Simply essentially the most feature-rich TWS earbuds underneath Rs 10,000 – Firstpost

Professionals:
– Gratifying sound output throughout numerous genres of music
– Help for LDAC, aptX Adaptive/ Lossless codecs and extra
– Hello-Res Audio and Snapdragon Sound licensed
– A great deal of sound and ANC customisations
– Improved lively noise cancellation and transparency
– Snug in-ear match, good passive noise isolation
– Put on detection sensors, Auracast, twin pairing assist
– Spectacular battery backup, helps wi-fi charging
– 18 months guarantee

Cons:
– Contact sensitivity may be dodgy at instances
– Noise suppression in calls wants enchancment

Value: Rs 6,999Ranking: 4.3/5

In direction of the top of 2023, once we examined our first EarFun product, by the way the predecessor of the one we’ve got for you right this moment, the expectations have been pretty regular. A brand new model attempting to enter a extremely aggressive mainstream true wi-fi (TWS) earbuds market in India; alright, all the most effective with that. However the model managed to exceed expectations with the EarFun Air Professional 3 after which raised the bar additional in a couple of months with the EarFun Free Professional 3.

The EarFun Air Professional 4 arrived late final 12 months, and we wasted no time unwrapping it and taking it for a spin. It impressed us sufficient to discover a spot on our
greatest TWS earphones of 2024 record. Sure, its detailed evaluation took some time coming as we have been buried underneath an avalanche of latest releases and occasions proper from the beginning of this 12 months. However with out losing a second extra, right here’s the whole lot that you must find out about these feature-packed wi-fi earbuds that provide distinctive bang for buck.

EarFun Air Professional 4: Design and Consolation (8/10)

The EarFun Air Professional 4 appears to be like just about just like the Air Professional 3; no noticeable change in design for the buds or the charging case. The black physique, metallic gray stems and the refined branding on them stays as is, and the mixture nonetheless appears to be like good. The contact zones have a slight indentation with a round ring to mark the realm. The earbuds provide a cosy match and are comfy to put on for lengthy hours. They don’t stick out of the ears a lot, nor do they come out throughout jogs or exercises.

The suitable-sized silicone ideas from the 5 bundled pairs present superb passive noise isolation. It’s all the time advisable to spend a couple of minutes choosing the proper ideas for optimum sound high quality and higher lively noise cancellation (ANC). The load of the earbuds, although not specified, is on the lighter facet regardless of every of them internet hosting a 54 mAh battery. The buds and case mixed weigh 56 grams. Talking of the case, it’s compact sufficient to be slipped right into a pocket however not slim sufficient to cover its bulge.  

The construct high quality is ok however the design is a tad understated with the all-matte black end and a shiny emblem. The case now packs a 600 mAh battery, and also you get 3 tiny white LEDs on the entrance to offer you an thought concerning the remaining cost. A brand new addition is a pair of LEDs contained in the case subsequent to the ear-tips that gentle up if you open the lid or place the buds again in. A USB-C charging port is situated on the again and a Bluetooth pairing/reset button is positioned contained in the case.

EarFun Air Professional 4: Options and Specs (9.5/10)

The sooner EarFun merchandise we reviewed have been already feature-rich, and the Air Professional 4 goes a step additional. It has an unbelievable unfold of options for a product priced underneath Rs 7,500. It retains assist for Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive codec that provides a steadiness of throughput and energy effectivity, and now provides aptX Lossless and LDAC assist too. As well as, identical to the EarFun Free Professional 3, these TWS earbuds are Hello-Res Audio and Snapdragon Sound licensed. The Bluetooth model has been upgraded to five.4 with assist for LE Audio.  

Powered by the Qualcomm QCC3091 SoC, it additionally helps Auracast that may rework this product right into a transmitter to broadcast audio to different Auracast appropriate gadgets inside vary – a characteristic we couldn’t take a look at, however a helpful one nonetheless. The Air Professional 4 affords multi-point assist to pair it with two gadgets concurrently; it really works effectively. It additionally has put on detection sensors to pause the audio if you take away a bud from the ear; a characteristic lacking on earlier EarFun merchandise we reviewed.  

Every earbud is fitted with a ten mm composite diaphragm driver and three microphones for calling and lively noise cancellation (ANC). The buds have an IPX5 ranking for splash resistance. So you’ll be able to put on them to the fitness center or for a jog with no fear. The case doesn’t have any ingress safety, so defend it from moisture. The again of the buds are contact enabled and the contact sensitivity is usually good however tends to misbehave at instances for no purpose. Normalcy resumes after you place the buds within the case and take them out once more.

You possibly can assign completely different duties to gestures by way of the EarFun Audio app accessible on iOS and Android each. You possibly can assign play/pause, earlier/subsequent tracks, ANC toggle, voice assistant and quantity management to single-tap, double-tap, triple-tap or touch-and-hold gestures. The latency on the EarFun Air Professional 4 is pretty low when watching movies, and there was no noticeable lag between audio and video. In Extremely Low Latency Mode, it could supposedly go under 50 ms.

The EarFun Air Professional 4 helps adaptive hybrid ANC to eradicate as much as 50 db of ambient noise; a 7 db leap from the Air Professional 3. You get three most important modes to modify between – Noise Cancelling, Regular and Ambient Sound. You get a number of Adaptive ANC choices to select from within the companion app to fit your ear canal construction or the environment. Select one which works greatest for you. Similar goes for the Ambient Mode that lets exterior noise by way of for you to pay attention to your environment.  

EarFun Air Professional 4: Efficiency (8.5/10)

The wi-fi vary is completely high quality with a powerful connection at 10 metres with no obstruction between the supply and the listener. There have been no latency points both as I discussed. These EarFun buds sound completely loud within the 60 to 70% quantity vary. Typical of EarFun, you get a great deal of sound customisations by way of the EarFun Audio app; much more than earlier than. The app is straightforward to make use of with a clear structure and easy UI.  

You now get dozens of audio presets, a variety of that are very usable. You additionally get a 10-band equaliser (EQ) to create your personal sound profiles, one thing you would want to get the most effective out of those earbuds. As all the time, the corporate shares the EQ configs of the presets. So in case you solely must make minor changes to a selected preset you want, you are able to do so from the equaliser, relatively than ranging from scratch to recreate the same profile, as is the case with different audio manufacturers.  

The default sound output of the EarFun Air Professional 4 favours the lows; in different phrases, it’s a little bit bass-heavy. Although the bass isn’t too boomy, it does suppress the decrease mids and impacts the general sharpness. Whereas it might be completely acceptable for earphones priced underneath 5K, you count on higher on this phase. That is the place the 10-band equaliser comes helpful to decrease the higher bass and increase the mids. When you aren’t comfy with utilizing an EQ, you’ll be able to strive completely different presets and you’re certain to search out one thing that fits your style.

Alternatively, you strive our EQ config from the picture under, after which mess around with it additional until you discover your candy spot. Be happy to create a number of customized profiles. After the sound tweaks, you get a extra balanced sound that’s nonetheless pleasantly heat however with much more sharpness and element. The bass feels tighter with out dropping its thump, the vocals sound crisp and highs have simply the correct amount of sparkle to lend the sound the mandatory edge with none sibilance.  

The soundstage is pretty broad right here offering the sound a nicer really feel. These earphones are fulfilling throughout numerous genres of music and video content material, and so they do sound higher than the EarFun Air Professional 3. However the extra noticeable enchancment within the Air Professional 4 is within the ANC division. And it’s not simply the 50 db quantity I communicate, however its precise efficiency. As I discussed, you get 5 completely different ANC modes to play with. Set it to Robust ANC for greatest outcomes.

It blocks low frequency sounds just like the whirr of a fan or the AC buzz when indoors or sound of automotive engines when outside. It was additionally very efficient within the final ANC take a look at I topic all earphones to, which is the native trains in Mumbai. It might efficiently suppress a variety of human chatter and noise of the practice and make my journey peaceable by letting me deal with the music with out a lot distraction. In fact, it can’t mute the whole lot round you fully however the ANC is among the many greatest within the sub-10K phase in the mean time.  

You get a few choices in Ambient Mode too to amplify sure frequencies being let in or all of them. The Ambient Mode right here is considerably higher than that on the Air Professional 3 and Free Professional 3. It not solely helps you pay attention to your environment when crossing the road or catch an announcement at a practice station or an airport however you may as well have a fast dialog with the individual subsequent to you with the buds in your ears, particularly in quieter areas.

EarFun Air Professional 4: Name high quality (7.5/10)

The decision high quality right here sees an enchancment over the Air Professional 3 however it could do even higher. It’s completely high quality in quieter areas, and folks on the road have been clearly audible to one another with good voice readability. When outside, the wind noise suppression works effectively, nevertheless it does let a good quantity of different ambient noises by way of. They aren’t overly distracting normally as they’re stored within the background, however there’s a particular scope for enchancment on this division.

EarFun Air Professional 4: Battery life (9/10)

Battery backup has by no means been an issue with EarFun earphones and the Air Professional 4 ups the ante additional. The corporate guarantees 7.5 hours of playback for the buds with ANC on and a whopping 11 hours with ANC off. And with the case, the general battery backup figures leap to 35 and 52 hours respectively, which is mighty spectacular on paper. Whereas these have been of their take a look at circumstances, the outcomes we bought in ours have been fairly good too.  

With aptX Adaptive codec, ANC turned on always and loudness between 60 to 70%, the buds lasted just a bit over 6 hours, which is sort of good. With out ANC, the quantity was nearer to 9 hours, which is as excessive as we’ve got seen on this phase. With the charging case, you get battery figures within the vary of 28 to 41 hours relying on the ANC utilization. These are wonderful figures and simply among the many greatest within the phase.  

The quick charging is modest with a 10-minute cost providing you with shut to 2 hours of playtime with ANC off. The buds take about an hour to cost totally from zero, whereas the case takes one other half-hour or so when utilizing a wired charger. The EarFun Air Professional 4 additionally helps wi-fi charging with Qi licensed chargers; the charging time is nearly double. The battery stage of every earbud and the charging case may be seen within the companion app.  

EarFun Air Professional 4: Value and verdict

The EarFun Air Professional 4 is priced at Rs 7,499 however can typically be noticed promoting for lower than 7K on Amazon India. It affords an 18 months guarantee, which is 6 months greater than what competing merchandise do. So is it value shopping for? I’m certain you realize the reply by now. It’s a powerful sure! That is simply essentially the most feature-rich pair of TWS earphones, not just below Rs 7,500, however most likely underneath Rs 12,000 as effectively. However extra importantly, it sounds superb too.

Whereas it’s untouchable relating to options on this worth bracket, there are a few choices that do come shut by way of sound high quality and for rather less cash. Firstly, its in-house competitor, the EarFun Free Professional 3 that does boast of fairly a couple of of its options, barring a pair, and has a cooler design and a comparable sound high quality if not higher. The opposite choice is the OnePlus Buds 3. Each these earbuds may be bought for Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 decrease.  

If you’re on the lookout for superior sound high quality, you have to to push your funds to 10 to 12K and take into account the Nothing Ear or the OnePlus Buds Professional 3. Nonetheless, even their characteristic record isn’t as in depth as these EarFun buds. All mentioned and carried out, for its all-round goodness and efficiency, the EarFun Air Professional 4 is difficult to beat round 7K and is very really helpful.