This is a quick gadget look at these Edifier TWS NB2 Pro earbuds. Clearly, in my view, named Pro to compete with Apple’s Airpod Pro and priced at a very competitive £79.99 these are a must consider if you feel brave enough to move away from the overpriced Apple architecture.

Design

Edifier TWS NB2 Pro earbuds carry and charging case

These are a pair of 2 wireless earbuds, the type that hangs on your ear and connects easily with Bluetooth 5.0, both in and out of the rounded pebble-like USB C charging case. The Edifier TWS NB2 Pro does not have the ear hook that I prefer with buds like these and so, for me, I find them quite difficult to keep in my ears.

The Bluetooth offers a claimed range of 10m distance from the phone/source and they operate between 20Hz – 20kHz. They are IP54 water and dust resistant.

There is an Edifier App available that is good for adjusting the sensitivity of the buds. It can also handle re-pairing, reading the battery level of each bud, etc. There are several listening modes that include ‘spatial’, standard and gaming. Each mode can be adjusted with Noise reduction off or on and there is the option of ambient mode so you can listen for traffic or give a quick hello on a walk. There is an ear detection feature where your music or podcast pauses if you remove a bud from your ear, this is useful.

Quality

The earbuds have a high quality feel to them and the boxing is in the vein of all Apple products. They come in a pebble style carry case that takes the charge from a USB C connection and passes

Edifier TWS NB2 Pro earbuds have touch controls on the stems

to the buds after usage. They have a confident look and stylish external feel. There’s a nice fabric double lined pouch for the pebble holder and an array of three different sized rubber earpieces.

Performance

Physically

It takes a while to get them in my ears, once they’re in I’m good. At the desk or strolling along they’re fine. I’ve tried all the different rubber earpieces and the smallest one works for me. I find them quite loose and I do not like this so much, I prefer an ear hook if I’m honest and I certainly cannot row in them. I prefer my JBL Reflex Row earbuds with the ear hook. Having said that I can’t retain Apple earbuds in my ears either, this is just me, I think.

The in-ear detection works well if you want to chat with someone take a bud out and the music/podcast pauses nicely and restarts on reinsertion, I like this feature a lot on walks.

For me, the claimed battery seems to be amazing, and the 30 hours use for 2 hours charging seems to be correct. There is an App, it is great for swapping modes on my Android Pixel 4XL, though I do not like the Edifier App remaining in my notifications whilst the pods are not connected. The novelty wears off quite quickly though.

Sound signature

The earbuds have a good sound, I think I have run them in now after a good 10+ hours of use, they have a lighter sound, but the bass is good enough, it’s a little loose for example in Coldplay’s Everglow and there is not quite the volume or scale or decay you might hope for. Turning on the spatial sound you do get a fraction more of the scale I was expecting.

I find guitars are nicely handled. For example in George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord and the crescendo of noise is handled nicely. Fleet Foxes’ Helplessness Blues does not have enough space or clarity for me as the song builds in the chorus.

With iPhone

I am an Android user so I thought I would ask my young daughter to have a play, needless to say with a new bit of tech, she says they are ‘really good’, are ‘really comfortable’ and they’re not going to come back off her easily to go back to the PR company. Apparently, the pairing process is seamless, as it was with my Pixel.

Overall

Being an Android user, I think these Edifier TWS NB2 Pro are fine for podcasts, walks and non-critical listening. At half the price of Apple Airpod Pros, these are surely a more appropriate price to pay for earbuds. Especially if they are for younger listeners. Of course, in the trainer era, it is about what everyone else has and conforming to the ‘norm’ but I’ve made my choice to move away from the overpriced Apple infrastructure and these do fit that bill as an all-around listen.

Specification

Full details of the Specification are on the company’s site