EarFun Air Pro 4 Plus Review

Introduction

Virtually every area of the headphone market is keenly contested. Time and advances in technology have led to features once found in premium headphones costing as much as £299 trickling down to headphones less than £99.

But is that a case of just ticking the spec box and calling it a day? After all, having the feature is one thing, but actually delivering on the performance is something else.

It’s something the EarFun Air Pro 4+ looks to do. On paper, they’re absurd value with specs that would put Sony’s excellent WF-C710N to shame. But do they sound good? Do they cancel noise well? Do the features work as advertised? I’ve spent plenty of time finding out if these EarFun wireless earbuds deliver.

Design

• IP55 rating
• Three colour finishes
• Touch controls

The EarFun Air Pro 4+ aren’t flashy and they do feel their budget price, sporting a glossy plastic coating with a two-tone finish (grey and black) that’s become EarFun’s distinct look. The form factor of earbuds has been well established, and the Air Pro 4+ don’t deviate from the stem design that’s become very popular.

But it’s not all about aesthetics, and function is key, as the Air Pro 4+ provide good comfort levels. I’ve worn them for a few hours, and aside from a slight oiliness (which doesn’t happen all the time), I’ve not had significant issues. The fit doesn’t come loose, and they don’t feel a burden to wear.

Touch controls work fine but the responsiveness has not always been the best – they can be a bit slow to react and I’ve resorted to using the controls on the phone instead most of the time.

The IP rating is IP55, making them resistant to water and dust. There’s a choice of four ear-tip sizes, from extra-small to extra-large, and the charging case itself is pretty compact, easily pocketable, with an LED on the front to show the headphones’ status.

Black, blue, and white are the choice of colours.

Features

• Bluetooth 6
• Snapdragon Sound
• AI Translation

What does the EarFun Air Pro 4+ have at its disposal when it comes to features? Bluetooth-wise, they connect over Bluetooth 6, but you’ll only get the advantages if you have a smartphone (or mobile device) that’s compatible with Bluetooth 6.

Sony’s LDAC and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound (aptX Lossless), both of which are rare to see for less than £100 / $100, and they’re joined by SBC, as well as LE Audio and LC3, the latter two aim to deliver higher quality audio than SBC but use less power in the process. There’s no mention of AAC support, which would suggest these are better suited to Android smartphones.

I haven’t found the Bluetooth connection to fall off, at least when using aptX Adaptive; though I have experienced an odd problem during playback when audio pauses, the earphones revert to transparency mode and then ANC boots back up and music starts. Weird.

If you choose to use LDAC instead of aptX, you can’t get LDAC and Bluetooth multipoint at the same time. The EarFun Air Pro 4+ also support Auracast to broadcast audio to other compatible devices, and Google Fast Pair to connect to Android devices quickly.

Jump into the app (available on iOS and Android), and there’s a Game Mode, EQ adjustments (presets, 10-band custom EQ, sound test, and… Influencers’ Pick).

You can disable the in-ear detection, disable the controls or customise if you find they’re not quite your speed (volume control is included by default). There’s also a Hearing Health option where you can limit volume levels, and a ‘Find Headphones’ function if you lose them.

Most interesting is AI Translation, which annoyingly seems to be the only feature locked behind account sign-up. Using it is pretty cool.

I can’t tell how accurate it is (I can’t speak Mandarin, or any other language well enough to gauge), but it understands what you’ve said accurately, and fires back a response in the language of choice quickly. For travel overseas, I can see this being useful.

Battery Life

• Long battery life
• USB-C and wireless charging

EarFun claims 54 hours in total with the Air Pro 4+, broken down into 12 hours per charge and 42 in the charging case. With noise cancellation, the 12 hours fall to 8.

An hour of streaming a Spotify playlist saw the headphones drop to 90%, which suggests they’re good for about 10 hours per charge (at least on aptX Adaptive).

The charging case covers USB-C and wireless charging – again, another feature that’s not altogether common at this price. In terms of convenience, the Air Pro 4+ scores big points.

Noise Cancellation

• Strong ANC
• Average call quality

You’ve a choice of AI Ear Adaptive ANC or AI Environment Adaptive ANC, which both seem to do the same thing. You can choose to manually adjust the noise cancellation and enable Wind Noise Cancelling too.

I’ve tested the EarFun Air Pro 4+’s ANC in several places: on a plane, public transport, in windy conditions, and walking around cities. Throughout all of those various scenarios, it’s been impressively strong.

On a plane, it doesn’t remove every decibel of noise; it does remove a considerable amount to make a plane ride much more comfortable. On buses and trains, the level of suppression applied is strong – traffic is consistently reduced to a hum, and there’s no need to bump the volume up, which is always a good sign of strong ANC.

On a blustery day it handles wind noise without amplifying it or affecting the sound. Walking around cities and the ANC’s impact is enough that it reduces people’s voices. You’ll still hear some, but conversations are harder to accidentally pick up.

The Transparency mode is fine. It’s not the clearest, but it allows you to hear and be aware of what’s around you. It’s on a similar level to Sony’s WF-C710N.

Call quality is a weaker area. The person on the other end said noises managed to get through and my voice sounds quiet, so the EarFun sound like another pair that work better indoors than outdoors.

Sound Quality

• Clear, balanced sound
• Not the most energetic or dynamic

One aspect I found about the Air 4 model was that it had a similar level of features, but when it came to a rich, warm sound, it lacked much detail. While it’s great to have features such as aptX and LDAC at this low price, if you’re not hearing the detail because of the way the headphones are tuned, there’s not much point to having them.

The EarFun Air Pro 4+ make a better fist of carrying that detail and clarity over.

It’s a more mature sound than I was expecting, helped by EarFun’s Nano Side-Fitted Acoustic Architecture (NSAA), which apparently reduces interference for clearer treble and more accurate sound.

Comparing the EarFun to the Sony WF-C710N and the more expensive Cambridge A100, its sonic signature becomes clearer. It’s a balanced sound that’s slightly warm, but less of an energetic, full-bodied listen than the A100 and similar to the Sony in terms of clarity and detail.

You might expect budget earphones to be bassy but the EarFun resist going in that direction fully, bringing power to the lows with Warren G’s Regulate without affecting midrange clarity, though the lows don’t translate as big in size as the A100.

The soundstage isn’t as wide as the Cambridge either, though it’s big enough and the highs sound crisper, clearer than the Sony in some cases.

Instruments and vocals are clearly communicated on the EarFun, though I’ve heard a slight crispness to the midrange that I can’t quite describe properly, and it might be down to the combination of the dual-driver system with FeatherBA armature and 10mm dynamic driver. When I hear it, it strikes me as sounding just a little artificial in tone.

The Sony strikes a natural tone – things sound as they should, especially in the midrange area, whether it’s instruments or vocals; the Sony offers a little more insight, and that’s where the WF-C710N have the upper hand. But it’s not a massive difference.

The Air Pro 4+ aren’t the most energetic, though they carry a good sense of rhythm with Lakeside Drive’s Hypotheticals, and their dynamism isn’t the strongest.

Regardless, this is the best sound I’ve heard from any EarFun true wireless so far, and it definitely gives the Sony WF-C710N, which I still consider to be the class leaders, a run for their money.

Should you buy it?