Hands-on: OneOdio A10 ANC wireless headphones
Some of the best budget ANC headphones we've tested
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Yet another OneOdio product has landed in the office recently, and this time they’ve had another go at a set of ANC (active noise canceling) headphones, the OneOdio A10s.
Noise-canceling headphones are extremely competitive product areas, with every company under the sun having a go at providing the consumer with some much-needed silence in these noisy and distracting times.
So, has OneOdio got what it takes to compete, or will they be OneOdio and DoneOdio?
OneOdio A10 wireless ANC headphones
Frequency response
20Hz – 20kHz
Driver diameter
40mm
Connectivity
Bluetooth, USB Type-C, 3.5mm jack
Battery life
Up to 50 hours
Weight
248g / 8.7oz
Unboxing & setup
First impressions were very positive as OneOdio has significantly improved their unboxing experience hugely.
The box is thick, robust, and has a premium-feeling texture to it. Upon opening it we find the A10s nestled in a surprisingly expensive-feeling carry case.
Within the case, we find the headphones themselves, and the associated accessories, including one of those infuriatingly specific airplane adapters. This is a nice touch as noise-canceling headphones are an invaluable investment for the frequent fliers amongst you.
The setup was amusing, as the A10s were photographed before we tested them, they automatically connected to our photographer’s phone instead and started to play music.
Once we discovered that the headphones were not in fact haunted and we were in fact idiots, we could finally play around with them.
Build quality
Here we see OneOdio once again improving over previous generations of products.
Yes, the construction is almost entirely plastic, but it feels good to the touch and even manages to feel solid around all the articulating sections, which is tricky, even for the big guys like Sony and Bose.
The real stars of the show here are the earcups. The padding strikes a perfect balance between comfortable and robust.
This results in forgiving ear cushions, that soften to create a great seal to help the ANC, but don’t instantly flatten out and become plywood against the dome.
As these are wireless ANC headphones, they need to have been designed with portability in mind, and we’re happy to report that OneOdio has done well in this regard too.
They fold up nice and compact, and the hinges where most of the stress is concentrated are thick blocks of aluminum, so you can count on these surviving a being launched into a bag time and time again.
Comfort
We briefly mentioned the ear cushions earlier, but they deserve some more attention as they are fantastic, with one unfortunate caveat.
The combination of excellent plushy cushioning and fairly strong clamping force results in effortless wear with fantastic noise isolation.
There are two things that slightly dull the overall experience, however. The headband and the depth, or lack thereof, of the earcups.
The headband has very little cushioning, which results in unideal pressure across the top of the user’s head, which is amplified if you tend to wear a hat. And the earcups, as good as they are, simply don’t have sufficient depth.
This means that you can just about feel your ears touching the inner surface of the earcup. This runs the gamut from irritating to unnoticeable depending on the user, so keep it in mind, but it might not be a deal breaker for you.
Audio quality
Sound quality is generally speaking good, the bass is cranked higher than we’d like out of the box, which is an expected but unfortunate quality of cheaper headphones.
The mix also gets muddy when you crank the volume near the max, but between hearing loss concerns and the super solid seal, you’ll almost never do that.
higher frequencies can sound a little brittle too, but mid-highs are good enough for most casual users.
The mids, where most music is, are the best-sounding section of the A10s response curve. They sound crisp and accurate to an extent that we’ve heard worse audio from headphones over twice the price.
However, there’s quiet elephant in the room here, very quiet, in fact. Let’s talk about it.
ANC (active noise canceling)
This is the best noise canceling, active or otherwise, that we’ve seen from OneOdio. The seal we’ve mentioned before, combined with whatever noise-canceling tech they’ve stuffed in there works an absolute treat, especially at this ~$50 price point.
There are two levels of noise cancelation available on the OneODio A10s, transparent mode, and full-on noise canceling.
The transparent mode is a good laugh, it amplifies certain sounds from your surroundings. Ostensibly this is for increased awareness and therefore safety when out and about.
However, during our testing, it just made us feel like daredevil and was therefore fantastic for intra-office eavesdropping, which we do(nt) recommend.
Full-on active noise cancelation is fantastic. Of course, at this price, it’s not going to get anywhere near that of industry giants Sony and Bose, but its actually very effective at dulling unwanted background noises.
Unfortunately, as we alluded to earlier, there is an inherent issue with active noise cancelation, and it’s a problem that OneOdio are have fallen into particularly hard on this occasion.
It’s a bit difficult to explain, but ANC will always have an effect on the response of the headphones, it typically makes the mix less defined.
This is a side-effect of rebroadcasting the opposite of the external background noise, it sort of goes over the intended music. This has a muffling effect that changes the entire sound profile.
As we said, this is an inherent ANC issue, meaning that it’s there regardless of the product in question. However, with the A10s specifically, you lose big amount of the fidelity.
Without ANC, these sound pretty great, with the ANC, they sound far worse, but there is a silver lining here, and it comes courtesy of the seal we mentioned liking so much.
It’s such a good seal, especially for the price, that the passive noise cancelation still makes enough of a difference that those of you who prioritize sound quality over quiet will still be pleased if you decide to go for the OneOdio A10.
OneOdio A10 wireless ANC headphones: Final word
You’ve impressed us, OneOdio. The A10s have managed to find a strong balance between affordability and quality, which is a rarer accomplishment than you might think.
The comfort is great, and the overall wearing experience is fantastic, however, be aware that the ANC, though effective, has a noticeably detrimental effect on the audio fidelity, which puts a dampener on the A10s.
OneOdio A10 wireless ANC headphones
Frequency response
20Hz – 20kHz
Driver diameter
40mm
Connectivity
Bluetooth, USB Type-C, 3.5mm jack
Battery life
Up to 50 hours
Weight
248g / 8.7oz
If you’re curious, OneOdio is offering 50% off the A10s right now. Just use code ONEA10 at checkout to cut the price from $69.99 to $35.99, saving $34.
OneOdio A10 ANC wireless headphones FAQs
What are ANC headphones?
In the context of headphones, ANC stands for Active Noise Canceling. ANC headhones don’t just rely on the classic method of noise isolation to prevent external sounds from coming into your headphones, but actively produce a secondary sound output to cancel out external sounds.
Are ANC headphones worth buying?
Traditional noise isolation headphones are only capable of reducing mid-to-high frequency sounds, which means certain lower and higher frequency sounds (e.g. those emitted by engines, power tools etc.) will not be effectively blocked out. Active Noise Cancelation is better at dealing with these, so if you’re in an environment where such sounds are common, they are definitely worth buying.
