Getting an earful from the Neobuds Pro earbuds.
I’m not a terribly techy person when it comes to audio devices. I don’t generally know all the complicated ins and outs of frequencies and decibel sensitivity of earphones, but I do use them for multiple hours a day. Whether walking to and from work, going out for a run, swimming, or doing the washing up, I’ll generally want something in my ear to keep me occupied for what could otherwise be quite a mundane task. The case for my usual bluetooth set has broken meaning they won’t charge, so I’ve given the Neobuds Pro set from Edifier a go.
The initial reception of these earbuds is very positive, with a sleek, well-designed presentation case containing the earbuds with their charge case, a set of six pairs of additional earbud tips, a USB-C charging cable, and a neat little carry pouch. I found the carry pouch an odd addition, as I would expect the vast majority of people would keep the case in a pocket or bag, but it’s nice to have I suppose. The charge case itself is also rather slick looking, and has a neat red light that flashes across the front of it like KITT from Knight Rider when you open it to switch the buds on. The additional tips are all colour coded, which is nice for keeping track of which size is which. The presentation of the whole thing is really rather good.
Of course the key thing with these audio devices is how the sound comes across, and the Neobuds Pro do a really rather good job. Everything in music, movies, and podcasts came across very clearly, with the bass sounds being notably impressive. Being someone who listens whilst moving around, I found there was little sound leakage to interrupt my experience, and there was only a minor amount slipping out to disturb others around me. This is in part due to the Active Noise Cancellation that blocks out surrounding noise to an impressive degree. I was used to my previous bluetooth earbuds and thought they sounded fine, but these are a big step up.
There’s an optional app that you can download onto your device too, which allows you to customise the sound to your liking. I’m a complete novice when it comes to this sort of thing, but the equaliser in the app was a nice inclusion if you want to get sound just the way you like it, and there’s an option to switch off the Active Noise Cancellation to extend battery life, which can also be achieved by double tapping the left bud. The batteries themselves have a solid enough life span, lasting around five hours at a moderate volume, with the charge case giving an extra fifteen plus hours listening time by charging the earbuds. Charging time for the earbuds is fairly quick too, with around ten minutes giving about 20% charge to them.
I found them fairly comfortable to wear thanks to the array of tip sizes, fitting well and remaining in place even when I went running. These earbuds are IP54, meaning only the tiniest dust particles will get into them and they can withstand water splashes, but not submersion. This means that these should be fairly sturdy, and are unlikely to suffer much from general usage. No swimming for me in these though, sadly. The touch controls are solid, although I had to remember which of the left and right earbuds had which functions bound to it. I personally prefer a physical button rather than touch controls, but these ones worked fine, with very few occasions of them not picking up my taps fully.
Whilst all this is very impressive, the Neobuds Pro aren’t the cheapest on the market, coming in at (currently) $90, which is around £75. Whether this is good value is quite subjective, but assuming they last a long time, which I expect them to, then I think this is a reasonable price. There’s a good set of earbuds here, with great sound quality and functionality, so I’d say the price tag is fair, although it may be off putting to some.
The Neobuds Pro are a very good set of earbuds, and in spite of the slightly higher than you might expect price, are worth purchasing. With the quality of sound and of the physical pieces themselves being very good, and an app that gives you a lot of control, these are a great choice for most consumers.
You can purchase the Edifier Neobuds Pro in black or white from the Edifier website.
