Fidue A65 review
What are the Fidue A65
The
Fidue A65 are reasonably affordable in-ear headphones. They cost £50,
have an Android/iOS hands-free remote and metal bodies to give you the
sense you’re using something that costs a lot more
They offer
clear sound which, while a little less wide and smooth than the
Sennheiser alternatives, also has better bass control
Fidue A65 – Design and Features
The Fidue A65 are some of the more striking earphones in this price range. They’re a little more eye-catching than our go-to Sennheiser CX5.00, with metal bodies that look like copper
Unusual,
right? It has a brushed finish, although the caps are more familiar
silvery metal, and the whole lot is actually aluminium (a zinc-aluminium
alloy, to be specific). Up close I think the copper bit looks a bit too
bold and shiny, but Fidue is clearly going for a confident look here
anyway. Generic is not the aim
Even the cable has a hint of
copper to it, with what looks like a copper-coloured sheath inside
translucent smokey rubber. It’s a nice look
Look
really close and you can see little signs these aren’t ultra-premium
earphones, but the general impression is of a set that can take
punishment without suffering
The aluminium can hack being stood on, although the copper part’s shiny finish will start scraping off if it gets grazed
Common
to pretty much all earphones at this price, the Fidue A65 have a
non-removable cable, so don’t be too mean to them. And, out to work with
as many sources as possible, they use a single-button remote rather
than the triple-button type generally designed to work with iOS
Despite
being a little heavier than Fidue’s entry-level plastic earphones, the
metal doesn’t cause any comfort issues. They’re just fine
The
only issue I have is that the Fidue A65 seem a little prone to becoming
blocked by moisture, if you wear them soon after having a shower or in
the gym. It seems to be to do with the filter style, or potentially the
‘micro’ driver (anecdotally I’ve had the same issue more with
tiny-driver sets like this). You generally end up with one ear sounding
quieter than the other, with a good dabbing of the earphone's aperture
needed to get the balance right again
For this reason I wouldn’t recommend them as gym earphones. These are general-purpose
In the box you get four sets of silicone tips, including one dual-flanged pair and a basic carry case: nothing too special
Fidue A65 – Sound Quality
Other
than the interesting look, one thing that drew me to the Fidue A65 was
their use of 8mm ‘titanium’ drivers. Contrary to what you might assume,
smaller drivers like this often sound better than those that try to
spread out towards 11mm, or even further
When earphones aren’t out to impress with big-sounding drivers, it often also comes with better tuning
The
Fidue A65’s sound balance is rather nice, with a more neutral or
accurate tone than you normally get at this sort of price. There’s a
good bass kick, but no sense of the lower frequencies dominating or even
pulling focus to any serious extent. Even the Sennheiser CX5.00, among
our favourites at this price, do that a bit
What
this gets you as well as that desirable sense of a flat-ish frequency
response is good mid-range clarity. This is the frequency range in which
vocals sit, so it’s pretty important. If you’ve owned earphones before
that sounded a bit muddy, muggy, foggy, or something that, there’s none
of that in the Fidue A65. Bass isn’t 100% perfectly controlled, but for
the price it’s very good
As such, the Fidue A65 are a good step
into the world of ‘proper’ earphones if to date you’ve only been willing
to spend £10 on a pair. You get some of the more important tonal
properties of more expensive earphones
There are a few things
that mark the Fidue A65 out as a cheaper set, though. While the mids are
well defined, they are also a little bit raw. I wouldn’t go as far as
to call them harsh or grating, as they are in the OnePlus Icons, but they’re not smooth and ultra-refined either
It’s actually a similar property we saw in the SoundMagic E50, another top pick at this price. The two are comparable in several areas of sound, in fact
But
should you buy these or the Sennheiser CX5.00? The Fidue A65 have a
narrower soundstage and the Sennheisers sound much richer, smoother and
perhaps a bit more involving thanks to their grander scale. However, the
Fidue A65 have a bit more mid-range definition and better bass control,
in part precisely because of those other differences
Should you buy should the Fidue A65
The
Fidue A65 are great all-rounder headphones for those who want the sort
of extra definition you get when upgrading from entry-level earphones to
ones around the £50 mark
They aren’t quite as ear-charming as
some at the price – most obviously Sennheiser’s pairs – but this comes
with a quite correct sonic reserve that shouldn’t be undervalued. Plus
they’re powerful and bassy enough to still be considered good fun.
They’re quite comparable to the SoundMagic E50, with perhaps a little
more energy if a little rougher around those mid-range edges
The
only bit you might want to worry about is how they’re pretty prone to
becoming blocked by moisture, making them less-than-ideal exercise
earphones
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