Review: EarFun Wave Pro – best wireless headphones under $100?
The champions of affordable earbuds have returned, only this time with affordable over-ear headphones. For under $100, you can get a pair of comfortable ANC headphones with great sound and plenty of features!
Promising plenty of battery life and super effective ANC, the WavePro headphones are your new wireless companions offering stellar audio quality at this price point. Housing 40mm drivers, the earcups sit comfortably snug thanks to their plush ear pads and are the perfect pair of affordable headphones for commuting and long-distance travelling.
Released on March 18th and asking for only $80 / £80 / €80, EarFun’s affordable Bluetooth headphones hit shelves on the 18th of March. I’ve reviewed several of EarFun’s affordable earbuds and not many brands can bridge the gap between quality and affordability quite like these guys.
What’s in the box?
- EarFun Wave Pro Bluetooth headphones
- USB-C charging cable
- 3.5mm aux cable
- Unbranded, trendy carry case
Sound quality: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
No matter your flavour, the Wave Pros are well-equipped to give you an immersive listening experience. Whether wireless or wired (3.5mm aux cable provided), bass response, and mid and treble reproduction all punch through with clarity.
EarFun’s first over-ear headphones utilise 40mm drivers, meaning there’s plenty of surface area to push low frequencies with greater accuracy compared to earbuds which typically offer drivers between 8 – 12mm in size. As a result, the Wave Pros accommodate every style of music, whether electronic, metal, pop, hip hop or everything in between elegantly.
There is a bit of dimmed high end which gives the headphones a slightly boxed-in sound, but the overall sound is truly exceptional for just $80. Mids punch through with impact, giving snares their snap and vocals their overarching presence while the bass is full and warm.
Asking for $10 more, treble dimming in the Soundcore Space Q45 is much more noticeable than in the Wave Pros. The Q45s also don’t offer the same stellar batter life, comfort or high-resolution audio!
Features: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I haven’t seen 80 hours of battery life in Bluetooth headphones since I reviewed the Edifier STAX Spirit S3. I’ve had a week of playtime with the Wave Pros after only one charge, and I’ve been extremely satisfied with the stellar active noise cancellation while commuting between towns on buses and trains.
The Wave Pros’ Hybrid ANC is easy to switch on / off in the EarFun companion app too. Utilising microphones both inside & outside of the robust build, EarFun promises 45dB of noise reduction. Public transport is usually a great reference for how good ANC in headphones is thanks to chatter & engine rumble, and I’m pleased to say the Wave Pros offer excellent noise cancelling for their low price!
Coupled with stellar ANC, my listening experience was enhanced with Sony’s Hi-Res LDAC Bluetooth codec (SBC & AAC also available). Easy to engage via the EarFun app, the codec preserves audio quality over the wireless transmission between the headphones & smart device, giving the Wave Pros one of their biggest selling points.
Other selling points include the comfort of the ear pads, fast charging and multi-point pairing. As a result, you can take calls with the Wave Pros from your phone even if you’re listening to music from another device. EarFun furthermore promises 10 hours of playtime with just ten minutes of charging, meaning you’ll likely get enough juice for the day ahead with a quick morning charge. Be wary though as this doesn’t mean 5 minutes of charge will buy you 5 hours of playtime.
EarFun’s plush earpads, meanwhile, make the Wave Pros extremely comfortable to wear over long periods, even while wearing glasses! However, the headphones do take a little too long to turn off for my liking. You need to hold the power button down for 5 seconds before power is off, whereas you only need to hold the button for 2 seconds to turn on. Why not program switch it off after 3 seconds of pressing the button down?
The power button, which also controls Play / Pause, sits on the right ear cup as well as volume and ANC controls, whereby toggling between Ambient sound & “Strong ANC” is super easy. It’s in the EarFun app, however, that you can switch between more noise cancelling settings such as “Normal”, “Wind Noise Cancelling” and “Comfort”.
Design: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
EarFun has taken clear inspiration from the Sony WH-1000XM4s with the Wave Pros’ form factor. The oval ear cups look akin to the market leaders, though the Wave Pros are only available in one colour (black).
The Wave Pros are nevertheless extremely comfortable to use & wear for hours at a time. There’s always a caveat with budget headphones like a clunky design or fewer features, but the Wave Pros break the mould. There’s no immediate flaw with the design or the feature set, though I guess you could deduct points for lack of originality with the design – but why fix it if it’s not broken?
Value: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I think it goes without saying that the EarFun Wave Pro wireless ANC headphones offer the best value in the affordable headphone market. No, they don’t sound as good as the Edifier WH950NB ($150), but the sound and extensive feature set you’re getting with the Wave Pros stumps other headphones I’ve tried in the same price bracket!
Let us know in the comments if you bag yourself a pair of the EarFun Wave Pro affordable Bluetooth headphones in the link below!
