Huawei FreeBuds Studio review: A solid first attempt

By Alex Choros

Last updated 05 February 2021

Huawei FreeBuds Studio Review: The Verdict

The FreeBuds Studio are a solid first attempt at noise-cancelling over-ear headphones from Huawei, and deliver on comfort, sound quality, and making the world just that little bit quieter. Occasionally overwhelming bass, some compatibility issues, and strong competition means they're not the easiest sell, but you can certainly do worse than the FreeBuds Studio.

What we love

Great noise-cancelling
Nice design
Good sound quality for the most part

What could be improved

Bass can be overwhelming sometimes
No 3.5mm port
No iOS app

70/100

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Most of us are pretty aware that Huawei isn't in a great situation when it comes to smartphones in Australia. Cut off from Google thanks to the fun nature of geopolitics, Huawei's mobile business has faced a major setback in countries where Play Store access is expected with a smartphone.

Of course, Huawei still has a fighting chance when it comes to smartphone accessories. Earlier this year, we found its Watch Fit was a pretty good fitness tracker for the money, and the Huawei FreeBuds Studio - the brand's first over-ear noise-cancelling headphones - are certainly worth a look if you're after new cans.

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From the get go, the FreeBuds Studio are rather nice looking headphones. The earcups smoothly slide up and down on aluminium arms, creating a seamless aesthetic. You won't find a visible screw or hinge. Of course, this also means the FreeBuds Studio fold down flat, rather than collapsing into a smaller package. In turn, the carry case you get with the headphones in on the larger side.

The FreeBuds Studio also fare well on the comfort perspective. I would have liked the pads to be just a little thicker, but they're still great for extended listening. The pair only weighs 260g, which makes them very light on the head.

Sound quality is obviously the major question, and impressively, the Freebuds Studio come close to matching Sony's WH-1000XM4s - my longstanding recommendation for noise cancelling headphones. There are however a few caveats that means they fall a little short.

The Freebuds Studio are very bass driven headphones that also exhibit clear treble, but this can come at the expense of midrange frequencies. At times, they sound little shallow and compressed. On a track like Run The Jewel's "JU$T", Huawei's approach to audio works great. The strong bass creates a resonant kick without compromising the rest of the song.

However, in Opeth's "The Drapery Falls", the punishing double kick bass drum is overpowering. The mix is still clear and detailed, but the drumming certainly takes precedence. At worst, instruments can get lost in the mix, like the keyboard in the chorus in Carly Rae Jepsen's "Run Away With Me".

Huawei has also done a solid job when it comes to noise-cancellation. The FreeBuds Studio won't block out quite the same level of noise as the Sony XM4s, but they'll make your world a whole lot quieter - especially when you're also listening to music.

You'll find a transparency mode that lets you filter in real world sounds, but it has an unsettling artificialness to it. At the same time, Apple is the only manufacturer to have genuinely made a transparency mode that sounds good so far.

The FreeBuds Studio are rather unusual for noise-cancelling headphones in that they don't have a 3.5mm connector on them, no cable included that lets you use them with a headphone jack, and no airline adapter. It's quite likely that the USB C on the headphones is for charging only, and can't be used to output sound if you want to use the FreeBuds Studio as a wired pair of cans.

In terms of battery, you can expect around 17 hours per charge from the FreeBuds Studio with noise-cancelling switched on. That's certainly not bad, but falls short of the 30 hours the Sony XM4s are capable of. A five minute charge will take them from flat to about five hours of playback, however.

The FreeBuds Studio naturally work best with Huawei devices and feature AirPods-like instant pairing. They'll still work with other Android smartphones and iPhones as traditional Bluetooth headphones. You can sideload a companion app on Android smartphone which gives you a few more noise-cancellation customisation options and the ability to remap gesture controls and tweak settings. iPhone users are stuck using the FreeBuds Studio as they come out of the box.

Huawei FreeBuds Studio - Final Thoughts

The Huawei FreeBuds Studio are a great first attempt at a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. They're comfortable, they're enjoyable to listen to, and the noise-cancelling works well. At $399 they're not a bad buy, but the Sony XM4 edge out the FreeBuds Studio in most areas - which is understandable, given Sony's audio heritage. The Sony XM4s retail for $499 however, so the FreeBuds Studio certainly reasonable for the price. OF course, we've seen the XM4s go as low as $350 when we've been on sale.

Nonetheless, the FreeBuds Studio prove Huawei has some chops when it comes to making over-ear noise-cancelling headphones and I'm keen to see what the manufacturer does next.