Synonym of open-back(“partially covering the ear”)
2008 June 1, Arny Krueger, “headphone surround processors?”, in rec.audio.opinion[1] (Usenet):
The open-ear nature of the 580s is IMO their only disadvantage.
2008 August 4, dusto...@mac.com, “Bass headphone amp recommendations?”, in alt.guitar.bass[2] (Usenet):
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".
2009 April 21, GregS, “BOSE headphones”, in rec.antiques.radio+phono[3] (Usenet):
Some of todays best phones are from Audio Tecknica. I have the ath ad700 an open ear design.
2021 January 8, Dieter Bohn, “The JLab JBuds Frames are open-ear headphones you clip to your glasses”, in The Verge[4], archived from the original on 2022-09-27:
However, so far, there’s a fairly low ceiling on audio quality for open-ear headphones — so don’t expect audiophile quality regardless.