Sustainability has change into a significantly drained chorus on the planet of massive tech. It is ostensibly the rationale why nothing comes bundled with a charger anymore, and why seemingly each high-profile gadget launch occasion now features a self-congratulatory phase about how some elements within the system are made partially from reclaimed ocean plastic or recycled aluminum. That is all properly and good, however coming from behemoth companies like Samsung or Apple, it could actually come throughout as greenwashing lip-service meant to preempt environmental criticism.
Netherlands-based Fairphone walks the stroll just a little extra convincingly. Fairphone has made a reputation for itself promoting sturdy, user-serviceable units just like the Fairphone 4 — sustainability is baked into the corporate’s DNA. The €249 Fairbuds XL deliver that ethos to over-ear ANC headphones for the primary time: Fairphone sells replacements for a complete slew of the headphones’ elements, and should you can work a screwdriver, you may restore them your self from the consolation of residence. It is an amazing thought, and I actually like a whole lot of issues in regards to the Fairbuds XL. I simply want they sounded higher.
Fairphone Fairbuds XL
With tons of user-replaceable elements, a novel aesthetic, and robust ANC, the Fairbuds XL are a largely profitable first try at over-ear headphones from Fairphone. Audio high quality is not all there, although — and that is a reasonably large flaw in €249 headphones.
- Battery Life
- 26 hours (ANC on); 30 hours (ANC off)
- Bluetooth
- 5.1
- Noise Cancellation
- Sure
- Microphones
- 6
- Weight
- 11.6 oz
- Colours
- Inexperienced, Black
- Supported codecs
- AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX HD
- Folding/Storage
- Sure
- Charging
- USB-C
- Multipoint
- Sure
- Retail value
- €249
- You may restore them at residence
- Distinctive look with a putting inexperienced coloration choice
- Thumbstick controls are neat
- Good ANC
- Middling sound
- Sustainability apart, dear for the expertise
Value and availability
The Fairphone Fairbuds XL can be found within the UK and continental Europe straight from Fairphone’s web site and native retailers for £219 or €249. The headphones are available in both black or a stunning inexperienced and orange colorway. You may’t formally get the Fairbuds XL within the US; some unlicensed third events promote imports on websites like Amazon, however I would not advocate going that route.
Design and {hardware}
Environmental friendliness is Fairphone’s entire deal, and in line with that imaginative and prescient, the Fairbuds XL are made to be disassembled and repaired by the consumer. None of their elements are glued collectively, and Fairphone each sells substitute elements and gives video walkthroughs for changing all the varied bits. You may order new padding, audio system, batteries, and extra, and swap them out with no coaching or specialised instruments required. pair of headphones might feasibly final your complete life if not for elements like these degrading over time, and I would like to see different producers take an analogous tack, unlikely as which may be.
Regardless of all of the Fairbuds XL’s detachable elements, the headphones boast a formidable IP54 ranking for mud and water resistance. That is not particularly widespread in over-ear headphones at any value level, and it is good to know that gentle rain will not compromise the Fairbuds XL’s long-haul sustainability.
For a pair of headphones in a position to be disassembled and reassembled by common individuals, the Fairbuds XL feel and appear remarkably good. The headscarf and earcups are plush and cozy, and I do not get the identical type of fatigue I usually expertise from hours of carrying over-ear headphones (Sony’s otherwise-excellent WH-1000XM5 are a giant offender there for me). I like the look, too — particularly on this inexperienced colorway I have been utilizing.
Half and parcel with the Fairbuds XL’s sustainable reparability, there aren’t any capacitive contact controls on the headphones. As an alternative, there is a brief thumbstick on the again of the suitable ear cup for controlling playback and energy, plus one button pulling responsibility for pairing and ANC management. The thumbstick took just a little getting used to, but it surely’s a neat, tactile option to work together with a pair of headphones, and I type of miss it once I’m carrying a special pair. It additionally gives a pleasant pop of coloration, being orange on the inexperienced mannequin and a extra refined darkish inexperienced on the black pair.
There’s USB-C for each charging and wired audio enter, however there’s sadly no 3.5mm headphone jack, which looks like an odd omission.
Audio and ANC
As a lot as I like each the idea and the aesthetic of the these headphones, I do not suppose audio high quality fairly lives as much as their €249 price ticket. The Fairbuds XL sound decidedly okay. There are a handful of EQ presets to select from, and on the bassy Tokyo setting, the sound signature is how I prefer it: heat, however sustaining comparatively sharp highs.
However there is a unusual form of muffled high quality to the sound in a whole lot of tracks, particularly within the midrange. Possibly it is a compression challenge, however vocals and percussion particularly can come throughout like I am listening to them by some type of skinny barrier, like I by chance left some packing materials contained in the earcups (I did not, I checked). The headphones help AAC, SBC, and aptX HD, however I’ve had the identical expertise throughout totally different units utilizing totally different codecs.
At their finest, the headphones sound fairly good: the thick bass and distorted robotic vocals in Daft Punk’s Across the Worldfor instance, come throughout nice. However different tracks actually undergo. Is This It by The Strokes, already a comparatively low-fidelity recording, sounds downright disagreeable with the Fairbuds XL’s quirks. Particulars can get just a little muddy in busier preparations, too.
Name high quality is equally uninspiring. Recordings I took on the Fairbuds XL present they’ve a tougher time with background noise than many different headphones and earbuds do, with my voice coming by unusually quiet in noisy environments in comparison with different headsets I’ve available.
ANC efficiency is healthier than I anticipated it to be, although, efficiently drowning out the noise of a TV within the subsequent room or the clatter of my (non-mechanical) keyboard with media enjoying at low volumes. It is not up there with the most effective from heavyweights like Sony or Bose, but it surely feels extra thorough than what you may get from, say, the premium Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wi-fi.
Software program and options
The Fairbuds XL are managed by the Fairbuds app. With it, you may select from a handful of EQ presets, all named after main cities. As talked about, I just like the bassy Tokyo preset simply nice, however if you cannot discover one which fits your style, there is a customizable five-band EQ, confusingly listed together with the presets as “Studio.”
The app can be speculated to allow you to order substitute elements by tapping the element you wish to swap out on a 3D mannequin of the headphones, however as of writing, these all result in 404 errors on Fairphone’s web site (you may seize elements straight from Fairphone’s spare elements retailer, should you want them).
The headphones themselves are just a little gentle on extra superior options. There is no on-ear detection right here; the Fairbuds XL will hold enjoying whenever you take them off until you manually pause your media. Quick Pair is not supported, both, so getting arrange in your cellphone takes just a little extra menu-digging than it does for lots of different headphones and earbuds. However there may be multipoint connectivity help, so you may join two units without delay — simply full the pairing course of on each, then choose the Fairbuds XL from every’s Bluetooth menu.
Battery life and charging
Fairphone quotes the Fairbuds XL’s battery life at a decent 26 hours between prices with ANC enabled, and that is confirmed to be true in my time with the headphones. That shakes out to charging twice every week with what I would contemplate heavy use. There are ANC headphones that’ll see you thru 40 or 50 hours or much more on one cost, however these distinctive choices are priced accordingly.
Charging over USB-C is fast sufficient, with a full cost taking underneath three hours. Fairphone says the Fairbuds XL’s battery might be depleted and recharged 500 instances whereas conserving near its unique capability — at two prices every week, that is a helpful lifespan of one thing like 4 and a half years. You may order substitute batteries from Fairphone, and putting in a brand new battery is exceedingly simple: simply pop the panel off the left earcup, pull the previous battery out, slot within the new one, and snap the panel again on. The straightforward process would not require any instruments and took me perhaps 10 seconds to finish.
Competitors
Fairphone just about has the market cornered on user-repairable ANC headphones. If that is what you are after — and you do not wish to compromise on the sustainability side — your determination needs to be fairly easy.
However there are many good headphones that price the identical €249, and even much less. As of writing, Sony’s WH-1000XM4 can be found for €250 on the dot from Amazon Germany, and related costs in different European markets. These headphones provide higher sound, higher ANC, and higher battery life than the Fairbuds XL do, although Sony’s headphones are nowhere close to as simple to service because the Fairbuds. I do not suppose they appear as good, both.
In case you do not care about noise-canceling, you may strive one thing just like the Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2. These headphones will not work as properly for you should you usually hear in noisy environments, however they provide nice, impartial sound and phenomenal battery life of fifty hours or longer on a cost, plus Quick Pair help, all for lower than €200. However once more, should you want one thing you may simply restore by yourself, Fairphone has Audio-Technica beat.
Do you have to purchase them?
I like a whole lot of issues in regards to the Fairbuds XL. They’re snug, they appear nice, and their ANC could be very succesful. Fairphone’s dedication to sustainability, trite as that idea has change into within the tech world, can be admirable. In case your Bose QuietComfort 45 break or their battery stops holding a cost, you may most likely should ship them off for costly repairs, or worse, toss them in e-waste recycling and purchase a brand new pair. These options are expensive, each environmentally and financially. Against this, you may repair most issues that may go fallacious with the Fairbuds XL at residence in just some minutes, utilizing reasonably priced, first-party substitute elements. I do not wish to understate how great that’s.
However these headphones simply do not sound ok to compete straight with equally priced choices from extra established manufacturers within the audio house. At finest, they sound fairly good — and at an asking value of €249, that is not going to be ok for most individuals. It is unbelievable that you might theoretically hold these headphones for many years (assuming Fairphone continues to supply substitute elements), however sounding like they do, you most likely would not wish to.
In case your number-one precedence is sustainability and also you’re versatile on audio high quality, extra energy to you — the Fairbuds XL needs to be proper up your alley. However should you’re simply searching for all-around nice headphones and being inexperienced is extra of a perk than a tough requirement, you may wish to look elsewhere.
Fairphone Fairbuds XL
With tons of user-replaceable elements, a novel aesthetic, and robust ANC, the Fairbuds XL are a largely profitable first try at over-ear headphones from Fairphone. Audio high quality is not all there, although — and that is a reasonably large flaw in €249 headphones.
