Aukey EP-N7 Review – Great ANC, Bassy Sound

There are a couple of true wireless earbuds with noise cancellation under $100, but none can beat the Aukey EP-N7.

These buds provide a rather impressive ANC, noticeably reducing environmental noise to a high degree.

On top of that, their microphones can pick up your voice with good clarity, making them more than suitable for taking phone calls.

Sadly, they do a bit worse in sound quality since the bass easily overpowers the mix.

Find out all about them in the full Aukey EP-N7 true wireless earbuds review down below.

Editor
rating 3.8

By HeadphonesAddict

User
ratings 3.5

User Ratings: 5

Category

• Comfort & Fit
• Noise Isolation
• Noise Cancelling
• Bluetooth
• Battery
• Durability
• Features
• Sound

Our rating

• 
  4.5
• 
  4.0
• 
  4.0
• 
  3.0
• 
  3.5
• 
  4.0
• 
  4.0
• 
  3.0

User rating

• 3.8
• 3.5
• 3.5
• 3.0
• 3.5
• 0
• 0
• 0

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AUKEY EP-N7 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelation Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds Headphone

AUKEY EP-N7 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelation Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds Headphone

$19.99

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What’s in the Box?

• Aukey EP-N7 true wireless earbuds
• Charging case
• USB-C charging cable
• 3 pairs of silicone ear tips (s, m, l)
• User guide
• Sticker

Comfort & Fit

4.5 Almost Perfect

Earbuds are surprisingly comfy, despite weirdly shaped housing. Fit is pretty great, too, although they will eventually slide out of your ears.

Size-wise, these aren’t too big. The inner side of the earbud has a bulky, pill-shaped form factor with a stem design that might look uncomfortable. Fortunately, that’s far from the truth.

In fact, you can wear these for hours. They fit quite nicely, but if you plan to use them for fitness and sports, they will start losing grip. That might be due to a gentler seal.

You get 3 pairs of silicone ear tips with an oval shape to better contour ear canals. They don’t go too deep, which is why you don’t feel any pressure during use.

Of course, that also means that any dirt or small residue of ear wax can start pushing them out.

But in general, they’re stable enough for outdoor walking.

Noise Isolation

4.0 Great

The Aukey EP-N7 seal off your ear canal well, blocking most of the ambient sound.

Even though ear tips barely go into the ear canal, you can’t complain about passive isolation.

Of course, there are earbuds that can do better in this regard. But they also hurt the overall comfort, which nobody wants.

As long as you’re playing music, you shouldn’t be bothered by the surrounding noise.

In case you want to hear ambient sound but like to keep earbuds in your ears, they offer a Transparency mode.

It delivers decent clarity and volume but far from what you get in premium models. Also, there’s quite a lot of white noise, but it’s primarily audible if you’re somewhere quiet.

Noise Cancellation

4.0 Great

Considering the price tag, they do an excellent job removing the majority of ambient noise.

So far, I haven’t encountered better true wireless earbuds under $100 market. Especially when it comes to noise cancelling performance.

Aukey EP-N7 are very effective in eliminating low-end hum and constant noises. The result is more than noticeable. Similar to the best budget noise cancelling headphones.

Even traffic noises are well-dampened, which is why they’re perfect for frequent commuters and travelers.

Of course, higher frequencies do pass through. But compared to other options at this price range, these block the most.

There are 2 microphones on each side that pick up the sounds from all directions. As soon as you cover one of them (when using touch controls), the ANC effect breaks for a split second.

Bluetooth

3.0 Good

The Bluetooth range is a bit shorter than the competition, and with no multipoint or compelling audio codec, they’re quite average.

While the Bluetooth 5.0 connection stays reliable with no weird cut-offs, the range is somewhat shorter than expected.

Normally, true wireless earbuds with 5.0 Bluetooth version easily pass 2 brick walls before starting to stutter.

However, with Aukey EP-N7, the audio cuts start right when you’re about to pass the second wall.

That isn’t a dealbreaker if you keep your source device close. But if you plan to walk around your house freely, you might experience some audio skipping.

Multipoint?

Like the Aukey EP-N5, these also don’t have the option to connect 2 devices at once.

What Bluetooth Codecs They Use?

Only SBC and AAC. Thankfully, that is enough to cover both Android and iOS user needs.

Is There a Video Lag?

I’m using an Android smartphone, and since the default Bluetooth codec is AAC, the lag is annoyingly noticeable.

More about why AAC works better on iOS in our separate article about Bluetooth codecs.

To fix the issue with YouTube latency, you have to force your phone to use SBC. You can do that in the Developer options.

• To change the codec on Android you have to go in Settings and search for “build number.”
• When you find the build number, start tapping on it. A pop-up message will tell you that developer options are unlocked (“You’re now a developer!”).
• Usually, you find them on the first page inside Settings.
• Inside Developer options, scroll down until you see “Bluetooth audio codec.”
• Don’t worry, changing codecs cuts the audio for a second before continuing the playback.

Battery

3.5

Earbuds have an average battery life of 5 hours per charge (5 hours and 23 minutes in our test), with an additional 20 hours waiting in the case.

Many earbuds now come with fast-charging or Qi wireless charging. However, Aukey decided to skip all of that with EP-N7.

Compared to the competition, the battery is pretty good. With ANC, they can stay alive for around 5 hours and 23 minutes before needing a refill.

A small charging case holds another 20 hours of charge, and it charges via USB-C cable.

It takes 1.5 hours to recharge the battery from 0 to 100%.

Durability

4.0 Great

Earbuds seem robust and well built, with an IPX5 rating of water resistance. The latter meaning, they can survive rain and splashes of water.

The housing of Aukey EP-N7 is made of hard plastic that has a soft finish. That way, it feels better in hand and, most importantly, inside ears.

Sweating doesn’t pose a problem since earbuds come with an IPX5 rating. Besides sweat, they can also survive rain if you ever get caught in it.

The case is well-built, too. It’s small and very pocketable, with the same soft finish as the earbuds.

The lid is made of thin plastic, which could be a problem if you throw the case around too much. Otherwise, it doesn’t wobble, and it closes down securely with a magnet.

Features

4.0 Great

You get active noise cancellation, Ambient mode, and basic touch controls. At least microphones offer great call quality.

Maybe I got spoiled by other budget offerings with aptX codecs and wireless charging, so it feels a bit underwhelming to look at Aukey EP-N7.

Earbuds operate via pretty basic touch controls. All you can do is tap to play or pause, double-tap to skip or repeat a song, and answer calls.

A long press shuffles between ANC, Ambient, and normal mode. Strangely, you don’t get a volume control, so you need to reach for your smartphone regularly.

Microphone Quality

Considering the price, the call quality is excellent. It’s even better than on some more expensive models, as well as in the EP-N5 model from the same brand.

Microphones can pick up your voice with good clarity, albeit a bit quiet.

There’s minimal degradation of quality when you introduce background noise. Earbuds successfully block most of the hum while keeping your voice intact.

If you take many phone calls and look for a budget pair of true wireless earbuds, these are worthy of consideration.

Sound

3.0 Good

They’re very bass-heavy with relaxed midrange and treble. While their tuning is non-fatiguing, they lack detail and clarity to balance out the meaty bass.

Aukey earbuds are no stranger of favoring the low-end over the rest of the spectrum.

While products like EP-T32 have a moderate boost, the EP-N7 8mm drivers take the bass to another level.

Even though EP-N5 also had a noticeable boost in the bass, they felt a bit clearer in the mids. And that’s what I miss in Aukey EP-N7. But let’s start from the beginning.

There’s a strong bass presence. It isn’t as ridiculous as some old Beats or Skullcandy’s, but powerful enough to flavor the whole frequency response.

It’s punchy but not very controlled. And because there’s so much of it, bass guitars get easily lost in the mix. Foam tips would only make it worse.

The midrange is very warm and balanced, with decent vocal clarity. Since the bass bleeds into the mids, details get buried underneath.

There is some sparkle and air at the high-end, which helps the sound from feeling too congested.

The soundstage is about average, and you can hear things slightly out of your head.

That being said, Aukey EP-N7 don’t sound terrible. However, they colorize the sound way too much for my liking.

Also, earbuds like TaoTronics Soundliberty 97, for $20 less, can output better audio performance.

Regardless, casual users might find them good enough for various music genres. The bass is usually the first thing people want in their headphones.

Should You Buy Aukey EP-N7?

Aukey EP-N7 currently sell for $70. While they don’t amaze in every category, they can be a compelling option for users who want great active noise cancellation.

Their ANC performance is undoubtedly excellent among the best headphones under $100 price bracket.

Also, they’re very comfortable and provide excellent mic quality, especially for the price.

As for the sound, the general public will enjoy an overly punchy presentation, whereas audiophiles should look elsewhere.

Bottom line, if you care about those features, then you will hardly find anything better under $100.

But if you value audio quality the most, there are other, much better options out there.

AUKEY EP-N7 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelation Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds Headphone

AUKEY EP-N7 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelation Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds Headphone

$19.99

in stock

Buy now

eBay

Comparisons

Aukey EP-N5

Both earbuds are very comfortable and joy to use, but the newer EP-N7 outperforms the EP-N5 in noise cancelation, as well as adding Transparency mode and great mic quality.

AirPods-looking EP-N5 do a better job in the sound quality. While it’s equally bassy, the N5 performs clearer and with a better soundstage. If the sound matters to you, pick the older model.

Aukey EP-N5 review

Specifications

Peter Susic

From a childhood fascination with sound, Peter’s passion has evolved into a relentless pursuit of the finest headphones. He’s an audio expert with over 5 years of experience in testing both audiophile and consumer-grade headphones. Quote: “After many years, I can confidently tell which headphones are good and which are terrible.” Find his honest opinion in his reviews.