OneOdio Focus A6 over-ear ANC headphones hands-on: Vibrant sound with clear vocals

The OneOdio Focus A6 trades top-tier performance for affordability, yet retains a vibrant sound with clear vocals for modern music genres. They are a solid choice for someone who understands its cons and doesn’t want to spend too much time researching headphones that can be worn comfortably for hours at a time. The OneOdio can be immediately used to enjoy high-resolution playback with an all-week runtime.

The Focus A6 will stumble with certain genres, such as arias and operas, and while the regular ANC has very good noise cancelling performance, its wind cut and transparency modes could be better.

The protective packaging included a multilingual user manual and a 150 cm (4.9 ft.) USB-C audio/charging cable. A QR code links owners to the smartphone app online.

The OneOdio Focus A6 headphones incorporate earcup faceplates with a distinctive metal texture that adds character to its otherwise monochromatic color design. The headphones use extra soft padding for the earcups and headband that enabled hours of continuous wear and made side sleeping possible.

The earcups have vents near the hinge to help prevent excess heat or moisture build-up, even after a jog. However, this results in more sound leakage than fully-closed headphones. Music played at 33% volume would generally not be audible at 1 meter (3.3 ft.) or greater, but definitely so at 50% or greater in quiet environments like libraries.

The earcups are labeled with 18 mm (0.71 in.) tall letters (R or L) on the liners. They are mounted on plastic hinges that swivel and fold, which are connected to plastic arms. The arms can extend up to 3 cm (1.18 in.) across 10 click stops to fit larger heads and do creak when adjusted.

The arms and headband padding are mounted to a flexible metal backbone, part of which is exposed along the top of the headphone. The backbone can flex to fit various heads with the strength to withstand breakage. Once snugged in place, the Focus A6 did not slip while jogging but did when headbanging like Led Zeppelin.

The Focus A6 headphones are controlled by four buttons on the right earcup body – ANC, Power, and Volume Up/Down. The buttons are small and closely spaced (~3.5 mm/0.14 in. spacing). They are easily identified and pressed ungloved, but can be too small and indistinct while wearing gloves. In environments like libraries and bedrooms, the buttons produce a noticeable click louder than silent mouse buttons. Multiple functions are assigned to each based on the number or length of button presses.

The power button must be pressed two seconds to turn the headphones on or off. While on, a single press cycles between media play and pause, and a double press launches the phone voice assistant. A single press of the power button also answers or disconnects calls, while a double press rejects them.

The ANC button cycles through ANC off, ANC on, and Transparency modes after each single press. It cycles through ANC off, Wind-resistant ANC on, and Wind-resistant transparency modes after each double press.

The volume buttons adjust the sound level after each short press, while a longer two-second press skips to the prior or next song.

When connected to Android phones with ‘Disable absolute volume’ checked in Developer Options, the Focus A6 is able to drop the volume to below whisper levels, perfect for falling asleep to while listening to very quiet ASMRs. In this use case, the step between levels 1 and 2 is a slightly abrupt, but the other steps above that are smooth.

The OneOdio Focus A6 pairs with Bluetooth devices easily - turn it on, wait for the voice prompt, then search for ‘OneOdio’. The headphones will connect in standard SBC or AAC codec mode by default, supporting simultaneous dual-device connections as well as game mode for lower latency.

For the best sound quality, the Bluetooth Connection Type must be switched from Most Stable to Best Sound Quality mode to use the LDAC codec on Android smartphones. Apple devices do not support LDAC. This disables both the ability to pair with two devices and game mode while increasing audio latency. (For the rare phone with known BT issues like the LG G7, the OneOdio app must be used to enable LDAC.)

Bluetooth audio latency is set by the source device. Generally, YouTube videos will play in sync with the audio, and low-latency Game mode can be used while playing video games to minimize audio lag. Videos will always play in sync when using the included USB-C audio cable.

During testing, VLC on a LG G7 required a latency adjustment of -350 msec in LDAC mode or -50 msec in Game Mode. The Fandango at Home app had no such ability, so Game Mode was required.

The ANC modes and app do not work with a wired connection, and a dead battery will prevent the headphone from working regardless of connection type.

The smartphone app can be downloaded from app stores or by scanning the QR code in the user manual. The version 1.01 Android installer is 28 MB in size. Once installed, the app provides access to a wide array of headphone settings.

The app includes the ability to change ANC modes, adjust EQ settings (default Pop, Bass, Super Bass, or Custom 7-band EQ), activate LDAC, Movie Sound Effect, Game Mode, or Dual Device Connection, set Auto Power Off timers (15, 30, or 60 min), set Over-time Wear reminders (30 min, 1 hr, 2 hr, or 4 hr), limit Maximum Volume (80 dB, 86 dB, or 92 dB), rename the headphone, and set the voice prompt language to English or Chinese. The app can also play a repeating beep through the headphones to help find them.

Call quality was good, though certainly not as rich or detailed as a podcast recorded with a high-quality mic. Loud background noise and nearby speakers could be heard in calls while walking along busy beachside streets, but the caller’s voice remained intelligible. The Focus A6 does not have a boom mic, so it’s not ideal for those working in extremely noisy call environments.

The first impression upon hearing music with the Focus A6 headphones is the clarity of the vocals and vibrancy of the sound. The headphones shine with many popular genres including modern pop, K-pop, R&B, drum and bass, and hip hop, including hits from Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Lola Young, Swift, BTS, Blackpink, and Rihanna.

The presentation is vibrant, vocals are centered, and instruments are well-separated. The detail level with these songs is excellent, with intelligible articulation and distinct instruments. The headphones are particularly good at clearly conveying accents, whether the British English of Lola Young or the Cantonese of Fiona Sit, and suitable for language learning and translation/transcription work.

The vented design of the Focus A6 means the bass won’t hit as hard as with fully closed headphones. For example, the intro to Monkey Majik’s A.I. Am Human is brain-rattling with the JBL e55bt, whereas the OneOdio keeps the bass reigned in for a smoother presentation that remains engaging. The bass tradeoff extends to ear fatigue, with the JBL becoming tiresome within the hour, while the OneOdio continues to be enjoyable hours longer.

Due to the headphones’ analytical characteristic that can tend to be dry with solo vocals, genres where the headphones fall short at include arias, operas, and ballads, including performances by Charlotte Church, Filippa Giordano, Chara, and Mika Nakashima, with performances such as Giordano's S'apre Per Te Il Mio Cuor lacking in sufficient nuance, warmth, and vocal prowess to be fully satisfying.

Higher-pitched male singers like Michael Jackson shine, and his Billie Jean is most engaging. Lower-pitched singers, like Frank Sinatra or Louis Armstrong, will lack the full body and throaty resonance expected, so Fly Me to the Moon or What a Wonderful World will only be passable.

Regardless of genre, the bass or instrument reproduction can go off-track during rare songs. For example, the bass sounds oddly bloated in Rihanna’s Here I Go Again while the scratchboard synth is excessively prominent in Stefy’s You and Me Against the World, both of which can be corrected through custom EQ settings.

The Movie Sound Effect mode adds a sense of space to make some scenes more engaging, like the rooftop shootout in American Sniper.