Audio brand Edifier has been one of the brands we have seen a number of their products such as the Edifier W820NB, Edifier Neobuds Pro & Edifier NB2 Pro. In this review, we have been testing the TWS 330NB which is the latest in the Edifier lineup we have been sent. They are very much a budget pair of TWS coming in at £59.99.

The Edifier TWS 330 NB are available in three colours Black, White & Pink. The main features of these earbuds include: 

  • ANC
  • IP54 rated
  • AAC & SBC codec
  • Edifier Connect App
  • 20 hours playback
  • Fast charging

Design

When you open up the Edifier 330NB TWS the one thing you will notice is how close they look in design to a pair of Airpods Pro. They have the same angular earpiece with a fairly short stem. 

Moving to how they fit and I have been using these every day now for the last week as my main pair of earbuds sorry Jabra.  The fit of these pairs of TWS is actually very comfortable. The weight of the earpiece is mainly in that angular earpiece and that part sits nicely in the ear. I found the fit actually also helped prevent them from falling out of your ears when walking to work or even when I used them for a Spin class recently. The earbuds are also helped with the diagonally placed ear-tips that add to the overall fit.  

The buds also come with a changing case that just like the buds have that glossy finish. The case has a simple design with just a single LED light on the front that indicates the remaining case battery. Moving to the rear of the case there is a USB-C port that allows for fast charging. To fully charge the case will take about 1.5 hours to fully charge. Unfortunately, the case is not Qi-compatible.  

What you will notice is getting the buds out of the charging case has to be the most annoying thing I have ever done one bud will come out with ease the other just won’t come out with ease they are very fiddly.  

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Battery life

When you finally get the buds out of that charging case and listen to your favourite music or podcasts you will notice the battery life provides 5 hours without ANC and when you switch on ANC this drops slightly to 4 hours off a single charge according to Edifier. Unfortunately, I wanted to test that theory and found the buds actually gave me 4 hours without ANC and 3 hours with ANC which was very disappointing. 

When you compare it to the Jabra Elite 4 Active – 7 hours on a single charge or the Lypertek PurePlay Z5 that also comes with a 7-hour offering on a single charge. So the Edifier 330NB only offers a max of 5 hours does question why you would purchase these when other alternatives provide a stronger battery life. It’s also something to consider if you listen for long periods like when you go on a bike ride who wants a battery to die mid-ride.

Controls/Connection

The 330NB uses Bluetooth 5.0 and connecting to my phone was very simple. The buds will automatically start painting when out of the box. Once paired they offer the normal 10-meter range. Plus they come with the master & slave technology allowing you to just use one bud at a time if you wish. What you don’t have and what I expect will put off some users is the automatic pause when you take the buds out of your ears the music or podcast will continue to play. 

Moving on to the controls they are run by touch controls you need to tap the middle part of the stem which can be a little tricky it will take a few attempts to master for sure. 

When you have mastered the touch controls they do the following: 

  • Play/Pause – Double -Tap the right bud
  • ANC on/off plus Transparency mode – Double-tap the left bud
  • Skip track – Triple tap the right bud. 
  • Game Mode – Triple tap the left bud

What you will notice is that you don’t have controls for skipping back a track or any volume commands. However, when you download the Edifier connect app you can customize the settings to allow for volume control for example but you will have to sacrifice one of the other controls like game mode.

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The Edifier Connect App

When downloading the app is available on both IOS & Android It will require you to provide permissions which I thought was a little odd once downloaded. 

The app was quite basic I felt with only shortcuts for ANC, Ambient mode and provides how much battery you have and you can customize the touch control apart from that no opportunity to adjust the EQ which I felt was disappointing an opportunity missed especially considering you use the app for all the Edifier buds and overhead headphones.

Sound Quality

Edifier has produced some impressive sound quality considering the cost. I have been listening to a wide range of music you get a pleasant warm tone paired with deep bass. They offer a good level of balance allowing rich lows without them feeling muddy compared to the mids or highs.  

Moving to the mids they are also nice and rich and they aid the vocals and instruments to be clear without being overwhelmed by the bass. Finally, the highs seem to roll off in the upper end which prevents fatigue.  

In terms of codecs, you have AAC & SBC included but you also have a game mode that when switched I could not really tell much difference. 

ANC ( Active Noise Cancelling) 

The Edifier 330NB TWS also comes with ANC and can active -38dB reduction of noise which was quite impressive. I tested these earbuds in a range of locations and the ANC eliminates the majority of the low-end hum and sounds like keyboard clicking, and outside traffic while retaining most of the audio quality.  They are not the best ANC quality buds on the market but at this price point, it’s hard to complain. 

The 330NB also comes with Ambient mode which is designed to let in more of the outside noise in and the performance of the feature is not great unfortunately when you switch between ANC and ambient mode it’s hard to tell the difference. 

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Verdict

The Edifier 330NB provides superb audio performance at a budget-friendly price.  The design of the buds and case need a little bit of improvement, in my opinion, getting the buds out of the case is just tricky. Apart from that, the ANC performance is good considering the cost and the Edifier Control app is useful to make some changes but I would have liked to have been able to adjust the EQ add that and it will help make these buds stand out even more.

So if your looking for a pair of wireless earbuds offer a decent level of comfort, quality audio quality and a decent ANC feature considering the price point they are well worth considering especially on a budget.

Product Rating: 

Design: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars     

Controls: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars

Battery Life: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars  

Sound Quality: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars

Value for Money: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0  

 

Overall Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars –  4.0 Stars                

     

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