EarFun Air S Review: Best Budget ANC Earbuds Under $50

The market for truly wireless earbuds has become increasingly competitive in recent years.
While high-end earbuds continue to evolve, the growth of mid-range models is truly remarkable.

The earbuds I am reviewing this time, the “EarFun Air S,” are an incredibly cost-effective pair that feature not only noise cancellation but also multipoint support, all for around 6,000 yen.
After using them, I strongly felt that they stand a head above other mid-range earbuds where cost-performance is key.

In this article, I will conduct a thorough review of what makes these best-value earbuds from EarFun, the EarFun Air S, so good, and where they might fall short!

EarFun provided the product for this review. (Titles omitted)
In accordance with our content creation policy, I strive to provide fair and impartial reviews.

Basic Information: EarFun Air S

Specs

Codec	SBC / AAC / aptX	Color	White/Black
Bluetooth	5.2	Waterproof Rating	IPX5
Weight	Including charging case: approx. 52g	Actual Weight	Earbud (per side): 5.0g (measured by our site) Including charging case: 53.5 g (measured by our site)
Max Playback Time	・ Normal mode: Max 6 hours (earbuds only) / Max 30 hours (with charging case) ・Noise canceling mode: Max 5 hours (earbuds only) / Max 25 hours (with charging case)	Charging Time	1 hour (earbuds) / 2 hours (charging case *using USB-C cable) / 3.5 hours (charging case *using wireless charging)
Dimensions	Charging case: 56mm×65mm×31mm	Charging Port	USB Type-C / Wireless charging

Noise Canceling
Ambient Sound
Multipoint
Wear Detection
Game Mode

Please note that automatic wear detection is not supported.

I explain how to choose earbuds, what IPX means, and Bluetooth versions in detail in this article.

What’s in the Box

Design of the EarFun Air S

Real-World Usage Experience

Sound Quality…Strong bass. Somewhat of a V-shape. Very good considering the price.

As I wrote in the heading, the first thing I thought when using the “EarFun Air S” was that the bass is quite strong.
Listening to them overall, the sound profile is indeed V-shaped, with strong bass and treble that is not as pronounced compared to the bass.
The sound resolution is quite good for the price and is not unnatural in the slightest.
To put it briefly, the sound is by no means cheap, and the power of the bass is a characteristic feature.

I feel these earbuds are highly recommended for those who like bass.
Conversely, if you like pop music, especially if you focus on vocals, I recommend setting the equalizer in the app, which I will explain later!

Supports aptX!

Do you know about the codec you should have if you use an Android smartphone: aptX?

Codec	Features
SBC	The most standard codec. Basically supported by all devices. Sound quality and latency are standard, neither good nor bad.
AAC	Often used in Apple products like the iPhone. Android 8.0 and above generally support it. Less latency and higher sound quality than SBC.
aptX	Mainly adopted in Android. Less latency and higher sound quality than SBC and AAC.
aptX LL	LL stands for Low Latency. It has even lower latency than aptX. Sound quality is equivalent to aptX, but realizes ultra-low latency of less than 0.04 seconds.
aptX HD	Capable of high-resolution sound quality. Slightly more latency than aptX.
aptX Adaptive	A codec that stabilizes and reduces latency for aptX HD. By changing from a fixed bit rate to a variable bit rate, processing has become more stable and lower latency has been realized.
LDAC	An ultra-high sound quality codec developed by Sony. The highest sound quality among those introduced so far. Android 8.0 and above generally support it. Can switch between 3 types of sound quality modes such as sound quality priority and connection priority mode. Latency is greater than SBC.

I explain codecs and other information regarding wireless earbuds in this article.

Please note that iPhones do not support aptX.
Most modern Android devices support it.

If only SBC is supported, latency can be quite high, and you might feel it even just watching videos.
Also, aptX is generally said to have higher sound quality than SBC.
As I mentioned earlier, if you use an Android smartphone, earbuds that support this aptX are preferable!

Also, the “EarFun Air S” supports AAC, which is the codec you want if you have an iPhone, so rest assured!

Noise Canceling…Usable. Is it appropriate for the price?

The noise cancellation on the “EarFun Air S” is not exceptionally effective within this price range, but it is usable.
There is no particular discomfort specific to noise canceling, and even when riding the train, you won’t be bothered by surrounding sounds if you play music.
However, there is a slight wind noise when the wind blows.

Of course, you can’t achieve the absolute silence like with “AirPods,” so “reduction” is a more appropriate word than “erasing surrounding sounds.”
You shouldn’t expect too much, but I would say it’s at a practical level!

Ambient Sound…Natural. Not much discomfort.

Personally, I thought the quality of the ambient sound mode was amazing.
The discomfort is minimal, and it feels natural.
Many earbuds in this price range have a lot of wind noise or sound strangely exaggerated when in ambient sound mode, but the “EarFun Air S” does not have that issue!

See my earbud history here ↓

Are the touch sensors a bit too sensitive?

The only drawback of these earbuds is the touch sensor.
It might be because I haven’t used “stem-type” earbuds much and am not used to them, but accidental taps are quite frequent.
They are quite sensitive, so every time I put them on, take them off, or adjust the position of the earbuds, they react…

Control the earbuds with the app!

You can adjust the earbud settings in the app like this.

You can also customize touch operations.

For the equalizer, you can choose from presets in the app or create your own custom settings.

Supports Game Mode!

You can set a game mode that can suppress latency.

Supports multipoint connection at this price!

The “EarFun Air S” supports multipoint, allowing you to connect to two Bluetooth devices at the same time.

Summary

The EarFun Air S is a very good choice in this price range!

Honestly, I was strongly impressed while reviewing them to see if it was possible to make earbuds of this quality at this price.
The “EarFun Air S” has no major disadvantages, and since it includes all the necessary functions, it is an earbud I can recommend to anyone.

Recommended for these people

Thank you for reading until the end!

• Product prices, information, etc., are current as of the time of writing.
• Please note that this site cannot be held responsible even if this information is incorrect.
• The product and service names mentioned on this site are trademarks of their respective companies.

This article was originally written in Japanese and has been translated.