EarFun Air S review: Best-sounding budget earbuds $69

If you want good wireless headphones for the cheap, it’s not much better than EarFun’s line of products. $49 of the company EarFun Air was ours best budget headphones pick since they launched and $89 EarFun Air Pro 2 is a great premium alternative with active noise cancellation. But for those on a budget in between the two, the new $69 EarFun Air S is a very good choice.

The EarFun Air S offers a really compelling feature set for less than $70, including noise cancellation, multi-device connectivity, and a full companion app to customize the sound to your liking. . There’s no harm in them hearing and feeling great. However, there are some significant downsides. Here’s everything I love (and don’t like) about these cheap headphones after a week of heavy use.

Great sound, noise cancellation and comfort for the price

Considering that most of the headphones I test on a daily basis cost around $200 or more, you’d think I’d notice a huge drop in sound quality when I switched to the cheap $69 EarFun Air S. more. case. Whether I’m crammed into the massive walls of punk guitars or wallowing in my emotions with the acoustic sounds of my favorite indie hits, EarFun’s buds always sound. clear, satisfying for every genre I throw at them.

This superb audio performance is possible thanks in part to the support of EarFun Air S for Qualcomm aptX, which is an audio technology designed to deliver better wireless audio quality than Bluetooth’s regular Bluetooth. friend headphone. This is only the second pair of EarFun headphones to offer such technology, following the EarFun Free 2. The $49 price of the headset’s internal microphones is similarly reliable – voice recordings I recorded on It’s very clear and I have no complaints when using them in personal calls.

The EarFun Air S is also one of the few pairs of earbuds under $70 with active noise cancellation. The EarFun’s buds did a good job at dampening out distracting sounds, from the noisy structure I transmit every day to the constant hum of the fan in my bedroom. It’s roughly on par with the more expensive EarFun Air Pro 2, though not nearly as inhibited by higher-end buds like the more expensive B.eat Fit Pro. When I needed to be vigilant while walking my dog, the Air S’s ambient noise feature reliably amplified the sounds of nearby pedestrians and cars.

While affordable headphones often sacrifice comfort (I was burned by at least one pair of cheap headphones that I panicked bought at the airport), EarFun’s silicone ear tips The Air S creates a secure, soft fit that I never wanted to take off during hours of work or walking. If you don’t feel like quite the fit out of the box, the EarFun Air S comes with four sets of ear tips to swap between – that’s more than the three you get with more expensive options like AirPods Pro and Galaxy Buds 2 Proand can be helpful for people who have difficulty finding a suitable garment.

A good companion app and lots of features

One of the biggest advantages of the EarFun Air S over the standard EarFun Air is its support for the EarFun Audio app, which gives you a basic set of options for customizing the buds on iOS or Android. EarFun’s software lets you toggle audio modes like active noise cancellation and ambient sound, monitor bud battery life, play around with the equalizer to find your favorite mix. and activate Game Mode designed to reduce lag when playing games.

These features aren’t anything groundbreaking, but they’re also uncommon on a pair of these inexpensive buds. I didn’t notice a huge change to my music when using the equalizer, but I appreciate that audiophiles can play around manually with bass, mids, and treble levels. if presets like “bass boost” and “treble boost” don’t reach the . I noticed no difference in audio lag when using Game Mode with fast-paced Apple Arcade titles like Sonic Rush and Galaga Wars, although competitive Call of Duty Mobile and PUBG players did. discerning ears can use this feature.

The EarFun Air S also offer multipoint connectivity, which means they can be paired with two devices at the same time. While it worked, it involved some occasional re-pairing, but overall it was very reliable, allowing me to seamlessly switch from listening to music on my iPhone to watching YouTube videos on my MacBook. seamless. If you work from home and want to be able to easily make calls from both your personal phone and computer throughout the day, you’ll probably get some good mileage out of this.

Most earbuds usually last a few days of regular use before I have to squeeze them back. The EarFun Air S lasted me for almost a week. In fact, these cheap headphones have some of the best battery life of any earbuds I’ve tested, sustaining them through six days of heavy use on and off while scrolling through. different sound modes. The EarFun’s buds are rated for six hours of continuous playback and a total of 30 hours of use with the charging case, and my testing certainly met those claims – if not exceeded them by a bit. I was impressed by the few days I took out the EarFun Air Pro 2 and I found the Air S lasted even longer. And like the Pro, the EarFun Air S’ case supports wireless charging, which is a useful feature you won’t find on similar budget speakers like Pixel Buds A (and more expensive options like Beats Fit Pro).

As with the EarFun Air Pro I reviewed earlier this year, the EarFun Air S has some of the most powerful touch control options of any pair of headphones I’ve tested – including options more expensive. Using a variety of press-and-hold combinations, you can do everything from control music playback and take calls to adjust volume and switch between different audio modes. In theory, you should never have to take your phone out when using these buds. In reality, that’s not quite the case.

However, despite everything you can do with the EarFun Air S’s touch controls, they’re too contradictory and confusing in my day-to-day use. Some of my faucets weren’t recognized at all and others were registered incorrectly – causing me to, for example, skip a track instead of pausing it. I don’t like the touch controls on the headphones in general, but they’re not even as reliable as on the EarFun Air Pro 2.

The EarFun Air S aren’t the worst-looking headphones, but they won’t win you any style points either. Like many of EarFun’s other buds, the Air S borrows liberally from the original Apple AirPods – long stems and all – but with a thicker, more pliable design that makes them look old and worthy of what you’ve got. pay them. I’ve never been worried about raising my eyebrows in public, but there are plenty of more sophisticated and stylish options available for the money (like the great variety). Jabra Elite 3).

You also get what you pay for when it comes to the Air S’ case. I love that the case charges wirelessly, but it’s also bulky and extremely prone to scratches. Most headphone cases accumulate some noticeable wear and tear over time, but the EarFun’s case encountered some particularly nasty scratches after sitting in my pocket with my keys. in just a few days (pro tip: don’t do what I did). I didn’t have this problem using the EarFun Air Pro 2 case in the same way.

Active noise cancellation	Right	No	Right	No
Ambient sound	No	No	Right	Right
Companion app	Yes (iOS and Android)	No	No	Yes (iOS and Android)
Compatibility with many devices	Right	No	No	No
Water proof	IPX5	IPX7	IPX5	IP55
Battery life (rated)	6 hours (continuous); 30 hours (with carrying case)	7 hours (continuous); 35 hours (with carrying case)	7 hours (headphones only); 34 hours (with carrying case)	7 hours (headphones only); 28 hours (with carrying case)
Wireless charging	Right	Right	Right	No
Weight	1.8 ounces	2.11 ounces	1.8 ounces	1.18 ounces
Color options	Black	Black and white	Black	Navy, Lilac, Dark Gray, Light Beige
Price	$69	$49	$79	$58

In terms of day-to-day performance, the EarFun Air S are among the best earbuds for the money I’ve tested. They sound and feel as good as options that cost twice as much, complete with solid active noise cancellation and a large amount of useful extras. It’s hard to do better than this for $70 – an affordable price that drops even lower after the coupon.

However, the Air S’s unreliable controls were enough of an issue to make me want to switch back to my regular headphones, and its scratch-prone case has become quite unsightly after just a day of use. use. Unless you really care about having a companion app or multi-device connectivity, we recommend most people go for $79 EarFun Air Pro 2. While technically more expensive, these buds are actually $59 on Amazon right now after you apply the coupon, and they give you a sleeker, more durable design with Better touch controls.

If your budget is definitely under $50, the standard EarFun Air is still the way to go. And if style is your priority (and you can live without noise cancellation), then $58 Jabra Elite 3 looks much better and has solid physical controls. The EarFun Air S still offers some of the best comfort and sound quality you can get for your money, but for those who care about intuitive controls and an attractive design, Persistence should look elsewhere.