Big thank you to OneOdio for sending the A10 to review!
Full disclosure: This is a paid review but I made it clear to them that I do not guarantee positive reviews or recommendations – I make in-depth, honest evaluations based on my impressions and the ultimate value that the product may or may not provide.
Greetings mate and Welcome aboard!
Stuart Charles here, HomeStudioBasics.com helping YOU make sound decisions leading to a beautiful audio experience that will make you fall in love with music (NOT gear) all over again, so…
OneOdio A10
Price: Check Amazon!
In The Box
1x OneOdio A10 Headphones
1x EVA Case
1x 3.5mm Audio Cable
1x Type-C Charging Cable
1x User Guide
Specifications
- Product Name: A10
- Battery Capacity: 800 mAh
- Input Power: 5 VDC, 560 mA
- Charging Time: 2 Hours.
- Using Time 1: 40 Hours (ANC + BT)
- Using Time 2: 50 Hours (BT Music Only)
- Using Time 3: 62 Hours (ANC Only)
- Bluetooth Range: 10 m / 33 ft.
- Noise Reduction Depth: -35dB
- Impedance: 32Ω ± 15%
- Driver Diameter: 40mm
- Frequency Response: 20Hz – 40kHz
- Sensitivity: -42 ± 3dB
- Net Weight: 295g
Introduction
In my experience, OneOdio products have been incredibly hit-and-miss.
Their A70 and A71 are some of the worst headphones I’ve ever heard, while the Monitor 60 and 80 are excellent.
In fact, I use the Monitor 80 as my primary mixing headphone because it really is that good.
The A10?
Well, I’d say it sits somewhere in the middle.
Today we’ll cover its build, sound, and comfort, and determine whether or not it’s worth a purchase.
By the end, you’ll know if it’s right for you.
Build and Profile
If I didn’t know any better, I’d venture to say this is a headphone north of $100.
Well, it’s not.
These are around $69-$79 and feel excellent for the price.
They aren’t heavy but feel fairly robust all things considered.
You’ll enjoy their fold-up mechanism for easy transport, and the cups themselves rotate inwards for an added bit of flexibility.
The headband padding is ample enough, and the cups themselves contain what I believe is your standard faux leather outfit.
The profile itself is relatively unassuming and utilitarian, and you’ll like the simple shapes and contours here.
The sleek finish and muted colors work well, and the metal headband adjustment is welcome at this price point while also feeling very sturdy.
The click mechanism is fluid and fairly precise, so you’ll be able to get both sides to match if you’re really OCD about it like me.
Finally, the big block “R” and “L” indicators on the inside of the cups are much appreciated as you can quickly listen to music without having to search for them.
Controls and Button Placement
Furthermore, the button layout is excellent and I love the fact that the unit contains buttons.
I don’t know about you, but I’m getting super tired of the touch controls inherent in pretty much all IEMs and Earbuds.
I find that they don’t work correctly half the time which makes me want to pull my hair out.
In any event,
the back right contains your 3.5mm headphone cable jack and power button; conveniently ribbed for your listening pleasure.
In other words, it has grooves so when you glide your finger over it, you know immediately that it’s the power button.
The volume buttons on either side of it are smooth, providing a nice contrast.
The back left cup contains your USB Type-C charging port and the ANC button which cycles between Active Noise cancelling mode and transparency mode.
- Recommended: How Do Noise Canceling Headphones Work?
More on that later.
Comfort
is rather phenomenal, as the plush pads feel great around your ears and the headband padding provides ample cushion for your melon.
The headphones, as mentioned earlier, aren’t overly bulky or heavy which also bodes well for longer listening sessions.
You may be making a slight adjustment every so often with regard to the cups, but the clamping force is just right and you’ll likely forget about them somewhat.
It’s not like having pillows on your ears, and they certainly aren’t as comfortable as say, an HD600 or anything from Beyerdynamic’s line, but I think OneOdio did an admirable job here.
With that, how do they sound?
Well, this is where things, unfortunately, get a bit dicey.
Given my experience with over 125 headphones at the time of this review, there are certain things companies do that will always jump out at me.
One is the propensity to overextend the mid-bass, which unfortunately is a glaring issue here.
It’s much too boosted and simply doesn’t sound right. Why can’t companies stop doing this? It makes me want to scream.
This in turn drowns out the mid-range considerably to the point where it kind of sounds like you’re listening to music underwater.
Okay, it’s not that bad, but you’ll certainly notice the veil over instruments and vocals specifically.
They sound like they’re under the bass which gets old fast.
The other problem with the bass is that there’s this ringing, humming sound that tends to become unnecessarily front and center.
In other words, it’s the annoying girl who does cartwheels on the beach so you’ll pay attention to her.
The hum of the A10’s bass is one of the most disappointing aspects of the headphones because you know, if it wasn’t for that, the sound as a whole would probably be pretty decent.
When you’re listening to music, you should absolutely never be focused on a particular part of the frequency response that isn’t done right, and unfortunately, the A10’s bass is exactly that.
In other words,
there’s a lack of resolution and detail here. Instrument timbre as well as separation is almost non-existent.
The music simply sounds compromised.
And the Soundstage? Fuggetaboutit. You ain’t gettin’ any.
I don’t find the treble overly bright, but it lacks sparkle and doesn’t enhance or add to the sound signature; something I firmly believe treble should do.
Other times, and with certain tracks, you can certainly hear that essy, sibilant character which is also problematic.
Ideally, you want a nice middle ground, but I will say the track itself and how it was recorded, mixed, and mastered has a lot to do with sibilance.
Even so, the treble here is poorly handled and needs work.
If you’re in the middle of a heated lifting session at the gym, you may find that you don’t really notice these things.
The ambiance of the room, others talking, the T.V.’s droning on, AC, etc. can all mask or mitigate these problems to an extent and make it seem like the headphones don’t actually have that many issues.
It’s only in a quiet studio environment do they manifest, and they so do quite obviously.
Range, Battery Life, and Noise Cancellation
That said,
the range here is rather remarkable. I’ve found that with other products, if I walk to the bathroom the sound cuts out completely.
Here it’s still playing music although a bit choppy.
Battery Life is also very good as I haven’t had to charge them once and I’ve been using them for a few weeks now.
OneOdio advertises 50 hours which seems about right.
Perhaps the best aspect here is the Noise Canceling feature which does a rather excellent job of isolating you from pretty much everything.
In fact, I can’t even hear myself peeing with these which really makes me want to do cartwheels.
If you have annoying neighbors who sound like they’re dropping bowling balls on the floor, these headphones will give them the middle finger so you don’t have to.
Annoying lady on the phone who yells her life story for everyone to hear every single day?
The A10’s got you covered.
Stupid barking dogs that bark at everything including clouds?
Yep, A10 is there for you.
The Noise-canceling button oughta be called the “Bitch be gone switch” as far as I’m concerned.
It really does the trick.
In any event, before giving a final verdict, let’s recap some things I liked and disliked.
What I liked:
- Battery life is excellent. Bravo OneOdio.
- The range is really good. These stretch farther than almost all other Bluetooth products I’ve tried.
- Isolation is really good. With other headphones or IEMs, I may still hear things I don’t want to hear. Not so with the A10. Almost everything is drowned out even with ANC off and you’re getting an above-average seal as well.
- The build is fantastic for the price. Don’t expect miracles, but I was impressed with what they did for roughly $60-70. The profile and design are also simple and utilitarian.
- The button layout is excellent. The ribbed power button is much appreciated.
- Comes with a great zip-up travel case.
What can be improved:
- They may fall off if you’re lying down on a bench doing presses.
- If you wear earrings, they will dig and you’ll likely have to take them out.
- I’ve noticed the music will intermittently cut out for a second before playing again. This is only something I’ve experienced with the A10, so I’m inclined to believe it’s a problem with the headphones.
- Sound. If companies would get the hint, maybe I could recommend more products. That said, the bass ruins the entire sound signature here, unfortunately.
It’s bloated and cheap sounding, which negates any positive aspects the frequency response may have.
Transients are slow, dynamics are poor, insert word salad here. It pretty much sounds exactly as its price would indicate.
Final Verdict
I went into this wanting to recommend the A10.
It does so many things right, but I cannot and will not recommend a product like this until companies start listening to feedback and fixing the poor tuning of their headphones.
Put it this way: I’d honestly rather listen to the Monitor 80 in the gym, and that’s saying something.
For starters, The M80 wasn’t made for portable use, has an extremely bulky cable, and it’s an open back.
It’s pretty much the last thing I want to be lugging around with me – but the sound? It’s fantastic.
If that doesn’t tell you how much I value sound quality above all else (and why you should too), I don’t know what will.
I don’t know why it’s so hard for companies to make a balanced-ish sound in a Bluetooth product. It feels like I’ve been beating this dead horse for eons.
Before I go off on a rant you’re not going to read, let me just point you in the direction of my Bluetooth rankings list which will also bring further clarification to my stance on this issue.
Well, that’s about it for today my friend! I hope you’ve enjoyed this OneOdio A10 Review and came away with some valuable insight.
Questions? Comments? Requests? Did I miss the mark on something? Please let me know down below or Contact me!!
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Which of these headphones are you most likely to go with? I would love to hear from you. Until next time…
All the best and God bless,
-Stu
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Photo Gallery
OneOdio A10
Pros
- Great build
- Great comfort
- Good Isolation
- Good Range
- Great Battery Life
Cons
- Sound Quality is meh
- Sound may cut out from time to time
