OneOdio Focus A5 Review: New Headphone, Same Problems?

>AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As an eBay affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Big thank you to OneOdio for sending the A5 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, so…

Let’s review OneOdio’s closed-back Bluetooth A5 and find out if it’s worth a purchase.

We’ll discuss, build, comfort, sound, and more. By the time you’re finished reading this article, you’ll know if it’s right for you, and if it isn’t, I’ll steer you in the direction of something that is.

Deal?

Cool.

Let’s dive in!

Starting things off, the A5 is rather light and nimble but seems to be built very well.

The unit is mostly plastic but has metal adjustments and protein leather padding for the earcups and headband.

I would have liked to see a bit more real estate for Ed Bigheads, but I suppose you can’t have everything. As long as your dome isn’t the size of the Epcot Golf ball, you should be good.

My head isn’t THAT big!

The A5 folds and contorts in a myriad of ways, contributing to a sleek, compact, and utilitarian overall aesthetic that plays extremely well on the go.

Put simply, this is a gorgeous, stylish headphone and I have no qualms about wearing it in public, to the gym, etc.

The cups rotate 180° inward but not outward, and they also fold up for easy storage in a carrying pouch. That said, OneOdio, for whatever reason, didn’t provide said pouch and I thought that was strange. Definite points docked there.

The protein leather encasing the memory foam pads feels nice and plush, but I will caution you that they may crack and/or peel over time.

That said, the somewhat elongated, vertical shape of them mimics the ear nicely, and they’re just big enough to envelop my auricles.

If you have ears the size of Minnesoowwta, you may be SOL, but most wearers will be just fine.

Cup depth is somewhat shallow, but my ears aren’t touching the cloth covering the drivers which is always a plus.

Another minor nitpick is the design on the outside of the cups. Aesthetically, it’s fine, but the small ridges collect undesirables and it can be a bit of a pain to clean as well. I’ve also noticed some scratches and other blemishes already.

Comfort

While we’re dancing around the subject, comfort is excellent overall. Clamping force is tight-ish, but they fit snugly on your noggin and don’t intrude much into the top of your skull either.

As always, protein leather gets rather shiny during heated gym sessions, so expect a bit of perspiration on the cups depending on how hard you’re slinging weights around. A quick wipe should render you good to go.

Button Layout & Functionality

In addition to solid build and comfort, the button layout is also excellent.

The back of the right ear cup contains the volume up and down buttons, power button, ANC button, and USB Type-C Charging jack.

The ANC button cycles between Transparency Mode, ANC Mode, Normal Mode, and AI-Based Adaptive Noise Cancellation Mode.

Isolation

One thing I’m slightly disappointed in is isolation as I think One Odio’s A10 did a better job of blocking out noise. For instance, right now I’m trying to get some work done but there are about 5 screaming kids right outside my apartment playing around in the dog park and causing a ruckus.

The A5 does an OK job of blocking out most of the noise, but I can still hear them faintly at times; especially during quieter passages of a particular song.

I expected a bit better here, but I’m not going to go ape-shit over it.

The other issue is that you can’t turn up the volume to drown it out completely.

Why?

Well, let’s find out.

Sound

Playlist(s): Here, Here, and Here!
Source(s): Spotify, FLAC

OneOdio Focus A5 Review

Yup, you guessed it, the sound of the A5 is, again, wayyyyy too bassy, and suffers from almost exactly the same issue as the A10.

Because I have almost 2 decades of experience EQing sound and listening to music critically, I can immediately tell if a headphone is tuned correctly the moment I press play.

And unfortunately, the A5 is not. It’s a crying shame considering how much I love almost everything else about them, but it has to be pointed out.

The first thing you’ll notice is an ungodly amount of bleed/hum, as the bass tends to overshadow the rest of the sound signature and feels like you’re drowning in a sea of chocolate pudding.

And almost every single track suffers from this. Vocals are pushed back considerably, there’s no sense of resolution or realistic timbre, and the treble, while not sibilant, lacks sparkle, zest, and zip. As my late Grampa used to lament, it’s a complete mish-mosh.

The only thing available is gobs and gobs of sloppy bass, as it becomes almost impossible to turn the volume up without blowing your ears out. Seriously, don’t do it. I mostly listened to these at lower volumes because I value my hearing.

And I really like OneOdio as a company, so I’m not trying to trash them. But if you’re reading this, something HAS to change with regard to the sound signature. Please, for the love of God. I don’t know how many other ways I can say it, but I’ll try again.

There are a few ways to properly tune bass. Let’s quickly outline them:

Sub-bass roll off below 40/50Hz, 60-90Hz emphasis, mud CUT around 200-300Hz.
Sub-bass shelf from 0-40/50Hz (SUBTLE, maybe 2-5dB boost), 60-90Hz emphasis, mud CUT around 200-300Hz.
Flat sub-bass, 60-90Hz empahasis, mud CUT around 200-300Hz.
Flat sub-bass, flat or slight emphasis around 60-90, mud CUT around 200-300Hz.

#4 would be something like a HIFIMAN or Audeze type of tuning, but typically, an emphasis around 60-90 works best because this is where most of the relevant information of the low-end resides.

More precisely, it’s where the wetness, slam, impact, lushness, and insert word salad here __________ exists. It’s what makes hip-hop sound amazing and why we love it so much.

The Focus A5 simply throws a huge wall of bass at you and looks the other way. It’s awful.

There aren’t any graphs available, but if I had to guess, there’s probably upwards of a 10dB+ shelf looking something like a Meze 99 Neo. And that headphone is a complete and utter nightmare the likes of which you should avoid like the plague.

If that graph wasn’t enough, here’s Michael Scott:

I’d bet money the A5 is similar to that, so if you enjoy getting your ears blown to bits, buy one today. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Again, I applaud OneOdio for the overall design, functionality, and aesthetic of their headphones. They make well-built products that stand the test of time, and the A5 is no different in that regard. Besides no carrying pouch, everything else is pretty much perfect.

But the sound needs a major overhaul and I’m not backing down from it.

I would mention songs in particular, but almost all of them sound bad. “Thomas Cruise” is a great example of one, but honestly, the song ratio is 95% bad and 5% somewhat tolerable (but not really).

To be frank, I want to take these off my head about 10 seconds after pressing play, and that’s never a good sign.

Range is about what you’d expect, and decent. Look for the sound to start cutting out around 30-40 feet unobstructed, and obviously less when going to the gym bafroom or something like that.

Final Verdict

OneOdio’s Focus A5 is a gorgeous, well-built, comfortable, and functional headphone that suffers from major sound issues.

In fact, it’s quite ironic they named it “Focus” since I can’t focus at all. The only thing I can focus on when listening to it is how blown out the bass is, but considering how much I love the Monitor 80, I have faith that this company will eventually manufacture a well-tuned Bluetooth headphone.

But the A5? This isn’t it.

For the proper way to tune a closed-back bass-oriented headphone, look no further than FiiO’s wonderful FT1. OneOdio, please take note.

For my full Bluetooth Rankings, click here.

OneOdio Focus A5

Price: Check Amazon | Check OneOdio

In The Box

1x OneOdio Focus A5 Hybrid ANC Headphones

1x USB-C Charging Cable

1x User Guide

1x Misc. Literature

Specifications

Brand: OneOdio
Model: OneOdio A05 Pro
Product Name: Focus A5
Battery Type: Polymer
Driver: 40mm
Bluetooth Version: 5.4
Transmission Range: >10m
Charging Port: USB-C
Bluetooth Profile: HFP/AVRCP/A2DP/BLE/SPP
Frequency Response: 20Hz – 40kHz
Audio Technology: AAC/SBC/LDAC
Wireless Frequency Band: 2400 MHz-2483.5 MHz
Battery Specifications: 600 mAh, 3.7 V (Typ)
Input Power: 5V

Well, that’s about it for today my friend! I hope you’ve enjoyed this OneOdio Focus A5 Review and came away with some valuable insight.

Questions? Comments? Requests? Did I miss the mark on something? Please leave them down below or Contact me!!

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