18 Sep
Blog

Edifier TWS NB2 Earbuds Review: Best in class

edifier tws nb2 earbuds review 1

"The Edifier TWS NB2 looks great, sounds great, and is full of value."

  • Incredible value

  • Great sound quality

  • Solid ANC performance

  • Great battery life

  • Nervous, appealing design

  • Responsive touch controls

  • No charge indicator on the housing

  • No wireless charging

  • Medium call quality

Updated on 09/17/2020 by Jaron Schneider: Edifier significantly reduced the price of the TWS NB2 earphones shortly after their availability in the USA. This changed our rating, including our final score.

We did not expect that Edifier would bring out the successor to the very good TWS NB earphones so quickly. We recently reviewed the first iteration and found that the $ 120 price tag (which recently dropped to $ 70, which makes it even more valuable) is pretty nice with minor complaints like mediocre battery life, bulky design, and uninspired behavior App.

And while I can't say that much has changed with the app, Edifier has been listening clearly when it comes to the buds themselves. With an all-new design, improved active noise cancellation, longer battery life, and even more features, while the price has been cut to $ 100, it's clear Edifier was listening to critics.

The Edifier TWS NB2 earbuds have everything they want, making it clear that you shouldn't be spending more than $ 100 on a pair of excellent earbuds.

What's in the box

Edifier packed the TWS NB2 earbuds with very little fanfare. My box was even damaged a bit with the main cover sleeve unfortunately stuck to the inner box in such a way that I had to destroy it to get inside the packaging (so I can't share box pictures with them).

In this main box, the buds sit wrapped in foam, with three additional eartip sizes, a USB-C charging cable, a neat little drawstring bag, and a tiny (really tiny) instruction manual above it in a narrow insert. It's simple and effective, but not particularly sustainable (this type of foam is neither recyclable nor compostable).

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

The total number of the four earbud sizes also turns out to be below average, and personally I haven't found a supplied tip that fits me exactly. In contrast, Buds like the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro come with a total of nine eartip sizes, and almost every JLab set comes with at least six. It's a minor complaint, but since it's all cheap silicon, we'd like to see better here from Edifier.

design

I want to point out that it would have been okay if Edifier had decided to change the name of these buds to something other than the NB line, as these buds don't look like their predecessors. The case is completely different, as is the shape of the buds themselves.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

Edifier did not repeat the original design. They blew it up and started over. I have to especially applaud the success here, considering how quickly this second generation hit the market – it was less than a year ago.

I know the "golf tee" look isn't popular with everyone, but it serves a purpose. Call quality improves due to the better position of the microphones and gives the buds more room for a bigger battery. And if you go for the golf tee, I think Edifier did it to make them look chic.

I can't stress enough how great the Edifier design is here.

I cannot emphasize enough how great Edifier's design is here. They took their original bulky, boring design and spiced it up with a whole new aggressive look that I totally like. What Edifier has done is nothing very revolutionary, but small changes to popular design choices that just showcase the entire product nicely.

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The case is pretty as expected with its rounded polygon shape, flip-up lid, and magnetic charge points that keep the buds in place. But Edifier gave the solid package a nice finishing touch with a faux leather exterior that is comfortable to the touch. Even the completely unnecessary cord pocket feels good. It's not your typical nylon, but a high quality woven canvas material.

Annoyingly, there is no way of telling how much battery life is left in the buds or in the case without using the app (more on that later in the app), but even then the app only shows the charge level in the buds. There's a little LED on the back next to the charging port that flashes at me, but I don't know what they're trying to tell me. There's another little LED in the case, but as far as I can tell it just tells me the buds are locked into place and charging. The lack of an easy way to determine the remaining battery life of the case seems like a huge oversight to me.

The original case of the NB earbuds has a series of LEDs that indicate the remaining charge in the case. Why this wasn't carried over to the new set is confusing.

properties

Edifier's original TWS-NBs were rather easy to use, but brought active noise cancellation into the very affordable price range of $ 120. With the TWS NB2s, Edifier added a huge list of new features and brought the price down to $ 100, an almost unheard-of combination of a company's actions.

First, let's talk about active noise cancellation. The ANC in the original buds was fine but relied entirely on feed-forward technology, which means the buds analyzed and muffled outside noise but couldn't tell how good they were with it. In the NB2s, Edifier added a second pair of microphones to the earbuds so they could better respond to noise by hearing what was still coming through. This is known as hybrid ANC and is common on high-end earphones, which generally cost twice what Edifier charges.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

The result is noise cancellation that has been vastly improved over the original and competes very well with other hybrid ANC systems, but still doesn't match the sheer soundproofing power of the big boys like the Sony WF-1000XM3, the Technics TWS, AZ70s, Apple AirPods Pro or Sennheiser Momentum 2s. But all four of these buds cost at least twice as much as the Edifier NB2 earbuds, and as such, the quality of the ANC on offer for the price makes them leaders in their class.

Edifier also added a proximity sensor that pauses the music when you take a bud out of your ear and picks it up again when you put it back. It works fine.

The quality of the ANC on offer for the price makes them leaders in their class.

The small physical buttons on the original NBs have been replaced with two touch sensors on each bud, and overall they're … okay. You can't control the volume or map them to your own specifications, but they work just fine. All controls require at least a double tap. This is a design option to prevent accidental tapping. However, some of the touch functions require a long tap that actually doesn't take that long, and I accidentally launched Game Mode and accidentally turned ANC on and off by just recording it. However, you can change the sensitivity of these features, which I also did and this problem has stopped appearing.

As I just mentioned, there is a "Game Mode" included which Edifier claims has extremely low latency so that you can react faster to the action on the screen. I don't play much with bluetooth and these earbuds won't change that: it just reduces the latency to 80 milliseconds, not nearly fast enough for fast-paced action.

For what it's worth, I didn't experience any latency while watching videos in regular listening mode, including videos from video game situations. Whether or not this feature is enabled, the buds here are solid.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

All of these features come at a cost, however: the NB2 lose their predecessor's IPX4 water / dust resistance instead of a much less weatherproof IP54. These are not sealed against dust and only protect against light splash water, instead of the originals being completely submersible. Even so, IPX4 is perfectly acceptable for most earbuds, and the Edifier TWS NB2 are no exception.

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edifier tws nb2 earbuds review 11 "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn5.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/edifier-tws-nb2-earbuds-review-11 - 640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAJaron Schneider / Digital Trends

Edifier has an app that can be used with the NB2s, and it's … fine. You can use it to control little things like the sensitivity of the touch controls (ANC) and see the battery life remaining in each bud. It looks good but has very little function. I really wish it was possible to make EQ adjustments. This app was a complaint in the original NB rating and remains inconspicuous here to this day.

Battery life

The NB2 improves from the 5-hour playback time of the originals with active ANC to 8 hours per charge. In our tests, they actually took a little longer with the ANC active, around 8.5 hours. That's very good, almost double what the AirPods Pro offer, and is the equivalent of $ 230 for the Sony WF-100XM3 (though Sony's ANC is better).

With the ANC off, the original NBs were able to play for 11 hours before needing to be charged. Unfortunately, the NB2s are only designed for a service life of 9 hours. I got them to run for about 9.5 hours in my tests, but that's still not the previous mark.

The noise isolation is very good and it is likely that you do not need ANC to be active. 9.5 hours is still very impressive. It's just strange to see a regression here. Still, let's be clear that the battery performance here is very impressive and well above average.

You can charge an additional 18 hours when ANC is on and an additional 23 hours when the charging case is off.

Unfortunately, Edifier didn't say anything about a quick charge feature for these buds. However, you can fully charge them in just over an hour.

Audio quality

Edifier did a very good job with their original NBs when it came to sound quality and I'm happy to report that this is still the case with the NB2s. These have a surprising amount of bass. You won't chatter your teeth, but you can absolutely hear and appreciate those lows.

Overall, the sound quality is warm and accessible. They don't sound as good as the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro, the Jabra Elite 75t, or the Sony WF-1000XM3 (three of our regular favorites for sound quality), but I prefer the sound quality over the Apple AirPods Pro. However, the TWS TB2 are cheaper than all four of these earbuds, with most of them well spaced. These are a great many of the best sounding buds you can get for the price.

I am pleased to report that the mix remains balanced across the volume range. Either at a low whisper or at maximum volume, the earphones never let one of the areas overwhelm another.

When I had a review, the soundstage is a bit tight. The highs don't get too much (which many who are sensitive to high highs will actually appreciate), and the lows are largely included too. However, the mids are well represented. Together, it's more like listening to a band at a house party than watching them perform at the Shoreline Amphitheater.

Again, the sound signature is different between NB and NB2 as Edifier blows up their original design instead of that design. Not remarkable, but you can tell. These feel like a completely different set of earphones, not a successor.

Call quality

As mentioned earlier, the golf tee shape of these buds tends to affect call quality. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case with the Edifier TWS NB2 earphones. They sound good, but the longer you speak, the longer you speak, the more distant and difficult they make your voice.

You can hear the other end of the line very clearly, but they didn't work as well as I'd hoped the voice would do. They are serviceable but not nearly class leading.

While the Edifier NB2s have an ambient mode that allows you to hear your own voice during a call, I wish it was a little better. You can hear outside noise, but the volume isn't as loud as I would like it to be.

Our opinion

Edifier fixed almost every complaint we had with the original TWS NB earbuds and went further to add more features and improved battery life. The thing is, we seem to have gotten these improvements at the cost of others.

The Edifier TWS NB2s are a bit of a head scratch in this way. The company seemed to have chosen to start over on this second generation rather than repeating the previous design. But maybe they threw the baby out with the bath water because the benefits we received are less potent thanks to the functions we lost. We have touch controls, a better design, longer battery life with the ANC active, a better ANC, and a smaller case, but they cost no charge indicator in this case, mediocre call quality, and poorer battery life with no ANC active (albeit) still above average ).

Instead of giving us a product, we can clearly say that it replaces the original. Instead, we have two products that still give us a reason to recommend one another depending on the application. Edifier doesn't just compete with the other great options with the TWS NB2 earbuds. They're also competing with their own, older product.

Are there any better alternatives?

A great alternative to the Edifier TWS NB2 earbuds is the Edifier TWS NB2 earbuds at $ 100, the price of which has dropped to $ 70. However, they have different functions. So if you want longer battery life without ANC, consider getting the original NBs. If you're into pretty much anything else, the NB2's are your best bet.

I think the best alternative at this point is the $ 99 JLab Epic Air ANC Buds, which have tons of features (if only with good ANC performance) and great sound control through their app.

How long will they last?

I'm impressed with the build quality of the NB2 and expect it to last until the lithium-ion battery degrades. Edifier also includes a 1 year limited warranty.

Should you buy it?

Yes. They sound great, they look a lot better, and they have added some features that I like. They are the best ANC you can get for the price too.

Editor's recommendations




01 Jul
Blog

The Technics TWS Earbuds Sound Good, but Isolate Even Better

technics tws az70 review panasonic tsw earphones 2

"Expect crisp, bright audio and incredible high-end design noise cancellation."

  • Bright, clear audio emphasizes the vocals

  • Excellent noise cancellation

  • Light and pluggable

  • Sensitive touch controls

  • Comfortable fit

  • Audio is not balanced in the lower registers

  • A bit bulky when worn

Panasonic was slow and steady with its first entry into the noise canceling earphone market in June, but it was just beginning. Technics' high-end TWS EAH-AZ70W active noise canceling earphones from Technics are trying to make a statement with impressive specifications on paper and a luxurious price of $ 249.99.

Will the specs and high price become earphones you want to own? Let's go into that.

Small and shiny

The Technics TWS earphones share a design philosophy with the Panasonic RZ-S500Ws. They are compact buds that fit perfectly in a small charging case. This case is not the smallest we have ever seen since the Jabra Elite 75t case is smaller, the RZ-S500W case is about an inch shorter, and the Apple AirPods Pro case is also small. Nevertheless, it is about two thirds the size of the housing of the Sony WF-1000XM3 and can easily be put in your pocket.

Each earphone is connected to a blunt, bar-like cylinder, which is covered with a touch-sensitive pad made of brushed aluminum. They are a bit bulky and even when they are fully pressed into my ear canal, the buds stick out noticeably from the sides of my head. This is a complaint that was shared in our Panasonic RZ-S500W review.

Some companies, like Apple, choose to move components down towards the earlobe, or in the case of Sony, inward toward the jaw, but Panasonic / Technics has chosen to go outside of your head.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

Overall, the design meets my expectations for premium earphones. The case is a plastic interior surrounded by brushed aluminum, and the top of the case is nicely embossed with the Technics logo. The combination is easy without feeling cheap. The buds themselves feel solid despite the low weight of only 6.5 grams per bud, which is 8.3 grams less than the Sony WF-1000XM3. Yes, I weighed them.

Fit, finish and function

I have a narrow ear canal, so I used the extra small silicone tips, one of five sizes that are included in the technique. These buds are not designed for use during activity, so they do not have a high IPX rating (IPX4) and do not contain "wings" to stabilize them in your ear. You feel safe when you are sitting in a cafe, on a plane, or at your desk. To run? Not as much.

As previously mentioned, Technics designed the buds to hang their weight outward from your head, which affects balance. I found that I often adjusted their fit during listening sessions because either the right or left bud fell out of my ear canal.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

Several repeated tests were required to find out. However, if you don't carry the buds exactly right, they can feel uncomfortable. The key is to make sure the Technics logo is flat at the end of the touchpad. Once I did that, they fit well and comfortably in my ear and were comfortable for long listening sessions. If they fit properly, the earplug is at the bottom of the cylinder, with most of the bud over it and resting well in the outer wall of the ear cup.

The Technics TWS have a touchpad on the brushed silver cap at the end of each earphone. It is sensitive. I accidentally touched the pad and paused a song while trying to adjust the fit in my ear. It works with a gloved hand. This is good news if you wear mittens and want to skip a song while listening to music.

The buds are compatible with Amazon Alexa and can be set up quickly and easily using the Technics Audio Connect app. There is also support for Google Assistant or Siri.

Unlike other earphones on the market, the Technics TWS does not recognize whether they have been removed from your ear and pauses automatically. This is not a standard feature in the industry, but it is present in competing products.

Connection and battery life

Getting started with Technics TWS was easy. When you take them out of the packaging, put them in the charging case and then remove them, the pairing mode is activated. My phone was able to connect to them immediately from there. When you put it in your ear, you'll be greeted with a pleasant welcome tone, followed by any bud that tells you that Bluetooth has been connected to a female robot voice.

I found the strength of the Bluetooth connection good, but not the best I have ever experienced. I left my cell phone in my kitchen and went to my back yard, and the buds stayed in touch about 90% of the room. The 10% farthest from my back door resulted in an inconsistent connection, but I was admittedly far away. I'll almost never be that far from my phone.

The Technics TWS are designed for a playback time of six and a half hours, whereby the active noise cancellation is activated with two additional charges from the housing for a total of 19.5 hours of listening time. There is a quick charge function that allows 70 minutes of playing time from 15 minutes of charging time. In a fairly competitive area, the technics in this category are in the middle.

Sound quality

The technology has gone to great lengths to make these earphones sound fantastic, and the company has taken care to mention the 10mm driver (which is larger than the standard 6mm driver in many earphones), and that Emphasis is placed on ensuring that the bass is properly balanced with great mids and highs.

After listening to rock and pop music for several hours, I can say that they mostly did it right.

The bass is very clear and resonates beautifully through my head when it is an important aspect of a song. If the music production team wanted me to feel this bass beat, the technology did an excellent job and translated it for me. At the same time, the singing was incredibly clear and full of life. Sia's Save My Life was highlighted by emphasizing technology on crisp, bright, and energetic audio. I heard an acoustic guitar solo, the melody of Lady GaGa's Stupid Love, and felt like the guitar was right next to me.

In the Technics Audio Connect app you can set the EQ to either bass-heavy, vocal-oriented, neutral or your own EQ. In Custom EQ, you can move five sliders up and down to suit your personal taste.

If you love bright and clear audio that emphasizes a strong beat and clarity of the upper registers, the technics are a solid win for you. However, if you value wealth and general balance, they are not sufficient here. Although the bass beat is strong, the lower audio registers feel underrepresented.

Here is an example. If you play the note “C” on a piano, you can simply play a “C”. Playing this note alone is the purest expression of this note. However, you can play a C major chord to achieve greater depth of sound, although the representation of the C note is not as accurate. The technology seems to me to be more geared towards giving you the singular, accurate C note, while the Sony WF-1000XM3 want to give you that deeper, fuller C major chord.

Of course, that's subjective. For example, in our test of the Panasonic RZ-S800W, Andy Boxall appreciated the emphasis on these higher registers, and the larger drivers in technology provide an even better listening experience than what we found in them.

Amazing ANC

One of the most outstanding and perhaps most surprising aspects of these earphones is their active noise cancellation: The Technics TWS offer really excellent noise cancellation performance, some of the best we have ever experienced.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

I have a pretty noisy mobile air conditioner in my office, and when I was sitting at my desk, the technology turned its booming fan sound into a low hum. Compared to the Sonys, the Technics were about twice as good at reducing the level of consistent sounds. At the side of the road, I found that the technology was on a par with the Sonys, since neither was able to reduce inconsistent noises such as cars or clinking metal pipes.

The Technics use two sets of data inputs to suppress noise. This technology is known as dual hybrid noise canceling. It works with two sets of microphones: one set on the outside of the buds, as is the norm, and one set on the inside to determine how much sound is still getting through. The result is a system that seals noise and can actively adapt to what might come through. Without music, the ANC is so good that I can feel completely isolated in my cozy silence ball.

You can set how much noise suppression or ambient noise should be active on a sliding bar from the app. No noise cancellation, no ambient noise mode, and no complete noise cancellation can be performed via one of the touchpads on the buds themselves by holding the touchpad for about two seconds.

Call quality

Technology has done some considerations to ensure that calls sound clear and clean, and I can say they were successful there. I had no problem hearing voices clearly in one of my calls.

Unfortunately, as is the case with many noise canceling earphones and headphones, the person on the other end of the line was not blessed with the same pleasant experience. When I was in a room where noise cancellation had to be particularly active, e.g. For example, by a fan or near traffic, my voice has been described as echo-like and far away, like a digital phone call over bad internet.

However, when I was in a quiet room, the call quality on the other end of the line improved dramatically.

Our opinion

The $ 249.99 Technics TWS are expensive, but not the most expensive in their segment. They cost roughly the same price as Apple's AirPods Pro. The good news is that they deserve this price largely with incredible noise cancellation, lightweight construction, and a clean (but bulky) design. With an emphasis on strong vocals and higher registers, they are best suited for those who want to hear music with clearer, clearer clarity.

Is there a better alternative?

For a cheaper price (we saw that they only cost $ 170), the Sony WF-1000XM3 are a great option if you want to get the best possible audio quality.

The AirPods Pro from Apple have very strong noise cancellation functions. Because they're in the Apple ecosystem, they're a better choice for iPhone users for connectivity and synergy between devices.

For $ 180, the Panasonic RZ-S500W is another fantastic alternative with almost identical technical data to the TSWs. The main disadvantage is a smaller driver, which results in slightly lower (but only marginal) audio performance and less impressive material quality.

How long will they last?

The Technics TWS earphones are guaranteed for one year. Technics is also one of Panasonic's high-end brands. As a result, their products usually last a long time.

Should you buy them

Yes. They are comfortable, have excellent noise cancellation technology and sound great in a variety of situations.

Editor's recommendations




28 May
Blog

Edifier TWS NB Earbuds Review: Lose The Noise, Keep The Cash

Edifier TWS-NB

"By lowering the price of ANC, Edifier has raised the bar for real wireless earphones everywhere."

  • Solid Bluetooth range

  • Affordable active noise cancellation

  • Exceptional sound

  • Good price

  • Bulky design

  • Uninspired app

Earbud enthusiasts get good news courtesy of Edifier. We have reached an important milestone in the actual wireless timeline as legitimate active noise cancellation has entered the budget-friendly atmosphere.

For $ 120, Edifier's new TWS NB earphones offer the coveted ANC feature in one of the cheapest real wireless packages we've seen so far. Apart from the monetary savings, what is the value of these buds on the table?

Out of the box

For better or for worse, I got used to trying out new headphones or earphones first and then scrolling through the data sheet. It leads to some funny comparisons; For example, because of the packaging and components of the Edifier earphones, I would have sworn that this is a far more expensive product.

Edifier TWS NB caseNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The TWS NB arrive firmly in their own foam bedding when you lift the lid of the packaging. In addition to the buds and the carrying case, Edifier included a USB-C charging cable, a start guide and a manual as well as additional ear plugs and ear fins.

The setup is standard, with Edifier using Bluetooth 5.0 in the TWS NB. The company also built an antenna technology called Laser Direct Structuring into the earphones to ensure a stable connection and fight interference.

Edifier projects a range of 33 feet, and I would say that this is somewhat conservative. I moved around the house and between the back yard and the front yard while my phone stayed in the kitchen. Impressively, there were no signal drops.

design

The metallic finish of the TWS NB exudes a futuristic atmosphere with its somewhat strange shape. It is undoubtedly a subjective matter, but at least I enjoy the aesthetics. On the other hand, I caused a little controversy by saying that I liked the unique design of the Microsoft Surface Earbuds 2. So maybe my style tastes of the mainstream.

Edifier TWS NBNick Woodard / Digital Trends

They also felt comfortable and made the TWS NB worthwhile for longer listening sessions. They are large and unfortunately there is no way around it. Pulling off a hoodie became a problem because the earbuds were likely to get caught and then get lost in a dark fabric cavity when I threw the garment into the laundry basket. Sure, you know, you could remove the earbuds before you peel off that layer, but that feels like an unnecessary inconvenience, however minor it may be.

Apart from IPX4 water resistance, there is not much on the Edifier product page about the functions of the TWS NB as earphones for active people. As I learned from my own experience, there is a reason for this. The earphones are absolutely safe and move at the pace of everyday life. But take it with you for a jog and chaos will occur. They never fell out of my ear, but no matter how many times I adjusted the buds to keep the ear fins in place, I couldn't help feeling like I was wearing dangling earrings – or how I imagine that feeling.

I swapped the ear fins for the larger pair that came with it, and that helped to some extent, just not as much as I hoped.

The charging case, which Edifier calls "anodization-processed, light-resistant aluminum", is larger than alternatives such as the Apple AirPods or Google Pixel Buds 2. The rectangular shape of the housing almost resembles a harmonica.

properties

Interestingly, when it comes to playback time, the TWS NB takes up space on both sides of the coin. When active noise cancellation is activated, they are only suitable for 5 hours of audio. This corresponds to devices with prices similar to the Amazon Echo Buds, but most people want more when the battery stops there.

Edifier TWS NBNick Woodard / Digital Trends

However, without ANC, the TWS NB will play for 11 hours, with two additional charges included in the case. This makes it one of the best – in particular the Samsung Galaxy Buds + and the Sony WF-SP800N – for a significantly lower proportion of changes.

There are only two buttons on the Edifier earphones, one each on the multifunctional variant. You can use both buttons to switch between active noise cancellation and ambient noise mode. The same applies to changing titles or answering and declining calls. It takes a bit of leg work to familiarize yourself with the controls, but they work well after the first learning phase.

Edifier has its own app that is paired with the TWS NB … and that's about all there is to say. The app can turn ANC on and off and change tracks, but the buds themselves can do it themselves. Unless I lack anything essential, the app is not a factor for the time being.

Audio quality

For the battery life and ANC features offered at this price, all I really hoped for from the TWS NB was passable audio to add to the ensemble. I have that and more.

Edifier TWS NBNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The earphones each have a 13 mm graphene membrane, which Edifier announces as "one of the strongest materials in the world" with an "incredible strength-to-weight ratio". Of course this speaks mostly of the market, but in my experience these drivers have something to offer.

On tracks like Megan Thee Stallions Savage Remix (children hear that today, right?), The TWS NB showed an above-average low-end response. At the other end of the musical spectrum, songs like The Devil Went Down to Georgia by Charlie Daniels Band have proven that the Edifiers offer more than reasonable clarity on costs. It is difficult to slaughter a good violin to be transparent, but the NWS-TB still delivered exceptional results.

The earbuds also have aptX support, which is a nice addition considering that some higher-priced options are missing. You are also able to with regards to call quality, although nothing in this part of my audio tests screams exceptionally. Still, I think the majority of listeners will enjoy Edifier's sound quality.

Active noise cancellation

I will take on the role of skeptic when I talk about active noise cancellation for $ 120 just because it hasn't really happened yet, at least not in a remarkable sense. Amazon's Echo Buds came closest, using noise reduction technology that worked well for $ 130. So far, active noise canceling wireless earphones have not been on the radar for this cheap price.

Edifier TWS NBNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The TWS NB have feed-forward ANC technology, which means that microphones on the outside of the buds analyze and dampen outside noise. It's closer to the basic end of noise cancellation, but that's not a big deal at this price. Well done, it can still be an effective way to keep unwanted noise out of your listening experience.

Because of my time with these buds, the technology is indeed well done. During a walk along a fast flowing river, switching on the ANC function with a double press on one of the two buds completely canceled out the noise of the water. Another double tap on one of the buds brought Edifier's ambient sound mode into play, which was a nice touch when the need to repeatedly greet another dog walker came up again and again.

I wouldn't compare this to the top ANC technology in products like the Sony WF-1000XM3, but I would say that the TWS NB offers worthwhile noise cancellation features for what you pay for.

Our opinion

The Edifier TWS NB are part of a growing trend for bulky earbuds that I'm honestly not on board with. However, they are leading the way in another trend, namely, low-cost real wireless earbuds that do not limit functionality. That is why we can all gather together.

Are there any better alternatives?

The $ 130 Amazon Echo Buds literally fit some better, with the added benefit of Alexa’s hands-free feature. The Sony WF-XB700, which is also priced at $ 130, has a 9-hour battery life, though the noise cancellation features are missing.

How long will they last?

The TWS NB have a 1-year limited warranty and are equipped with scratch-resistant hardware. You should be able to deal with some wear and tear without the crack.

Should you buy them

Yes. You may want to find another pair if you are a runner. By lowering the entry fee for active noise cancellation, the Edifier TWS NB has raised the bar for real wireless earphones everywhere.

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