STEREO GUIDE verdict
The OneOdio Focus A6 impresses with its effective hybrid ANC, functional app, homogeneous sound with decent bass and up to 75 hours of battery life. At a price of well under 100 euros, a clear buy tip.
Pros
- Homogeneous sound tuning
- Decent, controlled bass
- Very effective ANC
- Long battery life
Cons
- Without case or protective cover
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Tonal balance / transparency7
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Bass / Dynamics8.3
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Usability/ Connectivity8.9
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Price/Performance9.9
Although STEREO GUIDE is one of the younger online hi-fi magazines, we have even attracted attention in China, over 7,000 kilometers away. In addition to the usual spam offers for SEO services or paid advertorials, we recently received an interesting inquiry from an audio brand that was previously completely unknown to me, but seemed reputable. The friendly lady offered us a very affordable pair of over-ear headphones with powerful active noise canceling (ANC) for an independent test report. Why not, if it’s not good, you don’t need to go to the trouble of reporting on an unknown product. But what if it really is good? That would be a discovery. So we ordered a test sample.
The packaging looked inviting even after removing the printed cover, which is why I captured it in the photo, although I’m certainly not a fan of unboxing articles. I was also pleasantly surprised by the second impression of the foldable Bluetooth headphones, which were delivered without a case. Despite their metal look, the sides of the ear cups are made of black plastic like the rest of the headphones, with the exception of the middle earpiece, but this is also the case for many far more expensive over-ears from renowned companies.
The OneOdio Focus A6 has everything you would expect from modern ANC headphones – and even goes one better. At its heart is Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation, which promises noise suppression of up to -48 dB according to the data sheet. The headphones combine feedforward and feedback technology, supported by five sensitive microphones. The result: disturbing ambient noise almost completely disappears, whether on an airplane, in the office or on the train. The noise suppression can be flexibly adjusted via five different modes – from complete isolation to ambient perception.
In terms of sound, OneOdio relies on 40 mm drivers with a PET membrane, which should not only deliver powerful bass, but also finely resolved mids and highs. The headphones are Hi-Res Audio certified and support the high-resolution LDAC codec, which means that music streams are transmitted with three times the detail of standard Bluetooth.
Voice quality & telephony
Five microphones with AI-supported noise suppression ensure clear calls on the move. Wind, street noise and the babble of voices are reliably filtered out so that your voice is heard clearly and without interference.
Connectivity
The Focus A6 uses Bluetooth 6.0 with ISOAL technology, which ensures stable connections, fast pairing and low latency. Dual pairing is particularly practical: the headphones can be connected to two devices at the same time, allowing you to switch seamlessly between your smartphone and laptop. If you want, you can also use the headphones via a USB-C cable – not only on your computer, but also on your smartphone. The ANC functions remain usable and the headphones can also charge their battery during playback.
Battery, runtime and comfort
The battery life of up to 75 hours is a real highlight, even if this dream value can only be achieved without ANC. However, the values of up to 45 hours with ANC activated that can be achieved in practice are top even beyond this price range. Even with daily use, the headphones last almost a whole week. Charging is convenient via USB-C, even while listening. This makes the Focus A6 one of the longest-lasting Bluetooth headphones with ANC on the market.
Despite its technology, the OneOdio Focus A6 remains pleasantly light at just 240 grams. The adjustable headband ensures an individual fit, while the soft, padded ear cups do not pinch even when worn for hours on end.
Successful app control
The headphones can be customized via the OneOdio app. In addition to equalizer presets such as “Pop”, “Bass Mode” and “Super Bass Mode”, a 7-band equalizer and various ANC settings are available. There is a “wind noise reduction mode” for stormy conditions and an additional transparency mode for such weather conditions.
Gamers can switch to a special mode and reduce the latency to 0.065 seconds to enjoy lag-free gaming sound through the OneOdio headphones. But that’s not all. The range of functions should make some established hi-fi manufacturers envious. You can set the switch-off time after activating the automatic switch-off function, activate a time-of-day reminder or multipoint connection to two devices. And there is even a function to find the headphones by playing high-frequency sounds loudly.
The Chinese newcomers achieve all of this without the widespread translation errors in the German version of the OneOdio app, which is available to download for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play. Another thing that cannot be taken for granted: a software update was displayed once the smartphone, app and headphones were connected (without registration and endless requests for access rights). This was installed after just two minutes and could be used after an automatic restart of the Bluetooth headphones.
Sound test and ANC practical test: moment of truth
In the practical part of the test, I initially concentrated on the active noise-canceling, which I thought could do a lot after discovering a dedicated wind mode. To create a level playing field, I prefer to use my Teufel Boomster, which I use to listen to digital radio at work, before the ANC test on the road. Thanks to its gradual digital volume display, it is ideal for comparisons. I was amazed at the high passive isolation of the closed headphones.
With ANC activated, the amazement was perfect: at volume 3, the OneOdio almost completely blocked out the music at a distance of around 2 meters. From level four, it was possible to follow the lyrics, but the Focus A6 absorbed the bass very effectively even beyond that. Although it had to admit defeat to the excellent Sony WH-1000XM6, which also costs over 400 euros, it was still remarkably effective at absorbing bass at higher volumes. In any case, the OneOdio headphones didn’t need to shy away from comparison with the Teufel Real Blue Pro, which also costs over 300 euros: they delivered almost identical results. A remarkable performance for over-ear headphones in the under 100 euro price range.
Apart from a slight background noise when noise-canceling is activated, which we have also noticed with well-known ANC headphones, the ANC did everything right. The transparency mode was low-noise and we also noticed positively that wearing glasses hardly impaired the effect of the ANC system – also not a matter of course. However, the effect of the two modes for strong wind – due to the lack of natural strong wind – did not stand out particularly from the standard ANC and transparency modes in the airflow of a fan. However, this can also be interpreted to mean that the Focus A6 already performed surprisingly well in the standard settings under these extreme conditions compared to most ANC headphones.
Making calls in good quality
As if on order, the iPhone rang and Falk from the German blog HiFi IFAs called: the perfect opportunity to let his audiophile ears judge what my voice was saying on the other side. Without knowing which device we were talking about, he found the speech intelligibility to be impeccable. Even when I positioned my head about half a meter away from a fan rotating at level 1. He couldn’t tell the difference! However, his voice sounded a little compressed, but this is not necessarily due to the Focus A6.
If the newcomer had failed the sound test, it would have been almost surprising. But the OneOdio delivered a solid performance. There is no explicit standard sound mode, the app’s default setting is “Pop”. And this suited all the music I tried out very well. Voices were able to unfold without distracting coloration, and the treble was neither dull nor overbearing.
The bass was also neither too tight nor too rich. The Focus is one of those headphones where, when viewed in isolation, there is basically nothing to complain about. Yes, of course, in a direct comparison, upper-class headphones are even more powerful in the bass and bring out voices and overtones with even finer resolution. But the sound tuning of the OneOdio is a well-rounded thing in itself, especially when you factor the price into the equation.
What are the benefits of USB playback and spatial audio?
Incidentally, the OneOdio sounded particularly good on my iPhone via USB C. A corresponding 1.5 meter cable is included. It then kicks more in the bass, which seems drier overall than with a Bluetooth connection, and is even slightly finer in the mid-high range.
As far as the spatial audio function is concerned, it does create the impression of a little more space, but at the cost of precision and appears somewhat more artificial than without this effect. However, this is the usual result for such DSP functions, with the Focus even doing quite well. You can really consider it for TV sound, even if I prefer to listen to pure audio signals without such processing.
Bass is fun
For rock and pop listeners, it produces a really deep and by no means spongy bass. As far as transparency and a sense of space are concerned, you can’t really expect more for less than 100 euros. The maximum volume is also fine. The two sound presets for bass boost were effective. The “Super Bass Mode” made the bass drums on the Depeche Mode album “Live In Milan” quite powerful, especially at the bottom. However, the entry-level headphones were still able to handle this even at maximum volume without creating an uncontrolled boom. If you like a lot of bass but don’t want to spend a lot of money, you’ll be well served here.
Even suitable for classical music
After the Focus had also bravely passed this test, the veteran reviewer in me came to the fore: you can’t make it that easy for the surprise hit, there’s far too much hype in the industry for that. What would happen if the OneOdio fell into the hands of a classical music lover? On Qobuz, I found Mozart’s “Magic Flute” in René Jacobs’ version with the Orchestra of the Academy of Ancient Music, Berlin. Yes, and what can I say? It was really good. Despite the pop mode, the strings didn’t start sawing, and the voices of the opera singers came out of the ear cups in a really surprisingly pleasant and natural way. You really can’t ask for more headphones for well under 100 euros.
OneOdio Focus A6: Conclusion and alternatives
When something is not good, the colloquial expression is: you can fold it. The OneOdio Focus A6 really can be bent or folded. This makes it small and practical to carry around in a bag. But as far as sound is concerned, the outsider has a really big performance. We don’t currently know of anything better in this price range. Even our cheap entry-level tips with ANC, such as the Sony WH-CH720N, cost over 100 euros according to the list. The fact that the OneOdio outperforms this over-ear by one percentage point in the overall ranking is primarily due to its excellent price-performance ratio.
After the Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 recently amazed me among the in-ears for 140 euros, I’ve now managed to do the same straight away among the over-ears of a brand that I hadn’t even had on my radar before. I’ll leave the final conclusion to my friend Falk: “It’s getting just as tight for the European brands as it is with the electric cars from China.” And yes, unfortunately I have to agree with him, especially since the assembled Europeans, with the exception of Beyerdynamic – greetings to Heilbronn – have their products manufactured in China anyway.
Please note: The manufacturer has informed us that they are offering a 15% discount until the end of September. We are simply passing on this information and do not receive any commission via the following links.
- Official website: STEREOA6 (15% discount)
Valid from August 18 to November 30 purchase link:
Purchase link: https://bit.ly/46VJKt9 - Amazon: USU583YV (15% Rabatt)
Valid from August 18 to November 30 purchase link:
Purchase link: https://bit.ly/4ogkJPn
OneOdio Focus A6: Technical specifications
- Manufacturer’s recommended retail price: 76 euros
- Type: Over-Ear
- Transducer principle: dynamic
- Weight: 240 gram
- Battery life: up to 75 hours without ANC, up to 45 hours with ANC
- Special features: USB-C playback, 1.5 m cable included, Bluetooth 6.0
- More at www.oneodio.com
