2 minute exam
Do you need Bluetooth speaker sunglasses for the summer? These Bose Frames contenders do well in comfort and convenience, but they don't quite match up to the bigger brand when it comes to sound quality. "Open Audio" represent the future. The ability to walk or run without blocking out everything around you is safer and more enjoyable than being locked up in your head. Open audio is precisely what Fauna Audio's Spiro Clear Copper Sunglasses offer in a subtle, highly elegant and reserved unisex package that cleverly conceals its core technology. There's no way someone passing you in the park would know that your temples are rigged with certain microphones, a woofer, and a microphone. No one will appreciate it when you tap a couple of times on the arms to kill a track or slide a finger across the arm to turn up the volume.
(Image credit: Jamie Carter) The downside is that the volume isn't loud enough to muffle ambient noise, while the sound quality, while impressively clear and clean, doesn't do much with music. They work really well for listening to podcasts and chatting on the radio, and they're great for making hands-free calls. But they don't have enough bass response for music. So while they're much better as a wearable and as two sunglasses compared to the Bose Frames, they don't sound nearly as good. Where the Spiro Transparent Brown sunglasses stand out from their rivals is in longevity. While they have a four-hour battery life, they come with a cool sunglass case that can recharge them at least 4 times. All of this leads us to believe that while open audio is still the future, that future isn't here yet. Spiro's clear copper sunglasses impress, but often still leave us waiting for the audio lens swap point.
Price and launch date
- On sale now
- Cost € two hundred and ninety-nine / € two hundred and forty-nine / AU € 449
You can buy Spiro Transparent Brown sunglasses worldwide now at Look Again and wearfauna.com. Fauna Audio's ``smart lenses'' come in 4 styles and frame colors: the unisex Spiro Transparent Brown we tested here, the women's Levia Black, and the Havana Memor Havana (both use filter lenses. Light Blue ZEISS DuraVision BlueProtect) and Fabula Crystal Brown semi-transparent. They're all about the same price in all markets, but it's worth knowing that, at the time of writing, they were quite a bit more expensive than Bose frames.
Integrated
- Excellent charging case
- Polarized Carl Zeiss lenses
The Spiro Transparent Brown resembles designer sunglasses. Its tint is graduated and is reduced to practically only low on the lenses. The only clue that this is also an audio device are the slightly large arms, where the micro-speakers and other technology are housed. This includes a 2mAh battery, 4 mics (with beam training and echo cancellation), those 2 mics positioned right next to the user's temples, XNUMX woofers, and the XNUMXth Bluetooth circuit. As for the lenses themselves, they feature XNUMXmm tinted Carl Zeiss lenses that provide XNUMX% protection against both UVA and UVB rays.
(Image credit: Jamie Carter) They're cordless thanks to a smart charging case, which weighs 4g and measures 145,5 x 46,5 x 153,5mm. It has a USB-C slot to recharge its built-in 52 mAh battery as well as XNUMX green LED lights that indicate how much power is left in the case. When you fold the lenses to put them in this charging case, you will discover charging contacts on the hinges between the arms and the lenses. When you put the sunglasses in the charging cases, the sunglasses come into contact with the case's charging contacts and your sunglasses will be charged automatically. A short orange USB-C cable is included in the box as well as a small microfiber cleaning cloth. The Spiro Transparent Brown weighs around XNUMXg (it's about the same as Bose frames) and measures XNUMX x XNUMX x XNUMXmm. They aren't heavy to wear, but they do feel noticeably heavier than regular sunglasses. They're waterproof and dustproof (to meet the IPXNUMX specification), which means you can wear them in the drizzle and they'll absorb a bit of sweat, too. So you can go for a run, which is a good reason to buy them; Aside from offering wireless music and staying aware of what's going on around you, the Sprio didn't move much during our test.
Install on pc
- Easy to use touch controls
- Bluetooth 5.0 pairing is instant after initial setup
Although they came with a charge on them, it is necessary to remove some safety stickers from the charging contacts of the glasses. Then you can reload the case and glasses, which takes a few hours when empty. The outermost green LEDs will light up if you've positioned them correctly (although it's hard not to). Once the refueling is open, open the cargo box and the green lights will flash and the goggles will audibly declare ``Wildlife is on, wildlife is partnering''. When first set up, the user is asked to display a smartphone camera. on the QR code on the charging case, which takes you to a support page on the Fauna Audio website. There is a four minute YouTube video tutorial and user guides to download. There are also instructions for opticians so you can heat the natural acetate material of the Spiro Transparent Brown sunglasses and change the prescription lenses.
(Image credit: Jamie Carter) Before we finish all this, you'll get an audible 'try pairing again' prompt, and in our test we just couldn't find the glasses in our smartphone's Bluetooth menu. This is where the video is worth watching, as it explains, right at the end, that tapping and holding for four seconds on the right temple combines the glasses. It turned out that once paired, they stayed connected and automatically reconnected afterwards. They can be paired with multiple devices, although only one device can be paired at a time. There are many other easy to use touch controls. Capacitive touchpads on each arm allow for a different amount of tapping and swiping on each side. On the left side, a double tap starts and pauses music or accepts/ends a phone call, swiping back and forth adjusts the volume, while tapping and holding for four seconds skips a track or rejects a call. Meanwhile, a double tap on the right side activates your phone's personal assistant.
(Image credit: Jamie Carter) These controls work well largely because they're so simple, and the arms are responsive enough to touch. So much so that by putting them out of your head, it's easy to wake up Siri et al. We didn't encounter any connection issues during our test, although we did notice that these sunglasses did not have a switch. The result is that while it's easy to wear them on your face for a few hours, if you sit down for coffee and want to turn them off, you have to turn off the music on your phone and/or put them back on your phone. case load. . They go to sleep after about 20 minutes, but with such a short battery life it's a huge waste of time.
Audio quality
- Clear sound quality
- Lack of bass response to music.
The key technology inside the Spiro Transparent Brown sunglasses is an array of electrodynamic MEMS microspheres, which are the brainchild of Fauna Audio's parent company, USound. Each speaker mic stand comes with a woofer. Let's start by examining why the 'open audio' concept behind the Spiro Clear Brown Sunglasses is perfect for being on the go, especially in urban areas. If you're moving around a city, it's not a good idea to wear headphones that block out all ambient sound, tempting as that may be. This goes double if you're going for a run, where pedestrians and vehicles can appear out of nowhere. While they allow you to listen to music or talk without blocking out the outside world, what we liked best about the Spiro Transparent Brown sunglasses is their clarity. When playing a podcast or talking to someone on the phone hands-free, the sound quality is excellent, clear and accurate, and the microphones on the right side of the glasses (both equipped with beamforming and echo cancellation) seem to work. correctly.
(Image credit: Jamie Carter) What their microspeakers lack, however, is plenty of capability with the breadth and depth of music. The midrange is thin, and the low-frequency sounds are noticeable, but fair. Simply put, they need more bass response. That said, it's all very listenable and there's a strong sense of stereo separation, but that lack of bass leaves them below the audio quality that the Bose Frames offer. There's also a volume issue, especially if you're wearing the Spiro clear brown sunglasses in a city. While they work well for walking or jogging on quiet suburban streets or in a park, it will be hard to hear everything when crossing busy roads. Surprisingly though, there's also very little leakage, so unless you're in a quiet place indoors with the volume turned up, no one will hear the noises coming from your sunglasses.
(Image credit: Jamie Carter) So while they deliver crisp, highly listenable sound, they work better with podcasts and talk radio shows, and for voice calls, but they don't impress much more than background music.
Battery duration
- Four hour battery life
- The charging box is recharged four times
The clever and surprisingly slim design of the Spiro Transparent Brown sunglasses comes at the cost of disappointing battery life. Although they have a 20-hour standby life, in actual use playing music or making calls, they last around four hours. Maybe par for the course in the audio sunglasses niche, but limiting nonetheless. The Savior is an excellent charging case, 1300 mAh of which fills the Spiro Transparent Brown sunglasses' built-in 100 mAh battery four to 5 times. However, the need to carry the case with you everywhere is somewhat limiting. It would have to be...