Content
- TECH SPECS
- Contents of delivery
- Positioning
- Graphic Design
- Materials
- Head landing
- Connectors and buttons
- Noise suppression
- About sound
- Working hours
- Impression
TECH SPECS
- Dimensions: 165x150x81 mm
- Weight: 260 grams
- Emitter: 40 mm
- Frequency: 4 Hz – 48 kHz
- Codecs: AAC, SBC, L2HC (Huawei phones only)
- Active noise cancellation: yes
- Connection: Bluetooth version 5.2, USB-C
- Battery capacity: 410mAh
- Microphones: yes, 6 for ANC noise reduction
- Color: black or gold
Contents of delivery
- Headphones
- cover
- USB-C charging cable
- Quick Start Guide
- Safety instructions
- Warranty Card
Positioning
Late last year, Huawei introduced the Sound speaker and FreeBuds Studio over-ear headphones with Active Adaptive Noise Canceling. But it was the headphones that reached the reviewers just now.
The FreeBuds Studio is the answer to popular headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM4 (terrible name, you have to choose something more memorable), Bose QC35 II and partly Apple AirPods Max. Although the latter fly into space with their cost of 63 rubles.
The novelty from Huawei stands out for its impressive active noise cancellation thanks to the presence of as many as six microphones: two of them on the inside, four on the outside of the case. The manufacturer claims that the frequency range of FreeBuds Studio is 4Hz – 48kHz. Here it is worth understanding that a healthy person hears at best from 10 Hz to 21 kHz. Therefore, Huawei could write like this: from 1 Hz to 100 kHz – try to prove the opposite.
The L2HC codec is declared with a data transfer rate of 960 Kbps, but it only works with Huawei devices, which I have not reviewed for a long time. FreeBuds Studio headphones can also connect to two devices at the same time. For example, I watched movies on the MateBook X and received notifications from the iPhone 12.
The first headphone impression was amazing. But the longer I listened to music on them, the more questions arose. In this article, we will understand how good Huawei FreeBuds Studio is.
The price at the moment is 26 rubles.
Graphic Design
I am sure that there will be no questions about the appearance of this model. Despite being classic, Huawei has made FreeBuds Studio refined and sophisticated. If the materials were leather and steel, then I would put the maximum rating on Huawei headphones. Unfortunately, leather and plastic substitutes are used here. Yes, the hinges are metal, but that’s all.
Most importantly, FreeBuds Studio is unlike any other popular headphone. It seems to me that this is good – the recognition will be high.
The device was brought to me for review in gold color (it is officially named that way). I liked the color: it is soft, not repulsive, not bright, but not pale either.
Another pleasant thing: the designers did not get carried away with the decor of the headphones: everything to a minimum, without flashy decoration elements, emphasizing attention with the help of color (for example, red buttons, levers, and so on). Everything is done in one style, tone, color. In general, there is nothing to dig into.
Materials
As I wrote earlier, FreeBuds Studio are made of leatherette (at least I didn’t find the opposite information), plastic and metal. The quality is high, again there is nothing to complain about.
The outer part of the headband is soft-touch plastic: soft and slightly sliding material, durable and almost unaffected by external influences.
The inner part of the headband is made of leatherette: on the right and on the left, the headband is sealed with something, and the central area is soft.
Plastic cups. The material is familiar, but high quality painted.
The headband is attached to the cups with metal hinges. The mechanism is swivel, approximately 160 degrees.
The ear pads are also made of leatherette. Soft and durable. You cannot replace it yourself.
Head landing
The hinges extend almost 45 mm on each side. Thus, the headphones can be worn on a head of a rather impressive diameter. The minimum size suited me.
The fit is perfect, the impression is that the headphones are hanging in the air. Even after a couple of hours, the head does not get tired, and the ears do not sweat. Everything is individual here, but FreeBuds Studio suited me 100%. Usually they compare it as if he got into his house slippers. I hope you have a similar experience with headphones.
No pressure is created inside the headphones, passive isolation is close to ideal: many noises are cut off already at this stage without the use of active “noise reduction”. Right now I am sitting and typing text on the keyboard. I note that I hardly hear the knocking of fingers on the buttons. The only thing that I easily catch: “I am a very, very important person! A person!” – from my daughter’s column, which for some reason ended up on my desk. ?
Connectors and buttons
On the left cup there is a mechanical button to turn on and off various functions: noise cancellation and “transparency” (you can hear the sounds around you better than when you turn off the “noise reduction”).
On the right cup – USB-C, power and sync buttons via Bluetooth.
There are also holes on the cups bodies covered with metal nets. There, apparently, there are microphones. For those who are not in the know, there are six microphones: 4 on the outside and 2 on the inside. This amount is necessary for effective noise suppression.
In addition, there is a touch zone on the right cup. It is on the outside. Frankly, at first it was somewhat unusual to use touch controls, since the zone is not highlighted, and the material is non-slip. Movements up and down – adjust the volume, right or left – switch tracks, double tap – play / pause, hold for 2 seconds – launch the voice assistant, including Siri.
Noise suppression
There are literally a couple of words that are quite enough to describe the action: just awesome! This is the best “noise reduction” that I listened to in such headphones. The exception is Sony. I did not have them on the review, and I can not say anything about them.
Headphones Huawei FreeBuds Studio are brutally cracking down on noise. Even if a TV set is working at 30% volume two meters away from you, its sounds are almost completely “removed” due to the joint work of hardware and software.
Once again I would like to emphasize that adaptive “damping” of sounds works here. And it works 100% efficiently. Again in two words, summing up the noise isolation: I’m impressed!
About sound
But here everything is not so simple as it seemed to me in the first hours of testing the FreeBuds Studio headphones. The fact is that software developers have tried to achieve sound detail by allocating certain frequencies. Most likely high.
If you put on the headphones for the first time and start listening, you get the feeling of crystal clear sound, as if each note flies into the air and dissolves there smoothly.
But the longer you listen to music, the more you notice that these very flying notes in the air hit something. The sound seems to be clear, but there is a subtle after-sound. I tested it on Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro, Apple iPhone 12 and even MateBook X. Everywhere the sound is about the same. That is, the sound source is not to blame for the after-sound.
Actually, I didn’t have any more special complaints.
By ear, the frequency range of FreeBuds Studio is 25 Hz – 18 kHz (I have a sound file with a range of 10 Hz to 21 kHz).
The volume of sound is maximum, the stage is wide. Here you can describe the sound quality for a long time and persistently, but it is easier and more correct to say this: of all the headphones that I tested, it is in Huawei that the sound is the most ideal. I think that many compositions will open up to you anew – FreeBuds Studio is so cool.
There are sensors in the headphones. Therefore, when you take off your headphones, a pause is put on devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops) (both music and video – YouTube, a player, or even streaming networks such as KinoPoisk). Put it back on – playback starts.
As a headset
The sound is transmitted to the interlocutor with a slight hoarseness, somewhat deaf. As if the call quality is close to 2G. You can listen to the example below yourself. Both devices were in the same network, the sensitivity was maximum. There is no echo.
Sample audio recording >>>
Working hours
A 410 mAh battery is installed inside the headphones. FreeBuds Studio was enough for me for two weeks: basically it was 2-3 hours of films and an hour of music. The manufacturer says that even with ANC turned on, the headphones should last for about 20 hours.
10 minutes of charge gives you the opportunity to listen to music for 5 hours. Up to 100% FreeBuds Studio charges in 1 hour 10 minutes. No power adapter included.
Impression
After the Huawei FreeBuds Studio test, I was pleased with this device. The headphones give out really amazing sound with a wide stage, good detail and elaboration of frequencies.
The only strange moment is associated with some kind of overtones. I would call it a slight overload on certain notes. The effect is barely perceptible, so I would not write it down as a minus.
The device is quite suitable as a headset. Opening hours do not raise any questions – 20 hours! Active noise cancellation is brutal!
Confused only by the price – 26 rubles. This is probably not the amount that Huawei’s loyal users are counting on. At a cost of up to 000 rubles, the headphones would be just wonderful. But in the price category up to 20 – 000 rubles, only Sony and Bose live, which are a cut above in terms of marketing. Now ask any person about the full-size noise reduction headphones and they will answer you: Sony WH-20XM000 or Bose QC30! However, in comparison with Huawei, they do not look so elegant.
And in any case, I’m glad that one more uniquely cool headphones with great sound and powerful ANC have appeared on our market. I recommend!
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