EarFun Air Pro 2

Features

In the compact package, we find the usual items: in-ears, flat oval charging case, USB-A to USB-C cable, instructions and two small bags, marked “A” and “B”, each containing three pairs of ear moulds in S, M and L. At first glance, the moulds differ from each other. At a second glance, the ear moulds from one bag appear slightly narrower and less conical, but this is hardly noticeable in the ear, but this allows finer tuning for optimal fitting. So the aforementioned slogan “a lot for a little” is put into practice as soon as you unpack the in-ears.

Connection

Thanks to modern Bluetooth 5.2, initial contact with an external player is trouble-free. The Air Pro 2 can be operated individually, but multipoint is not offered, so to change the external player, the first one must be disconnected and the procedure triggered again. The transmission range in an office with many nooks and crannies was a good eleven metres through walls; outdoors, with visual contact, connection over more than 20 metres was possible. The signal is SBC- or AAC-encoded and sent to 10 mm titanium drivers, which are housed in a sweat- and splash-proof IPX5-certified casing, which is shaped in typical AirPods style. These fit very well if the right adaptor is used.

Remote

The touch surfaces on the backs of the in-ears respond reliably and quickly to single, double and triple taps, with volume controls in addition to remote and phone controls. ANC, HearThrough and digital assistant are controlled by tapping and holding on the left and right in-ear, respectively. If an in-ear is removed from the ear, the programme stops until the earpiece is reinserted, although this is sometimes somewhat unreliable – the programme continued to run even though the in-ears were on the table.

Active noise cancellation

The four microphones on the Air Pro 2 take care of cancelling out ambient noise, and this works very well, especially since the mechanical isolation provided by these tight-fitting in-ears already reduces a lot of outside noise. The hybrid ANC turns the noise of a roaring lorry into a whispering small car, and general street noise is also reduced, especially the low to medium interference frequencies, and this does not lead to dead silence in the head, but instead has a considerable soothing and calming effect. If you listen with the ANC on while working, you will notice – in addition to a distinct diving bell effect – how a quiet hissing and, most notably, a crackling accompanies the operation, and this is disturbingly noticeable during quiet passages of music. If you want to hear your surroundings better without taking the Air Pro 2 out of your ears, you can switch on the transparency mode that directs outside noise into the ear via the microphones; typically, this sounds artificial and noisy but allows enough for a brief eavesdrop on your surroundings and allows you to exchange a few words in a shop. ANC and HearThrough are susceptible to wind noise, even though EarFun advertises that this is detected and suppressed by an algorithm. However, it does happen and becomes more and more annoying when ANC is switched to Transparent mode, especially when cycling.

Sound

Sound-wise, the Air Pro 2 focus on bass, neglect the mids somewhat, and offer pretty clear and transparent highs in the upper ranges. With a little EQ balancing, the overall result is a well penetrating, round sound that is fun to listen to, does not tire the ears even after a long listening period that offers enough room for more complex music to unfold, even if it fails to deliver a really great listening experience. When ANC is activated, the sound is boosted a little more from below, and the mids seem fuller, which makes the sound a little more full-bodied, but it does not make a dramatic change compared to normal mode.

For telephoning, there are microphones at the lower end of the headphones, and these are aligned to the mouth, which in theory should be a prerequisite for good voice quality. However, the Air Pro 2 only delivers mediocre voice quality with a rather echoey and noisy signal.

Runtime

The Air Pro 2 easily delivers seven hours runtime without ANC and six hours with ANC. A warning is given when the battery is running low; the in-ears quickly switch off and have to be placed in the charging case, where they receive enough power for two hours after ten minutes and are fully charged again in less than an hour. The case manages the latter about four times before it has to be plugged in or placed on the charging mat.