TWS true wireless earphones - under $100
4.5 STARS - The Earfun Free Pro takes the basis of the great Fiil T1 Pro and adds extra bass. It's great for sports - but don't expect much out of the ANC noise-cancelling.
Earfun Free Pro specs:
Bluetooth 5.2 with AAC codec
IPX5 waterproof rating (rain and sweat resistant)
6 hours listening on a full charge
Charging case can charge earpieces fully 4 times
Comes with 4 sizes ear tips, 3 sizes sport-wings and USB-C cable
$60 on Amazon US, Amazon Germany or other Amazon countries
Below this Earfun Free Pro review, you will find comparisons between the Earfun Free Pro vs Fiil T1 Pro, Earfun Air Pro and Fiil T1XS.
Update July 9th 2021: As there are more and more great wireless earbuds, the overall score for this model has been readjusted to 4.5 stars.
All reviews on Scarbir.com are 100% unsponsored and honest. Please support my research by buying via the links on this site. You can also support me via PayPal. <3
Design, comfort and battery life
You've got to give it to Earfun: they're doing a clever job. Instead of reinventing the wheel, they take some of the best wireless earbuds on the market and put their own brand on it. Earfun has done it before with the Edifier TWS NB2 and calling it the Earfun Air Pro. Now Earfun does it again by taking the impressive Fiil T1 Pro and naming it the Earfun Free Pro.
The Earfun Free Pro shares the entire design from the Fiil T1 Pro. That means it has a compact charging case in stylish dark grey, with a shiny piano-black lid on top. It looks cool, formal even, but the lid is a fingerprint-magnet. The case is just big enough to house the two earphones.
These earbuds are compact, with a comfortable rounded inside and sport-wings in three different sizes to make them stay tightly in your ears while working out. Compared to the tiny earpiece, the rubber-tip that goes into your ears is quite large - but not uncomfortable. The Free Pro rests comfortably in your ears and is so lightweight you barely feel it after a while.
Like the case, the earbuds have the dark grey-shiny black color scheme, now with the text Earfun on the inside. It doesn't look as stylish as the Fiil-branding, but as the earphones are compact, it's hard to see or read the text from a distance.
Despite their size, battery life is above average. The earbuds have up to 6 hours of playtime on a single charge, and the charging case can recharge them four times fully before needing new power itself. A 15-minute recharge of the buds should provide you with 1,5 hours of new playtime - absolutely enough for regular workdays and commuting.
Connectivity and controls
Unlike the Fiil, the Earfun Free Pro doesn't come with an app. When it comes to controls, that's a good thing.
On the Fiil T1 Pro, you need the Fiil-app to get track and volume controls on the earbuds. This may seem like no big deal, but the availability of the (often Chinese) Fiil-app is tricky, and the Fiil T1 Pro still isn't properly supported in the app.
The Earfun Free Pro has all the controls and features you need right on the earbuds.
Double-tap L or R to play/ pause music
Tap R to increase the volume
Tap L to decrease volume
Triple-tap R to skip to the next song
Triple-tap L to switch between ANC on, Ambient sound, and normal mode
Hold R to activate the voice assistant
Hold L to activate or deactivate the low-latency mode
The control scheme does take getting used to - especially since you can't return a track on the left earpiece, but two other actions trigger either the noise canceling functions or low-latency mode. It can take a while to remember them properly.
For sports, touch controls can respond badly with sweaty fingers - so make sure you dry your fingers a bit before operating them.
Connectivity on the Earfun Free Pro is rock-solid. The earphones hold their Bluetooth 5.2 signal up to ten meters away from your device, and it's easy to switch between listening to one or two earpieces. Charge on earbud while listening to the other, take the charged bud out again, and you'll resume playing in stereo right away.
Calling and watching movies
Another improvement from the Earfun Free Pro over the Fiil T1 Pro, is the video playback straight out of the box. Audio synchronizes perfectly with video on iPhone and Android, including the challenging YouTube-app.
By holding the left earbud for two seconds, you activate a low-latency mode (confirmed by an English voice prompt), which speeds up the sound effects when playing games. It works well, but not at the same level of the Edifier TWS NB2 (or Earfun Air Pro) or QCY T5. It's also wise to turn this mode off again after gaming, as the connectivity can take a small hit.
It's convenient to take a phone call or video call with the Earfun Free Pro. While wind noise challenges your voice, other surrounding noises like traffic passing by and people talking around you are reduced to mere zoof-like sounds in the background. Sometimes though, the sound reduction is so strong, it also takes your voice with it, making you less audible.
How good is the ANC of the Earfun Free Pro?
Functions and switching: The Earfun Free Pro doesn't have ANC on by default. You activate it by tapping the left bud three times. With the next three taps, you activate the Ambient sound, and another three taps switches to Normal mode.
ANC quality: The active noise cancelling on the Free Pro only has effect in some situations. Constant and darker sounds, like electronic buzzes or hums, will sound softer with the ANC activated. Other sound effects may lose a bit of their darker tones as well. However, loud or brighter sound effects will be just as loud and bright - so chatting or traffic close to you will barely be reduced.
Ambient Mode quality: The Ambient of Transparency Mode, made to put through sounds like traffic and chatting around you on moments you need it, is a noticeable difference when coming from the ANC. You can hear traffic and voices around you louder... but it doesn't work too well. The effect isn't strong enough to hear these sounds when you're playing music on a medium volume, so this Ambient mode will not make you hear the cars in your back clearly.
Wind noise reduction: Whether you have ANC or Ambient Mode on: the Earfun Free Pro doesn't pick up too much wind noise when you're walking or cycling. That's great.
Also read: The best wireless earbuds under $100
Sound quality of Earfun Free Pro: more Fun
The Earfun Free Pro takes the fundamentals of the Fiil T1 Pro sound but reduces treble and adds a big amount of bass.
As the sound is much like the Fiil T1 Pro, part of this text is a bit of a copypaste. Sorry.
The Earfun Free has a strong mid-bass thump, providing modern genres with great punch. The sub-bass (the darkest of bass-tones; the bass you can feel as much as hear) can give a proper shakeup of your ears when called for, and the bass can sound lovely deep as well.
The lower mid-tones are boosted as well. Darker electronic tones are emphasized to give genres like electronic pop, dance, and techno flow, cello's sound thick, and drums have proper impact.
More onto the mids and upper-mids, both male and female vocals sound forward, clear, and mids and vocals come with solid detail. Instruments like trumpets and violins sound rich. There's a decent soundstage on the Earfun Free Pro, offering slightly more width than depth, with solid left-right separation. It's also possible to place instruments around you in higher-quality recordings.
Earfun tweaked two aspects of the sound from the T1 Pro. The Earfun Free Pro tends more towards the bass equalizer of the Fiil-app than the regular Fiil T1 Pro-sound, and then some. The Earfun has a heftier, fatter bass that can be too much for some, but a gift for bass lovers too. It also has fuller lower-mids than the T1 Pro regular sound. It also reduces the upper-mids' treble peak, making the sound both bassier and better-controlled in the highs. The Earfun loses some of the air and microdetail surrounding vocals and higher-pitches of the T1 Pro, but it doesn't sound as harsh as the T1 Pro sometimes can.
By this, it drops the biggest point of critics from the Fiil-sound, but you'll get bass in return that's so strong it can become a little sloppy, congested in the most crowded music pieces. It's a tradeoff bass-lovers won't mind at all.
If you're open to a big amount of bass, the Earfun Free Pro is one most fun sounding wireless earbuds under $100. (But if you like a more balanced approach, the Fiil T1 Pro should be higher on your list.)
Earfun free Pro comparisons
Earfun Free Pro vs Fiil T1 Pro
The Earfun Free Pro is 90% the same product as the Fiil T1 Pro, but the devil is in the details. The Earfun has a stronger bass thump and further boosted lower-mids, making for a slightly warmer sound. It also reduced the treble peak of the T1 Pro - vocals are still forward and detailed but don't become as harsh as on the Fiil. The Fiil has a more controlled bass and more air in the sound.
However: the Fiil gives you a choice. If you CAN download the Fiil-app in English and get it to work for the T1 Pro, you can switch between the normal sound and a bass equalizer - which will get you kind of the Earfun sound.
Earfun ditched the app and the equalizers, but also the hassle of the T1 Pro. It brought the important functions of Fiil's app right on the controls of the earbuds - so you can skip a track, change volume, and activate the low-latency gaming mode right from the earbuds. The Earfun has English instead of Chinese voice prompts for the active noise cancelling and Ambient Mode, and video playback is better out of the box.
To put it short: the Earfun Free Pro is a bassier, smoother-sounding, and more user-friendly version of the Fiil T1 Pro.
Earfun Free Pro vs Fiil T1Xs
Size comparison: the T1XS in white, the T1 Pro/ Free Pro in black (click to enlarge)
As the Earfun Free Pro is like the Fiil T1 Pro with more bass, a comparison with the brilliant Fiil T1XS is in order. The Earfun Free Pro has more controls on the earbuds, but as the Fiil-app works perfectly with the T1XS, it's just as easy to activate the extended controls on the T1XS. The Earfun has better video playback in the YouTube-app and feels more comfortable, as the earbuds are more noticeably tinier.
The Free Pro has a stronger, fatter bass than the T1XS, and highs are more toned-down, making the sound smoother. The T1XS still has plenty of bass power but controls its lows better. As highs are more extended, the T1XS has a clearer, brighter sound. Even though the Fiil comes with different equalizers via the app, the warmer out-of-the-box sound of the Earfun will be more pleasing for bass lovers.
Earfun Free Pro vs Earfun Air Pro
With the rebadged Edifier TWS NB2 dubbed the Earfun Air Pro, Earfun has another TWS in its lineup with below-average noise cancelling, good call quality, and good video synchronization. The Air Pro has 2 to 3 hours longer battery life on a single charge and is comfortable to wear thanks to the round inner-ear part, yet the Free Pro is lighter to carry. Both Earfuns have a bass-boosted sound, providing a strong thump and deep-sounding sub-bass. The Free Pro bass is slightly fatter and it sounds brighter in the higher frequencies, making sure the Free Pro has a more natural representation of vocals and instruments and more details on top. The Air Pro places vocals less forward and adds more warmth to the mid-tones, making the sound less detailed and smoother.
Verdict
The Earfun Free Pro builds upon the great Fiil T1 Pro, by adding bass and removing the Chinese voice prompts and the hassle that comes from the app. It's a great earphone for sports purposes, but don't expect too much from the ANC and Transparency mode.
4.5 stars - Great
Buy Earfun Free Pro/ check price:
I received the Earfun Free Pro from the manufacturer to test and review myself. My reviews are 100% independent and non-commercial. I test and review all audio products equally honest - read about it here.
Consider buying this earphone? I'd really appreciate it if you use the links in this article. It won't cost you extra, yet it will financially support me a bit in my ongoing quest for great affordable audio. <3
Also read:
Leaderboard: All rated wireless earphones
