EFM Austin Studio Wireless Hybrid ANC Headphones $91 shipped @ Amazon AU

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harshbdmmaster718 on 20/08/2022 - 18:25 amazon.com.au (193 clicks)
Last edited 22/08/2022 - 00:30 by 1 other user

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These are NOT Over-Ear like the description says the earpads are really small.
These are for people with small ears only if you have average sized ears don't bother I tried them out, look at something else like the Anker Life Q30.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/product/anker-soundcore-life-q3…
I can confirm I have slightly smaller than average ears that stick to my head and the EFM headphones still rest on the ear they don't feel like they are surrounding my ear. If you have regular sized ears you will not get a good seal, letting in outside sounds which defeats the purpose of the ANC feature.

Earpad size makes them suitable for younger folks like kids/teenagers, another reason is I have to extend the arms out to the max to fit my average sized head.
Next best price I can find is $154 + shipping. So between 40% to 50% off depending on the shipping costs.
https://www.skycomp.com.au/efm-austin-studio-headphones-with…
Free shipping for non Prime subscribers since this is over $39.

I have them here so here are some initial thoughts.
I was happy with the EFM Havana Bluetooth speaker, so I thought these were worth checking out.
The earpads are small but they are good quality, soft and comfy. I think the size is a major problem with these headphones when they are described as "Over-Ear".
The overall build quality is very good, the headband is covered with pleather on the inside and outside and is comfortable on the head. The arms that come out of the headband are metal and slide smoothly to adjust.
ANC works well there are three modes Off, Medium and High. This headphone uses Hybrid ANC which means microphones on both the inside and outside with a total of 4 microphones. These are the only ANC headphones I have so nothing to compare them to. I can just say the ANC works. It blocks out airconditioner noises, not so much the sound of a whipper snipper. I can hear a bit of white noise if you are not playing anything.
One problem I have with the ANC is every time you power the headphones on it's Off by default, you need to press the ANC button twice to get it on High mode every time you use them.
I haven't tested battery life yet but it claims 20 to 34 hours. Weird things I noticed are after being fully charged the Battery showed 80%, the next time I used them it shows 100%. And the voice which talks to you "freezes" for half a second when I turn them on like "PoOOwer Ooooooon" not sure what that's about.
Sound quality is good, with ANC on High it is a bit bass heavy but it's really deep bass so the rest of the sound stays clear. This headphone does not have an App so you are stuck with the sound it has but it's good enough I don't feel the need to change anything about the sound.
Sound delay with iOS is ok, at first I thought there was some delay watching people talking but after doing the youtube "latency test" video there was barely any since the tick sounds when the ball bounces.

Overall I give them 4/10. The earpads are too small which ruins them for me. If the earpads were regular sized or if I had small ears I would give them a 8/10 due to their good build quality and good sound.

Price History at CamelCamelCamel.

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• 

  harshbdmmaster718 on 20/08/2022 - 18:29

  +3

  If you have regular sized ears I recommend looking for the Anker Life Q30 when it is on sale for $99. They are reviewed as having the best ANC in their price range.
  https://www.ozbargain.com.au/product/anker-soundcore-life-q3…

  I was first looking at the Razer Opus X, then missed out on the recent Anker Q30's for $99. I tried these EFM's out but sadly the deal is ruined for me due to the small earpads.

• 

  apey2000 on 20/08/2022 - 19:38

  Kudos to you for the honest review/opinion!

  • 

    harshbdmmaster718 on 20/08/2022 - 20:24

    +1

    No problem. I thought I should save anyone with average sized ears the trouble of buying and returning them.

• 

  Link on 20/08/2022 - 20:04

  Thanks OP. Been on the lookout for some ANC headphones for the kids for an upcoming overseas trip. At this price, I’ve not yet found anything comparable. Your honest review on the sizing will actually be a benefit for me I think. I also like that there isn’t a companion app (apparently) so they just work out of the box as is which is perfect for the kids. I did look at the Anker Life Q30 as suggested, but no ANC in wired mode is a deal breaker.

  • 

    harshbdmmaster718 on 20/08/2022 - 20:33

    +2

    These will be perfectly suitable for your kids.
    A few things I neglected to mention in the review. The buttons for Power on/off and ANC on/off are in mirrored locations on each of the earcups, and they are in a very natural position for your thumb when you put your hand on the earcup. The volume rocker is also quality and metal in feel, and very intuitive to use with a dimple on one end.
    The design is well thought out.

    These also have the "awareness mode" feature, where you can just hold your palm on the right earcup and the touch sensor will trigger outside sound to be let in allowing your kids to temporarily hear you or speak with the flight attendant without taking the headphones off. It only maintains awareness mode while you are holding, so it turns off the instant you remove your palm. This is a feature which is also on the expensive Sony XM4's.

    If anything I would just give your kids a warning to not have the volume higher than it needs to be, because for longer durations this can lead to damaged hearing and it even says so somewhere on the box or instructions. And I recommend giving them a full charge before trying to turn them on. It only took about an hour, but I always assume the battery is drained and it is a good idea to charge it before first use.

    The only negative I can see would be the 20 hours ANC battery life. So a full charge right before the flight would be recommended. In some situations you might want to bring a powerbank with a microUSB cable to top them up.

    • 

      Link on 20/08/2022 - 20:37

      Thanks for the extra information and tips! You’ve gone above and beyond with this bargain!

      • 

        harshbdmmaster718 on 20/08/2022 - 23:30

        +1

        I know it's late but I checked one more thing for you before boxing them up.

        I know using ANC headphones with the cable connected to the plane infotainment instead of just bluetooth to a tablet is important for some plane travelers.
        So the first important point is the EFM headphones come with a 3.5mm cable, but do not come with a Two pin airplane adapter so you might want to pick one of these up for every headphone if you don't already have them. Here is a link to a well reviewed pack of 2 but might be worth reading the reviews for some info.
        https://www.amazon.com.au/Airplane-Headphone-Adapters-Earpho…

        The next important point, does the ANC on the EFM headphones work with cable connection? Yes they do I just tested them.
        First make sure the headphones are off. Then plug in the 3.5mm cable to the headphones and the device (airplane headphone or tablet etc).
        Now do not turn the headphones on, instead just single press the ANC button the left and the ANC switches on in Medium mode just without the voice prompt. Press it a second time to put it into High mode and there you go sound from the wired connection and with ANC on.
        One more press turns ANC off, then you can unplug the cable and put it away.

        I thought this was an important feature that should be mentioned.

        Also one more thing, I tested the awareness mode previously without anything playing. This time I tested it while playing a video, and awareness mode does not auto-pause the music/video for you. I am sure on the Sony XM4 headphones as well as letting sound in they auto-pause the video for you. So this is one downside, you have to first pause the music/video yourself then use awareness mode otherwise even with sound being let in the wearer may not be able to hear someone else clearly with the headphones on.

        • 

          Link on 21/08/2022 - 00:18

          @harshbdmmaster718: Thanks so much for the additional info! For ANC wired. What happens if the headphones are on? Or do they always need to be off when using wired connection and you are just highlighting that ANC is then activated by one or two presses of the ANC button?

          • 

            harshbdmmaster718 on 21/08/2022 - 00:35

            @Link: I thought it was safer to plug the 3.5mm cable in when the headphones were switched off, didn't want to break them.
            But I did initially try to power them on after plugging the cable, which resulted in no voice prompt so I thought they don't turn on with the cable. But I took off them off my head and the indicator light was blinking green/red rapidly, so I thought it's trying to tell me something and turned the headphones off again.

            After that I tried pressing just the ANC button with it in the off state, and the ANC came on just without the voice prompt. So I assume that is how they are meant to be used.

            "do they always need to be off when using wired connection and you are just highlighting that ANC is then activated by one or two presses of the ANC button?"

            Yes I believe so. When connected with a cable you keep the headphones off in the "passive state" like any other non bluetooth wired headphones and pressing the ANC button is the only step needed. The button functions exactly the same as if the headphones were on.

            • 

              Link on 21/08/2022 - 08:36

              @harshbdmmaster718: Thank you!!

• 

  cycleri3 on 20/08/2022 - 20:06

  Is this any good? looks like AU company?

  • 

    harshbdmmaster718 on 20/08/2022 - 20:38

    I checked back when I posted my first deal and EFM is an Australian company. They also make Phone cases and Bluetooth speakers.

    Is this any good? If you are an adult and have small ears and I mean small, then yes they are good and I rate them 8/10 especially at $91.

• 

  ashumz on 22/08/2022 - 15:26

  EFM are cheap trash

  • 

    harshbdmmaster718 on 22/08/2022 - 19:32

    Can you share your experience?

    I am going to return these headphones because the earpads are too small, but the build quality for $91 was pretty good I would say on the premium side. For example the Anker Q30 is also a $99 headphone but they are made of mostly plastic, while the EFM had thick metal in important places.

    And I am pretty happy with the build quality of EFM's Havana bluetooth speaker so I have kept it. I only paid $42 for the speaker though.