The new true wireless earbuds from Chinese audio brand Edifier have a unique proposition: adaptive noise cancellation without the need to cram your earbuds into your ear canal. The W320TN earbuds have an open-fit design that's rather reminiscent of Apple's wired EarPods, but they promise effective ANC too.
That's not all. The spec is an awful lot more advanced than any EarPods ever were. There's Bluetooth 5.3, LDAC for higher quality audio, IP54 environmental protection and up to 27.5 hours of battery life: 22 hours from the charging case and 5.5 hours from the buds themselves. That's with ANC off. With noise cancelling engaged you can expect a still respectable total of 17.5 hours, based on 3.5 hours from the buds and 14 from the charging case. A full charge takes about one hour for the buds and one and a half hours for the case.
How do Edifier's earbuds block out noise?
According to Edifier, the W320TN have an "AI Multimodal Adaptive System" that uses multiple noise cancelling algorithms to compensate for the inevitable air leakage you'll get when you're wearing open-fit earbuds. As the firm puts it: "Based on massive human hearing data, combined with AI algorithm to analyze the frequency response of the ear canal, real-time detection is performed every time you wear it, and adaptive adjustment is made to match the appropriate bass compensation coefficient to reduce the loss of sound quality caused by air leakage during wearing, presenting a unique and excellent sound effect."
The fact that there are comparatively huge 13mm drivers in each bud probably helps too. While the buds put out an output pressure level of up to 94dB, that same air leakage means they shouldn't get uncomfortably loud.
In addition to the ANC, there are triple microphones with noise reduction for clearer speech in calls, intelligent start-stop with wear detection, Google Fast Pair support and dual device connection for fast switching. There are AirPods-style pinch controls, low latency (80ms) for gaming and lots of customisation options via the Edifier Connect app.
That's a lot of tech but the price is pretty low. The Edifier W320TN will cost just £99.99 when they launch in the first week of September. I'm looking forward to hearing how good they sound and how well that smart-sounding ANC actually works against the best noise cancelling earbuds.
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