Earfun Air Pro 2 ANC True Wireless Earbuds Review

Earfun has been around the scene for several years now, consistently delivering budget oriented earbuds with surprising features for the price. Whether that’s waterproofing so you can listen in the pool (Earfun Free 2) or high quality audio thanks to dual drivers and high-res codecs (Earfun Free Pro), the company has aimed to impress without breaking the bank. Today, we’re looking at its Airpods Pro competitor, the Earfun Air Pro 2 with active noise cancellation. At only $79.99, they’re affordable and offer an impressive array of features, but do they really have what it takes to compete?

Specifications

• Current Price: $79.99 (Amazon) 
• Key Features:
• QuietSmart™ 2.0 Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation up to 40dB
• Plus with Wind-noise Reduction
• Transparent Mode Allows Ambient Sound for Safety
• Built-in 6 professional mic for stunning call experience
• 10mm Titanium Composite Dynamic Drivers deliver an authentic and balanced sound
• 34-hour Playtime: 7 Hours + 27 Hours with Charging Case
• Fast Charging, 10 Min Charging = 2 Hours Playtime
• IPX5 Sweat & Water Resistant
• In-ear Detection Technology
• Intuitive Touch Control + Volume Control
• Activate Voice Assistant
• Bluetooth Version: 5.2
• Bluetooth Profile: A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP
• Bluetooth Codec: AAC, SBC
• Maximum Working Range: 15m (without obstacles)
• Battery Capacity: 45mAh x 2 (earbuds); 500mAh (charging case)
• Charging Time: 
• 1 hour (for earbuds); 2hours (for charging case via USB-C);
• 3.5 hours (for charging case via wireless charger)
• Playtime: 
• ANC OFF - Up to 7 hours, Totally 34 hours with the charging case;
• (varies by volume level and audio content)
• ANC ON - Up to 6 hours, Totally 30 hours with the charging case;
• (varies by volume level and audio content)
• Dimensions: 65mm x 52mm x 31.8mm
• Weight: 53g

Earfun Air Pro 2 - Key Features

The Earfun Air Pro 2 follow the same design as Apple’s AirPods, complete with the microphone stems for improved call quality. This is a design that isn’t exclusive to Apple, of course, but is certainly married to the brand at this point and immediately brings it to mind when you see earbuds following this trend. In this case, that turns out to be a good thing because Earfun is going tit-for-tat with features. 

The Air Pro 2s are surprisingly feature rich for their sub-$100 price. They feature active noise cancellation, a natural ambient sound mode to hear your environment, excellent battery life, touch controls, water resistance, and a fun, bass-rich sound profile. Many brands have impressive feature lists, but in this case, Earfun has delivered an impressive listening experience that exceeds most expectations. 

Let’s start with ANC, because that’s the hot feature every budget brand likes to tout but is often the most disappointing. Earfun has had the benefit of releasing two other earbuds with active noise cancellation before the Air Pro 2s and that extra time in development has paid off. 

The ANC is surprisingly effective. It blocks out the usual low, rumbling sounds we hear on our commutes and plane rides and then goes further by extending into the mid-range, making it a better fit for office use and school use. It won’t completely cut out of the sound of human voices or clacky keyboards but it does reduce it. These budget earbuds approach the Galaxy Buds Pro in overall effectiveness, which isn’t something I expected going into this review. 

The microphones can also be reversed for ambient listening mode. This is important for those impromptu conversations that pop up throughout the day. The sound here is natural if just a bit thin but gets the job done well and saves having to remove and reseat the earbuds after you’re done. On the plus side, if you do need to take the earbuds out, Earfun has added wear sensors so they will automatically pause your track and then begin playing again when you put them back in.

Like all Earfun earbuds, the Air Pro 2s use touch controls to navigate the earbuds’ different functions. The implementation here allows you to control everything from volume, track controls, ANC/ambient modes, calls, and summoning your virtual assistant. When major earbuds like the Jabra Elite 7 Pro can’t manage to deliver all of those controls for double the cost, you have to appreciate that Earfun has been pulling this off for years. 

At the same time, the controls can be finicky.  Accessing the different controls is done through a series of taps and timed holds. Tapping either earbud once raises or lowers volume, but if you want to adjust ANC, for example, you’ll need to hold the left earbud for three seconds. If you’re short on that, the earbud either won’t respond or will interpret that as a single tap and lower your volume. Track controls and answering/ending calls is handled with a double tap. These are mostly reliable, but I had several cases where I was a little off-center and wound up adjusting volume instead of skipping tracks. 

I also wish there were a way to jump right to Ambient Mode from ANC. Instead, the sound modes are set to cycle. With ANC on, you have to hold the bud for three seconds to enter normal mode, let go, and tap for another three seconds to enter transparency mode. This always made the person trying to speak to me have to wait, which was awkward.

Finicky controls aside, the Air Pro 2s return to being impressive when it comes to their battery life. On a single charge, Earfun promises 6 hours with ANC on and 7 with ANC off. While most earbuds tend to overstate their battery life, since it’s typically based on listening at 50% volume. The Air Pro 2s, on the other hand, get quite loud. I usually didn’t need to turn them up beyond 40%, so that battery quote could remain true. The buds also support fast charging and will restore two hours or listening with only 10 minutes in the case. A full hour will completely replenish a dead battery. Combined with the charging case, the buds can provide up to 34 hours of listening. 

Under the hood, the buds use big, 10mm titanium composite dynamic drivers. The frequency range extends up to 40kHz, double the range of human hearing, driving any high-frequency distortion outside the range of what you would be able to hear. We’ll get to these more in the listening section. 

The only downgrade with these earbuds is that Earfun has removed the low latency mode for mobile gaming. This is disappointing because it was one of the more unique features included on its past earbuds and made a genuine difference for mobile gaming and movie watching outside of Netflix and YouTube (which adjust the video to offset Bluetooth lag). If all you’re doing is watching movies on these platforms, it won’t make a difference but if you like to connect your buds to your laptop for gaming on the go, you’ll definitely see the usual Bluetooth lag.

Earfun Air Pro 2 - Fit and Comfort

As a rule, I’m not a fan of earbuds with the stem-based design. I like my buds to be a little more understated, but I set those preferences to the side of this review. With that in mind, this design might not be for me, but it could be for you. Here’s how they wear. 

Compared to the Apple AirPods, the Earfun Air Pro 2 are a bulkier earphone. I was initially surprised by the thickness, but I found they actually fit very well. I am a medium-sized guy with medium-sized ears and didn’t find them too bulky to wear comfortably. In fact, the shape is actually quite snug and they were actually more secure than most of my in-ear earbuds for working out. I wouldn’t have guessed it, but it’s true. The ergonomics here are great — assuming you don’t have tiny ears. If so, I suspect they may be a bit too bulky.

I did find that the ear tips are especially important with this design. Over the first day, I changed ear tips no less than four times before settling on a set that worked for me (a different size for each ear). Because of their shape, they really rely on the tip holding the bud in place. Even though they’re rock solid with the right tip, anything too small or too large makes them feel very loose and works against the ANC by preventing a proper seal. 

Another issue I ran into was the stems rubbing against my cheek. Fitting the buds involves twisting them into place and throughout the day the stems would always work themselves toward contact. Pulling them out helped, but was something that had to be adjusted through the day. I also found that my facial hair would rub on the mic, but I suspect that’s an issue that would occur with most earphones of this type. 

Earfun Air Pro 2 - Listening Impressions

The Air Pro 2s offer a powerful, bass-heavy sound. There is no shortage of volume or impact with these buds, so if you’re looking for an energetic sound to pump you up for a workout, these will get that job done with aplomb. That additional volume allows songs to sound big and full, which translates well to movie watching too.

The bass here is perhaps a bit too big for my taste, but it’s cleaner than I would expect at this price. There is a good amount of detail in the bass that can be heard through the rumble. The bass does extend into the lower mids a bit but doesn’t obscure them too much. 

In fact, one of the best qualities of these earbuds is how they render vocals. Female vocals in particular are intimate and sweet. There is a lots of detail and breathiness that’s very realistic and represents the singers mostly well. Certain tracks did have some minor distortion, though. In particular, The Light In You by Bethel Music had a weird fuzziness around the edges of the female vocalists opening lines. Mid-range instruments are less detailed but sound good overall.

The treble is decent but can be a bit sharp at times. It sounds like Earfun may have raised the treble to bring out more detail. This is generally welcome because it works to make the earbuds sound more detailed but does make them more fatiguing over listening sessions of 90 minutes or more.

The soundstage and imaging are unremarkable. They’re average for earbuds of this price. The sound is largely “in your head” but does benefit from enabling Dolby Atmos. Due to the lack of a low latency mode and the intimate soundstage, I wouldn’t recommend these earbuds for gaming. 

Given the “Pro” moniker, I really wish Earfun had included some high-res audio codecs here. Perhaps this could have addressed some of the minor distortion I heard in the mid-range? It’s true that many listeners wouldn’t notice the upgrade going from AAC and SBC to something like aptX, but it’s something audio enthusiasts would certainly appreciate and help give these buds one more advantage over the competition.

Final Thoughts

For the price, the Earfun Air Pro 2 have a powerful, detailed sound with surprisingly great ANC. If you’re used to higher resolution headphones, you may notice some of that minor distortion I mentioned, but I suspect this will fly by most listeners without a second thought. When this doesn’t occur (or goes unnoticed), the sound is quite good and a lot of fun on energetic tracks. There’s room for improvement here, but for users looking for an AirPods Pro-like design and feature set at a much lower price, these will fit the bill nicely.

The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.