Right this moment, Meldrick critiques the FiiO SNOWSKY Anytime, an reasonably priced set of on-ear Bluetooth 5.4 noise-canceling headphones with as much as 58 hours of battery life. Relying on the retailer, it’s at present priced between $30 and $40.
Disclaimer: I obtained this pattern in trade for my trustworthy opinion. Headfonics is an unbiased web site with no affiliate hyperlinks or companies. I thank FiiO and SNOWSKY for his or her help.
You may click on right here to be taught extra concerning the FiiO SNOWSKY audio merchandise beforehand reviewed on Headfonics.
This put up follows our present scoring tips, which you’ll learn in additional element right here.
FiiO SNOWSKY Anytime Overview
Abstract
The FiiO SNOWSKY Anytime is a feature-packed noise-canceling wi-fi headphone that delivers stable on a regular basis usability at a horny sub-$50 worth level.
Efficiency & Options
8.3
Execs
Good ANC efficiency.
Lengthy battery life.
Multi-Gadget pairing functionality.
Cons
Lean Midrange sound.
Sub-par bass texture.
Leather-based pads can get heat.
The FiiO SNOWSKY Anytime enters a crowded wi-fi headphone market in search of to supply the comfort of Bluetooth and lively noise cancelling at a worth level effectively underneath $50.
Recognized for his or her extra youth-centered audio merchandise, such because the Wind headphones and ECHO MINI DAP, FiiO’s SNOWSKY is not any stranger to delivering high-value audio
To see if Anytime can attain its objective of delivering a handy, reasonably priced, and high-quality set of wi-fi headphones with Y2K visible aptitude, learn my full assessment and comparisons beneath.
Options
On the core of the SNOWSKY Anytime is its pair of 40mm dynamic drivers which were tuned in keeping with FiiO’s years of expertise in delivering high-performance audio whereas balancing it to the tuning preferences of basic listeners
Just like many wi-fi headphones and IEMs, the Anytime comes with help for Bluetooth 5.4, delivering decrease energy consumption and better efficiency, regardless of solely supporting SBC and AAC codecs.
With devoted recreation and music modes, this additionally provides the Anytime low sufficient latency to make it suited to gaming and video-watching use instances.
In keeping with delivering premium options at a extra reasonably priced worth, the Anytime additionally comes with each Lively Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Transparency modes, boosting its versatility as a pair of headphones that you should utilize in a busy espresso store or throughout a stroll in a busy metropolis middle.
Design
The SNOWSKY Anytime’s design walks the road between way of life minimalism and refined retro aptitude. Our Matte Black assessment unit contains a smooth mixture of supplies and finishes.
The earcups are constituted of matte plastic, giving them a premium in-hand really feel. Whereas the mirror-finish ring provides visible pop, it is usually liable to fingerprints and feels barely hole. The SNOWSKY brand is discreetly printed on every cup, contributing to a clear, unfussy look.
Aesthetically, it doesn’t scream audiophile. As an alternative, it suits seamlessly alongside different way of life electronics that stay low-key, fashionable, and arguably trendy.
The black plastic housing contrasts properly with the brown artificial leather-based used on the vented foam pads, that are plush and breathable. Sadly, the pads are non-detachable.
The headscarf is fabricated from stable metal with plastic yokes that swivel 90 levels, permitting the cups to lie flat for storage. A padded artificial leather-based strap on the underside supplies long-wearing consolation with out strain factors.
It’s a considerate design, clearly focusing on youthful or informal customers who worth each type and performance. Whereas not luxurious, it holds its personal by way of construct high quality and aesthetic cohesion at this worth level.
Consolation & Isolation
Weighing simply 155g, the SNOWSKY Anytime is impressively light-weight, making it simple to put on for prolonged periods with out fatigue. The swiveling and tilting earcups do an important job of naturally aligning along with your ears, requiring little adjustment to get a safe match.
That mentioned, the Anytime continues to be an on-ear headphone, which suggests there’s no escaping the feeling of the pads urgent straight onto your ears. Thankfully, the plush foam and mushy artificial leather-based used right here preserve issues from feeling overly fatiguing, at the very least in cooler situations.
On hotter days or throughout out of doors use, nonetheless, the leatherette wrap tends to entice warmth, and I did expertise some sweat buildup after an hour of steady put on.
The Anytime’s passive isolation performs about as anticipated for an on-ear headphone. Ambient noise, like conversations or air conditioners, nonetheless leaks by way of. Nevertheless, the Lively Noise Cancellation (ANC) helps elevate its practicality.
With ANC engaged, I observed a few 70% discount in background noise, making it a lot simpler to focus or take pleasure in media in public areas. I usually left ANC on even with out music enjoying, because it gave a degree of isolation corresponding to some closed-back over-ears, minus the majority and cables.
Controls
The SNOWSKY Anytime contains a well-designed bodily button format that’s each intuitive and tactile. The facility button handles a number of duties: powering the unit on and off, initiating Bluetooth pairing, play/pause instructions, and activating your voice assistant (similar to Siri or Google Assistant).
A separate quantity rocker controls up/down ranges and doubles as the subsequent and former monitor controls through lengthy presses. A devoted ANC button cycles by way of noise canceling, transparency, and customary listening modes. Double-pressing this similar button toggles between recreation mode and music mode.
Every mode change is accompanied by a feminine voice immediate, useful for confirming what setting you’re at present on without having visible cues.
The buttons themselves are tactile and clicky, with distinct shapes and spacing that make them simple to find by contact.
Placement is logical, and after just some hours of use, the format turns into second nature. In every day use, I by no means discovered myself by accident triggering the flawed operate.
Battery Life
Battery efficiency is one other robust level for the SNOWSKY Anytime. It comes outfitted with a 500 mAh battery, which SNOWSKY charges for as much as 58 hours of playback with ANC off, and round 35 hours with ANC on.
In apply, these numbers maintain up effectively. With ANC toggled on and off all through the day, the Anytime persistently delivered 5 days to 1 week of average use earlier than needing a recharge. There’s no marketed fast cost characteristic, however the battery drain is gradual and environment friendly.
I by no means discovered myself worrying concerning the cost degree of the Anytime earlier than leaving my home. Its bigger battery capability gave me the boldness to know that the headphones had been unlikely to die on me in a state of affairs the place I couldn’t simply cost.
Packaging & Equipment
The FiiO SNOWSKY Anytime is available in a compact, shiny cardboard field that options stylized art work of the headphones up entrance. Inside, the contents are stored minimal however neatly organized. You get the headphones themselves, a brief USB-C charging cable, and a person guide.
Being a portable-focused pair of wi-fi headphones, I’d have appreciated the inclusion of a small onerous shell carrying case or fabric to offer some safety when storing the headphones in a bag.
Nevertheless, given the worth level that Anytime is making an attempt to focus on, this omission is cheap.
Sound Impressions
All listening comparisons had been accomplished with the Anytime in its music mode. Listening was accomplished on my iPhone 14, M1 MacBook Air, and SNOWSKY’s RETRO NANO dongle and the ECHO MINI DAP.
Since I wouldn’t have different equally priced wi-fi headphones, comparisons had been made towards the SNOWSKY Wind and Koss KPH30i, which had been additionally paired with the ECHO MINI.
Abstract
The SNOWSKY Anytime is tuned with a enjoyable V-shaped signature. Bass and treble are elevated, whereas vocals and mid-range string devices have a muffled and compressed presentation.
Whereas it lacks the decision and dynamics of pricier headphones, it delivers an satisfying and non-fatiguing sound for informal listening.
Bass
The sub-bass extension on the SNOWSKY Anytime is spectacular for such a compact on-ear design. It delivers a shocking quantity of low-end attain with a powerful sub-bass that hits deep. Fortunately, this bass by no means veers into bloated or overwhelming territory.
The presentation leans extra towards a mushy affect slightly than a tightly centered punch. It lacks the feel and tactility you’d discover in additional premium headphones or well-tuned IEMs.
On tracks with quick or complicated kick drum patterns, the Anytime tends to render them in a flatter, one-dimensional method, with out the layered particulars which might be simply distinguished on more adept headphones.
Mid-bass efficiency is a bit lean. Bass guitars and low-end rhythm sections come throughout with much less authority, and in genres like funk or disco, this could depart tracks sounding a contact hole, lacking the nice and cozy, groovy weight that anchors the rhythm part.
Mids
The midrange is arguably the SNOWSKY Anytime’s weakest level sonically. Whereas the general tuning leans towards a protected V-shape, the mids really feel noticeably recessed.
Vocals, particularly male voices, are likely to sound flat and missing in weight or authority. There’s a sure hollowness in the way in which the Anytime renders string devices, the place strums and plucks mix collectively slightly than standing aside.
Harmonics and determination within the midrange fail to indicate a transparent sense of area or separation that helps every instrument breathe. In additional layered acoustic tracks or orchestral sections, this could make the presentation really feel compressed and undynamic.
That mentioned, some carry within the higher midrange provides devices and feminine vocals a bit extra vitality and presence.
Right here, the decision sees a modest enchancment, providing a clearer sense of edge and element. However general, the midrange lacks the refinement, engagement, and pure tonality that extra succesful headphones can ship.
Treble
Treble efficiency on the SNOWSKY Anytime walks a high-quality line between readability and sharpness. Cymbals have a crisp, ethereal presence, and hi-hats come by way of with good sparkle, serving to steadiness out the subdued midrange and leaner bass response.
Element retrieval is respectable for a headphone at this measurement and worth level. It manages to current sufficient high-frequency data to maintain issues partaking, particularly in pop and digital tracks.
Nevertheless, the tuning isn’t with out flaws. On some tracks, the Anytime can exhibit moments of sibilance the place “S” and “T” sounds in vocals grow to be noticeably sharp or fatiguing. This isn’t a relentless concern, but it surely does crop up relying on the tune being performed
Total, whereas not probably the most refined or easy treble presentation, it’s energetic sufficient to maintain the sound from feeling too veiled or boring and provides a wanted sense of area to the combination.
Soundstage & Imaging
The SNOWSKY Anytime falls quick relating to imaging precision. Its restricted decision and lack of harmonic depth make it tough to separate particular person devices with readability.
In denser mixes, components are likely to blur collectively, and there’s a noticeable absence of layering throughout the sound area. This leads to a considerably smeared stereo picture, the place pinpointing actual instrument placement turns into a problem.
Nonetheless, it’s not with out redeeming qualities. Directional results like sweeping actions are effectively executed, lending the Anytime a way of dynamism that works effectively for informal gaming.
The soundstage is decently large for an on-ear headphone. It presents an open and roomy presentation that may doubtless really feel expansive to listeners used to the extra intimate staging of typical IEMs.
Click on on web page 2 beneath for my wi-fi efficiency impressions and chosen comparisons.
