Huawei might have a hard time promoting their smartphones to the global market, no thanks to the US government, but their other products (like the MateBooks) are solid. During the Mate 40 series live-streamed event, the company surprised us with a brand new Huawei Freebuds Studio, which is a wireless headphone and not earbuds.
Some may have doubts about the company's first-ever wireless headphone. That's doubly so when its retail price is RM1199, a price that few would buy without thinking carefully first. But if you're curious about its performance, read on to find out what we thought about it in our Huawei Freebuds Studio wireless headphone review.
Right off the bat, the first thing I noticed about the Freebuds Studio is that it has a design unlike any other wireless headphone, and I don't mean it in a bad way. Huawei has made an effort to ensure that wearing this wireless headphone would be a comfortable experience, which is something they have achieved. The cushions on the ear cups and band are so smooth and spongy that I could wear it all day long (several times if I may add) without feeling discomfort. That's just how good it is. However, I wouldn't recommend wearing it when you go exercise because sweat will eventually spoil the cushions.
The box comes with a nice carry case for the headphone and USB-C cable for charging
These cushions are pretty comfortable
(L-R) The ANC, Bluetooth and power button
Interestingly, the frame for the Freebuds Studio's headband is made out of stainless steel. It has a 7mm extension that lets you adjust the fit for the headphone, so most of you should be able to find the right fit. On top of that, the Touch Controls (right side only) is easy enough to figure out. For reference, you can:
- Swipe up or down for volume control
- Swipe left or right for the previous and next song respectively
- Double-tap to play/pause a song or answer/end a call
- Press hold for 2 seconds to activate voice assistant or reject a call
Since it's a Huawei device, pairing it with a Huawei phone is much easier. You can also pair your phone and PC/laptop to the Freebuds Studio via Bluetooth, by switching on the Bluetooth button next to the power button on the right outer earcup and wait for the signal. There's also a button on the left outer earcup for the Intelligent Dynamic Active Noise Cancellation, which comes in three modes.
The outer earcup is spacious enough to accommodate Touch Controls
If you take it off and lay it around your neck, wear detection kicks in and your current media file will be paused. However, sometimes the heat from your collarbone would accidentally activate the feature
Dual Device Connection allows you to connect to two devices at the same time, but you can only listen to one device at a time
According to the official website, the three modes are General, Cozy, and Ultra Mode. General is pretty self-explanatory, so I'm going to skip that because you are probably more interested in how well the ANC works. In short, it works, but not perfectly. Long story short, if I can still hear myself washing my hands at the sink, the wind from my fan while watching movies, or a small dog with a tame bark from another room while using Ultra Mode with music on, then it's not exactly the "best noise cancellation technology" as Huawei claimed. The ANC does filter out some of the environment and you can definitely feel the vacuum effect, but you won't get 100% sound-proof.
That's the bad news (for audiophiles with high standards), but there are other redeeming features. Network calling with the wireless headphone is great thanks to the 6-mic Call Noise Cancellation. When I took a few calls from my phone and the Zoom app with it, my friends and colleagues could hear me pretty well. It's also worth mentioning that the Bluetooth signal is strong, thanks to a dual-antenna design that provides a wider signal coverage. Even if I go to the next room or upstairs, the connection isn't likely to break off.
Of course, the one thing that you would want to know is the audio quality. At first, I felt that Huawei did a good job of delivering the sounds. To further enhance the listening experience, Huawei integrated a Tee Audio Tube (TAT) Acoustic structure, so that both of your ears can hear everything. Casual users are probably gonna love it, but perhaps not for audiophiles (me). You see, there's a problem with the TAT feature, something that's also mentioned on the website - it filters out medium and high-frequency noise, which affects some song genres like rock.
Testing songs from YouTube Music
To best way to explain this is to use a song like The Gazette - Pledge (Traces Vol.2). If you listen to this song back to back on different headphones, a sharp ear would immediately notice that the electric guitars often get overshadowed by the drum bass and bass guitar, and this happens quite often in similar genres. It's like when you visit a live concert and for some reason, the sound technician lowers the electric guitar volume and increases the drum bass or bass guitar's volume instead. Apart from that, everything else sounds good despite the weird emphasis on bass, though I'm sure some people prefer that.
I also tested the Freebuds Studio with some movies and video games. Overall, it performed well enough for content like that. But what really excelled was its superb battery performance, which took a long time to completely drain. For recharging, it only takes less than an hour, though it does depend on your adapter's charging speed. By the way, if you leave it alone without switching off for too long, there's a 1-2 second delay before the audio kicks in if you when you start playing something again.
For RM1199, I think this is a fairly good first attempt from Huawei. Of all its features, battery performance is the biggest highlight, followed by clear network calling, comfort, and good audio performance (for casual music lovers). However, they still have a lot to do before being able to match other well-known audio brands, namely Sony. For example, I've had my Sony WH-1000XM3 for almost 2 years now and it's easily the better choice in terms of ANC quality and music balance.
So, that's my review on the Huawei Freebuds Studio, but what do you think? Do you agree and have you tried it? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more tech reviews at TechNave.com.
Tech specs and features
- 4 Hz to 48 kHz frequency
- 40 mm dynamic driver
- L2HC High-resolution Codec, transfer seed up to 960kbps
- Measures 194 x 152 x 81.5mm, weighs 260g
- Intelligent Dynamic ANC, Hear-through Mode, 6-mic Call Noise Cancellation, Dual Device Connection, Wear detection
- Bluetooth 5.2 version
- 410mAh battery (charging time about 60 minutes)
- Up to 8 and 24 hours in music playback from a single charge with ANC enabled and disabled respectively
Pros: Super long battery life, clear network calling, very comfortable to wear, and good audio performance (for casual music lovers)
Cons: ANC could have been better and there's too much emphasis on the bass, tough competition against other well-known brands who have better wireless headphones as well
Conclusion: A good first attempt from Huawei making their first wireless headphone, Huawei fans might like it, as it is part of the Huawei ecosystem
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