Huawei unveils noise cancelling FreeBuds Studio headphones
Huawei has announced its first pair of traditional ‘proper’ over-ear headphones. Here are the FreeBuds Studio.
I’m not sure why the word ‘buds’ is in the name here, apart from to keep the headphones in line with Huawei’s others like theFreeBuds Pro. However, it’s quite misleading as it suggests in-ear design when these are not.
Nevertheless, the FreeBuds Studio have an attractive minimalist design featuring a 7mm ultra-slim stainless steel arm and a ‘super soft feeling’ for the earpads.
They are no slouch in the audio engine room either, with 48KHz Ultra high dynamic 4-layer diaphragms and support for High-Res audio – up to 24bit/96kHz. That’s great if you subscribe to music streaming services like Tidal or Deezer HiFi.
Huawei also promises a ‘pioneering’noise cancellingsystem comprising of a dual-layer sound-isolating acoustic structure. That will keep ambient noise out by just wearing the FreeBuds Studio but they also have dual-mic hybrid active noise cancelling (ANC) to digitally cut out noise.
There’s also a six-mic ‘matrix voice pick-up system’ for crystal clear calls and the headphones can last a whopping 24 hours on a single charge. A 10-minute charge will give you eight hours of playback, according to Huawei.
You can easily switch between two devices with support for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac. Touch sensitive controls out the ear cups mean you can tap to play or pause and swipe sideways to skip. You can also swipe up and down to adjust the volume.
The FreeBuds Studio cost £299/€299 in either black or blush gold and will take on headphones like theSony WH-1000XM4andBose QC35 II.
They will go on sale 3 November on theHuawei Storeand selected retailers. The Blush Gold version will follow later in November. Those who pre-order between 22 October and 2 November can claim a free Huawei Watch Fit.
Author: Chris Martin, Reviews Editor, Tech Advisor
Chris got his break as a reporter at infamous site The Inquirer and has been at Tech Advisor for more than 12 years. With a BA degree in Music Technology, audio is his specialism, but over the years he has reviewed all kinds of gadgets, from smartwatches to mesh Wi-Fi to coffee machines.
