The EarFun Air Pros are affordable earbuds carrying an impressive set of features, including in-ear detection, six-mic array Active Noise Cancellation and touch controls. Edifier, a Chinese firm with a solid reputation for getting quality audio out of modestly priced headphone technology, has tuned the audio performance.
What’s The Best’s William Lobley recently reviewed another EarFun product: the EarFun Free Pro. Here, a few criticisms marred an earbud with an otherwise impressive audio performance. EarFun kindly reached out to suggest that the Air Pros might address these issues. Let’s see if that is the case.
The Review
The EarFun Air Pros have a sharp and clean design. The matte gunmetal colour is a mature touch, while the angled lines offer a subtle nod towards the tech-chic. This external façade is all well and good, but, as Mother used to say - it’s what's inside that counts.
In the body of the Air Pros sit Edifier-tuned 10mm drivers, proving that the clean design isn’t just skin deep. The bass response feels full and well-rounded, as comfortable producing thick rumbles as tight kicks. The mids are excellent, providing a natural and detailed audio performance across the board, with the highs being here only to do what they do best - bring out the detail.
The audio performance of the Air Pros is delightful and remains so over everything thrown at them. The earbuds handle the punchy and erratic rhythm section on Bloc Party’s debut album Silent Alarm with a control that does nothing to lessen the music's sense of frustrated energy. Likewise, the ever-present deep-bass ambience on George FitzGerald’s track Burns is positively skull-filling, without ever tipping over into the overpowering.
It’s the middle frequencies that are holding everything together, operating as a centre point from which everything else sits and compliments - just like it should. Vocals, guitars, synths and pianos all ring true with a natural clarity. This audio integrity means that the sound is just as excellent for voice calls, radio shows and podcasts, as it is the latest in bass-laden pop bangers. This flexibility of the EarFun Air Pros is arguably their greatest strength.
In addition to the drivers, there’s a host of other tech calling the Air Pros home. Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is here, with a six-microphone array tuning into the outside world, so you don’t have to. The ANC performs very well, and though lockdown has removed the chaos of commuter-noise from my life, main roads, vacuum cleaners and local building works are silenced. Unfortunately, the Ambient through-sound function is the only disappointment encountered. Though a useful safety feature for any earbud, here it's cursed with a slight - but quite annoying - sibilance. Thankfully you can quickly scroll past this setting with the touch controls.
Related: The best noise cancelling headphones | RHA TrueConnect 2 review
Overly sensitive and overly complicated touch controls were a major point of criticism during my Free Pro review. EarFun assured me that the Air Pro would answer these issues, and they were right.
The controls on offer keep to the essentials: play/pause, skip track, accept/end/reject call, voice assistant and ANC control. Operated with simple taps, the controls are easy to remember and pretty intuitive. Additionally, the Air Pros have a well-tuned accelerometer that can reliably differentiate between an inadvertent glance and an intentional tap.
Another handy feature is the in-ear detection, which uses infrared sensors to pause audio playback when an earbud is removed from the ear. There’s a long timeout on this feature - I’m not sure how long exactly, but long enough to step away from your desk to make a coffee. Playback picks right off when the buds return to the ear.
My second contention with the EarFun Free Pros was in-ear discomfort over prolonged usage. The Air Pros do not suffer from this issue. They are lightweight and well-shaped, with no points of friction or pressure-causing contact. Happily, this relatively light in-ear touch isn’t to the detriment of the earbud grip or stability - you can take them out for a run, no problem.
When you’re done with the EarFun Air Pros, they return to their clamshell case for safekeeping and a quick battery recharge. The clamshell opening gives you plenty of access room and has strong magnets to allay any fear of the earbuds dropping to the floor on opening. The earbuds carry nine hours of non-ANC playback time, with the case holding an additional 23 hours. My time with the earbuds gave me no reason to doubt these numbers, and the case’s USB-C connection proved quick to charge.
So, the EarFun Air Pros do have what it take to match the mature, classy exterior. Tight, balanced and natural audio across all mediums, efficient noise cancellation, well-executed touch controls and a long playback life. The fact that the Air Pros retail for around £70 is a welcome surprise - especially when you consider what they offer against both similarly priced competition, like the JAM TWS ANC Earbuds, and the ubiquitous, expensive Apple AirPods. The EarFun Air Pros really are the whole package.
Pros: Natural audio for music and voice, comfortable and carrying some very useful tech
Cons: Ambient audio setting suffers from annoying hiss
EarFun Air Pro versus EarFun Free Pro
Read our full review of the EarFun Free Pro Earbuds here.
This inter-EarFun rivalry is an interesting one. In terms of form and function, the Air Pros are the clear winner. As my review states, the tech on offer provides users with well-executed essentials and true quality-of-life enhancements.
It’s more complicated with the audio. It’s a little reductive, but typically the bigger a speaker, the better the sound, as bigger speakers can produce a broader range of frequencies. The Air Pros have 10mm drivers, while the Free Pro, has only 6.1mm drivers - so advantage Air Pro, right?
Not quite. In some unscientific and wholly subjective back-to-back testing, I found that the Free Pro came away with a slight lead, offering more brightness across the mids and treble, and a greater sense of space and audio separation.
The bass response of the Free Pros also feels more forthright. Whether this is 'better' than the more restrained performance of the Air Pros is a matter of taste.
Despite this, I would still opt for the Air Pro. This is because it’s not all about the audio - which is nonetheless excellent - but the entire experience. The Air Pros feel like a far more mature offering, bringing a smile to your face not only through balanced audio, but through comfort and the clever implementation of useful tech.
The EarFun Free Pro Earbuds are available from Amazon UK for £59.99.