These $60 Headphones Have The Fastest Pairing I've Tested (and Sound Great)

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The OneOdio Focus A6 headphones are disposable connected Amazon for $69.
• You'll get soft sound pinch evenly-blended bass and conscionable nan correct magnitude of mids.
• I recovered nan highs to beryllium somewhat lacking, but nan EQ tin beryllium adjusted successful nan companion app.

I retrieve backmost successful nan '80s and '90s, erstwhile you bought inexpensive headphones, they sounded for illustration listening to euphony done a brace of tin cans tied pinch string. Not only did they sound bad, but nan build value was poor, and those spongy, orangish earpads were embarrassing.

You cognize nan type.

Also: Finally, open-ear headphones that sound awesome and fresh maine comfortably (and they conscionable sewage cheaper)

Over nan past twelvemonth aliases so, I've noticed nan value of low-end headphones has improved to nan constituent that for good nether $100, you tin get a brace that delivers well-blended, soft sound pinch capable debased extremity and highs to make them sound arsenic if they costs good supra that $100 mark.

Such is nan lawsuit pinch nan OneOdio Focus A6 headphones.

My experience

Upon unboxing nan A6 headphones, my first thought was, "Well, these look for illustration each brace of midrange headphones I've tested complete nan past year." Yes, these headphones are nondescript, but that isn't a bad thing. 

Although they don't person nan celebrated marque nickname as, opportunity Beats aliases AirPods, for astir $100 cheaper than nan low-end Beats, you'll still get balanced sound. 

Also: These wireless headphones transported maine to audio nirvana - and are my caller all-time favorite

After connecting nan A6 headphones to my Pixel 9 Pro and firing up Spotify, I decided to not spell to my accustomed first trial medium ("Signals" by Rush), alternatively opting for nan latest medium by Leprous: "Melodies Of Atonement." The logic for this is because I wanted to spot if nan A6 headphones were up to nan band's complicated, layered sound of nan band. 

The A6 headphones put Solberg's sound beforehand and center, rendering it pinch nan powerfulness and beauty it deserves. I could perceive to nan man singing each time and ne'er get tired of it, and nan A6 headphones make that imaginable pinch sound that doesn't deterioration connected nan ears and comfortable earpads that make agelong listens easy.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

These besides hap to beryllium 1 of nan first Bluetooth 6 headphones I've tested. That Bluetooth protocol translated to nan fastest pairing I've ever experienced. As soon arsenic I powered them on, they appeared connected my phone, and nan relationship was instant. Connecting nan A6 via nan modular method was moreover amended than Google's Quick Connect, and that's saying something.

Although location is simply a companion app, I decided I wanted to trial nan headphones pinch nan out-of-the-box EQ, to spot really they stood up. Surprisingly, astatine first I didn't find nan request to usage nan app. That's not to opportunity nan A6 headphones are workplace value -- they astir surely are not; but, fixed nan price, they clasp their own.

If I had 1 complaint, it's that nan A6 headphones deficiency nan item astatine nan apical extremity to springiness cymbals nan crispness I prefer. In fact, nan cymbals had a inclination to blend much into nan mid-highs than wherever they should live. That results successful a deadening of sound that isn't arsenic lively arsenic it could be. 

This led maine to yet instal nan companion app. But moreover pinch a civilization EQ, I wasn't capable to get nan crispness I for illustration pinch nan highs, truthful I decided to trial nan headphones pinch a different medium (in lawsuit it was nan mastering of nan Leprous album). 

Also: The champion over-ear headphones: Expert tested and reviewed

Yep. That was nan issue. I dropped into my moving playlist and "Human," by The Human League started pinch conscionable nan correct magnitude of precocious end. "Tom Sawyer" by Rush had conscionable capable precocious extremity to coming Neil Peart's masterful work. There's 1 song, however, that tin really item nan highs, and that's "Walking On The Moon," by The Police. Stewart Copeland's cymbal activity astatine nan tail extremity of nan mediate of that way is unmatched.

Yeah, nan A6 headphones handled it arsenic good arsenic immoderate mid-range headphone I've tested.

ZDNET's buying advice

The OneOdio Focus A6 headphones nutrient immoderate beautiful soft sound, whether you usage nan app aliases not. But if you're arsenic finicky arsenic me, you'll want to instal nan app and hop into nan Custom EQ section. 

Even without nan app, these sub-$70 headphones are a bargain for anyone looking to get high-quality sound astatine a low-end price. If you don't mind sporting a marque of headphones nary 1 will recognize, these are a awesome buy.

OneOdio Focus A6 headphones tech specs

• Drivers: 40mm move drivers.
• Audio codecs: SBC, AAC, LDAC.
• Hi-Res Audio: Yes, certified.
• Noise Cancellation: Hybrid ANC, reducing ambient sound by up to 48dB.
• Noise Reduction Modes: ANC, Transparency, Wind Noise Reduction, Wind-Resistant Transparency, and Normal.
• Wireless: Bluetooth 6.0.
• Dual-Device Pairing: Yes.
• Wired Connection: USB-C (for charging and wired ANC) and 3.5mm jack (for audio).
• Multipoint Connectivity: Yes.
• Battery Type: Polymer lithium-ion battery.
• Battery Capacity: 500 mAh.
• Charging Port: USB-C.
• Charging Time: Approximately 1.5 hours.
• Battery Life (ANC off): Up to 75 hours.
• Battery Life (ANC on): Up to 40 hours.
• Fast Charging: 10 minutes of charging provides 10 hours of playback.