OneOdio Focus A5 Hybrid ANC headphones hands on: high quality, low price, and AI

As I said with the previous hands on, I'm no audio buff, but I do know the difference between good and bad-sounding speakers and headphones. I currently own the Edifier 360DB speakers paired to my PC through a Toslink, which was an upgrade from the very much older Creative MegaWorks 250D-THX after they stopped working.

My headphones are the Audio Technica ATH-SR50BT with an impedance of 32Ω, and I thought they sounded great (in my opinion). I use them with my computer when I don't want to disturb my neighbors late at night.

The packaging was a bit beaten up by transportation (no, I did not throw the box around in a fit of rage) but thankfully, the contents were undamaged, as you can see in the above pic. It is a minimal affair, with the headphones sitting inside a plastic mould, which are also protected with a plastic sleeve. Between the headband is a little cardboard box that contains the Type-C USB charging lead, and all this is flanked with safety documentation and a user guide.

What's in the box

• 1 x OneOdio Focus A5 headphones;
• 1 x USB Type-C charging cable
• User Manual

With that out of the way, here are the specs:

Let me say straight away, the Focus A5 headphones sound really great. I had to do a comparision with my ATH-SR50BT to double check, but the difference for me is night and day. I guess that is down to the LDAC support (I'm guessing) which the ATH-SR50BT doesn't have? The Focus A5 also get quite loud, so much so that these are the first pair of bluetooth headphones that I haven't maxed out the volume on for more than a few seconds. The drivers really vibrate at 100% volume, however the music is still clear and not distorted, just too loud.

I used a combo of Amazon Music, and Tidal for my testing since they both offer lossless formats, which is what I would need to really test out the LDAC performance of these "cans". I also used them with YouTube playback, with the latter returning an expected acceptable quality.

The vent seen in the left and middle image is described as "Vent Tuning Hole" which I am not quite sure what it even does; at first I thought they were mic slits to assist transparency mode, but the mics are actually located on each cup near outer bottom and look more like pinholes.

All of the controls are on the right cup with easy access to the volume controls at the top, which also double as prev/next track when holding down the volume up (next) or volume down (prev) for longer than 2 seconds. I would have preferred a double click on prev/next as navigating through tracks can be time consuming due to the two second pause, with the rinse, repeat between each action.

Below the volume rocker there is a Multi Function Button (MFB) which is also the power button; tapping once pauses or plays tracks, holding the button down for longer than two seconds powers the Focus A5 headphones on or off.

The Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) button is located below the MFB which is disabled by default upon powering on the headphones, tapping it once enters transparency mode, tapping again enters ANC mode, and once more disables both ANC and transparency back to "normal" mode. However, there is also a "A1-Based Adaptive Noise Cancellation Mode" which can be activated by double tapping the ANC button.

There's nothing mentioned about the A1-Based Adaptive Noise Cancellation Mode beyond what is mentioned on the product page, stating that the "AI based adaptive (ANC) system creates your own personal quiet space, no matter where you are". I reached out to my contact if they have more details on the difference between ANC and AI based ANC.

Full instructions on button use can be found here, as the user manual is not linked on the product page, which is something I also fed back to my contact at OneOdio.

Controls verdict: Acceptable

Comfort

Left: Focus A5 - Right: ATH-SR50BT

After wearing and listening to music for over two hours while I am working, I wouldn't say that I "forget" I am wearing them at all, but perhaps more importantly they don't bother me. I don't have sweaty ears (perhaps down to the "Vent Tuning Hole" feature?) and the headset does not feel tight on my fat head at all. I did a comparison pic up above. It's not easy to see, but I would say the Audio Technica are slightly narrower.

Comfort verdict: Wonderful!

tl;dr highlights:

1. AI-Based Adaptive Noise Cancellation
2. LDAC Audio Technology
3. 75-Hour Battery Life
4. Transparency Mode
5. Low Latency Gaming Mode
6. Hybrid ANC: -45dB
7. Fast Charging: 5-Minute Charge, 5-Hour Playtime

Transparency mode

For completeness I also tested the transparency mode by playing a YouTube video on my phone of Jimmy Carr roasting a South African heckler, and with the volume right up and holding it near to my left headphone, I could follow along as if I was listening to music through my computer speakers with someone talking. I also tried transparency mode while someone was visiting, and even with the volume down lowish that person had to talk quite loudly for me to understand them from about 1 meter (3 ft) away.

I am pretty surprised at the quality for something that costs almost three times less than my Audio Technica ATH-SR50BT at (currently) $199.99. Maybe LDAC support just opened my ears for the first time ever, I don't know. Maybe someone who has more experience between AptX and LDAC style headphones can leave a comment to educate me.

If I had to complain about these headphones at all, it would be the two second pause for previous and next track. Other than that I can't really fault them. They are comfortable to wear (even after two hours of having them on, and while I am writing this mini-review) and they sound great.

Overall verdict: Great!

Right now these headphones can be picked up at Amazon for only $49.99 (Prime member only deal) when applying an in-page coupon at the link below.

• OneOdio Focus A5 for $49.99 on Amazon U.S. or for $69.99 on the OneOdio website.

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