EarFun Air 2 Review

EarFun Air 2 are enticing budget true wireless earbuds that are fun to listen to, support multipoint, offer long-lasting comfort and battery life (if you avoid LDAC audio codec). They’re great for students and non-demanding users but not for frequent commuters due to their lack of active noise cancellation.

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• List price (MSRP): $49.99
• Manufacturer: EarFun

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Related: Best earbuds under $50 – Most comfortable earbuds – Best wireless earbuds under $50

Our Conclusion

EarFun Air 2 provide a good overall performance and give a lot of useful features and customization options.

Their default sound signature is bassy, but you can make them very balanced using the EarFun app. Inside the latter, you can fully customize controls and sound, enable Game mode and multipoint, find lost earbuds, and decide to use LDAC. More about all of that later.

On top of that, they’re comfortable enough for everyday use and boast a fully waterproof IPX7 rating. From our tests, they play music for 7.5 hours before asking to recharge.

However, many budget earbuds today (Edifier TWS1 Pro 2, TOZO NC7) also offer active noise cancellation and transparency mode, which the Air 2 lack.

That makes them less appealing if you frequent public transport and want to drown out the ambient noise.

Should you get EarFun Air 2 instead of other competitors around $50? Learn all about the Air 2 after going through our 9-category testing process.

Pros & Cons:

Compare similar earbuds

Our Analysis and Test Results

After extensive audio equalization (it took me some time), earbuds sound balanced, with decent detail retrieval and imaging accuracy. They sound better than most competitors for around $50.

They’re comfy and boast a pretty durable waterproof build (IPX7). They have a lot of useful features but only partially good microphone quality.

Mediocre passive noise isolation is the biggest con, as EarFun could’ve made it better to compensate for the lack of ANC.

Sound

EarFun Air 2 are quite lively and bassy by default but can sound completely different after applying custom EQ. They offer good control and decent detail and are perfect for users who value faithful sound presentation.

Key points:

• Bass and treble are energetic by default.
• Controlled and balanced after extensive EQ.
• Average soundstage but pretty accurate imaging

Check our EarFun Air 2 A/B sound test

Like EarFun Air Pro 2, EarFun Free Pro 2, and Free Pro 3, the EarFun Air 2 have an energetic sound with an elevated bass, slightly subdued midrange, and sparkly treble.

Fortunately, the Air 2 also support the EarFun Audio app, which offers a custom EQ (with 10 frequency bands). That way, you can shape their audio the way you want.

While you can shape the Air 2 to sound very balanced, there are limitations regarding detail and clarity.

Bass: Rumbly yet decently controlled

Bass frequencies from the 11mm dynamic driver are well-extended and produce a deep rumble, making them ideal for hip-hop, rap, and electronic music genres.

By default, lows are way above the neutral response, so they feel less controlled when you want to listen to nuances like bass guitars. Lowering the 31Hz, 63Hz, and 125Hz helps significantly.

After doing so, you finally start hearing bass strings in “Self-Aware” by Riverside. Even double-pedal bass kicks are more evident after EQ tweaks, which is great news for rock and metal lovers.

EarFun Air 2 frequency response

Midrange: Slightly honky but fixable through EQ

Midrange is overall quite balanced, with natural vocals out of the box. However, due to boosted bass and treble, instruments sound a bit honky and boxy.

Making a few EQ tweaks makes the instruments sound more balanced with the vocals. They don’t sound as good and clear as Apple AirPods Pro 2, but I would happily have the Air 2 as my backup earbuds.

Treble: Loud by default & decently textured

By default, earbuds boost 6kHz and 13kHz, which adds energy to cymbals and some air and clarity to the sound. However, it also adds harshness when listening to rock or metal, like in the song “Lying from You” by Linkin Park.

Lowering the 4kHz and 8kHz bands in the EQ reduces some energy from the lower treble region, but you’ll occasionally hear a sparkier treble. Fortunately, it has good air and decent texture, especially for the price.

I made our custom EQ, hear how it compares to other EQ presets in the EarFun app:

Soundstage is somewhat intimate, and you occasionally hear sounds from slightly further away (like at the beginning of “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd).

Imaging is accurate with just a few spots around the center channel where you can’t quite pinpoint the location of the sound. Nonetheless, this is still a commendable performance for the price.

Sound comparison

LDAC actually makes a difference

EarFun Air 2 are the first true wireless earbuds I’ve tested where enabling LDAC actually made a positive difference to audio content.

The effect is very subtle, but the cymbal hits have a little more clarity than with SBC or AAC Bluetooth codecs. However, in return, you also get a worse Bluetooth range. More on that later.

My conclusion

EarFun Air 2 have a more than satisfying sound quality and are worth buying at $50 if the good sound is what you’re looking for.

They provide good technical capabilities and, with the help of our custom EQ, should give you a somewhat faithful audio presentation. And the best thing is that your EQ works on both devices when using Bluetooth multipoint.

Of course, you don’t get the clarity and naturalness of premium earbuds like Sony WF-1000XM5 or even EarFun Free Pro 3, but they could compare (or even surpass) the EarFun Air Pro 3 and Air S, both costing a few dollars more.

Also check other:

• Best wireless earbuds under $50

Comfort & Fit

EarFun Air 2 are comfortable, but you can feel them wearing due to wider ear tips gently pressuring your ear canal. Stability is fine for ordinary tasks but not for intense sports activities.

EarFun Air 2 are one of those earbuds you could wear for hours. Maybe not as many hours as Apple AirPods Pro 2, but close enough.

The reason for that are circular ear tips, which are noticeably wider than usual.

As a result, I felt them gently pressuring inside my ear canal. However, that pressure has never grown into an actual ache.

Moving to stability, the Air 2 stay nicely in your ears during everyday activities like walking around. However, during my head-shaking test, they got loose and fell out after a few swings.

Consequently, I can recommend these earbuds for casual use but not for running, cycling, or other types of intense workouts.

Compared to other similar models

EarFun Air 2 have a similar comfort to SoundPEATS Sonic and most EarFun earbuds (except for EarFun Air S, which are slightly stabler and better suited for exercising).

Durability

EarFun Air 2 appear durable enough to withstand everyday use thanks to an IPX7 rating and fairly sturdy build. The charging case also feels fine, but it has a thin hinge and lacks the earbuds’ IP rating.

Earbuds are fully made of plastic and tightly glued together from 4 parts. Despite having a long stem, they appear sturdy and without flex when trying to break the stem away from the upper housing.

With an IPX7 rating, you can fully submerge and wash them if they ever get sweaty. EarFun even includes a tiny pick for cleaning the residual ear wax and dirt from the nozzle (learn how to clean your earbuds).

The charging case is relatively big but not as much as the one from EarFun Air S. It’s equally tall and wide as the Apple AirPods Pro 2, but slightly “fatter”. On the other hand, it’s identical to the Tranya Nova Lite.

The biggest concern of the charging case is the hinge, which is very thin and could easily break upon impact or overly aggressive opening. The case also doesn’t share any IP rating with the earbuds, so avoid placing it next to sweaty clothes.

Are they suitable for…

• Wearing in the rain: Light or heavy rain, you can even take them under a shower.
• Running & exercising outside: Suitable, they’re fully sweatproof, but avoid getting them covered in dust.
• Sweating: Suitable, even if you tend to sweat heavily.
• Dipping underwater: Suitable to 1 meter in depth.

Durability comparison

Battery

We tested the EarFun Air 2 battery length at 7.5 hours before needing to recharge. Fortunately, they also support Qi wireless charging and fast charging, so you don’t have to wait long.

EarFun Air 2 battery comparison:

The battery life of EarFun Air 2 should easily get you through a day. Combined with the additional charge in the charging case, you can use them for almost a week before plugging them back into a wall.

In our battery test, where we left earbuds playing at 50% volume, the Air 2 lasted precisely:

• 7 hours and 30 minutes on a single charge using AAC Bluetooth codec.

That’s equally as much as TOZO OpenBuds, Aukey EP-T32, and first-gen Samsung Galaxy Buds.

While that’s a slightly above-average performance for non-ANC earbuds, it’s still 1.5 hours less than advertised (EarFun claims 9 hours of battery without and 5.5 hours with LDAC audio codec, which consumes more power).

The charging case has another 31 hours of playtime stored in it (or around 22 hours if you enable LDAC). You charge it via USB-C cable or wirelessly using any Qi-wireless charging pad. It takes:

• 1.5h to fully charge the earbuds (fast charging: 10 minutes = 2 hours of music).
• 2 hours to fully charge the charging case via USB-C.
• 3.5 hours to fully charge the charging case via Qi-wireless charging.

Here’s the battery rating comparison with similar earbuds:

Note: The battery rating considers battery life compared to alternatives, wireless charging support, and the speed of recharging.

Features

EarFun Air 2 are packed with customization options and improve the user experience by supporting Game mode and Bluetooth multipoint. But I wish for a better microphone.

Ever since the EarFun upgraded its mobile app, there are now a ton of things to do. Apart from updating firmware and factory resetting, you can also play with:

• Control customizer
• EarFun Equalizer
• Dual device connection
• Call microphone & voice wizard settings
• Find Headphones

Control customizer

The app allows you to (almost) fully customize which gesture you want for a specific action. This means that a single tap can:

• Play/pause
• Volume up/down
• Next/previous track
• Summoning voice assistant

For some reason, enabling Game Mode is only reserved for triple-tap and long-press gestures. Fortunately, you can disable the single tap gesture if you encounter ghost touches (when your warm breath registers as a tap).

EarFun Equalizer

EarFun’s latest custom audio equalizer offers 10 frequency bands and good control over sound. There’s also no penalty (crushing dynamics) if you want to overboost a specific frequency.

There are also 10 EQ presets, but none makes the sound better than the earbuds’ “Default Sound” profile. I encourage you to try my custom EQ and play with it until you get the Air 2 to play like you imagined.

Find Headphones

Unlike Apple’s Tag or Skullcandy’s Tile approach, where you can locate the lost earbuds on the map, EarFun Air 2 use a far simpler solution. You select which earbud will play a loud sound.

Of course, that only works if earbuds are in the same room as you and aren’t under a pile of clothes. Still, to protect your hearing, don’t wear them in your ears while activating this function.

Microphone quality

EarFun Air 2 have a clear call quality in quieter environments but struggle with distortion in noisier ones.

EarFun Air 2 microphone test: (no noise test from 0:00-0:22, with background noise test from O:22-0:45)

Earbuds use 4 ENC or noise-cancelling microphones to better isolate your voice from ambient sounds. They do so quite well, at least in quieter situations.

However, if you answer in a noisy office or when walking down a busy street, others will hear you muffled and distorted.

Consequently, I can only recommend them for home use or when speaking someplace quiet, as they truly shine in those situations. Otherwise, make phone calls with your smartphone instead.

Features rating comparison

Noise Isolation

EarFun Air 2 are overall consistent for isolating outside noises, but since they struggle with high frequencies, they’re less suitable for listening to music in noisy situations.

Since the Air 2 lack active noise cancellation, they should’ve at least provided great passive isolation. Sadly, our measurement shows a different story.

They’re overall the best in the midrange, reducing 15dB of noise at 4kHz. However, they struggle at higher frequencies more than the competition, which makes them less suitable for office work, let alone commuting.

That said, some competitors like SoundPEATS Air4 Pro or cheaper SoundPEATS Clear are similar, so you can’t say they have the worst passive noise isolation.

Still, I can’t quite recommend EarFun Air 2 for listening to music on loud and rumbly public transport, as you’ll need to raise the volume considerably to overpower the surrounding noise.

Here’s a table of how effective is Air 2’s passive noise isolation at blocking specific frequencies:

How severe is sound leakage?

People might hear a little bit of your music if you’re listening at 60% volume or up.

Fortunately, these earbuds are pretty loud on their own, so you don’t need to blast the volume as high, meaning that the sound leakage shouldn’t be that big of an issue.

Noise isolation rating comparison with other models

Bluetooth

EarFun Air 2 have a mediocre indoor Bluetooth range of 35 feet (or 30 feet with LDAC) but offer Bluetooth multipoint and Game Mode with 120ms audio latency.

Earbuds use Bluetooth 5.3 to maintain a stable, close-range connection. I haven’t experienced any stutters while using the connection priority setting.

On the other hand, the indoor Bluetooth range is about average. Walking across the house, I managed to reach:

• 35 feet (or 10.6 meters) before losing the connection. Enabling LDAC as my Bluetooth audio codec shortened the range to 30 feet (or 9.1 meters). That’s even before passing the second brick wall.

Furthermore, enabling LDAC greatly impacted close-range performance, with some hiccups occurring when having my smartphone a few feet away.

Bluetooth multipoint

Moving to additional features, EarFun Air 2 offer Bluetooth multipoint with an overview of connected devices inside the app.

In the app, you see currently and previously connected devices and decide which one you want to connect to. Sadly, you can’t manually switch the audio source like in the Sony’s app for Sony WF-1000XM5.

How to pair EarFun Air 2?

1. Connecting them for the first time, you only need to unpeel the protective plastic off the contact pins, put the earbuds back into the case, shut it, and reopen the lid. Pairing mode will start automatically.
2. Pairing them to a different device requires you to either place the earbuds in the case and hold the button under the case for 3 seconds. Or you go into the Dual connection settings in the app and tap on “Connect a new device”. In both cases, you’ll see an LED blinking blue.

What Bluetooth codecs do they use?

EarFun Air 2 support SBC, Apple’s preferred AAC, LC3, and high-quality LDAC. To enable the latter, you have to go through a complicated procedure:

1. Select it in the app’s “Bluetooth audio quality” settings.

Is there any audio lag?

Audio successfully syncs with YouTube and social media apps to deliver a lag-free experience. On the other hand, you see a noticeable lag in unoptimized apps, like mobile games.

Enabling Game Mode helps reduce latency from 190ms to 120ms, which is more than the advertised 55ms and still high enough for humans to see. However, that will only be bothersome to serious gamers.

Bluetooth rating comparison

Should You Get EarFun Air 2?

Area where EarFun Air 2 truly shine (for the price) is their sound quality. If that’s what you’re looking for, then they’re definitely worth checking.

On the other hand, many earbuds under $50 now support ANC. So, if you want a complete package to cover audio and commuting/traveling needs, you might need to look at other alternatives.

Pros & Cons

What are these best for:

• People who want to get great audio quality without spending a ton of money.
• People who make frequent phone or video calls in quieter environments.
• Users who lightly exercise or walk outside and don’t want to worry if they get sweaty or caught in the rain.
• People who need Bluetooth multipoint to connect to multiple devices (2) simultaneously.

Who should avoid them:

• Frequent commuters or travelers who want to enjoy music in peace without hearing background noise.
• Competitive mobile gamers, as their 120ms audio latency is quite noticeable.

How do EarFun Air 2 compare to the competition?

Here’s their value rating compared to similar alternatives:

Are they worth the price?

Costing $50 on the official website (already 20% off when buying from Amazon), they’re well worth their price. Currently, you can’t get better sound at this price point in my opinion.

EarFun Air 2 alternatives

TOZO NC7

Edifier TWS1 Pro 2

What’s in the Box?

• EarFun Air 2 true wireless earbuds
• Charging case
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• 4 pairs of silicone ear tips (S, M, L, XL)
• Cleaning swab
• Quick user guide

Specifications