The Earfun Air Pro range has hit a significant milestone - the third-gen. With this, I would expect the range to have undergone some design-based natural selection, with the strong genes passing on to the new generation and the weaker traits resigned to history. After all, they’ve often sat close the greatness - an underdog that never quite has what it takes to break into the dizzying realm of the best headphones.
Having now tested all three entries in the Earfun Air Pro family and spent some time with the acceptable cousin, the Earfun Air S, I find that the Air Pro 3 are a bit of a blip in the family tree.
That’s not to say they are bad headphones - they are very comfortable to wear and have a great battery, but audio performance is a weakness. Where the Earfun Air Pro 2 delivered a lively bass with balanced highs and mids, the Air Pro 3 has fallen foul of some mid-range issues - in some genres, it might pass as warmth, but in others it's muddy. Voices in podcasts, chilled vocals on acoustic songs and some general details are lost from audio, creating a slightly scooped experience.
For bass-heavy music, this isn’t such a problem - if electronic and house make up most of your rotation, you’ll be just fine. Luckily, the earphones have inherited the natural bass quality of their predecessor. This makes the Earfun Air Pro 3 a good companion for gym-goers and anyone who wants to wake up on the commute, but anyone wanting a little delicacy will want to think twice.
Verdict: If you’re not fussed about audio refinement, they’ll do the trick.
Pros
- ComfortableGreat
- Bluetooth connection
- Great battery
Cons
- Muddy audio
- Overpriced
What’s good?
Outside of the audio, the Earfun Air Pro 3 deliver all its other features with success. The Bluetooth 5.3 wireless connection is really solid, handling me walking several rooms away from the streaming device without missing a beat. The noise-cancelling is adept, too, keeping the outside world at a distraction-free distance. Chatting on calls is a smooth process too, with touch controls doing what they need, and the microphones pick your voice up to an acceptable standard.
The battery can run for up to nine hours depending on your settings, and the charging case will bump on-the-go listening to 36 hours. Most won’t have to charge this up more than once a fortnight.
What’s okay?
I enjoy a wide range of music genres and the Earfun Air Pro 3 earphones are not versatile enough to handle it. The strengths of the audio are certainly loud, bassy and energetic music. Anything a bit chilled picks up a bit of a mid-range muffle - if you want an idea of what I mean, listen to over-ear headphones with your hood up. It’s a bit like that.
Any negatives?
The RRP of the Earfun Air Pro 3 earphones is £79.99. Given the limits of the audio, this is too much money. If these were around £40, I could be more forgiving - but they sit at a higher price than any number of reputable and beloved earbud options. The Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+ or 1MORE Aero we've previously reviewed are a far better deal than the Earfun Air Pro 3.
More items to consider:
How we tested it
The Earfun Air Pro 3 arrived two weeks before the product launch (2nd February 2023). They were used daily to listen to podcasts, around the house, for video calls and for listening to music at the office. They were also used at the gym several times, for both strength and cardio training.
William Lobley is a Deputy Editor and reviewer for What's The Best, specialising in technology, gaming, and outdoors. He also writes for Empire Online.
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