AG4Tech evaluates the FiiO SNOWSKY Anytime, a cheap set of on-ear Bluetooth 5.4 noise-canceling headphones with a battery life of up to 58 hours. Depending on the merchant, it presently costs between $30 and $40.
The FiiO SNOWSKY Anytime enters a competitive wireless headphone market, aiming to provide the convenience of Bluetooth and active noise cancellation at a price well below $50.
Known for its more youth-centered audio products, such as the Wind headphones and the ECHO MINI DAP, FiiO’s SNOWSKY is no stranger to producing high-value audio.
Read on to find out if Anytime can produce a practical, inexpensive, and high-quality set of wireless headphones with Y2K visual flair.
Features
The SNOWSKY Anytime is built on a pair of 40mm dynamic drivers that have been tuned in accordance with FiiO’s years of experience in delivering high-performance audio while balancing it to the tuning preferences of general listeners.
The Anytime, like many wireless headphones and IEMs, supports Bluetooth 5.4, which results in decreased battery consumption and improved performance despite only supporting SBC and AAC codecs.
With specialized game and music modes, the Anytime boasts reduced latency, making it ideal for gaming and video-watching.
In addition to providing superior capabilities at a lower price, the Anytime includes both Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Transparency modes, increasing its adaptability as a set of headphones for usage in a crowded coffee shop or during a walk through a bustling city center.
Design
The SNOWSKY Anytime’s design balances lifestyle minimalism with mild nostalgic flair. Our Matte Black review unit is made of a stylish combination of materials and finishes.
The earcups are composed of matte plastic, which provides a quality in-hand feel. While the mirror-finish ring is visually appealing, it is fingerprint-prone and feels slightly hollow. The SNOWSKY logo is tastefully printed on each cup, contributing to a clean, uncluttered appearance.
It doesn’t look particularly audiophile. Instead, it complements other lifestyle technologies that are understated, modern, and perhaps elegant.
The black plastic shell looks great against the brown synthetic leather used on the vented foam pads, which are soft and breathable. Unfortunately, the pads are not detachable.
The headband is composed of solid steel and features plastic yokes that swivel 90 degrees, allowing the cups to rest flat for storage. A padded synthetic leather strap on the underside ensures long-lasting comfort with no pressure points.
It’s a sophisticated design aimed squarely at younger or casual users who favor form and function. While not extravagant, it is competitive in terms of construction quality and visual cohesiveness at this price point.
Comfort & Isolation
The SNOWSKY Anytime weighs only 155g and is remarkably lightweight, making it comfortable to wear for long periods without weariness. The swiveling and tilting earcups perform an excellent job of automatically aligning with your ears, requiring minimal modification to ensure a secure fit.
However, the Anytime is still an on-ear headset, so there’s no escape the sensation of the pads pressing right on your ears. Fortunately, the cushy foam and soft synthetic leather employed here keep things from feeling too exhausting, at least in cooler weather.
On warmer days or when used outside, the leatherette wrap tends to retain heat, and I did notice some perspiration building after an hour of constant wear.
The Anytime’s passive isolation works as expected for an on-ear headset. Ambient noise, such as conversations or air conditioners, still gets through. However, the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) improves its usability.
With ANC turned on, I saw a 70% reduction in background noise, which made it much easier to concentrate or enjoy media in public places. Even when there was no music playing, I typically left ANC on because it provided isolation equivalent to some closed-back over-ear headphones, but without the size and cords.
Controls
The SNOWSKY Anytime has a well-designed physical button layout that is both intuitive and haptic. The power button performs various functions, including turning the unit on and off, beginning Bluetooth pairing, playing/pause commands, and activating your voice assistant (such as Siri or Google Assistant).
A separate volume rocker regulates up/down levels and, with extended pushes, also controls the next and previous tracks. A dedicated ANC button switches between noise cancellation, transparency, and conventional listening modes. Double-pressing this button switches between game and music mode.
Each mode change is accompanied by a female voice prompt, which is useful for confirming your current setting without relying on visual clues.
The buttons are tactile and clicky, with distinct forms and spacing that make them easy to find by touch.
The layout is intuitive, and after a few hours of use, it becomes second nature. In daily use, I never mistakenly activated the wrong function.
Battery Life
Another advantage of the SNOWSKY Anytime is its excellent battery performance. It has a 500 mAh battery that SNOWSKY claims may provide up to 58 hours of playback with ANC turned off and around 35 hours with ANC activated.
In practice, these figures hold up nicely. With ANC turned on and off throughout the day, the Anytime regularly provided 5 days to 1 week of moderate use before needing to be recharged. There is no stated quick charge feature, yet the battery drains gradually and efficiently.
I never worried about the Anytime’s charge level before leaving the house. Its increased battery capacity provided me confidence that the headphones would not die on me if I couldn’t charge them readily.
Packaging & Accessories
The FiiO SNOWSKY Anytime comes in a compact, glossy cardboard packaging with stylized artwork of the headphones on the front. Inside, the goods are kept to a minimum but well organized. You receive the headphones, a short USB-C charging cord, and a user handbook.
As a portable pair of wireless headphones, I would have enjoyed the inclusion of a little hard shell carrying cover or fabric to protect the headphones while stored in a bag.
However, given the price point Anytime is seeking to target, this absence is understandable.
Sound Impressions
All hearing comparisons were conducted using the Anytime in its music mode. Listening was done using my iPhone 14, M1 MacBook Air, SNOWSKY’s RETRO NANO dongle, and the ECHO MINI DAP.
Because I did not have any other comparable priced wireless headphones, I compared them to the SNOWSKY Wind and Koss KPH30i, both of which were coupled with the ECHO MINI.
Summary
The SNOWSKY Anytime is designed with a playful V-shaped signature. Bass and treble are boosted, while vocals and mid-range string instruments sound muffled and compressed.
While it lacks the sharpness and dynamics of higher-end headphones, it produces a nice and non-fatiguing sound for casual use.
Bass
The SNOWSKY Anytime has outstanding sub-bass extension for a tiny on-ear design. It has a surprising amount of low-end reach, with a powerful sub-bass that goes deep. Fortunately, its bass never becomes too bloated or overbearing.
The presentation emphasizes a gentle effect rather than a narrowly concentrated punch. It lacks the richness and tactility found in higher-end headphones or finely adjusted IEMs.
On tunes with quick or complicated kick drum rhythms, the Anytime tends to render them in a flatter, one-dimensional fashion, lacking the layered subtleties that are immediately distinguishable on more advanced headphones.
Mid-bass performance is a little thin. Bass guitars and low-end rhythm sections sound less authoritative, and in genres like funk or disco, this can leave tracks feeling hollow, lacking the warm, groovy weight that the rhythm section provides.
Mids
The midrange is probably the SNOWSKY Anytime’s weakest point sonically. While the overall tuning favors a safe V-shape, the mids are considerably recessed.
Male vocals, in particular, have a tendency to sound flat and lack authority. The Anytime’s rendering of string instruments has a hollowness to it, as strums and plucks mix together rather than stand out.
The midrange is probably the SNOWSKY Anytime’s weakest point sonically. While the overall tuning favors a safe V-shape, the mids are considerably recessed.
Male vocals, in particular, have a tendency to sound flat and lack authority. The Anytime’s rendering of string instruments has a hollowness to it, as strums and plucks mix together rather than stand out.
Here, the resolution improves slightly, providing a stronger sense of edge and detail. However, the middle lacks the smoothness, engagement, and natural tone that more adept headphones may provide.
Treble
The SNOWSKY Anytime’s treble performance deftly balances clarity with crispness. Cymbals have a crisp, airy presence, and hi-hats shine nicely, helping to complement the quieter midrange and thinner bass response.
Detail retrieval is adequate for a headset of this size and price point. It manages to convey enough high-frequency information to keep things interesting, particularly in pop and electronic music.
However, the tuning is not flawless. On select tracks, the Anytime can exhibit sibilance, which occurs when the “S” and “T” sounds in vocals become noticeably sharp or tiring. This is not a consistent issue, but it does come up depending on the song being played.
Overall, while not the most refined or smooth treble presentation, it’s lively enough to keep the sound from becoming too veiled or dull, and it lends a much-needed sense of space to the mix.
Soundstage & Imaging
The SNOWSKY Anytime falls short in terms of image precision. Its poor resolution and lack of harmonic depth make it difficult to distinguish individual instruments clearly.
In denser mixes, elements tend to merge together, and there is an apparent lack of layering throughout the sound field. This results in a blurred stereo image, making it difficult to pinpoint specific instrument placement.
Even so, it has some redeeming aspects. Directional effects such as sweeping movements are effectively done, giving the Anytime a sense of dynamism that is ideal for casual play.
The soundstage is fairly large for an on-ear headset. It provides an open and spacious presentation that will likely appear large to listeners accustomed to the more intimate staging of traditional IEMs.
