OneOdio A5 Headphone Review

thesixthaxis.com:

If you’ve been paying attention, there’s a battle being played out in the audio space for control over your ears. Stalwart companies like Sony and Bose continue to create the technological heavy hitters, but while they’ve been winning here for years, there’s been a steady improvement in their competition, and particularly in the value category. Manufacturers like SoundMagic and OneOdio are bringing the fight to them, shrinking the differences between the established firms’ output, while maximising the price difference. It’s a hell of a war, and with the OneOdio A5, they’re firing off another salvo.

The OneOdio A5 are ‘reminiscent’ of Sony’s category-defining XM5s. That is to say, to the casual observer you might mistake one for the other. Ostensibly the shape of the earcups, the headband, and the metal connection between the two, are closely modelled on Sony’s headset, and when the XM5s are arguably the best headphones of this generation, it’s a smart move, if thoroughly unimaginative. I’d have preferred them to offer something truly their own, but I understand the decision.

Where they differ is in the controls, with the A5’s opting for physical buttons rather than the touch and gesture controls of its inspiration. The right earpiece plays host to a volume rocker, power button, Active Noise Cancellation toggle and the USB-C socket for charging. Unlike other options in this category, there’s no 3.5mm connection for wired use, and that’s something of a disappointment, though clearly it’s been done as a marginal cost-saving exercise.

Our review unit came in the powder blue colourway, though it’s also available in a subdued black or off-white option. They definitely look more expensive than their £58 price tag would suggest, and they feel solid and well built in your hands, helped somewhat by the metal joints and smooth plastic on the outside of the sturdy headband. The OneOdio logo sits proudly at the centre of each earpiece, surrounded, in keeping with their design