Review of the best headphones for sleep EarFun Free Pro 2

EarFun Free Pro 2 are a slightly refined version of their predecessor. Apart from improved noise-canceling, all other changes are purely cosmetic.

EarFun knows how to make a high-quality product without asking too much money for it. The previous EarFun Free Pro model was already a banger for the price, and the Free Pro 2 continues the tradition.

The new version brings a few cosmetic changes. The latter involves making TWS earbuds look sleeker and shrinking the size of the case.

Unfortunately, that negatively impacts the overall battery life, with earbuds lasting more than two hours less than the original Free Pro’s.

On the other hand, the active noise cancelling tech is now significantly better. It’s also the sole reason if you want to upgrade.

Although still slightly behind at blocking higher frequencies, it’s almost on par with the Sony WF-1000XM4.

For the asking price of $80, are they worth more than the competition? Should you upgrade if you have the previous version? What are the alternatives?

Sound

Star Rating 4.0 Great

Quality drivers with good technical capabilities get slightly overshadowed by overly boosted bass. The presentation is saved by good detail retrieval and a wide soundstage.

Like the previous version, the EarFun Free Pro 2 use good 6 mm dual composite dynamic drivers capable of producing dynamic and detailed sound without distorting.

However, the tuning is a bit too exciting if you look for something neutral or faithful to the original track.

Bass

The sub-bass reaches deep and has a substantial boost. That makes the sound quite warm and full, adding body to the drums.

Rumbly characteristics of the lower notes help with bassier genres like hip hop and EDM and can also elevate the experience when watching movies.

Due to the quality drivers, the bass maintains reasonable control and doesn’t turn into a bloated mess. However, it can still occasionally bleed in the midrange.

Midrange

In general, the midrange is well-balanced with an elevation in upper registers. That pushes the vocals, especially female ones, upfront and makes them sound a bit thin.

Mids sound natural enough. However, they lack some transparency due to the intense bass response. Consequently, instruments appear slightly veiled.

There’s also a slight shimmer present in the upper midrange. The latter is especially noticeable when listening to EDM songs. Thankfully, that never results in sibilance.

Treble

The treble is noticeably boosted above 9kHz and packs a decent amount of details and air.

However, since it’s boosted, it can sometimes sound too shimmery and unrefined. That is especially audible when listening to cymbal crashes.

On the other hand, the tuning helps create a perception of a wider soundstage even though it’s similar in size to the previous version.

The stage is equally wide and deep, creating a good 3D listening experience.

The imaging isn’t too shabby, either, but it’s not the most precise out there.

The tuning of these true wireless earbuds is geared towards the general public. Strong bass and sparkly highs are what an average user looks in headphones.

Fortunately, the sound quality isn’t a bloated mess, which is usually associated with a V-shape response.

I would even recommend these over the EarFun Air Pro 2, which have a W-shaped sound and are less natural.

Overall, they’re enjoyable to listen to and will surely convince a lot of users. However, despite the good sound, it’s far from neutral, so audio purists should look elsewhere.

Comfort & Fit

Star Rating 3.5 Almost Great

Earbuds are so tiny and lightweight that you barely notice them in your ears. While comfort is excellent, they can quickly lose the seal, even if you use the included ear wings.

Apart from a more smooth and uniform outer shell, the rest is practically the same as on the Free Pro model, right down to the ear tips.

The newer version uses slightly longer soft silicone ear tips. They have an oval shape to better contour the ear canal.

Tips avoid creating annoying pressure, even if you push them all the way inside the ear canal. Combined with extremely lightweight earbuds (only 4 grams per bud), they provide impressive comfort for long listening sessions.

However, 2 things annoyed me a little bit.

I’ve noticed ear tips creating a popping sound when using earbuds outdoors, which is especially apparent during silent passages in songs. The only way to resolve the issue is to keep readjusting the earbuds until the popping stops.

Secondly, tips don’t grip that well. While neither the old nor the new version survived the head-shaking test, the new ones lose the seal even you’re just walking (you don’t even have to smile or do exaggerated facial expressions).

Since the Free Pro 2 have a bass-heavy tuning, the loss of the seal results in lower bass quantity. So, you have to readjust them once in a while to maintain optimal sound performance.

Stability doesn’t improve by much, even if you use the biggest ear fins in the box. You get 3 rubber sleeves, one lacking the fin entirely.

All in all, your ears might differ and better grab the earbuds so they don’t fall out. But from my experience, they’re most suitable to use in situations when you don’t move much.

Durability

Star Rating 3.5 Almost Great

The plastic construction of both earbuds and the case feels solid. On top of that, the buds meet an IPX5 rating, which is enough to survive sweaty or rainy conditions.

Build quality doesn’t differ that much from more premium models. The case is made of plastic and uses strong magnets to keep the lid shut.

The lid doesn’t wobble and has a hinge with a little bit of resistance. Because of that, it never closes by itself, like with the previous model, which is a nice touch.

Otherwise, a grey charging case with a silver stripe looks a bit cheap, but that goes down to personal preference.

Earbuds feel sturdy and can easily survive a couple of drops. They carry an IPX5 rating, ensuring the sweat and rain don’t get into the housing.

One neat little accessory is a tiny swab for cleaning your earbuds. Ear wax collection inside in the driver hole is the main reason earbuds start sounding worse.

With the swab, you also get a list of instructions on how to regularly clean the nozzle and prevent ear wax from building up. That’s a nice touch from EarFun.

Battery

Star Rating 3.0 Good

The battery life is much shorter this time around, lasting only 4.5 hours per charge with ANC enabled, with another 24 hours inside the Qi wireless charging case.

In a trend of everything becoming smaller and smaller, manufacturers have to make some compromises.

Unfortunately, in the case of EarFun Free Pro 2, that was the battery life. It has dropped down from 32 to 28.5 hours in total.

While that doesn’t sound much, it means that in practice, the Free Pro 2 only last for 4.5 hours on a single charge and have another 24 hours in the charging case (compared to 7h + 25 hours on the original Free Pro).

Of course, the overall playtime is better without ANC. Thankfully, earbuds do support fast charging.

You get another 2 hours of playtime in just a 10-minute charge.

More so, support for Qi wireless charging adds to the convenience of simply placing the case on the wireless charging pad.

Though, charging is slower that way, lasting around 3.5 hours compared to 2 hours using a USB-C cable.

Features

Star Rating 4.0 Great

EarFun is always generous with features, giving you ANC, ambient sound mode, Qi wireless charging, Bluetooth 5.2, and touch controls. Sadly, there’s no app or EQ presets.

You genuinely do get a lot with EarFun Free Pro true wireless earbuds. While cheaper earbuds might offer similar features, they don’t work nearly as well.

Active noise cancellation can rival the best in class, with the ambient sound mode doing its job more than satisfactory for everyday use.

Touch controls are nicely responsive and have a good resistance from accidental touches. You don’t enable ANC by accident when you simply want to readjust the earbud like before.

Controls are fixed, and there’s no app to customize them. Fortunately, they cover a broad spectrum of commands, so you don’t have to reach for your smartphone constantly.

You can toggle between ANC modes, call voice assistant, enable Gaming mode, and use the volume control.

Since earbuds lack app support, EarFun could at least ensure a couple of EQ presets so that users could find their favorite.

Noise Isolation

Star Rating 3.5 Almost Great

Earbuds do an okay job passively blocking surrounding noises, but the lower frequencies remain unchanged.

EarFun Free Pro 2 are about average when it comes to passive noise isolation.

Silicone tips do a decent job blocking most high frequencies, while lower frequencies stay pretty much the same, even in terms of volume.

Still, you shouldn’t hear much background noise once you start playing music unless it’s very loud. Passing cars aren’t the problem.

On the other hand, wind noise can creep into your music and make for a loss of fine detail. However, we’re taking moderate to strong winds. A slight breeze should remain unnoticeable.

Noise Cancelling

Star Rating 4.0 Great

EarFun Free Pro 2 use the same ANC technology as the EarFun Air Pro 2, providing similarly excellent results. One of the best wireless earbuds for under $100 for noise cancellation.

I was pretty impressed by how good the active noise cancellation is on the Air Pro 2 model, and I’m also impressed now.

There’s a noticeable suppression of lower frequencies right down to an almost inaudible level. You can expect similar performance from top-of-the-line earbuds, which is fantastic.

The performance continues with higher frequencies, although there’s still a faint shimmer present. That is where premium earbuds like Sony WF-1000XM4 can do a slightly better job.

However, considering the price difference, the EarFun Free Pro 2 offer an outstanding value if you care about noise cancellation.

ANC earbuds can also do the opposite and amplify the surrounding sounds for greater awareness. The ambient sound mode is similar to the one from the Air Pro 2 model.

Bluetooth

Star Rating 4.5 Almost Perfect

Earbuds pair very quickly and support mono mode, while Bluetooth 5.2 ensures strong connection and range. No multipoint, though.

If you want a reliable pair of earbuds with a strong connection, these are your best bet.

They don’t experience random stutters and only start breaking the signal when far away from the source.

By far away, I mean at least 65 feet (or 20 meters) from your smartphone, on top of placing at least 2 brick walls in between.

The pairing process is as usual. You only have to put the earbuds out of the case, and they already appear in the Bluetooth menu on your Bluetooth device.

If you like using only one earbud, the EarFun Free Pro 2 do have an option for that. Unfortunately, they lack multipoint support for connecting them to two devices at the same time.

What Bluetooth Codecs Do They Use?

EarFun earbuds use a standard selection of SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs, ensuring optimal performance on Android and Apple devices.

Is There an Audio Lag?

There’s no noticeable lag watching videos and YouTube, regardless of what codec and operating system you use.

On the other hand, playing games does show some lag. Of course, enabling Low Latency mode helps reduce the delay to a minimum. That’s useful if you’re into competitive games where every millisecond counts.