Is everyone on board with wireless IEMs? We are starting to wonder if consumers are looking for alternatives to sticking dirty tubes down their ear canals. FiiO are not the first brand this year to release advanced ear hook style wireless earbuds (the branding is odd) that rest on your ear and that might not be the worst thing in the world.
The Cleer Audio ARC II were launched at CES 2023 and our experience with most of their products so far has been extremely positive. The ARC II fixed a number of the issues that we had with the original ARC which makes them a rather attractive option.
Why would anyone want these?
Aside from hating the feeling of earphones inside their ear canals, some consumers don’t care as much about passive or active noise cancellation and really want to preserve their situational awareness.
I can count on both hands the number of runners and kids on scooters wearing wireless earbuds that I’ve almost hit with my SUV this summer on the Shore. People don’t pay attention and can’t hear approaching bikes, buses, or cars.
Enough of my rant but I rather like the concept of the FiiO JW1 Ear Hook Wireless Earbuds (let’s give them a proper name). Other companies label this style as “Open-Ear” earbuds.
The FiiO JW1 earbuds are worn on-the-ear and require no fitting or ear tips, making them ideal for sports, running and the commute when you want to hear that podcast but don’t want to worry about getting crushed by the ice cream man’s truck.
A secure fitting via the ear hooks allow quick, reponsive touch-sensitive controls while on the move. You can take calls and use voice assistants too and the 9.5g weight is certainly manageable.
The JW1 support Bluetooth 5.3 and the slim storage case offers three full charge sessions. That works out to about 18 hours of battery life.
The push/pull case also includes a magnetic seal and a USB Type-C input for charging. Battery life is around 6 hours from the headphones. Finally, a 14.2mm driver means full scale sound on the go.
It takes around 90 minutes to completely charge the JW1 if they are completely drained; the charging case requires around the same amount of time if completely discharged.
Codec support includes SBC and AAC; the earphones have a 10 meter Bluetooth range used outdoors.
Specifications
- Dimensions: About 91.6×55.6×28.6mm
- Weight: About 9.5g (earbuds only), in a total about 85 g
- Battery:
- Earbuds 65mAh
- Charging case 250mAh
- Water and dust rating: Water-resistant
- Standby time: 3 months
- Battery life:
- Earbuds single use: ~6 hours
- Earbuds with charging case: ~18 hours
- Charging method: Electric shock (earbuds) Type-C (charging case)
- Charging time:
- ~1.5 hours for earbuds
- ~1.5 hours for charging case
- Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 5.3
- Supported audio codecs: SBC/AAC
- Bluetooth range: 10m
In the Box
Note: “Jade Audio” is a subsidiary brand of FiiO Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. which employs a direct-sales model. Derived from “翡声” (Fei Sheng), the entity’s Chinese name which means “the sound of Jade”. The name “Jade Audio” conveys a mission towards providing consumers with crisp and pleasant listening experience while maintaining audio fidelity.
Price & Availability
The FiiO JW1 are available in “Dynamic” Black or “Vigorous” White on July 27, 2023 for £34.99 / $39.99 at Amazon and Advanced MP3 Players.
Tip: Step up to the FiiO UTWS5 Earhook Wireless Earbuds for $139.99.
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