ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Fender Combine can be found for preorder in Skyscraper Black and Olympic White for $299.
- These headphones have a number of connectivity choices, hi-fi streaming choices, and a marathon battery.
- For the value, they underperform with audio consistency and noise cancellation efficiency.
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There is a new headphone model on the town. You’ve got seen it earlier than, however most likely on a guitar amp or strewn throughout your favourite rock legend. Fender is the most recent participant within the shopper audio sport, and its new Combine headphones are not any light-weight competitor.
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In the event you’re in search of inexpensive headphones with a number of connectivity choices, stable audio, good noise-canceling, and a marathon battery, the Fender Combine headphones are a worthy possibility.
Do not get me fallacious; they are a stable first strive, however Fender has a couple of kinks to iron out.
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Proper off the bat, I can say the Fender Combine do not evaluate to Sony or Bose’s flagship headphones in audio or noise cancellation efficiency. Nonetheless, they provide a greater expertise than these corporations’ funds choices inside the $200 value vary.
The Combine can obtain as much as 96kHz/24-bit audio high quality in Lossless Mode, latency as little as 20ms in Low Latency Mode, and are suitable with Auracast, wired, and USB-C audio transmission. Behind the detachable left earcup is a wi-fi transmitter, which helps enhance the Combine’s audio high quality and latency with out being tethered to a wire.
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I linked the Combine to my iPhone 17 over an ordinary Bluetooth connection and seen a really bass-heavy, imbalanced audio response. It sounded just like the left speaker channel dealt with extra bass and lower-mids than the correct, which was disorienting to take heed to. I plugged the USB-C wi-fi transmitter into my cellphone and reconnected the headphones, and the distinction was evening and day.
Listening this manner, the Combine sounded considerably extra balanced, making their audio response on par with equally priced choices from JBL or Beats. A significant downside is that the Combine haven’t got a devoted companion app, so there is no approach to toggle EQ settings apart from urgent a multifunction button to cycle by means of “Music,” “Voice,” and “Entertainment” presets.
With out an app, all the Combine’s settings are managed by two multifunction buttons on the correct earcup: a joystick-like button handles energy, gadget connection, quantity, play/pause, and monitor skips, whereas the opposite handles noise cancellation modes and EQ modes.
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I am keen on a multifunction button, particularly one which behaves like a joystick, however there’s an excessive amount of using on this one little management characteristic. With no visible part to manage the Combine headphones, you may have to hear for chimes that point out characteristic adjustments, or keep in mind the colours and flashing patterns of the LED indicators to know which characteristic you have engaged.
Noise cancellation is respectable and on par with Sennheiser or JBL. In quiet to reasonably noisy environments, similar to an workplace, the Combine dampens minimally irritating exterior noises, however in noisier environments, they falter.
I took the Combine to the gymnasium and linked them to my cellphone through the USB-C dongle. Their noise cancellation struggled to quiet overhead music and equipment noise, and growing the amount significantly mangled their audio response, overboosting the bass and muddying vocals and devices. A companion app might have mitigated this difficulty, however I do not suggest sporting over-ear headphones to the gymnasium anyway.
Another excuse I would not deliver these to the gymnasium is their modular nature. The earpads are detachable for stylistic preferences, and the battery behind the correct ear cup is definitely accessible for self-repair. Thus, you do not need to get these headphones moist, as it will possibly simply attain and harm very important elements.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The Fender Combine headphones are a stable selection for customers who need headphones that get the job performed and supply a number of strategies to remain linked. The USB-C dongle is most respected to individuals who need headphones that carry out nicely in an workplace or classroom and ship low latency for low-stakes on-the-go gaming whereas touring or between conferences or courses.
If extra dependable audio and noise-canceling efficiency, plus a companion app for personalization, are vital to you, I might skip the Fender Combine. As a substitute, think about the Bose QuietComfort Headphones or the JBL Reside 770NC.
