Review of high-quality 2023 EarFun Air Pro 3 headphones

EarFun Air Pro 3 are well-rounded earbuds under $100 with natural sound and effective ANC. Commuters, students, and casual listeners will find many things to like, sportspeople will miss a more stable fit.

EarFun Air Pro 3 true wireless earbuds are the new company’s flagship, replacing the year-old EarFun Air Pro 2.

In comparison, they are an all-around improvement. While ditching some features (more on that later), you gain access to a companion app with many more possibilities.

They boast the latest Bluetooth 5.3 and LC3 codec, ensuring better low energy (LE) audio quality while using less bandwidth.

But let’s go step by step and answer the question of whether EarFun Air Pro 3 are worth buying or not.

Sound

Star Rating 4.0 Great

In short:

EarFun Air Pro 3, out of the box, have a muted, bassy sound that you can quickly fix with the EarFun Audio app. While they lack the airiness of more expensive models, they sound excellent for under $100.

Here’s a video of EarFun Air Pro 3 audio sample. So, you can hear the difference between EarFun Air Pro 3 sound quality and neutral sound:

However, compared to Air Pro 2 or Free Pro 2, they aren’t as boosted in the treble, making their sound slightly darker.

Thankfully, like all “Pro” models, you get a technically well-performing driver. On top of that, you can drastically improve the sound quality using EQ inside the EarFun app.

Bass: Boosted but still controlled

There is a clear difference between a sloppy bass performance (Antlion Kimura Solo) and a tight, controlled one. Fortunately, EarFun Air Pro 3 have the latter.

Despite their boost, which is between 5dB to 8dB above the neutral target (depending on whether you use ANC), bass notes still feel nicely articulate and fast.

Sure, the bass punch is on the thumpy rather than the tactile side. However, a non-demanding user will still enjoy bass guitar licks and fast drumming on rock or metal tracks.

Thump comes in handy with electronic and pop music genres, reaching deep into the rumbly sub-bass.

However, all this energy likes to spill into the midrange, making the sound warm and muffled at times.

In ANC OFF mode, lowering the 63Hz for about -8dB inside the app helps prevent muddy sound without sacrificing the rumble or warmth.

Midrange: Very natural (after EQ)

While you don’t see many peaks and dips in the mids (with ANC OFF), it sounds recessed.

Lowering the bass and adding some energy into high frequencies helps to wake up the mids.

The sound gets slightly more dynamic and impactful while guitars start to reveal the gritty distortion that we all know and love.

Treble: Decently detailed but lacks resolution

This is where the technical performance of the 11mm wool composite driver inside EarFun Air Pro 3 starts to show its limitations.

You will still get a well-rounded treble presentation with shimmery, textured cymbals.

However, compared to more premium true wireless earbuds, the lack of airiness, clarity, and resolution is noticeable.

That said, you will only notice that when listening somewhere quiet. When outdoors, with lots of ambient noises, the differences between the Air Pro 3 and premium buds become negligible.

Shimmery treble makes for good imaging, with accurate instrumental placement around you.

On the other hand, the soundstage is only okay. Nonetheless, it’s big enough to prevent the sound from feeling congested.

EarFun Air Pro 3 desperately need equalization. But once you tweak all the settings, you’re holding one of the best-sounding true wireless earbuds under $100.

Comfort & Fit

Star Rating 4.0 Great

EarFun Air Pro 3 have a familiar AirPods-style design that offers superb comfort. On the flip side, they’re only stable enough for regular use rather than workouts.

The new Air Pro 3 share a similar design to the previous Air Pro 2. Or better yet, Apple AirPods Pro.

Consequently, you can expect a comfortable wearing experience. There are zero sharp spots or edges that would poke into your ears.

How do EarFun Air Pro 3 feel in the ears?

You barely feel earbuds sitting in your ears. Consequently, it makes you want to readjust them because you think they aren’t sitting in there correctly.

But they fit in just fine. And, eventually, you get used to the feeling.

How secure are they during physical activity?

Regarding fit and security, earbuds can endure typical use cases like home listening, light walking, and commuting.

On the other hand, they don’t feel secure enough to stay in during intense workouts. Even running will cause them to slip out of your ears slowly.

Inside the case, you get 4 pairs of soft silicone ear tips (2 pairs less than with Air Pro 2) that are easily swappable. Unlike the ones from EarFun Free Pro 2, which tend to start tearing.

Durability

Star Rating 4.0 Great

EarFun Air Pro 3 don’t look like much, but they should survive everyday use. Thanks to an IPX5 rating, they will also survive heavy sweating.

New EarFun Air Pro 3 are just as durable as any other true wireless earbuds.

They’re lightweight and made of glossy plastic that’s put together from 3 different pieces. Seams appear well-glued together, so it’s impossible to break them by hand.

Earbuds are rated for an IPX5, meaning they can endure heavy sweating and even showering. However, submerging them will damage them permanently.

As for the charging case, it’s more squarish than the previous model yet still relatively bulky. It will undoubtedly create bulk in your trousers.

Furthermore, it’s fully plastic, with some soft rubber on the inner side of the lid to ensure earbuds don’t get scratched.

While the hinge isn’t wobbly, it’s so thin it might be the first thing to break if you drop the case on the floor.

Battery

Star Rating 5.0 Perfect

EarFun Air Pro 3 lasted 8 hours and 13 minutes in our test, landing among the best true wireless earbuds with ANC for battery life. On top of that, they pack an extra 36 hours inside the case and support fast and Qi wireless charging.

With the new EarFun Air Pro 3 you get a better battery life than expected, lasting 1 hour more than advertised and much more than most true wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation on the market.

In our test, at 50% volume, and with ANC enabled:

Earbuds lasted 8 hours and 13 minutes before shutting off.

That’s precisely 2 hours more than their predecessor and only 7 minutes away from matching the best earbuds in this category, Jabra Elite 7 Pro.

Furthermore, you get all the features that make your life slightly easier. Like the support for Qi wireless charging. They can also do fast charging:

Adding 2 hours of playtime in a 10-minute charge.

Features

Star Rating 4.5 Almost Perfect

EarFun Air Pro 3 earbuds have many well-performing features, from a companion app to clear call quality. The only thing they took away is a play/pause sensor.

It’s nice to see well-working features in more affordable earbuds.

EarFun Air Pro 3 aren’t the first to do that, but their features perform the best out of all in-ear alternatives under the $100 price range.

The most notable addition is a companion app. You now have the option to update firmware, customize controls, and adjust the EQ. Everything that generally only premium earbuds can do.

Inside the control customizer, you can individually select what a specific gesture (single, double, or triple taps and long presses) will do. Unlike some apps that only offer predetermined commands (looking at JBL and Sony).

Moving forward, a custom 6-band equalizer offers decent freedom in how you want your buds to sound. It’s miles better than whatever JBL, Jaybird, or Sennheiser are offering.

On the flip side, this time, you don’t get the proximity sensor for the automatic play/pause feature. But if it means you get all the other features instead, it is a worthy trade-off.

Noise Isolation

Star Rating 3.0 Good

EarFun Air Pro 3 have a very gentle and shallow fit, so they pass through more outside noise than your average in-ear headphones. However, playing some music masks most of the external noise.

EarFun earbuds aren’t the best when it comes to passive noise isolation. EarFun Air Pro 3 are no exception, as they are only average at blocking external sounds.

Because ear tips are wider, they might prevent themselves from going deeper into your ear canal. Consequently, they block less of what’s happening around you.

Therefore, you have to play some music to fully mask outside distractions.

What about sound leakage?

Sound leakage can only be problematic if you listen in a quiet room, like in a library. Otherwise, people on public transport should hear your music, even at higher volumes.

Noise Cancelling

Star Rating 4.0 Great

EarFun Air Pro 3 offer an excellent active noise cancellation performance, matching the best at their price range and getting close to premium models. Even transparency mode works excellently.

The Air Pro 2 model already have excellent ANC for the price, but EarFun Air Pro 3 manage to go slightly further.

Their active noise cancellation outperforms the Sony WF-1000XM4 (that cost $250) in cabin noise test. Meaning they eliminate low-frequency noises and some of the highs.

On the other hand, Sony’s are still slightly better with higher frequencies, which was evident in the traffic noise test.

As suggested by our ANC measurements below, EarFun’s new earbuds (red) beat Sony’s best TWS buds (green) in low frequencies right up to midrange, where they switch turns. This is outstanding performance for under $100.

Moreover, their performance is almost identical to the Edifier W240TN, our recommendation for the best ANC earbuds under $100.

Nonetheless, it depends on the situation, and we would happily use EarFun on our next trip.

However, if you plan to use ANC somewhere quiet, you can hear some background hiss.

How good is the ambient sound mode?

The transparency mode on EarFun Air Pro 3 works very naturally. That means it doesn’t overly amplify the ambient sounds but keeps them at the same loudness as if you were to speak without earbuds.

In that regard, they are very similar to the abovementioned Edifier, keeping the voices full. Rather than boosting and making them thin like on Sony’s.

Bluetooth

Star Rating 4.5 Almost Perfect

EarFun Air Pro 3 offer robust Bluetooth 5.3, the new LC3 codec, a Game Mode, and a stable connection. They even support multipoint but provide only an average connection range.

So far, only a few wireless headphones have Bluetooth 5.3, the latest version of the Bluetooth standard. It should provide a more robust connection but not necessarily the longest.

The latter is quite evident in EarFun Air Pro 3. In our indoor Bluetooth range test:

Earbuds kept working right when we wanted to pass the second brick wall at the 40 feet mark.

That range is in line with the earbud’s specifications, but others last much further.

To conserve energy, you can use each earbud independently in mono mode.

How to pair EarFun Air Pro 3?

When pairing for the first time, you unpeel the plastic on the connectors, put the buds in the case, and close and reopen the lid. You will see flashing blue LEDs on the buds, indicating the pairing process has been initiated.

If you want to pair them to a second device, place them in the case and hold the button in the middle until you see LEDs on the buds flashing in blue.

Moreover, EarFun Air Pro 3 support multipoint. You can simultaneously connect them to two devices (your phone and a laptop), and earbuds will automatically switch to a device that plays audio.

What Bluetooth Codecs Do They Use?

With Bluetooth 5.3, LC3 has become a new standard Bluetooth codec for Bluetooth devices. It offers better LE audio quality at lower bandwidth, which also means the quality doesn’t deteriorate as much with range.

Overall, EarFun Air Pro 3 earbuds have SBC, AAC, LC3, aptX, and aptX Adaptive.

Strangely though, our Android smartphone doesn’t show that earbuds support SBC or AAC in the Developer options. However, without having one of those two codecs, these buds can’t work with iOS. So they must support it.

Is There an Audio Lag?

You shouldn’t see any lag when watching videos on YouTube or social media.

In contrast, a noticeable lag occurs when you fire up a mobile game. Thankfully, earbuds come equipped with a low latency mode (Game Mode), reducing the lag to 55 milliseconds.