So there's a company called Fairphone whose claim to fame up to now was the production of the closest thing to a "sustainable" smartphone as they could pull off. They've got a whole spiel about that on their website, you can read it there if you're interested; what's probably more interesting to ASR right now is that they just jumped into the headphone market with a closed-back set they're calling the Fairbuds XL.
That's a cringe-inducing name (for me, anyway), but they look interesting. The repairability of these seems to be one of the main selling points; connectivity appears to be bluetooth (AAC, SBC, and aptX HD; shame there's no LDAC or aptX lossless) and USB (w/3.5mm using a separately-sold cable). It looks like you can switch between ambient mode and noise-cancelling easily enough; the little joystick control seems convenient, although I wonder how it'll hold up over time. They claim support for two connected bluetooth devices at once, although I'm betting that's about as awkward to get working as most of the other products in this space. The only review I've seen of these mentioned that the accompanying app gives you a small selection of EQ presets, but you can't create your own; given how I suspect this all works under the hood, I suspect that's a software limitation of the apps rather than a limitation of the hardware itself.
I can't really tell from the pictures, is that a USB-C conection through the headband between the two cups?
Given their track record for replacement parts and repairability, I'd bet these end up being popular for hacking/tweaking. Just being able to swap the battery out easily seems like a win for keeping these working longer-term. It seems surprisingly good for a first-generation product in a space they've never built something in before, honestly.
For €249, they seem like a relatively decent deal for a set of travel/office cans. Does anyone here have a set yet? (Maybe you'd even be willing to send them to Amir?
)
That's a cringe-inducing name (for me, anyway), but they look interesting. The repairability of these seems to be one of the main selling points; connectivity appears to be bluetooth (AAC, SBC, and aptX HD; shame there's no LDAC or aptX lossless) and USB (w/3.5mm using a separately-sold cable). It looks like you can switch between ambient mode and noise-cancelling easily enough; the little joystick control seems convenient, although I wonder how it'll hold up over time. They claim support for two connected bluetooth devices at once, although I'm betting that's about as awkward to get working as most of the other products in this space. The only review I've seen of these mentioned that the accompanying app gives you a small selection of EQ presets, but you can't create your own; given how I suspect this all works under the hood, I suspect that's a software limitation of the apps rather than a limitation of the hardware itself.
I can't really tell from the pictures, is that a USB-C conection through the headband between the two cups?
Given their track record for replacement parts and repairability, I'd bet these end up being popular for hacking/tweaking. Just being able to swap the battery out easily seems like a win for keeping these working longer-term. It seems surprisingly good for a first-generation product in a space they've never built something in before, honestly.
For €249, they seem like a relatively decent deal for a set of travel/office cans. Does anyone here have a set yet? (Maybe you'd even be willing to send them to Amir?
)
