I have yet to lose one while walking, hiking, biking, or otherwise tramping around.

It can be tough to get the speakers and accompanying vents properly aligned with my ears, particularly the right one, due to the way the buds are designed to dangle outside your canals. I’ve gotten used to it, but I usually need to make some adjustments to the right bud, finding that pulling it forward usually locks in the stereo image.

While putting the buds in, I often hear the telltale beep of their metallic touch sensors, yet Acefast has seemingly made them unresponsive for the first few seconds, so I rarely make mistakes. Most importantly, unlike a lot of open earbuds I test, the touch pads are responsive, letting me easily single-tap for volume, double-tap for play/pause, and triple-tap for song skip even in compromising situations like an ebike ride. Simply working reliably puts these buds ahead of the game.

Speaking of ebikes, the buds aren’t the best at overcoming wind resistance, but they do a decent job, letting me listen to tunes or podcasts at moderate speeds without the need to blast my ears. That's a huge benefit of open earbuds over traditional buds that rely on microphones that easily get overwhelmed by wind shear and resistance.

Triple Punch

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Within each bud’s rubbery frame is a “three-magnet ultra linear speaker” that accounts for the Acefit Air’s impressive sound quality. Acefast says the speakers reduce distortion, and they’re plenty loud to the point that I rarely pushed them above a third of max volume. That’s a good thing, since turning on the EQ in Acefast’s app oddly lowers said volume, but I didn’t find the need to use EQ anyway.

I was immediately struck by the Acefit Air’s clean approach to vocal and instrumental entrances as the different colors and textures join the mix. There’s solid detail, especially for instruments like percussion and acoustic guitar, and some nice warmth in the lower registers, even if it’s not quite as full or intimate as pricier options like Soundcore’s Aeroclip (8/10, WIRED Recommends) and Bose’s Open Ultra (7/10, WIRED Recommends). Higher instruments like horns or woodwinds can come off a little thin and bright, but things never got sharp or snappy.

You won’t find a lot of deep bass here, but bass isn’t a strong point for any open earbuds. It’s very difficult to reproduce convincing low-end punch without a tight seal, something open earbuds don’t offer by definition.

Even if you’re willing to spend up for the priciest open buds, you’re better off focusing on how they enhance the world around you and keeping sound quality as an afterthought. Doing so provided an enjoyable experience across my catalog, from podcasts to jazz, rock, and acoustic tracks.

Tight Package

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The Acefit Air are fairly light on extras, but that's not too surprising for their price point. The app is basic, with only a few options, like the ability to customize the controls and a multiband EQ. Missing are extras like a device finder or Google Fast Pair, let alone fancy performance features like the spatial audio support found in Bose’s pair.

Acefast’s pair does have multipoint pairing for dual device connection, though instead of using the app, initial pairing requires you to turn off Bluetooth on your phone to force pairing for the second device, then turn it back on once connected. I successfully connected two sources, and it works pretty well, even if it sometimes takes an extra tap or two to get back to my iPhone from my MacBook.

IP54 dust/water resistance means the buds have splash protection but aren’t dunkable, though that’s true with most pairs we test, including some at double or triple the cost. At around six hours per charge (25 hours with the case), battery life is decidedly fine. You can likely push it further at low volume, and I never felt battery anxiety, but I’m also not one to wear earbuds all day outside of testing situations.

Like all open earbuds, the Acefit Air are primed for outdoor activities, from your daily dog walk to bolder adventures, and I keep finding new ways to use them. A go-to favorite is watching or listening to sports while keeping in check with the household, something that’s likely to come in particularly handy with a kid on the way. They also work well for calls, though they don't offer the kind of sound isolation found in high-end options.

Without any sound blocking or noise cancellation, open earbuds aren’t truly multipurpose—you wouldn’t use them for a long flight or even your daily train commute. That’s why I love getting a deal, and the Acefit Air are certainly that. I haven’t tested a better pair in their price class, making these a great option for those looking to step lightly into the open bud world.