The master of transparent sound: the OneOdio A10 Hybrid Noise Cancelling Closed-Ear Headphones

By: Nickolay Polovinkin | 16.03.2023, 15:17

The OneOdio Focus A10 closed wireless headphones with folding headband and unfolding ear cushions are an amazing model in which the transparency mode is more important (and more effective) than the ACP itself. For $80 you can get decent sound without busting bass, average noise reduction with excellent transparency, enviable autonomy, the possibility of wired connection, work with two smartphones, and just a nice, solid thing that can be folded into a convenient carrying case that supports the mode simultaneous pairing with two devices (everything we love).

OneOdio A10

Full-size wireless Hi-Res Audio Bluetooth headphones with Advanced Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). Features of OneOdio A10: transparency mode - for listening to the world around you and interacting with it, up to 35 hours of active noise canceling and up to 45 hours of listening time in Bluetooth mode, 5-minute quick charge capable of up to 2 hours of listening time, Multipoint support.

Current price on Amazon

4 reasons to buy OneOdio Focus A10:

Active noise cancellation with effective transparency mode
Both wired and wireless connectivity
Multipoint support
Excellent autonomy

3 reasons not to buy OneOdio Focus A10:

You have serious audiophile sound requirements
You need even more "tight" noise cancellation
You are not suited to this type of headphone design

What's in the box?

The OneOdio Focus A10's package includes the headphones, a hard zippered pouch for storing them, a USB-C to USB-A cable for charging, a mini jack to mini jack audio cable for wired connection and instructions. The box, by the way, is quite respectable, thick cardboard, selective lacquer - no shame, in general. The pouch is also very useful at home, though the dust easily adheres to its textile surface.

What do they look like?

They look restrained, with no kinks in futurism, retro or other extremes. On the outside of each 'cup' there is a circular pad with concentric notches and a logo in the centre. Reminiscent of a miniature gramophone record (remember what it is?), a similar solution can be seen in headphones quite often.

On the ends of these pads there are control elements. On the left is the noise cancelling button, its status LED and the USB-C port.

On the right is the power button (also with its own LED), two separate buttons for volume control, a mini-jack socket and a tiny microphone hole.

The remainder of the outer surface of the cups is covered with a blue metallic finish. Inside, the ear cushions are fitted with very soft eco-leather pads, the speakers are covered with foam and fabric with "R" and "L" designations for the right and left earpiece respectively. The headband is protected by black matt plastic with the OneOdio logo on the top. It is size-adjustable with a classic metallic mechanism, the change of size is accompanied by a pleasant click. The headband is padded and covered with the same pleasant eco-leather.

"The headband can be folded inwards for space-saving storage and can also be tilted vertically and rotated horizontally 90 degrees inwards and slightly (10 degrees) outwards. This design is quite common, and is useful in a variety of headphone carrying and wearing scenarios.

The tactile and sonic effects of turning, folding and adjusting are very pleasant. The headphones feel expensive and of high quality. The only thing that somewhat spoils the first impression is the smell. Usually the characteristic "smell of new technology" is more pleasant, here it reeks of some kind of glue. However, the unpleasant fraction evaporates quickly.

How do I connect and configure?

OneOdio Focus A10 allows two types of connection: via Bluetooth and via audio cable. The second option makes the headphones completely energy-independent: even with a completely discharged (or dead) battery, they will work. What's more, the cable, unlike many wired headphones, connects via a standard plug and can easily be replaced with another if necessary. All in all, the fail-safety of such a design is maximum.

But back to connection. To work with wired sources, simply connect the supplied or similar audio cable to the headphones and the audio source. For Bluetooth connection, press and hold the power button until the LED flashes blue-red. Then select the headphones from the list of available devices on the smartphone or other device to which you want to connect them. There are no apps to work with these headphones, so there is nothing to configure.

How are they controlled?

There are plenty of options for control. This is not fancy smooth TWS in-ear headphones where you need to learn how to stroke the touch-button. No, there are hardware buttons, old school. The power button (it has a characteristic relief so as not to be confused with the adjacent ones), when pressed long, turns the headphones on or off, and when pressed short, it pauses or resumes playback. For an incoming call (if the headphones are connected to the smartphone), a single press lifts or hangs up, and a double tap rejects the call. At other times, a double tap activates the voice assistant. Just in case, the headphones are equipped with a microphone and can function as a headset.

Two adjacent buttons, with short presses, control the volume, and with long presses - switch to the previous and next tracks.

The fourth button is located on the left earpiece and is responsible for noise cancellation. Pressing it allows you to switch between transparency, active noise cancelling and normal sound modes.

The buttons have slight play, but they are pressed with optimum force and click clearly. You can say that such button work is to be expected, you feel confident and in control. There is no need to guess whether a button has been pressed or not, as is often the case with touch control systems. You get used to the buttons' layout quite easily.

How do they work?

The OneOdio A10 is a rather conservative model. In both behaviour and operation it is clear and predictable. Turning on power, connecting devices and changing the mode of the ACP system are accompanied by English-language voice prompts.

The headphones support multipoint technology, which means that they can operate with two sound sources simultaneously. This is very convenient: you can connect a laptop and a smartphone or two smartphones at the same time and have one headset for communication in both without having to reconnect. In the case of two phones, you can receive calls on your headphones from either one, a feature that's hard to overestimate if you're using two handsets.

As for noise cancellation, its implementation left a double impression. On the one hand, the world around you really does drift away, especially with the music in the headphones on. On the other hand, the merit of the ACP itself in this is minimal, because the closed design of the headphones itself does an excellent job of noise isolation. In this situation, transparency comes to the forefront, and it's perfectly executed here. Surrounding sounds in Transparency mode are almost as if you are not wearing headphones at all. This is a very good design.

What about battery life?

The manufacturer claims that the headphones can last up to 40 hours in wireless mode with noise cancellation on, up to 50 hours with noise cancellation off and up to 62 hours in pure noise cancellation mode. At these values field measurements are somewhat difficult, but the discharge dynamics suggest that this is about right in real life: after 3-4 hours of use you can expect to have 90% of the remaining charge. The built-in 800 mAh battery fully charges in about two hours. But even a 10-minute recharge provides around 5 hours of battery life.

How do they sound?

The OneOdio Focus A10 are equipped with 40mm drivers and, while not claiming to be in the audiophile segment of the audience, produce quite decent sound. I did not notice a strong bias towards low frequencies, not uncommon in this type of device. Perhaps the bass may even be lacking for some. The treble, on the other hand, sounds surprisingly lively and bright. In the midrange, the detail can be faulted, but overall, the sound is quite balanced and versatile.

How comfortable are they?

Your ears will probably sweat in hot weather, just like any closed earphones with leatherette ear cushions. In terms of weight, yes, they may seem a bit heavy if you are used to lightweight wired headphones. Any wireless model has rechargeable batteries, and that's a bit of a weight gain. There is no noticeable discomfort, but again, it is a matter of habit. In any case, headphones of this type are not suitable for active sporting activities, I think this is obvious.

Despite the closed design, the sound tends to leak out when playing at high volume. Not at a low volume, so spare your ears and the people around you will not be disturbed either. There is no information about moisture protection, these headphones should not be worn in the rain.