Sudio FEM Review (Sudio Sweden)

Preface

The Sudio FEM is Sudio’s third true wireless earphones. The first and second ones being the Sudio Nivå and Sudio Tolv respectively.

Let’s check out the merits and demerits of this Sudio FEM model.

Note: The earphone was tested on the Huawei P30 Pro, Mate 20 Pro, P20 Pro, Samsung S9+, Apple iPad Pro 9.7, Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, XS Max, XS, X, 6s and Ulephone S7 Plus.

Click HERE to skip to & see the exclusive 15% discount code for all Sudio earphone models!

Packaging & First Impressions

This is what the earphone will come with as shown below.

Shipping packaging feature a stylish presentation.
Sudio Sphere features an extended warranty of 18 months (up from 12 months) for customers who register their purchased Sudio products.
Earphone’s box packaging looks attractive and has a premium feel to it, especially with the slide out feature.
The earphone case (doubles up as its charging case) is rather sturdy (does not flex) when pressed and should withstand day-to-day abuse without issue.
The attached (waxed lace-style) lanyard is able to support the full weight of the case and should hold up to the test of time.
The magnetic closure of the case ensures that the case remains closed during transport.
The earphone feels rather lightweight and does not protrude much when worn.
The Left & Right earphones are clearly marked.
Automatic subsequent pairings between the earbuds and connected device (lifting the earbuds from the case will automatically switch ON the earbuds).
Usage of touch control for Left & Right earphones.
Total of 4 environmental noise-cancelling microphones (works rather similarly like Active Noise Cancellation), 2 microphones per earphone side – 1 at the top of the earphone and 1 at the protruding tip of the earphone.

Shipping Packaging:

Note: Above 2 photos showing special edition CNY gift packaging and Crossbody Pouch are available till 14 February 2020 and 30 April 2020 respectively.

Front:

Back:

Sides:

Top:

Bottom:

Box Contents:

Removing Plastic Film on Sudio FEM case:

Quick Overview (Manufacturer Specifications)

Earbuds Weight: 11g
Battery
- Usage Time per charge: 6h
- Capacity: Not Specified
Earbuds Charging Duration
- Quick Charge: 10min
- Full Charge: ~30min
Charging Case
- Provides 2 Full Charge for Earbuds (20h combined play time)
- Full Charge: Not Specified
- Capacity: Not Specified
Microphone: Yes, Built-in mic on LEFT & RIGHT Earbuds
Bluetooth: 5.0
Bluetooth Range: 10m
Driver: Graphene
Sensitivity: 93 dB SPL/mW (TBC)
Impedance: 16 Ohm/mW (TBC)
Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz (TBC)
Accessories Included:
- 5*Ear Tips (Different Size)
- 1*USB-C Cable
- 1*Carry Charging Case with Lanyard
MSRP: $139 (S$219) – Click HERE to see our exclusive 15% discount code (price includes express shipping)
Comes with 1 year International Warranty (register on Sudio Sphere to get the extended 18 months warranty)
Colors Available
- Black
- White
- Classic Blue
- Pink

UI (User Interface)

Both LEFT and RIGHT earbuds for the Sudio FEM have a touch pad-style control that makes the operation process rather straightforward.

First Connection/Pairing

The following instructions would guide you through the simple process to connect the Sudio FEM to a Bluetooth-compatible device for the first time.

Switch ON Bluetooth on Bluetooth-compatible device (phone, tablet, computer or etc.).
Lift earbuds from case, earbuds will automatically switch ON and go into pairing mode.
Select the name of the earphone (Sudio Fem) on the Bluetooth-compatible device to connect.
The earphone is now connected to the Bluetooth-compatible device & all audio/phone call will now play on the earphone directly.
Switch OFF Earphone:
1. HOLD either LEFT or RIGHT earbud’s button till the RED indicator flashes. If you are still wearing the earphone when switching OFF, “Power Off” will be heard.
2. Alternatively, place both LEFT and RIGHT earbuds back into the carry charging case and the earphones will automatically switch OFF.

Subsequent Connection/Pairing

The following instruction would guide you through the simple process to connect the Sudio FEM to the Bluetooth-compatible device after the first pairing.

Switch ON Bluetooth on Bluetooth-compatible device.
Lift earbuds from case, earbuds will automatically switch ON and go into pairing mode. If you are wearing the earphone, the earbuds will sound out “Power On” on both Left & Right Earbuds.
The earphone should connect with the Bluetooth-compatible device almost immediately. If you are wearing the earphone, a chime will be heard followed by “Pairing Successful” on either the Left or Right Earbuds.
If Step 3 does not occur, manually tap to connect on the device’s Bluetooth menu.
The earphone is now connected to the Bluetooth-compatible device & all audio/phone call will now play on the earphone directly.
Switch OFF Earphone:
1. HOLD either LEFT or RIGHT earbud’s button till the RED indicator flashes. If you are still wearing the earphone when switching OFF, “Power Off” will be heard.
2. Alternatively, place both LEFT and RIGHT earbuds back into the carry charging case and the earphones will automatically switch OFF.

Normal Operation

The following instruction would guide you through the simple process of operating the Sudio FEM after being paired to the Bluetooth-compatible device.

Play/Pause OR Accept/End Calls

Play: Press the LEFT or RIGHT earbud’s touch control once.
Pause: Press the LEFT or RIGHT earbud’s touch control once.
Accept Calls: Press the LEFT or RIGHT earbud’s touch control once.
End Calls: Press the LEFT or RIGHT earbud’s touch control once.
Reject Calls: Press & Hold the LEFT or RIGHT earbud’s touch control for ~2 secs.

Volume Up/Down

Increase Volume: Press 3 times on the RIGHT earbud’s touch control.
Decrease Volume: Press 3 times on the LEFT earbud’s touch control.

Note: It might take a few tries to get the correct spacing between the 3 presses, in order to properly activate the corresponding Volume Up or Down.

Previous/Next Track

Next Track: Press 2 times the RIGHT earbud’s touch control.
Previous Track: Press 2 times the LEFT earbud’s touch control.
- If the current track is already playing for a few seconds or more, pressing 2 times of the LEFT earbud’s touch control will restart the same track only.
- Immediately press 2 times the LEFT earbud’s touch control again, to get to Previous Track.

Note: It might take a few tries to get the correct spacing between the 2 presses, in order to properly activate the corresponding Next or Previous Track.

Voice Assistant (Siri OR Google Assistant)

Next Track: Press & Hold the LEFT or RIGHT earbud’s touch control for ~1 sec.

Factory Reset

Occasionally, the LEFT and RIGHT earbuds may refuse to sync/pair with the Bluetooth-compatible device and allowing to sync either the LEFT or RIGHT earbuds only.

The fastest solution would be to carry out the following Factory Reset instructions:

Place both earbuds back in the Case.
“Forget” the earphones on the Bluetooth Device.
Lift both earphones from the Case.
Switch OFF both earbuds manually by pressing the touch buttons until the red light flashes.
Press and hold the LEFT earbud’s touch control until you see white light flash once → blink in white and red → white light flash twice.
Repeat the Step 5 for the RIGHT earbud.
Place both earbuds back in the Case and wait for at least ~10 seconds.
Lift both earphones at the same time. When one earbud blinks red and white and the other’s light stays dark, this means that both LEFT & RIGHT earbuds are successfully paired together. If not, repeat Steps 4 to 7 again but carry out Step 7 for a longer duration instead.
Switch ON the Bluetooth Device again and select “Sudio Fem” to connect.

Alternatively, watch the Sudio FEM Factory Reset YouTube video HERE.

Connectivity

The Sudio FEM uses the Bluetooth 5.0 version. Interestingly, Sudio did not bring over the aptX codex they had in their Tre Black & Vasa Blå models in the 3rd true wireless earphone still.

After the first pairing/connection, the earphone would connect to the Bluetooth-compatible device almost instantly through our tests.
No disconnection occurred when placing the Bluetooth-compatible device in the pocket or bag. However, there was 1 separate instance that a split second drop out in the left earbud occurred but it has never occurred again despite our extended tests (probably some fluke interference with nearby Wi-Fi radio signals).

The claimed Bluetooth range is 10m and the earphone is still connected to the Bluetooth-compatible devices up to the ~10m mark, beyond that the earphone will suffer from intermittent drop outs. The earphones will still remain connected even in an adjourning room (separated by a concrete wall), although this decreases the Bluetooth range to about half. There is a noticeable improvement in connectivity range with the Bluetooth 5.0 used.

Wearing Comfort/Form Factor

The design of the FEM is rather good for those looking for a true wireless earphone option.

When worn, the FEM does protrude from the ears slightly, especially with the 2 protruding microphones. With the correct-sized ear tips fitted, the earbuds held sturdily even when doing more vigorous activity (eg jogging/running); at no time did the earbuds feel like it was about to fall off.

Comfort-wise, the earphone felt comfortable in almost every position when worn. We had no issues wearing the earbuds for ~5 hours on one sitting and experienced no discomfort throughout. When compared with the previous 2 true wireless earphones from Sudio, the Sudio FEM is noticeably the most comfortable to wear for extended periods.

Since there is a battery pack on both the LEFT and RIGHT earbuds respectively, the earbuds feel well balanced when worn.

The following pictures shows one of our team members wearing the Sudio FEM model.

Pictures of the Sudio FEM and the carry charging case can be seen below:

Battery Runtime

There are a lot of factors that affect an earphone’s battery runtime – distance of earphone from Bluetooth-compatible device, Bluetooth-compatible device’s Bluetooth version, volume of audio, genre of music and more. Hence, we try to make as much as the above variables, as constants instead.

Here are the parameters for our unofficial runtime test:

Bluetooth-compatible device used: Apple iPhone 6S, Airplane Mode activated, all background applications closed
Distance of Earphone from Bluetooth-compatible device: Placed next to each other
Bluetooth Version: 4.2
Music Player used: Spotify (no Equalizer activated)
Audio used: Royals by Lorde (in Repeat mode)
Volume of Audio: ~50%

With the above parameters in place, the earphone lasted a full ~30 minutes shorter than the 6 hours claimed by Sudio.

The 40% battery percentage might last fairly long. However, the drop from 40% to 20% to 10% 0% will occur rather quickly – leaving the user without any audio. Hence, we recommend charging the earbuds in the carry case once it is 40%.

The battery case is said to contain an additional 2 charges for a total combined play time of 20 hours. However through our tests for the earphone (using the above unofficial run time test repeatedly), we averaged between 18.5 to 20 hours total combined play time as we managed to get approximately an additional 2.5 charges instead.

For this Sudio FEM, the Volume of Audio plays a rather substantial factor for the total effective combined play time.

Sound Quality

There are many components to evaluate an earphone’s sound quality. We do not pretend to be true hardcore audiophiles but we will look into 4 of the more common characteristics that most audiophiles tend to look for. The following unofficial tests are made without an equalizer.

There is a split second audio delay with videos on both earphones – it is not exactly noticeable till you actually look for it. Hence, video editing is definitely not possible with these earphones.

Soundstage: The soundstage is surprisingly wide for a true wireless earphone is probably due to the graphene driver, especially when compared to the first true wireless earphone (Sudio Nivå).
Treble: The treble is mildly boosted.
Mids: The mids is slightly boosted.
Bass: The bass is lightly boosted and may sound slightly muddy at times.

Overall, the sound quality is fairly good with a little less focus on bass and focusing on overall better sound quality instead – especially when factoring the cost of the earphone. The Mids are probably what this earphone excels best in.

In addition, Sudio’s Environmental Noise Cancellation works rather well and helps blocks out a fair portion of external noises. That said, it will be nice to have the option to switch it ON or OFF.

Microphone Sound Quality

Both earbuds have in-built microphones and when taking a call, both earbuds can be used (sound/voice can be heard on both earbuds).

The parties on the other side of the line were able to hear our voices fairly clearly, despite being in a noisier environment.

Battery Indicator

There are 4 LED indicators are visible when the case is open.

The LED indicators will show the approximate battery capacity:

4 LEDs – ~100% Battery Capacity
3 LEDs – ~75% Battery Capacity
2 LEDs – ~50% Battery Capacity
1 LED – ~25% Battery Capacity

The LED indicators will switch ON during the following circumstances:

When the Earbuds are replaced in the Case
When charging the Case
Touching the Earbuds when it is already in the Case

Note: Once the Case Battery has been fully depleted, the earbuds may not automatically switch ON to pairing mode when lifted from the Case (even if the Earbuds are fully charged).

Charging Process

With the provided USB-C Cable, the carry charging case was charging at ~0.47A.

The blinking WHITE LED depicts charging in progress and 4 solid WHITE LEDs lit depicts charging has completed.

For charging the earbuds, the blinking WHITE LED indicators on the earbuds depict charging in progress and no LED indicator lit depicts charging has completed.

Waterproofness

For the Sudio FEM, Sudio has received an official IP rating of IPX5 for the FEM earbuds.

Hence, the earbuds were subjected to being under slow moving room temperature water (to best mimic light to medium showers and sweat) whilst switched ON.

No signs of water intrusion in the earbuds was seen. Nonetheless, the ear tips have to be removed to dry out the water (the basic post-water maintenance procedures are still required).

Scale Comparison (Ruler)

Summary

To sum up, we believe that the most important part of any review is if given the chance to purchase the same earphone for our own usage or to gift to our loved ones out from one’s pocket (wallet), would we still do it?
For this true wireless earphones, it is a definite YES if the sound quality/signature is what you are looking for.

The IPX5-rating, touch controls, Environmental Noise Cancellation, ear comfort when wearing them, overall slightly better sound quality (perhaps the usage of the graphene driver has something to do with it as well), USB-C fast charging rate for the charging case, fast charging for the earbuds, stronger magnetic closure for charging case and automatic switch ON & OFF with pairing function – are all positive points for this earphone.

However, it would be nice if Sudio is able to incorporate aptX with their latest earphones as they did for the Tre Black & Vasa Blå models and an option to switch ON & OFF for the Environmental Noise Cancellation function.

Here is a bonus size comparison of the Sudio Tolv, Sudio FEM & Sudio Nivå charging cases.

As with all gears, two is one and one is none.

Stay safe,
The Lite Review

Disclaimer: Earphone, Crossbody Pouch and gift packaging were provided for by Sudio (manufacturer) for this review. No other compensation was provided.

Where to Buy Links

Sudio Sweden has very kindly provided us with an exclusive 15% discount code! Simply enter the discount code “THELITEREVIEW15” to enjoy this special promotion.
**This discount code should work worldwide and applies for all models in Sudio Sweden range – Contact Us if there is any issues with the discount code.**

Sudio FEM

Sudio FEM: Click Here
** Remember to key in the exclusive 15% Sudio discount code – “THELITEREVIEW15“**

Free worldwide shipping (usually Express) is provided for all Sudio products purchased on their Sudio website. Shipping generally takes around 3-5 days for arrival.

Special Edition CNY Gift Packaging (till 14 Feb 2020)

From now till 14 February 2020, a FREE special edition CNY gift packaging is included with every earphone/headphone purchase from their website. In addition, purchase 2 earphones and get a total of 25% off (15% from above discount code + additional 10%).

Sudio Crossbody Pouch (till 15 Apr 2020)

Sudio Sweden is also having a special promotion till 15 April 2020 – a FREE Crossbody Pouch will be included with every earphone/headphone purchase from their website.