EarFun Air S ANC Earbuds – All of the Features, Some of the Performance
When evaluating a pair of wireless headphones, there are a lot of considerations. Clearly, cost to performance ratio is important. The number and implementation of features also weigh heavily. Most of all, how they sound is key. Not only in playback of content, but also in how good they sound in their different modes. EarFun was not a brand I was familiar with before this review so when they offered their Air S ANC Earbuds for review, I was skeptical. They claimed to have just about all the features you look for in earbuds at only $90 MSRP? Could these hold up? Let’s take a closer look!
EarFun Air S ANC Earbud Specs
- Personalize with EarFun Audio App
- Multi-device Connectivity
- Build-in Qualcomm QCC3046 SoC with aptX Audio Tech
- Latest cVc™ 8.0 tech
- Bluetooth 5.2 + TrueWireless™ tech
- 10mm Wool Composite Drivers
- 100ms Low Latency Mode
- IPX5 Sweat & Water Resistant
- 30-hour Playtime: 6 Hours + 24Hours with Charging Case
Fast Charging, 10 Min Charging = 2 Hours Playtime - Wireless Charging Compatible
- Touch Control
First Impressions
Th EarFun Air S ANC earbuds come with all the normal accouterments you’d expect these days. Charging case (slightly larger than I expected), charging cable (USB-C), a manual with words too small for the human eye to perceive, and extra eartips. What was unexpected was the cleaning wand. Most earbuds don’t include anything to clean the eartips so this was a welcome addition.
The case and the earbuds were mostly plastic but felt very high quality. The earbuds in particular had a very nice feel to them. They were light but easy to manipulate. Rather than the round wand that seems to be the fashion, the EarFun Air S ANC earbuds are slightly square. I’ve reviewed headphones that have a more angular design, but the EarFuns were designed so that it was much easier to get them in and out of my ear quickly.
I am also a pretty big fan of the eartips. Rather than a simple donut design, these have a bit of screen built in. This proved to catch any stray earwax and debris and made cleaning the earbuds much easier. Great design!
EarFun Air S ANC Earbud App and Control
Most earbuds these days have an app. Most of the apps aren’t really all that useful. There is a lot to like about the EarFun app. You can enable all the different modes (normal, ambient sound, ANC, game), adjust the EQ, and customize the controls. The EQ and sound mode settings are remembered between uses – a nice feature. It should be noted that Ambient Sound and Noise Cancelling can only be enabled when both earbuds are used.
There are some nice touches here. On the front page of the app, there is a mock waveform behind the image of earbuds. When there is no music playing, it is static. When the earbuds are in use, it moves. There is an included EQ that definitely changes the sound (more on that in a bit). There aren’t very many presets, but you can create, name, and save your own. Very handy! One warning – once created a preset cannot be deleted or renamed. So…name them carefully!
Control is achieved by tapping on the earbuds. As mentioned you can customize your controls through the app. I found the controls to be spotty. The double tap required a longer pause between the first and second tap than was typical. On top of that, taps weren’t registered consistently. Honestly, this is more the norm than the exception with these types of controls. It was nice that there was a soft bell sound confirmation when an input was recognized. Let me know when I had to try again.
EarFun Air S ANC Earbud ANC and Call Quality
The ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) would best be described as middling. It definitely cuts out some of the hum and background noise, but I’ve heard better. It also tended to let through some sounds that were actually boosted by the ANC. Transparent mode (they call it “Ambient Sound”) was also not great. It did its job in that I could understand people without taking out the earbuds, but the sound was akin to hearing people over an intercom. Lastly, call quality was fine on the receiving end, but those taking my calls reported that I sounded very far away as if I were on speakerphone. The Bluetooth receiver in my car got higher marks from people.
Sound Quality
The primary presentation of the EarFun Air S ANC earbuds is bass forward. You might read other reviews that talk about a recessed top end but this is really more a function of the low end energy. Yes, there is an EQ. Yes, the EQ can tame the lower bass quite a bit. But the lowest bass remains untouched. Even at low volumes, the EarFuns have remarkably punchy bass. The bass wasn’t so overblown as to be unpleasant, but it wasn’t technically accurate. They very much sounded like you should feel the bass in your chest. If you like a little extra oomph to your bass, the EarFun Air S earbuds are definitely for you!
Really, the high point of the EarFun Air S ANC earbuds is how they sound. Yes, you can customize the sound somewhat through the app. But just playing them without any EQ was quite enjoyable. The punchy low bass was engaging. The highs and mids were well articulated and resolved. And you have to remember that these headphones may have a $90 MSRP, but I’ve never seen them sold for more than $70. For this price, decent (if not stellar) ANC, game mode, and customizable EQ are nearly unheard of. With this sound quality? Wow!
Final Thoughts
The EarFun Air S ANC earbuds are an easy recommendation for me. If you are an audiophile that truly cares about the most accurate sound possible, you might find the extra bass annoying. But most people love a little more bass to their music. While the rest of the features might not be top-shelf, they all work well enough. At this price point? These earbuds outperform many others. If you are looking for a good-sounding set of earbuds that won’t break the bank, I highly recommend the EarFun Air S ANC earbuds.
