The EarFun Wave Pro X improve on their predecessors in nearly every aspect — but they still fall short of the competition

EarFun makes some of our favorite cheap wireless earbuds, and a couple years ago, the Chinese brand ventured into the over-ear headphones space. While its previous flagship cans weren’t the greatest, EarFun has made improvements to the Wave Pro X and the results are good… mostly.

The Wave Pro X boasts excellent ANC, both indoors and outdoors, and they’re supremely comfortable for all-day wear. Vocal clarity is fantastic, and the headphones pack up to 90 hours of battery life. Their user-friendly app enables extensive customization, too. Unfortunately, the bass is muddy and the harsh treble can wear on you.

Despite their imperfections, could these still be the best cheap headphones for you? Read my full EarFun Wave Pro X review to find out.

EarFun Wave Pro X review: Specs

EarFun Wave Pro X review: Price & availability

The EarFun Wave Pro X are the brand’s latest flagship over-ear headphones, and they succeed the two-year-old EarFun Wave Pro.

They’re currently EarFun’s most expensive cans, carrying a retail price of $129 / £119 at Amazon. The Wave Pro X are $50 / £50 more than their predecessors, the Wave Pro, as they pack advanced Qualcomm silicon, dual drivers, and Bluetooth 6.0.

The budget and mid-range headphones market is extremely competitive and crowded with some fantastic cans, like the Soundcore Space 2 ($129) and the JBL Live 670NC ($129). The JLab JBuds Lux ANC ($79) and the CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro ($99) are also exceptional headphones, and they cost even less than the Wave Pro X.

EarFun Wave Pro X review: Design

Aesthetically, the EarFun Wave Pro X are designed and built better than the Wave Pro. Instead of relying heavily on standard plastic construction, the Wave Pro X feature upgraded metal yokes and anodized aluminum elements. Not only do these make the headphones look more premium and sleek, they add to their durability, too. Color choice is limited to just one option — black — but I think the Wave Pro X look great.

Weighing 9.13oz, the Wave Pro X feel substantial to hold, but they aren’t too heavy that you feel uncomfortable after a few hours of wear. They’re a hair lighter than the Soundcore Space 2 (9.3oz), and heavier than the JBL Live 670NC (7.7oz) but the difference isn’t that noticeable.

Just like their predecessor, the Wave Pro X come with a hardshell carry case to protect them from scratches when they’re in your backpack. The headphones are foldable, too, for easy transport.

Weatherproofing

Similar to the Wave Pro, EarFun doesn’t say that the Wave Pro X are waterproof, and as such, they don’t have an official IP rating.

It’s normal for over-ear headphones to not have IP ratings, though: The Soundcore Space 2 and the JBL Live 670NC aren’t waterproof either.

If you want headphones for working out, I recommend checking out the best running headphones.

Comfort

One of the things I loved most about the original Wave Pro were the cans’ soft ear cushions — and they’re back on the Wave Pro X. Made of soft breathable protein leather and memory foam, the cushions make your ears feel like they’re resting on clouds.

As soon as I put the Wave Pro X on for the first time, I was impressed with how comfortable they felt — and even after wearing them for six straight hours, that didn’t change. My ears didn’t feel sweaty or too hot, either. I’d say the Wave Pro X are as comfortable (if not more) as the pricier Beyerdynamic Aventho Y ($149).

The Wave Pro X’s headband uses the same material for added cushioning, and it helps relieve the pressure you’d otherwise feel on the top of your head.

Controls

The Wave Pro X feature tactile physical buttons located on the right earcup, instead of touch controls that we found finicky on the OG Wave Pro. Controls on the Wave Pro X are easy to understand, and they give good tactile feedback when pressed. You can use these to adjust the volume, enable/disable ANC, and turn the headphones on and off.

The EarFun Audio app lets you customize these, too (more on that shortly).

Connectivity

The Wave Pro X utilize Bluetooth 6.0 (the latest version at the time of writing) with support for SBC, aptX, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless, LC3 and LDAC codecs. It’s nice to see the inclusion of more advanced codecs, like aptX and LDAC, as they enable streaming CD-like quality and higher sampling rates over Bluetooth. That’s something that’s missing from more expensive models, like the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y, which earns the Wave Pro X brownie points.

Like most other headphones, the Wave Pro X feature multipoint connectivity so you can pair them with up to two devices simultaneously. This allowed me to seamless switch between my MacBook Air M2 and Google Pixel 10 Pro XL. There’s Google Fast Pair, too, and my Pixel immediately picked up the Wave Pro X when I put the cans into pairing mode.

The Wave Pro X are Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Wireless certified, which confirms that they can stream high-resolution sound over both wired and wireless connections. Speaking of, you’ll find a USB-C port on the left earcup and a 3.5mm port on the right, and these can be used for wired playback. Hybrid active noise cancelation (ANC) remains active during wireless and wired playback.

EarFun Wave Pro X review: Sound quality

On paper, the EarFun Wave Pro X feature an excellent acoustic architecture. Their predecessor packed a single driver but the Wave Pro X themselves utilize a dual-driver setup. Under the hood, you’ll find a 40mm DLC composite driver as well as a 10mm LCP driver. Together, they deliver “powerful bass, extended highs and rich musical detail,” according to EarFun.

Unfortunately, that's in theory only. It’s a different story when it comes to real-world use. But I’ll kick off with the good news first.

To test the headphones, I listened to an array of songs and genres on Qobuz, the best music streaming service for audiophiles.

Without any EQ adjustments and LDAC enabled, Hayley Williams’ vocals in ‘Parachute’ sounded rich, clear and textured. Her lower/mid vocal tone came through naturally and with good body, while the quieter parts felt more intimate. When she pushed her voice in the second verse, her voice didn’t dissolve into the rest of the soundstage, and they landed with the emotional roughness she intended.

But the headphones struggle with nearly every other aspect of the soundstage, which is disappointing. If I had a nickel for every time I tested a pair of headphones that boasted strong vocal clarity but muddy bass, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. First the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y, and now the Wave Pro X.

Straight out of the box, the bass in ‘Knights of Cydonia’ by Muse sounded muddy and muffled. While the bass was full-bodied, it sounded boomy rather than meaty. Sub-bass is the Wave Pro X’s biggest weakness as the lowest notes in the track didn’t rumble through my head as they do through the Soundcore Space 2, for instance. The rumbling bassline in the chorus wasn’t given enough room to shine, and instead of feeling like the song’s backbone, it felt like a pulsating mess.

Treble isn’t anything to write home about either. ‘Open Arms’ by Little Simz ft. DEELA showed the Wave Pro X’s limitations. The Afro-tech infused track features fast-moving percussion layers, and the sharp snares and claps were fatiguing. The various instruments and atmospheric beats didn’t sound very clean. This is a track I adore, and even I didn’t feel like listening to it through the Wave Pro X.

You can salvage some of that sound quality via preset EQs or customizing your own using the EarFun Audio app. (I was able to use the Treble Boost 3 preset to make the treble in ‘Open Arms’ sound less fatiguing, so the Wave Pro X wins a point over the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y there.) But I believe that a pair of headphones — or earbuds — should sound great straight out of the box, and you shouldn’t have to make EQ adjustments.

Listen along to my review with the EarFun Wave Pro X testing playlist:

EarFun Wave Pro X review: App

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To customize the EarFun Wave Pro X, you’ll need to download the EarFun Audio app, available for free on iOS and Android. It’s easy to use and everything is well-signposted.

You can use it to customize the 10-band equalizer — and as I noted in the previous section, you’ll need it to salvage the sound quality. There are a few EQ presets to choose from, too, like Bass Boost and Vocal Enhancer.

You can also customize the headphones’ controls within the app.

EarFun Wave Pro X review: ANC

My favorite thing about the EarFun Wave Pro X is the highly effective ANC. EarFun says that the headphones utilize an eight-microphone array that works in conjunction with real-time AI processing to deliver continuous, adaptive ANC. They apparently scan your surroundings “800 times per second” — I can’t measure that, of course, but I can confirm that the ANC works very well.

Indoors, I couldn’t hear the loud clicking of mechanical keyboards in the office. I couldn’t hear my coworkers either, and they had to wave to get my attention. When I was traveling on a bus and train, the Wave Pro X managed to drown out the sound of people chattering and the vehicles rattling, and I almost missed my bus stop because I couldn’t hear the announcement. (That's a good thing in this case.)

EarFun Wave Pro X review: Call quality

The call quality on the EarFun Wave Pro X is decent. When I spoke with my partner on the phone, indoors, she said I sounded fairly clear, and that my words didn’t bleed into one another.

Outdoors, she said the wind didn’t have a detrimental effect on the sound of my voice. She did note that there were a few instances where I sounded distant and slightly echoey — but nowhere near as bad as I've sounded while using other headphones.

EarFun Wave Pro X review: Battery life

Battery life is the EarFun Wave Pro X’s strong suit, as these headphones are rated for 90 hours with ANC off and 50 hours with ANC on. That’s almost the same as the pricier Beyerdynamic Aventho Y (90 hours with ANC off, 60 hours with ANC on), and just a touch shorter than my trusty Marshall Monitor III (100 hours with ANC off, 70 hours with ANC on).

I wasn’t able to drain the Wave Pro X’s entire battery during my testing period, but after about 20 hours of listening with ANC enabled, I was left with 55% battery. If you extrapolate that, you should get just about 50 hours of playtime. If you’re in a hurry, you can plug the Wave Pro X in for 15 minutes to get 10 hours of battery life.

EarFun Wave Pro X review: Verdict

There are a few things I love about the EarFun Wave Pro X. For a pair of budget cans, they’re some of the most comfortable headphones I’ve tried. The ANC is ridiculously good for the price you pay, and the 90-hour battery life is most welcome. Vocal clarity is great, too, making the headphones decent for acoustic tracks.

But I’m not convinced by the rest of the sound spectrum. The Wave Pro X deliver bass that sounds muddy and muffled, and treble that’s harsh. While these can be somewhat fixed through EQ adjustments, I really wish the headphones sounded fantastic straight out of the box.

Given that EarFun has made improvements since the OG Wave Pro, perhaps the next flagship pair will be a homerun. Third time's the charm?