Andi Be Free Concert 1 – the first no-nonsense pair of headphones from a Swiss startup

When you press the power button on the Concert 1 headphones, a female voice greets you with a friendly «Grüezi» – a very Swiss hello. The product’s heritage couldn’t be any clearer. The Concert 1 are the first ANC headphones from Schwyz startup Tecflower in the small town of Siebnen. They’re marketed under the brand Andi Be Free (linked website in German). I took the opportunity to talk to the creators of the Concert 1 – and to give their first headphones a go.

Headphones

Andi be free Concert 1

60 h, Wireless

70

Headphones

Andi be free Concert 1

60 h, Wireless

70

Jonas Wohler, co-managing director of Andi Be Free, explains, «We’re targeting commuters in particular with the Concert 1.» After all, commuting is a kind of Swiss national sport, practised on the public transportation system. That’s why Jonas and his team knew from the start that the Concert 1 needed a large battery. And, in the development time of just over one year, they managed to include one.

From charging technology to commuter headphones

So, where did the Andi Be Free team gain the know-how to create a pair of headphones? From another field, in fact. The company specialises in the field of wireless charging technology, which is useful in the construction of headphones.

The Concert 1 – like almost all electrical devices – are manufactured in China. «For the Concert 1, we collaborated closely with our manufacturer in China,» Jonas tells me. According to Wohler, eleven people from the Swiss company were involved in the development of the headphones, including one employee who developed the chip in China.

Speaking of charging, the Concert 1 give you 60 hours of music on a single charge. That’s a lot compared to the competition. For example, Apple’s AirPods Max give you 20 hours, while the Bose QuietComfort 45 offer 24 hours. Only the more expensive Sennheiser Momentum 4 also boast 60 hours of battery life.

If you spend two hours commuting every day and wear the Concert 1 for four hours at the office, the battery will last you ten days on average – remarkable!

Sound – it’s got that bass

The Concert 1 isn’t targeted at audiophiles. That much becomes apparent when listening to music with them for the first time. The bass is booming. As a result, the mids – e.g. vocals, guitar – are somewhat drowned out.

However, the Concert 1 is right on trend with this bass-centricity. Many newer headphone models focus on the low frequencies. Jonas confirms to me that they deliberately opted for a bass-heavy sound profile. «Our thinking was that a pronounced bass is a marker of quality. Balanced frequencies, on the other hand, less so.»

The test group of target consumers also preferred the bass-heavy options over other sound profiles, Jonas explains to me. The Concert 1 are best suited for listening to hip-hop and RnB tracks.

Now, if the standard sound offered by a pair of headphones doesn’t suit you, you can usually change it with an equaliser in the mobile app. But there’s no app for the Concert 1. «We’re aware of this problem,» says Jonas. He explains that developing an app is very time-consuming and costly, but they are planning to do so.The time horizon is still unclear as of yet.

ANC and transparency mode leave room for improvement

The Concert 1 are equipped with active noise cancellation (ANC), a complex technology that reduces ambient noise with inverted sound waves. Andi Be Free relied on prefabricated chips for the Concert 1, which they were able to adapt slightly.

Compared to established ANC headphones, like those from Bose and Sony, the noise cancellation of the Concert 1 is rather weak. On the train, I can still hear the rumbling in the carriage. And at the office, I can still make out the chatter of my coworkers a bit too well. Jonas is also aware of this: «The ANC isn’t yet optimised for dealing with speech.»

A striking design

Unlike many newer, generic headphones, the Concert 1 sports a distinct design. While Sennheiser, for example, has moved away from metal earpieces and gone for the all-black standard, Tecflower’s headphones feature silver details. The Andi Be Free logo is emblazoned on both sides of the headphones. The design reminds me of Beats headphones.

«We hope to promote brand recognition with the Concert 1’s striking design. Swiss people tend to prefer more subtle designs, but we want to stand out,» Jonas tells me.

Good padding for your commute

Aside from the silvery design, the Concert 1 boast striking cushions. They’re beefy and very soft. While this certainly provides comfort, it won’t win any design awards. The Tecflower team is aware of this: «Making sure the headphones are comfortable and can be worn over long periods of time was more important to us than the look.» The cushions are an in-house development straight out of Siebnen; it’s one of the components that the team developed themselves.

But there’s a trade-off.Thick cushions like this, along with the rest of the components, add up in terms of weight. At 288 grammes, the Concert 1 are on the heavy side. For comparison, the QuietComfort 45 from Bose weigh 48 grammes less. And, coming in at 250 grammes, the Sony WH-1000XM5 are also lighter. Only the AirPods Max – which have a reputation for being heavy – outdo the Concert 1.

Button interface and easy connection

Wearing the Concert 1, silver buttons on the earcup serve as the controls. The team opted against touch controls, which is a disadvantage, in my opinion. While I do like buttons, I’m not convinced by those of the Concert 1. The buttons click loudly when pressed, and the silver finish looks cheap.

You can use the buttons to turn the headphones on and off, activate ANC and adjust the volume. The crucial thing – that is, changing the song – isn’t possible; there’s no button for it. On the other hand, there’s a button for turning the mic on and off. The problem? There’s no feedback or app to tell me if I’ve just turned it on or off.

These are all weak points that Jonas’ team is aware of, he openly admits to me in our interview.

The Concert 1 rely on Bluetooth 5.0, which is an older standard. But voice quality for making calls is good. The person I’m talking to can easily understand me, and I don’t sound choppy or tinny, as is often the case with headphones.

My verdict: Swiss through and through – including the willingness to compromise

Speaking with me, Jonas clarifies, «We wanted to create good headphones, but we had to make a lot of compromises.» These are noticeable. In certain areas, the headphones aren’t yet fully fledged. There’s no app, the ANC needs improvement, the sound is very bass heavy and the controls could be more sophisticated.

If this were a review, I’d recommend the Concert 1 for limited use cases only. In my opinion, they’re only worth it for people wanting to support the «Swiss headphones» project – and are willing to accept some weaknesses in return. The Concert 1 does score points with its 60-hour battery life and soft cushions. But, while handy for commuting, it’s not worth the high price.

«The Concert 1 are the very first version,» Jonas explains, adding they’re not yet where he wants them to be. For example, he tells me they plan to greatly improve the ANC.

Unlike the established players on the market, such as Sony, Bose and Apple, Tecflower doesn’t have marketing teams and hordes of developers at its disposal. That’s why Jonas and his team attach great importance to customer feedback. They’re taking their customers’ wishes on board for the second version of the Concert headphones. The future model is also planned for the Swiss market and, according to Jonas, should be ready by the end of 2024.

Even though the Concert 1 has some shortcomings, I like the idea of a pair of headphones designed in Switzerland. Standing up to the established brands is akin to how William Tell stood up to Albrecht Gessler. It takes courage. Hats off! By the way, the Swiss experience lasts until the very end. Long press the power button to turn off your headphones, and the female voice signs off with a fitting «Adieu».