Edifier TWS1 Pro Earphones Review
The Edifier TWS1 Pro earphones are an affordable option that rival even wired budget earphones. However, the Pro product name branding fairly or unfairly gives the impression of an earphone release that will rival Apple and the other brands within that particular upper-end space - so how do they fare?
Design
The case and earphones are made from identical plastic. It’s not the most durable feel, with the case lid and connecting hinge mechanism both not quite what we’d expect from a product marketed with ‘pro’ in its name. Perhaps the appearance has been sacrificed to push every penny into audio quality? The case opens and closes fairly easily, but getting the earphones out isn’t quite up to AirPod simplicity and needs a little fidget to free them from and into the case.
Battery Life & Charging
The case charges via USB-C and, together with the batteries within the earphones, offers a total battery life of around 30hrs from our usage - which stands well against the competition.
Performance
Pleasingly it does appear that the budget for development has been disproportionally allocated toward audio quality, in that these earphones do sound generally acceptable when used for casual day to day listening. When we dive into the minutiae, we can hear some less flattering performance details. For instance, the ranges can sound as if they are suffocating one another, and more so with energetic musical tracks. This is demonstrated by the Family Guy theme performed by ‘Scott Bradlee’s Post Modern Jukebox’. The vocals are forefront and clear, but the background instrumentals are distinctly cluttered atop of one another. Regardless of the Edifier Pro branding, when we listen to the same track via the same device, the Edifier TWS5 model of earphones we’ve previously reviewed are clear and have no comprehension issues. The TWS1 Pro earphones, on the other hand, are paler by comparison with the upper and middle ranges becoming squeezed with tracks that have a large soundstage and a high number of individual instrumental elements. Furthermore the AirPods comparison we alluded to at the start due to the ‘Pro’ branding (much higher price tag), are unsurprisingly in another league entirely.
In general use these earphones are able to satisfy the ears with a nicely controlled volume to power ratio and reasonable separation between track elements. Listening to Liquor Store by ‘Remi Wolf’ shows off a dark bass and a reasonable stereo atmosphere and the ear-hones favour this kind of more 'poppy' style of music. Strangely the bass isn’t actually leant on, but it’s definitely not soft and is fairly balanced in this context. Podcasts and listening generally to the spoken word are areas where these perform well, apart from occasional sibilance when vocals go high.
Verdict
It’s certainly nice to see that the price tag for entering into the world of wireless earphones with a charging case is getting lower and lower. However, this does come with compromises and the Edifier TWS1 Pro earphones offer a standard easy listen, but for ears that value details and accuracy they might want to take a look at the slightly more expensive Edifier TWS5 earphones instead.