Headfunk Freakin Buds review

In a world bustling with earbud headphones, it’s hard for the little guys to stand out. Sure, Sennheiser and Sony can sit pretty on their consumer electronics thrones and declare the arrival of their latest product, safe in the knowledge that people will listen and stroke their chins, wondering if they should drop the cash just to see what the electronics giants have come up wit. For lesser-known names, it’s trickier.

Headfunk has tried to nudge its Freakin Buds earphones into the limelight by directing them towards a niche- one that’s apparently keen on brightly coloured headphones.

The Freakin’ Buds aim themselves squarely at skaters, bladers and other such active types that are generally either inordinately young or inordinately hip. As such, the headphone cable runs through a flexible lanyard designed to sit around your neck, ending under each of your ears. It amounts to nothing more than a plastic tube, but helps to keep your earphones where they belong when you’re busting out those rad moves down at the skate park. Those onlookers won’t impress themselves, you know.

Shortly after accepting this as a sound idea, we came to realise that, unfortunately, the build quality of the headphones themselves is less than inspiring. The plastic used to house the micro drivers feels cheap and there’s the occasional crackle as you push the Freakin Buds in to your ears - the hallmark of cheap earphones.

When we say cheap we mean really cheap though, not the £24.99 that these buds will set you back. Much as we hate spitting in the eye of the underdog, we wouldn’t expect such an effect from similarly priced offerings from the consumer big boys like Sennheiser. There’s also no grille on the end of the speaker canal either, meaning that even if the Freakin Buds do survive a fight against a pair of your shoes and a gravel path mid-ollie, they may well get invaded by grit.

Of course, we could forget most of our issues with the build quality if the sound was great. In fact we’d be willing to wear the lime green Freakin Buds to work, carrying a battered skateboard to go with our ragged ¾ trousers. The other train passengers would be most impressed.

However, the headphones manage to stumble here too. The bass levels are reasonable, providing a decent enough thump to do justice to the cliche skater’s playlist. Elsewhere though, the sound is boxy and lacking in detail and clarity. The mid range is pushed forwards but, like pressing your face against a shop window, the effect is that the Freakin Buds sound flat. Compared to rivals, the Freakin Buds end up seeming muffled – not a desirable descriptor, no matter what your music tastes are.

Much as their use of minimal recyclable packaging may be admirable, it feels like Headfunk is charging premium price for the cheap seats with the Freakin Buds, doing so under the cover of a gimmick. There are too many cheap and capable earphones out there for these to earn our recommendation.