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Fiio JW1: A hybrid between headphones and earbuds

They look like earbuds, but the FiiO JW1 sits on the outside of your ears, with no plugs at all.

By / 2 August 2023 - 8:00 am
Fiio JW1: A hybrid between headphones and earbuds

The FiiO JW1 is a fresh take in a market drowning in wireless earbuds and headphones. It’s a hybrid between headphones and earbuds. Whilst they look like a pair of earbuds with an earhook, there’s nothing to put in your ears here. You just pull the band over your ear and press play.

Open type

The headphones are of the open type, which means we expect premium comfort when wearing them for extended periods of time. But that also means sound leakage, so it’s probably not a good idea to use them on aeroplanes or other forms of public transport. Maybe on the bus if you’re the type of person who’s afraid of travelling too far.

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We can’t wait to see what the bass response is like in these hybrid headphones. But at least there’s a 14.2 mm driver for each ear, which means twice the diameter and four times the diaphragm area of a typical pair of earbuds. So we have high hopes.

FiiO itself claims that the sound quality is much better than in so-called bone conducting headphones, where sound is created by vibrations in the cheekbone.

The ear hooks mean that the JW1s stay firmly in place and never fall off, even if you’re headbanging away. Or maybe they’re perfect for your workout?

FiiO JW1 basketball player
Photo: Screenshot from official video.

13 hours of battery life

The FiiO JW1 is claimed to have around 13 hours of battery life in the headphones, plus two extra charges from the case.

The headphones support Bluetooth 5.3, but we don’t yet know if they have multipoint, i.e. the ability to be connected to multiple devices at the same time. We also don’t know which audio codecs are supported.

FiiO JW1: Price and availability

What we do know is that the price is set at 40 euros, in other words, we’re at the more affordable end of the spectrum. And they should be available now.

More info: fiio.com

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