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Oneodio A30 Review Feedback ANC Headphones

Wednesday, February 03, 2021

Other than literary covering your ears with your hands, there is nothing quite like active noise cancellation (ANC) headphones for vanishing external sound as if by magic! The ANC headphone hype is real and likened to the ear popping effect you get at high altitude, which quiets everything down inside your ears but at a cost - pain - unlike ANC headphones, which don't cause any discomfort .
ANC headphone technology can be steep but you can find it very affordably in the Oneodio A30, which are pair of wireless wired headphones equipped with high sensitivity 40mm dynamic drivers that are capable of putting out a decent amount of volume sound (up to 100dB). Along with big sound, the A30 drivers to deliver good bass (at 65% volume), clear midrange and clean treble.
The A30 drivers deliver a wide and clear soundstage, although the sound is not as immersive as the 50mm drivers inside the Studio Hifi headphones. Neither the A30 headphones nor the Studio Hifi headphones integrate 7.1 surround sound, which is ideal for gaming. That said, if you have a Windows 10 computer, you can enable Windows Sonic for Headphones and enjoy a similar surround sound emulation. 
Oneodio A30 uses a Qualcomm Bluetooth 5.0 chipset (QCC3003), which provides stable wireless connection, as well as SBC and AAC codec support. There is no aptX support, which helps cut down lag (latency). For latency free gaming, you can use the Oneodio A30 in wired mode via the included audio cable. For casual viewing of movies and YouTube videos, the lack of aptX is not an issue on Android or iOS when using the AAC protocol.
The Oneodio A30 headphones are entirely made of plastic, including the yoke, folding hinge and physical buttons, which are raised and clicky. The A30 headphones have an LP record earcup styling similar to the Studio Hifi headphones. The A30 earcups have up/down (tilting) range of motion and can be folded inwards to make them compact for transportation. The headphone yoke has a swivel hinge that allows the earcups to rotate (one way) so, you can lay them flat on a desk. Having swiveling headphones is always useful for fit since it allows the earcups to adapt to any head shape. 
The A30 control buttons, status led (which blinks during audio playback) and audio port are located below the right earcup. The USB-C charging port and ANC (active nose cancellation) switch are located on the left earcup. The ANC switch has a status led that turns solid green when ANC is activated, although there is no Transparency/Ambient mode to let sound in while wearing the headphones. With ANC and Bluetooth switched on, the Oneodio A30 headphones can manage 15 hours of runtime at 50% volume. With ANC switched off, you can get up to 25 hours of playtime. You can also use ANC without streaming audio via Bluetooth. ANC only runtime is 45 hours approximately.
The OneOdio A30 uses feedback ANC, which is one of two types of ANC - the other two being feedforward ANC and hybrid ANC, which uses both feedback and feedforward active noise cancelling microphones. The vast majority of ANC headphones use feedforward ANC (mics outside the earcups), while very few use feedback ANC (mics inside the earcups), which is less liable to external noise interference, especially wind noise.
The A30 ANC performance is good for a budget headset, being able to suppress hum/buzzing type noise, along as it is not high pitched (like a crying baby or people talking). The A30 has an extra microphone for calls, which is natural sounding and delivers loud and clear amplification in a noisy environment. There is no multipoint connection support. If you prefer ANC headphones with a smaller footprint, check out the SuperEQ S2 on ear headphones.
As far as charging, the Oneodio A30 headphones have a charging time of 2.5 hours with 5 minutes fast charge support, which gets you 2 hours of playback. The Oneodio A30 headphones can not be charged in Bluetooth mode but, they can charged during wired mode. There is OneOdio branding etched on top of the headband, which is made of hard plastic and reinforced via a brushed aluminium band. The sliding mechanism is a ratchet type, which most headphones headbands tend to use.
The entire A30 headband has padding on top and bottom, although the underside has very softly thin foam padding, which contrasts the rigid foam padding of the earcups (1.5cm thick padding). The A30 earpads do not have the cushiony feel the Studio Hifi earpads have. The A30 earpads inner hole has an oval shape that measures 5cm high and 4.5cm wide. The outer dimensions are 9cm high and 8.5cm wide. The A30 earpads are on the smaller side for an over the ear style, although there is 2cm depth to the driver, which is covered with a thin layer of fabric.
Thanks to low impedance (32 Ohm), the Oneodio A30 headphones can be easily driven from a phone and, you get similar volume dynamics via Bluetooth and wired connection. At 100% volume and ANC on, the bass can get slightly distorted/muddled, especially if the audio/song has a lot of bass. At 80% or less volume, this issue disappears and bass response is clear. There is an audio beep when maxing out volume to 100%.
Accessories wise, there is a drawstring leatherette pouch plane adapter included, as well as an unbranded charging cable and a quality 1 meter long audio cable with rubber plugs and strain reliefs. The audio cable adds 11 grams of extra weight to the A30 headphones, which weigh 278 grams.
A headset stand is also included, as well as a large round fridge magnet, which can also be used as a coffee coaster. The headset stand weighs 59 grams and it's mostly made of plastic, although the supporting bar seems to be made of metal. The height of the stand is 24cm, while the top part measure just 5cm long; hence the stand can only accommodate one pair of headphones. You can buy the Oneodio A30 headphones from amazon and get 15% off, using discount code 15XR6ZIG. Check out the review of the OneOdio Studio Wireless C Y80B headphones and the new Monitor 60 headphones.

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