Fairphone earphones available now

@urs_lesse what’s the sound quality like?

Hi Urs_lesse, I wanna know if earphone wear fit for differents type of ears ? (if you can send pictures)

I don’t own the headphones; but on the last picture from @urs_lesse you can see the different earpads in the foreground and the adjustable memory-foam earbuds in the background.

The text on the box says:

Optional in-box memory foam earbuds adjust to the shape of your inner ear for improved isolation.

So, I guess, one could say, that they are made to fit different types of ears.
I have no idea, how well that works; and it migt be subjective as well.

Edit: Just corrected a typo.

4 Likes

To follow-up on this: I have come to hear this stuttering sound on the FP2 as well soon after I wrote the above, but in recent days I only noticed it on the FP1 anymore. I seem to have detected a clear pattern yesterday: When my FP1 detects the FP earphones as a headphone only Headphone_icon (i.e. just audio playback), the sound output is undisturbed. However, once the FP1 detects the FP earphone as a headset Headphones_icon (i.e. adds the microphone symbol to the icon and is responsive to remote and microphone input), the stuttering is constantly there in the background. It’s not massive, but you can’t really ignore it once the music goes quiet or has ended.

I have also found that the remote seems to “prefer” each device’s default music app rather than the one you currently run. When I use the remote on my FP1, it won’t affect VLC as my music player of choice in the foreground, but will wake up and launch Music. The remote seems to be more responsive in VLC on the FP2 and FP3.

1 Like

Anyone know of a review of the new Fairphone modular earphones? Was wondering about their technical specifications - which are unfortunate missing from the shop page at https://shop.fairphone.com/en/modular-earphones
How good do they sound?

1 Like

Find some technical specs further above.

Soundwise, I have to say that after a couple of weeks, they’re not really my taste. Bear in mind my only comparison is a very simple Sony set of earphones (Sony MDR-EX15AP) and compared to those, the impression is clearly that the Fairphone earphones provide much stronger bass/lows which might be partly due to the much better physical seal their build ensures. In contrast, I miss some trebles (I am still wondering if the Sony’s imperfect seal just gives me a wrong impression of clearer trebles or if the trebles are really more pronounced on the Sony). My favourite song just won’t excite me that much with the Fairphone earphones. :wink: There is no distortion or the like though. I saw 1-2 other users praising the basses.

Despite my initial skepticism when I was reading the decibel specs on the box, the volume level is pretty decent (significantly louder than my Sony’s).

I had to get accustomed to the different way to wear these earphones (see the latest blog entry for a helpful photo). But in contrast to the ambiguous sound experience, this is something I grew somewhat accustomed to, although obviously, it is still a bigger hassle to put the Fairphone earphones on and take them off.

Very good: The cable isn’t just replaceable, it’s also more solid than on my Sony which makes for much smaller issues with entanglement. This cable hardly entangles at all from my experience (note: I do store them hanging vertically down their whole length from a shelf at home).

For more practical observations, see the link.

P.S.: Johan, allow me to – just once – recommend these folks in your town :angel:

5 Likes

Thank you Urs for the detailed review of the earphones! I placed my order already yesterday - couldn’t wait. :slight_smile: And Alexander already reached out to me. Looking forward to the next Düsseldorf Fairphone meetup.

3 Likes

I just got my pair of the “modular earphones” and the build quality is excellent. The “memory foam” ear plugs indeed give the best seal and the best “bass” experience. The plugs which are installed by default didn’t really provide a nice “seal” for me and made the music sound tinny. Disadvantage of the “memory foam” plugs is that they block out basically all outside sound - giving you a super immersive experience. Btw, testing the phones with Faith No More - Midlife Crisis :wink:

Update: tested the earphones on my bike ride home and I think these must have been designed (or picked) by Dutch as they are fantastic while riding the bike! Still plenty of traffic awareness and yet they block out most of the wind noise (with biggest plugs). The cord is just about the right size (I’m 186cm) and the material seems to prevent tangling.

Update 2: So even-though the earphones work well on Android, they don’t work that well when connected to a MacBook (Model 2016). The microphone works, but audio quality is not as good as with the standard Apple earphones. Also the remote control commands for setting volume are troublesome. This might mostly have something to do with Apple’s notorious proprietary specs which cannot always be implemented by other hardware manufacturers. The buttons on the Fairphone earphones a little hard-to-press in general. I often cannot find the actual buttons; the indentations are a little too shallow.

5 Likes

Thanks Urs and Johan for your input here! I am in need of a new headset and am seriously considering buying the fairphone modular earphones, but I can’t find any other reviews on them, other than what you have both written.
If anybody else has any input (if if Urs or Johan have any updates) I would be very grateful to read it. Of particular interest to me is how well the microphone functions during calls. With past headsets I have found the weakness is most often the ability of my headset to transmit my voice clearly to whoever I am calling.
I have a bluetooth headset that works well, but I am more comfortable with a wired headset.

1 Like

So far really happy with the set. The only thing really getting used to is the irresponsive and hard to find buttons of the remote. So far everyone I talked to with using the earphones microphone have had no issues and were able to understand me loud and clear. It did pick up wind noises while I was cycling, but which mic doesn’t. The biggest issue is perhaps that these earphones don’t solve the issue with unplugged earphones and audio no longer working. That seems something to be fixed in the firmware or software of Android or the FP3 itself.

4 Likes

Just so it’s easier to find for others – I made some very basic functionality tests mainly on an FP2 under various operating systems:

1 Like

I just noticed the price has increased to 50 Euros (49.95) in the Fairphone shop. Vireo still offers them for the old price of 35 Euros. I guess that lower price tag won’t survive into eternity … :angel:

P.S.: I finally merged this with the review topic, so that’s why I repeated this reply.

1 Like

Are the earphones actually repairable? I can see lots of wiring inside.

I just resoldered the wire joint on my headphones for the umpteenth time and was on the verge of caving and buying the FP headphones and then they increase the price… a sign from the heavens, I guess. Time for a new set of thrift shop headphones.

4 posts were split to a new topic: Earphone recommendations

Hi!

On the blog you inserted in your post I saw that the earphones are worn with the cable coming from behind the ear. I wear glasses and besides those there’s not a lot of room over my ear for an earphone. Do you think the earphones can be worn with (sun)glasses?

I really want to try them out, but 50 euro’s is a lot for earphones that will end up hurting me.

1 Like

Well, I cannot provide longterm experience here because while I have glasses, I very rarely wear them. I just tried the combination of both and noticed that the frame and the earphone cables will not sit on top of each other on top of the ear, but the frame will usually push the earphone cable to its (out)side (still both comfortably behind the ear). It doesn’t feel uncomfortable initially, but as I said, no longterm experience with this. My ears might be bigger, and behind mine, it doesn’t feel at all as if the cables were running the risk of falling off over the ear.

My general impression with the Fairphone earphones has been that they stay in place very well, both inside your ear and behind your ear.

P.S.: If you are willing to give a vague location where you could test them, maybe someone local would be willing to let you do so.

Well worth a try, but do you really think so?
Neither would I want to try on in-ear headphones worn by some stranger, nor would I lend mine.
At least you should bring some disinfectant (and I don’t think of SARS-CoV2 here, but generally).
And social-distancing might interfere here as well.

The Fairphone earphones are added (separately) free with every FP3 order until 31 May 2020 (can be combined with other discounts if bought via Fairphone’s own online shop). Some resellers are offering the FP3+earphones bundle, too (buyers need to register with https://promotions.fairphone.com/earphones).

7 Likes

Hi all !
I have bought my new FP3 and received it today morning.
The free offer is explained on my reseller’s internet site (Proximus in Belgium).
When I fill the form on promotions.fairphone.com/earphones, I have the answer that IMEI number is wrong or is still used… :thinking:
I have checked IMEI number inside the phone (on right behind battery). It’s the same than on the box, same than on the bill.
Did someone else have same problem ?