Fairbuds review: how good do these sustainable in-ear headphones sound?

Loads of manufacturers are using recycled materials these days. The Fairbuds, however, are the first in-ear headphones with replaceable batteries. You can also swap out the battery in the charging case, which is equally unusual. If you lose one of the earbuds, you can buy individual ones from Fairphone.

Replaceable batteries and individual buds for sale

All I need in order to replace the battery in the charging case is a small Phillips screwdriver. Once I’ve loosened the screw, I can take the innards out of the case and swap out the 500 mAh battery underneath. Replacement batteries are only available from Fairphone, which, as yet, has always made good on its promise to keep spare parts in stock.

What you can get elsewhere – though, admittedly, not in any old supermarket – are the rechargeable LIR1054 batteries in the buds. Replacing them takes a little more dexterity. I need to use a fingernail or a small, flat object to lift and loosen the silicone ring on the earbud. After that, I open the battery tray positioned on a slightly raised area. Although it’s not a process I’d fancy going through every day, the batteries should last for several years.

As is the case with all of its products, Fairphone’s manufactured the Fairbuds using recycled or ethically sourced raw materials. According to the company, the people involved in the supply- and manufacturing chain also receive a living wage.

Comfortable fit, average sound and decent noise cancellation

That being said, even the most sustainable product will fail to impress if it’s no fun to use. Fortunately, the Fairbuds meet many of today’s requirements when it comes to in-ear headphones in their price range. This includes Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint, i.e. the ability to connect two devices simultaneously. With an update, it’d also support Auracast. In terms of audio codecs, the Fairbuds only support SBC and AAC. In other words, there’s no codec for high-resolution audio.

While the Fairbuds’ design isn’t particularly striking, they’re IP54-protected against sweat and spraying water. The buds fit securely and comfortably in my ear. They don’t even fall out when I’m hitting the gym.

Each bud contains an eleven-millimetre, titanium-coated driver, which is where the sound comes from. The material used suggests the Fairbuds are high-quality headphones, but in my view, they’re not top-of-the-range in terms of sound. During bass-heavy tracks especially, they sound muffled in comparison to in-ear headphones such as the Huawei Freebuds Pro 2 and the Nothing Ear (2). It’s as if there’s too much insulation for all the bass to get through. If the song’s dominated by mids or highs, the muted bass isn’t noticeable in a negative way. Voices always sound clear. Even the baritone of a fairytale narrator sounds good.

The active noise cancellation does a decent job, blocking out background noise very well. If you do want to hear your surroundings, you can activate Ambient Sound. This allows ambient noise to be transmitted to your ears via the earbuds’ microphones. The microphones also perform well during phone calls. When I’m walking the streets of Hamburg, people I’m talking to on the phone can hear me loud and clear.

However, if you can live without Hi-Res audio codecs, you should be satisfied overall with the sound of the Fairbuds. You can use the 8-band equaliser in the Fairbuds app (Android/iOS) to adjust the playback to your own preferences.

Controls and battery life

I really like the Fairbuds’ controls. The buds respond to tapping, long-pressing and swiping. While not exactly innovative, it all works very well:

• 1× tap: pause, play
• 2× tap: skip to next song
• 3× tap: skip to previous song
• Press and hold: switch between ANC on, ANC off and Ambient Sound
• Horizontal swipe: adjust the volume

I can also answer and end phone calls as well as open Google Assistant or Siri. Using them, I don’t feel like the controls are lacking in any way.

At six hours, the Fairbuds’ battery life is relatively long. With ANC switched on, however, you only get five hours. The charging case holds out for another 20 hours – a pretty short battery life for in-ears.

It takes about two hours to fully charge the buds. However, charging for just ten minutes should be enough for 90 minutes of playback.