It was just a few months ago that we were reviewing what seemed like an endless stream of wireless earbuds from major players in the telecoms space. Now the deluge of wireless headphones from major players begins. Huawei FreeBuds Studio are an impressive first effort and a show of Huawei’s knack of creating quality lifestyle accessories with a visual appeal.
Premium, Unified Design
Freebuds Studio are pretty. The signature Huawei macro detailing and minimalist look suit headphones. Our black review model has two lightly frosted grey metal limbs joining the all-black headband to the almost all-black cans. It’s simple but it draws the eyes the even-more-lightly-textured metal cans. Each houses a solitary ‘Huawei’ in roughly the same brightness as the limbs.
The flexible headband is in a matte black. It’s just plastic but the overall build quality isn’t affected. Huawei FreeBuds Studio have a generous bend in said band. They don’t squeeze the head at all, something that larger-headed folk do complain about. There is a camber inside the earcups to match the shape of a users’ pinnae. This make them feel and sound snug without pressing on my ears. Although some people will still feel their ears being pressed on.
Fully Functional Suite
The buttons are in a matching black with one on the left cup and two on the right. When wearing them, the user’s thumbs can easily find them. The three buttons cover the essentials – power, active noise cancellation and Bluetooth. Having the ANC on its own is a small choice that makes a big difference. You won’t find yourself accidentally pairing or switching the set off while making adjustments.
There is a large swiping area on the right can. It’s about 4cm in diameter so it’s easy to find and swipe on. The touch pad is pierced by the metal limb but it’s almost flush with the gesture arrangement. A large swipable area affords Huawei FreeBuds Studio the full suite of gestures. Skip track, play/pause, volume control and voice assistant are all available.
Intimate but Clean Sound
The audio quality is very good but not just short of excellent. The default EQ is slighty U-shaped with a small bass and treble emphasis delivering a pleasant vox straight from the box.
The low-end isn’t particularly fat but it has enough punch for all but the most hopeless of bass-abusers. If you insist on overdriving your bass, it can become muddy down there. Particularly bassy house or funk tracks can lose their groove under an imprecise wobble.
However, it does have excellent clarity in mid-to-high ranges. I was struck by a surprising breadth and richness to brass and stringed instruments.
The closed-back design and excellent noise isolation give Huawei FreeBuds Studio an intimate soundstage but the drivers’ capacity for delicacy gives the instruments room to be heard.
Cancel Couture
Huawei have crammed impressive ANC into far smaller devices than FreeBuds Studio. Their FreeBuds 3i and FreeBuds Pro delivered excellent noise cancellation. The latter had issues with its adaptive cancellation profiles. FreeBuds Pro could sometimes decide to change the profile abruptly and sometimes audibly. This manifested itself mostly as a ‘breathing’ effect.
Huawei FreeBuds Studio has the same problem but it seems even harder to notice. Possibly because the superior isolation of closed-back headphones warrants a less aggressive ANC, possibly because they improved the changeover between profiles.
The set’s Awareness Mode is excellent but maybe performs too well. The outside world is full of hazards to listen out for but they seem unnaturally loud to me with the mode enabled.
FreeBuds Studio feature a dual-aerial design, something that those whose phones thrash about on occasion will notice. I certainly found the BT connection to be rock solid.
Best Case
Huawei FreeBuds Studio charge via USB Type-C and can be charged in around 10 minutes when using any of a number of fast charging standards. With a regular power source it will take around half-an-hour. The headset is rated for 20 hours playback with ANC enabled and I found this to be about right. They’ll do about 24 hours without ANC.
FreeBuds Studio come with a hardcase. A textured faux-leather receptacle that will snugly hold the headphones and USB cable. A nice touch.
Another excellent feature is the set’s dual connection. Being able to keep two devices simultaneously is rather handy.
Good Sound, Excellent Usability
Huawei FreeBuds Studio aren’t the very best sounding headphones at the price but they aren’t far off. A refined, precise mid and upper range mixed with a competent bass delivers the quality you expect from €299 headphones. The feature set and attention to overall function and usability are the real deal, providing the premium user experience that Huawei were aiming for.
Review unit provided by PR
