- Hi, I'm Lauren Dragan, headphone expert for Wirecutter,
and today I wanna talk to you about these.
They're the EarFun Free 2.
They're true wireless earbuds that are surprisingly good
and they'll only cost you $50.
(cheerful music)
And we have our intro.
I test around 250 pairs of headphones a year,
and I'm gonna tell you,
most under $50 true wireless earbuds kinda suck.
So most true wireless earbuds
that are really great cost a lot of money.
Our favorites are usually around $150.
What do you do if that's just not in your budget?
That is why I was so excited to find the EarFun Free 2.
So let's talk about what that $50 is gonna get you.
The earbuds themselves have 7 hours of battery life,
and the case has additional 23.
The case is qi charging compatible,
which means you can stick it on a wireless charger
and you don't have to plug it in.
But if you do wanna plug it in,
there's a USB-C on the back.
They have a quick charge feature,
which means that 10 minutes in the case
will get you two hours of listening time
if the battery is completely drained.
Also, they have a great microphone quality
and they have full controls.
So the case is about the same size as the AirPods Pro.
The earbuds are also a little bit thicker
than our top pick true wireless earbud,
the Jabra Elite 75t.
I would say if you have really small ears,
these are probably not the right pick for you.
That is true for most true wireless earbuds.
People with very small ear canals are gonna wanna look
for something with a hook over the ear,
or a wing to try to stabilize it in place.
If you have medium-ish to extra large ear canals, though,
these are gonna fit you just fine
and very comfortably too.
So earlier, I mentioned
that the EarFun Free 2 have full controls.
A lot of true wireless earbuds don't have everything
that you expect available on the controls
of the earbuds themselves.
So if you wanna change volume,
you got to pull your phone out.
If you wanna change tracks,
you got to pull your phone out,
or you gotta use your voice assistant,
which means walking around saying, "Skip, skip."
These don't have you do that.
They are tap-based controls,
and you can control everything from tracks
to answering calls, to pulling up your digital assistant,
to volume, all from the earbuds themselves.
So one of the other things that I really like about these
is the microphone quality.
These sound surprisingly good over phone calls.
In fact, hold on just one second.
(cheerful music)
Here we go.
This is what they sound like over a phone call.
So they sound remarkably clear for inexpensive earbuds,
especially when you're inside.
They don't handle wind noise so well,
so I wouldn't advise taking any important phone calls
in a nor'easter, but in an office or a home,
they're gonna sound really great
to the person you're talking to.
Another thing we really like about the EarFun Free 2
is the sound quality.
The bass notes are clear and full and rich,
and it's not muddy or muffled or boomy,
like you're gonna get in a lot of other cheap earbuds.
The high ends are clear and have a lot detail.
They have a great sense of space
that you won't really get in most other earbuds
in this price range.
The only thing I will say
is that they do have a little bit of extra detail
in the highs,
and what I mean by that is consonant sounds like T's
and S's might sound a little more pronounced,
or cymbal hits might sound a little louder
in the mix than you're used to.
Some people really like that sound.
And in fact, there are very expensive headphones
that are tuned that way on purpose.
But if you're sensitive,
like I can be that way a little bit sometimes,
you might find that it's a little off putting at first,
but most of our panelists have found
that over time they really love the sound quality of these.
Last bit. What am I supposed to say?
I don't even remember now.
The case quality is far less plasticky
than a lot of the cheaper brands out there.
They don't have a lot of pairing issues.
They don't have a ton of breakage issues.
I've literally brought cheap earbuds out of a case
and had them fall apart as I pulled them out of the case
with a little cable coiling from the speaker
to the point where the controls are.
These aren't gonna do that.
These have 18-month warranty from EarFun.
We really liked
that the EarFun Free 2 has IPX7 water resistance rating.
You can drop them into one meter of water for 30 minutes
and they'll still be okay.
Now that only applies to the earbuds.
Don't go dropping the case in water on purpose.
So it means that you can take the EarFun Free 2 to the gym
and not have any problem.
They aren't our favorites for working out.
You can check out our workout earbuds guide for that.
The only reason for that
is they do have a sort of slippery-ish side, a smooth side,
which means that with their larger size
and that they could start to work their way out of your ear
more so than earbuds that are specifically designed
for working out that have that extra grippy material.
Overall, you get everything that you need in an earbud,
and you just aren't paying
for all those extra bells and whistles.
So what do these earbuds lack
that more expensive models have?
Things like active noise cancellation, EQ,
lost earbud finder, adjustable hear-through,
noise-reducing microphones, and hands-free voice commands.
I think this is our conclusion, I think, I hope.
So there you go.
That's why we love the EarFun Free 2.
But remember, picks can change.
There's always new stuff coming out
and we're constantly testing
and putting things through their paces.
So if you wanna know what the absolute latest picks are,
your gonna need to check out our guide
to under $50 earbuds at nytimes.com/wirecutter.
That's it? I think.
(cheerful music)
Okay, if you want more videos like this,
don't forget to like and subscribe.
See ya!