OneOdio A10 Noise-Canceling Wireless Headphones Review
A sub-$60 headphone with a big features list and powerful bass
NOTE: OneOdio kindly sent me this pair of headphones to review. No money changed hands. I had full editorial control over this text. It was in no way reviewed by anyone but myself before publishing.
As per my reviews policy, this review article will never be monetized, but other content I write in the future about this product, such as head-to-head comparisons or additional analysis, might be.
When OneOdio first reached out and asked me if I’d like to review their new budget-priced noise-canceling headphones, I was nervous.
I’ve enjoyed a number of low- priced headphones over the years, but so far I’ve only tried one noise-canceling pair that cost less than $60.
That previous pair, the TaoTronics SoundSurge 60, was a miserable failure. It had solid comfort and noise blocking ability, but the sound was a nightmare mess of mud.
To my relief and delight, the OneOdio A10 doesn’t suffer from that problem, and even outdoes Apple’s new expensive Beats Solo Pros in one specific and hilarious way.
OVERVIEW
The OneOdio A10’s are closed-back, noise-canceling, wireless headphones with a backup wired connection. They launched in August of 2019, and sell for a street price of about $60.
In addition to a full suite of control buttons, they have one single USB-C port. It’s as if they were created in direct response to the millions of headphone reviews that state, “If only this had USB-C.”
Like Apple’s new Beats Solo Pro, the port serves double-duty as both the battery charging port and the auxiliary port for wired connections. However, unlike with Apple’s pair, you won’t have to pay an additional $35 dollars to get the cable you need for the “privilege” of using a wired connection. OneOdio includes both a USB-C to 3.5mm cable and a charge cable in the box, alongside a hard shell carrying case.
SOUND QUALITY
I first used these wirelessly with my phone, without the noise-canceling turned on. They were a little too boomy and dark for my tastes, even as “consumer” headphones go. Think “thumping dance club.”
The midrange and treble were still present, but took a firm back seat to powerful bass. It wasn’t as bad as the SoundSurge 60’s muddy veiled soundscape, but still firmly in the bass-heavy territory that Beats used to be famous for.
Fortunately, turning on the ANC (active noise-canceling) also engages some additional internal equalization, and the sound quality takes a nice step up. The bass is still elevated and powerful, but it’s a little tighter and more precise. Mids and treble get a bit of a clarity bump as well.
If you turn on the ANC while music is playing, you’ll get to hear the EQ profile kick in over the course of a second or two. For a moment, the bass blasts out a deep thumpy cry and the mids and treble distort weirdly before everything gently fades into place. It’s an interesting experience, and while I’m sure it’s down to processing lag from using less-expensive components, I actually have a weirdly fun time listening to this every time I toggle the ANC switch. That processing hiccup only happens when you first push the switch.
So, this is a warm, consumer-style headphone with a bassy “fun” sound signature. It’s brilliant for pop, hip-hop, EDM, and anything else you’d enjoy with a cranked-up subwoofer-like bass boom. It fairs less well with classical, jazz, and acoustic material. You can still listen to those types of songs without hating them, but they don’t really bring out the best aspects of these headphones.
These are in no way an “audiophile” or “critical listening” pair, but then most noise-canceling pairs aren’t chasing that kind of listener.
Compared to the disappointing TaoTronics SoundSurge 60’s, these are brilliant. They’re right in line quality-wise with other low-cost consumer headphones I’ve enjoyed, like the Skullcandy Riff and the Astro A10.
NOISE CANCELING/BLUETOOTH PERFORMANCE
Noise isolation performance is solid, though not in line with the heavy hitters in the ANC world, and not as good as the more-expensive TaoTronics SoundSurge 46's I highlighted and reviewed recently.
Still, the ANC noticeably cancels out some background noise, and it works best against low frequency rumbles like ventilation systems. I can hear a very small amount of white noise without music playing, but feel no uncomfortable pressure sensations.
The pads do a little over half of the heavy lifting in the isolation department, and you’ll notice a bigger drop in noise from first putting on the headphones compared to turning the ANC on.
OneOdio touts Bluetooth 5.0 support, though you won’t get any fancy playback codecs like AptX here. Just good old-fashioned SBC.
It’s a decent implementation sound-quality wise, and did well for both music playback and in my weird test where I listen to high frequency tones at onlinetonegenerator.com, and see how much obvious distortion there is. Bad Bluetooth implementations start to break up and distort once you hit about 10,000Hz, but these hold up fairly well especially considering the low price.
Battery life is rated at 25 hours with both ANC and Bluetooth in use, 40 hours in Bluetooth mode without ANC on, and ~80 hours in wired mode with ANC turned on. Those numbers are great, and in my tests they’re accurate assuming you don’t crank the volume all the way up. You may have to turn them up higher than you’re used to from other pairs in wireless mode, though. I noticed that the volume was a little quiet till I hit about 70 percent volume.
The headphones feature quick charge, providing two hours of playback off a five minute charge, and a full charge takes a couple of hours.
Bluetooth range is totally fine. I got about 35 feet away in my apartment with multiple walls in the way before they lost the signal from my iPhone XR.
COMFORT
The comfort is adequate, if not spectacular.
The ear pads use memory foam, though it’s a fast-rebounding foam and it’s not quite as thick as I was hoping it would be. The ear pad openings are a touch on the small side, but manage to just cover my ears without smooshing into anything.
The headband pad is a trendy silicon piece with an air pocket underneath, something probably pioneered by Beats that even AKG fell into using recently. My biggest issue with the comfort of the A10’s is that their headband pad isn’t quite thick enough.
The headphones only have a mass of about 250g, but you’ll feel that mass the whole time you wear them. It never becomes unpleasant, but they never disappear either. A future revision with just a hair more foam in the ear pads and a slightly thicker headband would do wonders.
Clamping force is slightly strong, which makes sense as you don’t want wireless headphones to fall off of your head.
The A10’s don’t have the absolute best comfort, but I was still able to wear them for several hours taking only one short break to re-seat them. Again, not too bad for the low price.
DESIGN/BUILD
Both the design and build of the OneOdio A10 are miles better than the TaoTronics 60’s I keep harping on.
The frame here is quite similar to Sony’s headphone lineup, though its aggressive curve means it sticks a little farther out from the head than those more-expensive models.
Most of the headphone is made out of basic plastic, though the headband adjustment sliders are metal. Impressively, they have integrated rubberized cable channels just like the Audio-Technica MSR7, and clicky adjustment sliders that feel like they belong on a more expensive model.
The hinges that allow the ear cups to collapse click into place solidly just like a pair of Beats, but only time will tell how many thousands of clicks they’ll stand up to. Usually those types of hinges are made from metal to help with durability, but on this pair they appear to be a mix of metal and chromed plastic.
The ear cup backs have the same vinyl-record-like texture that many other OneOdio products have, surrounded by more chrome that collects fingerprints immediately.
Nothing here outright screams “cheap” or “bad,” with no creaking or squeaking apparent during my time with them. I’ll post a small update should that change in the future.
They don’t feel like they’ll fall apart and the adjustments are very secure. That’s all I can ask for at this price.
FEATURES/CONTROLS
The included hard shell carrying case is pretty good. It doesn’t have any kind of pouch inside, just a simple elastic strap to help keep the headphones from moving around. Its thin profile makes it easy to stow in a bag.
You get two cables in the case. The first is a USB-C to USB-A charge cable, and the second is a USB-C to 3.5mm analog audio cable that’s about one meter long.
If you plug in the analog cable, the Bluetooth mode automatically powers down. It’s really awesome that this was included, though since there’s no standard 3.5mm jack on the headphones, you’ll need to find a new USB-C to 3.5mm cable if you ever lose the included one and want to use them wired.
Sound quality is roughly comparable between wired and wireless modes, with a slight improvement noticeable while wired. The headphones include a basic mic for phone calls when you’re using them in Bluetooth mode, and it’s fine. It’s a little bit distant and muffled sounding, but it’ll work for a call in a pinch.
You get a standard complement of control buttons. There’s a play/pause button that does double-duty as the power button, volume up and down, and an ANC switch. You’ll have to remember to turn the ANC off when you’re not using the headphones, or the battery will slowly die. If you press both volume buttons at the same time, it activates your voice assistant on your phone, and holding those buttons skips tracks.
Bizarrely, the volume buttons are reversed from many other headphones. The one towards the bottom of the headphones turns the volume up, and the one towards the top turns the volume down. This took me a bit of time to adjust to. It’s like inverting the aiming controls in a video game.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The OneOdio A10 has redeemed the sub-$60 wireless ANC headphone category in my brain. I was so disappointed in the TaoTronics model earlier this year that I wasn’t sure if I’d visit this category again, but the A10’s deliver solid value for the price.
They’re not built as well as more-expensive pairs, the ANC isn’t the strongest, and they have a sound quality that’s firmly in “fun” consumer territory. But these are fine compromises for a headphone that costs so little.
If you’re doing some online holiday/Christmas shopping for yourself or a loved one and you’re interested in a bass-centric sound, but want to start somewhere cheaper than Sony’s Extra Bass lineup, these are a decent choice.
But if you’re a regular traveler and you need strong ANC, or you’re an audiophile looking for pristine detail and brightness, you might want to look elsewhere.
When I started my current headphone-reviewing journey a half-decade ago, a consumer headphone with this level of performance would have cost around $150. They share a number of design similarities with the Sony WH-CH700N’s I reviewed last year, but in a much cheaper package with less powerful ANC.
As long as you have your expectations in the right place, I think the relative value here may surprise you.
