The best budget earbuds I've listened to are not made by OnePlus or Soundcore

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The EarFun Air Pro 4 earbuds are available now from Amazon for $89.
• They produce an amazing sound with tight, agile bass, well-balanced mids, and crisp highs.
• The only negative thing I can come up with for these earbuds is that the aesthetics don’t quite compare with the sound.

Over the past few years, I’ve reviewed so many earbuds and headphones that I can pick out brands by the way they sound. Among those brands are everything from the very cheap to the very expensive. A pattern that’s starting to develop is that lesser-known companies producing inexpensive earbuds are starting to catch up to the known companies.

Such is the case with EarFun… a company you’ve probably never heard of. EarFun has produced some impressive earbuds over the past couple of years, but none of them are as impressive as the Air Pro 4. If ever there’s been a pair of earbuds to make the case for low-cost devices, these are the ones. Selling for $89, on first listen you’d think these buds run easily for three or four times the price.

Also: I test dozens of headphones a year, and these might be the best ones under $100

The Air Pro 4 put to shame every earbud I’ve heard that lives in the low-budget category, and even several pairs of costlier earbuds.

They’re that good.

Let’s examine the specs.

View at Amazon

The specs

• 10mm composite dynamic drivers
• <50ms ultra low latency mode
• Qualcomm QCC3091 SoC with aptX lossless audio tech & Bluetooth 5.4
• Hi-Res audio and Snapdragon sound dual certifications with LDAC codec support
• QuietSmart 3.0 adaptive noise cancellation up to 50dB
• 6-mic plus an AI algorithm plus cVc 8.0 tech for improved calls
• Multi-device connectivity with auto-pairing
• IPX5 sweat- and water-resistant
• Battery – 52-hour playtime (11 Hours + 41 Hours with Charging Case)
• Fast charge of 10 minutes gives you two hours of playtime
• Wireless charging support
• In-ear detection
• Google Fast Pair support
• Auracast & LE Audio support (firmware update required)

My experience

I prefer testing earbuds as-is, which means no app for tweaking the EQ or customizing the ANC. This lets me know how the manufacturer intended the earbuds to sound. After a quick pairing with my Pixel 8 Pro, I opened Spotify and played my usual test track, “Analog Kid,” by Rush, and could not believe how impressive the sound was.

The only time I’ve been more impressed by a pair of earbuds was the Denon PerL Pros, which have become the standard against which I compare all earbuds. To my surprise, the Air Pro 4 earbuds are actually close to the PerL Pros, a feat no sub-$100 pair of earbuds has managed.

I went through a litany of songs to push these earbuds to their limits. Even the brutal “Ligature Marks” by Mehuggah was head-bangingly amazing through these earbuds. The opening of Ozzy’s “Bark At The Moon” had Jake E. Lee sounding as if he was right there in front of me.

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Song after song, genre after genre, the Air Pro 4 earbuds delivered. From metal, pop, prog, classical, choral… it didn’t matter, it all sounded great.

Yeah, these earbuds are special. Had the Air Pro 4 cost $200 to $250, I wouldn’t be nearly as surprised by the sound, but at $89, these took me by surprise.

You know a pair of earbuds are impressive when you don’t have to bother installing the app to tweak the sound. I could have, but it simply wasn’t necessary. Out of the box, these babies will rock your world. 

All-day comfort

Anyone who wears earbuds for extended periods will be happy with how comfortable the Air Pro 4 earbuds are. I was lucky enough that the default silicon tips fit my ears perfectly, and the minimal weight of the buds made them about as comfortable as any pair of earbuds I’ve used. Because the sound is so well-balanced and equalized, your ears won’t feel fatigued after listening for hours.

The one thing I did not do was exercise in the Air Pro 4s. This is because any earbud that I insert into either of my ears doesn’t stand a chance against my sweat. I’ve destroyed more earbuds than I care to admit, having them die on me in the middle of a half-marathon. Because of that, I choose to only exercise with bone-conducting headphones, since they aren’t inserted into my ears.

I would assume that, given the secure feeling I get with these earbuds, that they won’t be prone to falling out.

Here’s a tip for getting a good seal with your earbuds. Before inserting one, pull the top of your ear upward, insert the earbud, and release. You’ll always get a better fit that way, which also improves the sound.

ZDNET’s buying advice

Of all the inexpensive earbuds I’ve ever tested, these are the ones I will most likely recommend. Not only do they offer solid battery life and a comfortable fit, the sound is remarkable at this price point. You’ll get agile bass that’s not too heavy-handed, well-blended mids, crisp highs, and a sound stage that most earbuds of this price cannot match.

If you’re tired of tinny sound from your earbuds, you cannot go wrong with the EarFun Air Pro 4.