When they arrived a few years ago, the original EarFun Air were quite possibly the surprise of the decade. Okay, that’s a tad hyperbolic, but we certainly didn’t expect such a novice brand to come seemingly from nowhere and nab a What Hi-Fi? Award in the budget earbud category. It was a little like the middle-aged chap in the T-Rex outfit entering the marathon at the final hour and going on to set a new world record.
Since that moment, EarFun’s record in this arena has been somewhat disappointing as it looks not only to reinforce the success of the original EarFun Air but to branch out into different price bands and expand its roster of products. The slightly more costly EarFun Air Pro 2 only managed three stars during testing in 2019, a total the third-gen Air Pro model couldn’t improve upon late last year. EarFun needs to rediscover its flash-in-the-pan mojo, and going back to the model that helped to make its modest name might be the perfect way to do it.
Price
What the EarFun Air 2 do have going for them, of course, is that they’re eminently affordable. The new buds retail at £49.99/ $49.99, a price which places them pretty much exactly at the Sony WF-C500’s level thanks to our budget Award winners enjoying significant discounts; their original £89 / $79 test price is currently down to around £51 / $75.
Build & comfort
What’s always impressed us about EarFun is how the Chinese brand manages to do such sterling work in making what are often extremely inexpensive buds look and feel more expensive than their dinky price tags would suggest. Broadly speaking, that same story continues with the second-gen Air.
Developed with a slender, long-stem design formed from rather shiny moulded plastic, the budget buds’ overall shape and form feel fairly conducive to a secure fit. If you’re expecting wing tips, over-ear hooks or premium ridged eartips, it might be time to give your head a shake considering the level we’re operating at, but the bottom line is that the Air 2 fit well enough. At this price, that’s a firmly ticked box.
They’re not outstandingly comfortable, mind, and you may find that medium to long periods of wearing will cause a little in-ear aching thanks to the buds’ thin, slightly flimsy ear tip material. That again isn’t a dealbreaker, though we’d warn you that we found over a few long train journeys that they become somewhat uncomfortable, as fuss-free minutes turned to ache-inducing hours. They may be as light as air, but that doesn’t mean you won’t notice them after a time, in our experience anyway.
Features
One of EarFun’s main tactical advantages in the budget sphere has been its ability to offer extensively furnished products while keeping consumer costs to a minimum. For those customers whose eyes are illuminated by bulging spec sheets and the enticing allure of substantial IP ratings, Herculean battery figures and the sorts of smart abilities that are usually reserved for far more expensive models, the brand has great appeal. The EarFun Air 2, as you’d expect, are no different in this regard.
Bluetooth 5.3
Codec Support AAC, SBC, LDAC
Noise-cancelling No
Battery Life: Up to 40 hours (9 from buds, 31 from case)
Finishes x 2 (black, white)
Weight 45g
Despite that bulging bag of features, noise cancelling is a bridge too far for EarFun here, but what you do get is support for the higher-quality LDAC codec which theoretically allows you to stream music at higher data rates than standard codecs if you’re using a compatible source device. Voice calls are handled via a four-mic array and AI-bolstered 'Clarity Call' tech, combining to provide an experience that, during testing, comes through with respectable clarity.
That battery life is the real attention-grabber here, with EarFun promising a superlative 40 total hours of playtime (nine from the buds, a further 31 from the case) from its low-cost sequel. Sure, there’s no battery-thirsty noise cancelling to drag those figures down to modest levels, but even so we’re impressed that such an affordable pair can keep the sound up for such extensive periods. A round trip from London to Bristol takes around 6 hours there and back, but we barely noticed a dent in the overall lifespan of the ever-ready Air 2, leaving us confident that we’d still be treated to our tunes even if we’d been taking a plane to Las Vegas, Lima or La Paz instead.
As is becoming increasingly common for even the cheapest members of any given tech family, the Air 2 are customisable via EarFun’s dedicated app, a simple platform that grants access to adjusting your buds’ volume, EQ and touch control settings. The latter is rather impressive at this level: customisable touch controls from a 50-quid pair of earbuds? Even the Philips Fidelio T2 don’t have on-ear commands that you can actually personalise to your own bespoke specifications, and they’ll set you back roughly five times as much.
Elsewhere, the Air 2 continue to impress features-wise. You don’t often find Bluetooth Multipoint supported for many models under the £100 / $100 mark, yet the easy-switching tech works perfectly well with EarFun’s low-cost pretenders. That IPX7 rating feels similarly remarkable given the titchy outlay, and while we still waited until we’d performed all of our sonic tests before giving the buds a good soaking, our test pair is still merrily pumping out tunes after their multiple spontaneous dips.
Sound
The EarFuns are certainly eager, we’ll give them that, and a quick listen to a few go-to test tracks immediately harks back to their first-gen progenitors' enthusiastic, front-footed sonic character. Some of that same DNA appears to have passed down the line, infusing Act Like You Know from Fat Larry’s Band with spark, fizz and spirit that elicits a few head bops along the way, while the Air 2 do a respectable job of making the varying guitar sounds of Tom Petty's Love Is A Long Road sound engaging, if not entirely three-dimensional.
Even after we’ve established a solid fit, the EarFuns aren’t quite so good at the lower end of the sonic spectrum. The Air 2’s enthusiastic, zesty presentation works adequately alongside a healthy dollop of lively treble, but tracks that need the comforting reinforcement that a well-formed bass provides may end up feeling sonically underserviced when played through the budget buds. Ludwig Göransson’s Can You Hear The Music from the epic blockbuster Oppenheimer sees its blasting horns and juddering percussive notes enhanced by the EarFuns’ inherent upper-end keenness, but limited when the swell of the entire wondrous cacophony expands like a mushrooming nuclear explosion. They’re just too cluttered and limited to give a full sense of depth and scale to such a grand, full-bodied recording.
That, as feels slightly inevitable at this price point, lends the impression of persistent sonic imbalances that will likely become wearing after a time. Play Calvin Harris’ Feels a few times through the EarFun Air 2 and you’ll be pleased by the enthusiasm they bring to proceedings. Play the same track two more times and you’ll likely start to yearn for more warmth and depth from the funky bass plucks and Katy Perry’s sultry delivery. Listen again, and that yearning may end up turning to genuine frustration, especially if you happen to switch over to the Sony WF-C500 and realise just how well the Award-winning front runners present a more cohesive, less abrasive sonic picture.
Overall, the EarFun’s tendency to neglect various parts of the sound can lead them to feel not only overly harsh and relentless in tone, but also a little artificial as a result of their general lack of warmth, depth and dimensionality.
Verdict
The EarFun Air 2 are a solid pair of wireless earbuds if you’re hungry for plenty of affordable features, but at this level, a finer sonic alternative exists courtesy of the Award-winning Sony WF-C500. If you care about sound quality, even at the budget end, it’s the Sonys every time.
SCORES
- Sound 3
- Features 5
- Comfort 4
MORE:
Read our review of the Sony WF-C500
Also consider the Panasonic RZ-S500W
Read our Sony WF-C700N review
