Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 review

Originally known for producing bookshelf speakers, Edifier now has its eyes set on the cheap wireless earbuds market. The Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 is its latest entry and promises a lot of high-end features at an extremely affordable price. Let’s take a look to see how these earbuds held up to our testing.

Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

What’s it like to use the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2?

The first thing you’ll notice about the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 is how small and light the earbuds are. The earbuds share a similar profile to that of the Beats Studio Buds, which is to say that they are both portable and comfortable.

An IP54 rating means the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 earbuds are both dust and splashproof. Combined with noise canceling and touch controls, I found the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 performed well as an earbud companion while lifting weights at the gym.

How do you control the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2?

The Edifier TWS1 Pro has wear detection that automatically pauses your music when you take them out and starts playing your music when you put the earbuds in your ears. Additionally, you can control the earbuds by double or triple-tapping the outside of either earbud. You can program these tap functions to control a variety of playback settings, but below, we’ve outlined the default controls.

Should you use the Edifier Connect app for the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2?

The Edifier Connect companion app for the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 is packed full of features. You can switch between noise canceling, wind reduction and ambient pass through listening modes. As with nearly all headphone companion apps, theres options to view battery life and download firmware updates. There are also four equalizer presets to change the sound of the earbuds.

Other features include find my earbuds functionality that plays a loud tone out of the earbuds (helpful for finding an earbud lost in the couch cushions). There’s also a shutdown timer so you can fall asleep wearing the earbuds without killing their battery life, and options to change the tap controls and disable wear detection.

How do the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 connect?

The Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 uses Bluetooth 5.3 to connect to devices. There’s no support for fancier Bluetooth codecs or multipoint, only basic SBC here. For $50 earbuds though, that’s perfectly fine. What matters is that in our testing we didn’t experience any connection drops between the earbuds and our devices. The earbuds even have a low-latency mode, which is useful for watching videos and gaming so there’s little discrepancy between seeing and hearing someones lips move on screen.

How long does the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 battery last?

In our battery test, the Edifier TWS1 Pro lasted 4 hours and 51 minutes. This is slightly less than average for wireless earbuds. That said, placing the earbuds in their charging case adds an hour of playback from only 10 minutes of charging. While battery life won’t be a concern for the first year or two, it may become a problem after that since true wireless earbuds aren’t meant to last.

How well do the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 cancel noise?

It’s rare to see active noise canceling (ANC) in $50 earbuds. It is exceptionally rare to see ANC in budget earbuds that actually perform well. In this category, the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 earbuds hold their own against popular earbuds that cost four to five times as much money.

A good fit with the ear tips of the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 provides passive isolation that blocks out a significant portion of high-frequency noise such as the clang of kitchen dishes. Turn on ANC though and the real magic happens. With ANC turned on, most environmental noise is reduced in loudness by 75%. In particular, ANC helps attenuate low-frequency noise around 100Hz. When wearing the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 on the bus, nearly all annoying engine and traffic noises fade away.

How do the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 sound?

The Edifier TWS1 Pro has a default sound that most casual listeners will enjoy. Compared to our headphone preference curve, these earbuds throw in a bit of extra bass, which isn’t unusual amongst earbuds. This extra bass comes at the expense of mid-range frequencies around 200-500Hz, so you hear less detail in most voice and instrumental fundamentals compared to critical listening headphones. These earbuds also provide a significant boost to high frequencies around 5-8kHz, which I found to be a bit painful when listening to percussion-heavy tracks at high volumes. When listening to a high-energy EDM track such as “Today Tomorrow Forever” by Chet Porter, the sub-bass and top percussion is very noticeable, while the synths sound relatively quiet. 

That being said, you aren’t buying these earbuds for critical listening. You’re more than likely going to be using these earbuds on transit, at the gym, or on a walk. For those use cases, most people won’t have any major gripes with the sound of the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2. If you don’t enjoy the default sound, you can select from 3 other equalizer presets in the app: pop, classical, and rock. The differences between these are small, but play around with them to see if there’s one you enjoy more than the default sound.

Can you use the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 for phone calls?

The Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 microphones work perfectly fine for phone calls. Not only do the microphones work well in ideal conditions, but they also cancel out background noise when in a noisy environment. In our simulated office and street environments, you can still make out everything the voices are saying. Take a listen for yourself and let us know what you think.

Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Should you buy the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2?

If you are in the market for budget earbuds, you should absolutely consider buying the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2. We found very little to complain about with these earbuds, which is astonishing given their price. The core functionality works great including good active noise canceling, a customizable companion app, and a pretty decent microphone.

Since the battery life isn’t great, don’t expect these earbuds to last more than a few years. However, considering you can buy half a dozen of these for the price of most premium earbuds, this isn’t a big enough drawback to prevent a recommendation.

What should you get instead of the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2?

While it’s tough to find good wireless earbuds under $50, there are some options out there. The TOZO T12 has a default sound similar to that of much more expensive earbuds, $34 at Amazon. If you’re looking for water-resistant earbuds, the Skullcandy Mod XT is a decent option, $48 at Amazon. The Anker Soundcore Life A1 is a durable set of earbuds that packs a heavy bass punch, $49 at Amazon.

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