Bryn De Kocks
OneOdio Fusion A70 Summary
The OneOdio Fusion A70 is sold as an affordable DJ and Studio headphone. While I wouldn’t recommend these headphones for studio use, that’s not to say they have no merit, and the overall sound quality is surprisingly good for their price. But the A70 has more than its suggested use scenario to deal with. The build quality has some fundamental flaws that need to be addressed.
Introduction
The Fusion A70 by OneOdio is marketed as a wireless + DJ headphone. It’s an affordable offering that falls short of $50 and is developed with budget as the key focus point. As such, going into this review, I have set my expectations accordingly and will be reviewing them in context with their price range while also drawing objective parallels to more expensive alternatives on the market.
We already have some experience with OneOdio products, having reviewed and quite enjoyed their Monitor 80 headphones. The A70 is a third of the price of the Monitor 80 yet offers additional wireless connectivity. This typically means that costs were cut in other manufacturing areas to make it viable.
What We Scored It
Overall Rating - 60%
Sound Quality - 70%
Comfort - 59%
Build & Design - 47%
59%
A good sounding pair of headphones that could be greatly improved with some R&D around the current design, which holds these headphones back.
What’s In The Box?
The Fusion A70 packaging is compact, with the box not measuring more than 7x7x7”. This is possible because the A70 folds up into a compact form factor with the use of swivels.
Here’s what you get inside.
- OneOdio A70 Headphones
- Carry pouch
- 6.5mm -> 3.5mm cable
- 3.5mm -> 3.5mm cable with mic
- User guide
- USB-A to Micro USB
Go Wired or Wireless With the OneOdio Fusion A70
Bluetooth capabilities are a big selling point for the A70, as it’s not common to find wireless headphones at an affordable price range, and when you do, pairing issues and connectivity problems seem all too prevalent.
Connecting the A70 to my phone was extremely easy – I turned on the wireless mode, using the power button on the right earcup, and immediately was able to detect and connect to it from my phone. Within seconds I was listening to music and able to test out the Bluetooth connectivity.
I found the range to be very reasonable, and I was able to move between close rooms without the connection dropping. I have seen some customers complaining about the Bluetooth not working, but I do believe this may come down to defects in the particular products they received, and would recommend contacting OneOdio if you do encounter that issue.
Build Quality Is Not A Strength of the A70
First impressions are everything, and I can’t say I was impressed with the way the A70 feels in hand. The color variation we received from OneOdio was the silver and brown version, where the primary construction features a metallic appearance. Unfortunately, this premium appearance quickly dissipates when one looks closer at the A70 and notices the material quality.
The entire silver portion of the headphones is made from plastic and not a particularly durable feeling plastic. They feel light and, ultimately, cheap. This isn’t too surprising, given the price point of these headphones – they are cheap. You’re going to have a hard time finding headphones at this price point that offers Bluetooth connectivity and still feel durable.
It is worth noting that I use the Philips Fidelio X2HR as my daily driver, so I am used to a heavier, sturdy-feeling headphone, so when switching across to the Fusion A70 for this review, the change in material quality was immediately noticed.
I was quite surprised when I noticed the headband warping after just a few minutes of usage. This doesn’t seem to be due to a warped material itself, but rather the support of the headband moving as you extend the size of the headband. I don’t have a particularly large head, but I still need to maximize the extension on the earcups to get them to fit comfortably. Because of this, I would suggest those who frequently wear caps, beanies, or have larger heads take this into consideration.
The image above shows how the headband warps in areas when it’s fit on one’s head, or in this case, on the box.
Perhaps the most unpleasant experience for me personally is the sound created by the earcup padding. The foam on the inside creates an uncomfortable squeaky sound that gets the hair on my arms standing up every time I need to reposition the headphones. This is caused by the type of foam and material and how loose it sits inside the padding. I can understand some of the aforementioned aspects being a challenge to resolve on such a low budget, but one should never feel as though putting on headphones is like nails on a chalkboard.
The provided 3.5mm standard aux cables fall into a similar problem, with the wires not being particularly thick or long. For this review, I ran the cable to my FiiO E10K DAC to extend the range and make them viable for PC listening. However, this didn’t affect the overall sound quality much, as I also tested them on mobile. The A70 is very easy to drive at 32 Ohms, meaning you don’t need to use a DAC, the use of which essentially adds additional volume to the headphones. The 6.5mm to 3.5mm cable has better range but limited use because despite being considered DJ headphones, I do suspect that the primary consumer won’t be using these for DJing.
Here’s where I would typically contrast the negative build qualities with some positives, but finding a redeeming quality about how these materials feel is hard. If there is one positive, though, it’s that they don’t feel terrible on the ears. There isn’t aggressive clamping, despite being slightly undersized. But again, the wrong aggressive movement and the squeaking returns.
I do, however, enjoy the aux jack lock on the earcups, which can ensure you don’t accidentally pull out your cords or have them rotate, which is a frequent annoyance with many headphone models.
The OneOdio A70 Are Far From The Worst Sounding $50 Headphones
While the budget headphone market is filled with some truly horrendous-sounding products, the Fusion A70 doesn’t fall victim to this same problem. Sure, you can’t compare them to high-end headphones, and it’s still easy to identify the shortfalls in audio performance, but the overall integrity of the audio is better than I’ve experienced from more expensive headphone models.
Good For Fun, Not Studio Work
The one thing I do want to clarify, though, is that despite OneOdio’s claim that these headphones are good for studio work – I don’t share that sentiment. When working on tracks, it is essential to have a balanced sound profile that allows you to adjust your levels accurately. These are not flat-sounding headphones. They have a very distinct V-shaped signature with a strong thumping bass and accentuated high end, but doesn’t come across quite as piercing as even the Sivga SV021 in the high end, a more expensive closed-back headphone.
I would say the A70 shines the most as a versatile casual listening pair of headphones for those with a very limited budget. The reality is that the sub-$50 range of headphones all tend to come with serious limitations, and there is an argument about the sacrifices made in the build-quality department being more favorable than negating audio performance for a better build.
If you want a flatter sound response and a viable option from OneOdio for mixing, I’d suggest looking at the OneOdio Monitor 80. They have superior build quality, and the sound is cleaner and far more balanced. The Monitor 80s are about twice the price, but if you’re looking into working with audio, even on a mixing level, you will want something with more balance than the A70. Do note that the Monitor 80 require a DAC to perform up to their potential.
How They Perform In Music and Games
For the sake of this review, I used these headphones in a few different ways. After hearing the frequency response and tuning of these headphones, I decided these were the best areas to focus on, as despite the claims – I wouldn’t recommend these as mixing headphones to anyone. But they do hold merit in other areas.
In terms of audio performance for music, I listened to three different genres. EDM, metal, and then finally, Indie.
Song: Fred Again – Baby Again (EDM)
Baby Again is a song that has pretty sharp snares, as well as a thumping heavy bass that gets introduced around the 1-minute mark. On the Fusion A70, despite these sharp highs, they don’t become too piercing, albeit accentuated. The bass comes in extremely hard and heavy, which will appeal to many – and I’ve got to admit that there is a very reasonable separation of frequencies without the bass bleeding too much into the midrange.
The midrange sounds somewhat recessed compared to the highs and lows, though, and there is a little less definition in turn.
Overall, the song sounds good and, in fact, sounds better than it does on my Sivga SV021s, which sound extremely piercing on the snare and not as deep in the low-end.
Song: Future Nobodies – Over It (Indie)
This song is carried by a strong bass guitar presence, electric guitar high tones ringing out through the track, and vocals falling into the high midrange. On the A70s, this track sounds really good. The vocals could stand out with a little more definition, but this is mostly due to limitations in dynamic range. The highs come close to being overtuned but retain their integrity.
Song: System of a Down – Toxicity (Metal, kind of)
Toxicity is a song with a lot of depth and immersion to it, and using it in this test was to help check out the soundstage of the Fusion A70s. Of course, these are closed-back headphones and will immediately fall behind most open-back models, which present more soundstage. Nonetheless, the performance of the A70s was impressive on this track. Sure, there wasn’t quite as much detail as when I tested the OneOdio Monitor 80 on this same track, but considering the price difference, I was surprised by how good these sounded here.
Performance in Gaming
I tested out the A70 using Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which tends to be my go-to choice due to the importance audio plays in competitive play. I was surprised by how accurate the directional sound was on the A70. I was easily able to pick out player locations based on audio, even at a distance. The deep low bass ensured that explosions and gunfire sounded immersive.
It’s a challenge to find a $50 pair of headphones that can do well in competitive gaming, but I honestly had more fun than I have had with some Razer products. For casual gamers, you’ll also enjoy an overall solid sound quality.
Summary of Sound Quality
Despite the harsh criticism I expressed for the build quality of the A70, I have to admit that these sound a lot better than most $50 headphones I’ve listened to. They aren’t the widest, nor the most detailed – but they don’t fall victim to the same audio issues that most other budget headphones do, the tuning.
Note that I decided to review these in the context of $50 wireless headphones and not as studio headphones because, as mentioned earlier, I would not consider these viable for studio work.
Sure, they are V-shaped, and the bass is somewhat dominant in many tracks, but with a bit of EQing, you can get these sounding pretty good, especially for the price. The sound is quite intimate and close to the ear.
The Fusion A70 sound good across all genres of music that I tested and did surprisingly well in games too, though the lack of soundstage does mean they fall behind more expensive open-back alternatives. The one benefit from the closed-back design, of course, is the increase in isolation, and the A70 does a fairly good job at isolating the sound from those around you.
The lows are deep and thumpy but fall short of obnoxious. While also being tight and refined enough not to destroy the low midrange response. While a little recessed in comparison, the midrange doesn’t come across as muffled or muted but rather just secondary to the lows and highs. While also tuned quite prevalently, the upper range doesn’t reach piercing levels, sometimes found in a V-shaped sound signature.
I was really impressed by the lack of vibrations in the drivers. Even with pretty aggressive testing, there was no rattling of the drivers. The driver matching wasn’t perfect, but reasonably good, and the polarity was also on point.
Microphone Quality
The primary 3.5mm auxiliary cable comes with a microphone attached to it, and while I’m not a fan of the limited length of this cable, there were some extremely surprising results in terms of microphone quality. Below is a sample of audio recorded from the mic.
You’ll notice that the quality is impressive, to say the least. We’ve tested multiple headphones at this point, and if you’re keen to compare how they perform. Here are some comparisons between the EKSA E5000, E1000, and Air Joy Plus. This will provide some context to the performance of the A70.
Conclusion
The OneOdio Fusion A70 is a mixed bag. The sound quality is surprisingly good for a casual listening headphone to be used while cleaning the house, gaming, or just rocking out. But their build quality makes them challenging to recommend. Ultimately you’ll have to decide whether you want to spend more and get quality across the board or whether you’re willing to sacrifice build quality for a decent audio performance at a low price.
Consider the OneOdio Studio Monitor 80 if you’re looking for a more viable studio headphone, albeit close to twice the price.
We hope that OneOdio can improve on their build quality a bit in the future with the A-series headphones. As a consumer, I’d happily pay $20 more for small changes in how these feel both in hand and on the ear.
