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. 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
Thank you Urs for the detailed review of the earphones! I placed my order already yesterday - couldn’t wait. And Alexander already reached out to me. Looking forward to the next Düsseldorf Fairphone meetup.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 …
P.S.: I finally merged this with the review topic, so that’s why I repeated this reply.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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 ?
Thanks a lot for your answer.
I have sent a mail to that mail address. With pictures of the box with the label, the sticker inside the phone behind the battery and screen shot of Proximus’ website. Copy of the bill alse.
And I have opened a ticket in the support site.
I have received a number ticket for opening.
I have called my provider (which sells the phone with the promo). They told me that I have to see with Fairphone…
So waiting for answer now.
" Thanks for your message.
We are aware of this ‘problem’ and our team is working on a solution.
When we have an update for you, you will here from us directly.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Have a good day! "
I have received an answer again explaining it should work now.
It was yesterday.
I tried yesterday and this morning again, without success.
I have replied by mail.
There is a ticket opened in support for my problem. Without comment for the moment.
15/05/20 update :
Hi all.
The support ticket I have opened for that problem has been closed.
Here is the answer :
By the way, my reseller (Proximus in Belgium) proposes the promotion :
I sent a mail to customer care of Activationboxx (mail address which is written in Conditions of participation. Still waiting an answer…
I will contact my reseller to explain that promotion is not real and doesn’t work.
Solution found. Answer from Activationboxx asking me to register again. IMEI number accepted. Thanks a lot Fairphone !
There is no distortion or the like though. I saw 1-2 other users praising the basses.
And Alexander already reached out to me. Looking forward to the next Düsseldorf Fairphone meetup.
