Kaneye F9 Review

Lately I’ve sought respite from the overwhelming flood of true wireless earphones washing over my review desk.  But today I’m playing around with the cheapest true wireless I’ve ever seen:  the $38 Kaneye F9.  To be honest, I’m not even sure how to pronounce the brand name.  CAN-eye?  Khan-EE-yay?  Khan-yay?  Regardless of how you actually pronounce the name, the F9 sounds amazing, for the price.  But how does it stack up to its competition?

Kaneye F9 Review

The Kaneye F9 comes with only a handful of accessories:  a charging case, four pairs of eartips, and a micro-USB charging cable.

Design-wise, this earphone looks fairly generic, with a plastic shell and touch-based sensor for controlling audio.  There’s no mic stalk for improved call quality, but fit feels fantastic.  These little earphones drop right into my giant oversized jumbo elephant ears with ease.  And once in place, they hug the contours of my ear and don’t fall out.

Battery life comes in at a paltry 3 hours, though, and this may constitute the Achilles Heel of the F9.  The charging case offers an additional 9 hours, bringing total battery life to an okay-ish 12 hours.  However, compared to other models on the market, this number doesn’t seem so competitive.

Running on Bluetooth 5.0, the Kaneye F9 claims to have improved signal strength, with less drops and interruptions.  For all of my listening sessions, this proves to be true, with only one short drop in connectivity during a field test a few blocks from Time Square.

Isolation feels solid, and call quality remains clear and detailed.  Voices sound natural and my friends can hear my voice with no issues on their end.

Low End

The low end of the F9 feels just a tad bit reserved, and not quite as boomy as I was expecting.  Instead, there’s some slight warmth to the sound, leading to the impression of a fairly inspissate low end – though one that still sounds rife with detail.  While some electronica and pop seem to benefit from this slightly emphasized low end, genres like rock, hip-hop, and jazz all seem to gain something from the F9’s natural sound.

Midrange

In the mids, the Kaneye F9 offers a relatively rich listening experience.  Completely unexpected in a below-$50 true wireless earphone, these mids remains clean and clear with only the slightest amount of compression.  However, with that in mind, the presentation still feels top-notch, with solid instrumentation and arresting vocals.  Hip-hop, pop, and rock really benefit here, where vocals seem to float above backing instruments, and lyrical content thus tends to take center-stage in the midrange.

High End

Bright but only in the slightest degree, the F9 does have a slightly emphasized high end.  The result may end up feeling a little peaky in the highest parts of the frequency range, but stays fairly smooth and mellow for most tracks.  Despite the slight hiccups at the uppermost limits of the frequency range, though, the F9 still sounds pretty fantastic.  Once those smooth highs get going with the tactile low end and three-dimensional midrange, you’re left with an impressively defined sound.

Soundstage

There’s some space and depth in the Kaneye F9 sound.  Not an overwhelming, jaw-dropping, heart-pounding, toe-curling amount.  But enough to put it miles ahead of competitors like the JLab JBuds Air.  Whether bumping some classical tunes or the latest TV on the Radio joint, you’re going to love the space and definition here.

Recommendations

If you’ve got a budget of $50 or less for a pair of true wireless earphones, you need the Kaneye F9.  With better sound quality (and build) than the reigning champ, the $50 JLab, this earphone falls nothing short of a steal.

Still, if you wanted something marginally better with solid bass and a similarly slim silhouette, I would encourage you to consider the JBL Tune 120 TWS (at $99).

For folks who want the absolute best true wireless earphones money can buy, get the Sennheiser Momentum TW at $299.  Your ears will thank you.

But what if you can’t afford such frivolous finery?  Stick to the Kaneye F9 and get the most detailed, articulate, lifelike sound you can for the money.

Final Analysis

The Kaneye F9 doesn’t have a ton of brand recognition or advertising behind it.  What it does have, though – impressive sound quality – still vaults it ahead of competitors.  The fact that Kaneye has stuff such ridiculously  good audio in such a small earphone – and sells it for an easy $38 – seems downright miraculous.  Until you get the F9, and hear what miraculous actually sounds like.  Our take?  This earphone is a bulletproof budget buy for anyone who’s itching for some audacious audio.

Get the Kaneye F9 for the best price here:

Amazon(Note:  It looks like the name of the product on Amazon has changed to the Peohzarr F9.  But don’t let the name stop you, this earphone ROCKS.)

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