Verdict
A rather telling all - libertine for less than £ 200/$200 , the Edifier WH950NB mixes a solid audio public presentation , good ANC , and splendid call quality . If the the like of the WH-1000XM5 and Bose QuietComfort earpiece are out of reach , these are a less expensive alternative , though the deficiency of AAC Bluetooth might make iOS users front elsewhere .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Edifier has establish itself as a logical performer in the audio market , muscling into many sphere at a miscellanea of price points . The Edifier WH950NB is its mid - mountain chain over - ear choice .
These noise - cancelling over - ears can be found for less than £ 200/$200 and have an telling list of features , from farsighted battery life to wireless hello - res audio codecs and hybrid noise - cancellation – they ’ve amaze their sights typeset on those who ca n’t give to push the boat out for agio headphones .
TheStax Spirit S3offered an telling audio performance at a high toll . Let ’s bump out what calibre of functioning the Edifier WH950NB can produce .
Design
Available in black and ivory options , the Edifier WH950NB are an eye - catching span , especially in the latter finish . The gilt accent of the linkages , logotype , and headband adds flair to the earphone ’ look . The tusk ending can attract dirt on the earcups ’ faux leather grain , but they can be wiped off .
Comfort is in effect , though every now and then I feel some pressure around the ear , but the gentle padding is sufficient , and the clamp force out is sturdy without being overbear .
The physical body is mostly plastic , but nowhere nearly as rickety as Edifier ’s own Stax Spirit S3 or theCleer Enduro ANCheadphones . There are a few creak moving my head about , but nothing distracting .
The WH950NB are foldaway , so they can be give way and channelize in the accompanying carry case . Operation is via the veracious - hand earcup , which wo n’t befit left - handed users . There you ’ll discover a button for interference - cancelling ( which I ofttimes mistake for king ) , a multi - function clit ( MFB ) for power and playback , as well as volume buttons that also cover lead skipping ( with a handgrip ) .
The button are easy enough to locate with the MFB upgrade above the volume push button , and the noise - cancelling button beneath it . There ’s a nice softness to press that I like too . There ’s a 3.5 mm jack on the left over earcup and a USB - snow interface for charging on the right wing .
Features
Bluetooth 5.3support also permit for connexion to two devices at once . The Bluetooth connection to my Android smartphone has been resoundingly solid too . Android users get another benefit inGoogle Fast Pairto quickly plug into to any nearby Android equipment .
Edifier states 55 hours of stamp battery per boot and 34 with noise - cancelling on . A shelling drainage with a Spotify playlist at 50 % volume shed by 10 % between three - and - a - one-half to four hour , so the battery call seems eminently possible . The performance puts them among the the likes of of the Sennheiser Accentum Wireless , Urbanista Miamiand theSony WH-1000XM4 , for comparison .
You also get fast - institutionalize , with ten minutes providing an extra 7 hours ; and charging time from empty to full is an impressive 90 min .
Call quality is excellent . The person on the other end described it as near faultless . They could hear me okay and did n’t point out noise come through from my closing .
When it comes to noise - scrub , it ’s worth keep in mind the Edifiers are n’t as herculean as more expensive options such as the Sony WH-1000XM5 orBose QuietComfort UltraHeadphones . That said , having used them over several month , I ’ve find them to be quite effective .
The combination of the hybrid ANC and the passive noise isolation ( the earcups ’ seal ) deals with ambient interference on public transport well . It suppresses the spokesperson of the great unwashed further forth well enough , though I ’ve recover that mass close by can elude the noise - cancel microphones .
When activate , I could hear a person on a phone slightly more intelligibly than I could when ANC was inactivate . This is a trait of disturbance - delete headphones in general – voice are heavy to cancel than other sound – but turn the music up a few notches and peoples ’ voice are covered up .
There ’s a Wind Reduction mode that efficaciously does its job better than the Sennheiser Accentum Wireless , and on a plane the headphones boil down the cabin haphazardness enough that I was n’t too distracted by it . It also nullify the masses confab near me , so lodge the Edifier WH950NB ’s operation under ‘ very good for the price ’ .
The Ambient mode puts in a clear and open performance , amplifying voices so that they can be pick up , and sound instinctive enough with no noticeable stochasticity from the mics .
There is an app – Edifier Connect – which is the same used across Edifier ’s stove of headphones . There ’s slew of customisation from the various noise - scratch modes ( gamey , dispirited , off , wind , ambient ) , to the sound EQ in Classic , Dynamic , and Customised ( four band option ) .
There are auditory sensation modes too in Music , Game , and Theatre ( the latter features a very wide , but also thinner - vocalize soundstage ) . Playback controls are built in as well , which is ready to hand for controlling medicine from the puff of the app .
The app itself is simple , responsive , and easy enough to pilot , though the innovative EQ context are more for experts with its Gain and Q factor options . There ’s no wearable sensor detection , which is often the case for less expensive headphones , though there is a shutdown timer for those who line up themselves forgetting their headphone are still on .
you could also customise what the multifunction release does ( single , double presses and holds ) , enable LDAC , multipoint and the Safe Volume feature that curbs the maximal volume to 85dB as recommended by the World Health Organization ( WHO ) .
Sound Quality
The previous Edifier over - ears I screen in the Stax Spirit S3 offered a incredibly articulate performance . The Edifier WH950NB do n’t ever attempt to be in the same league , the 40 mm dynamic drivers and tuning of the sound is more mainstream and smoother in approach , but below £ 200/$200 , I think these headphones are a very well pick .
It ’s deserving giving the EQ modes an audition . Classic is flatter in term of dynamics – neither basso nor treble stands out as much as it does with Dynamic . I ’d also say that the soundstage is broad with Dynamic , voices have a short more presence , and so it ’s with that EQ setting that I ’ve survey these earphone in .
When listening to Momentum from Brian Tyler ’s Fast decade soundtrack , there ’s not the same level of snap and morsel to the cut ’s more up-and-coming instant , although there ’s a nice telling tone to the drums that provides biff to the low end . The cymbal crashes and gamy frequency notes are n’t too terse or bright respectively , but the Edifier WH950NB strikes a good , cohesive remainder between highs and first gear .
Detail tier are good , although it ’s beyond the WH950NB ’s talent to retrieve the amount of particular as theSony WH-1000XM5can . The levels of definition they conjure have been sand off and made smooth . A listen to Gretchen Parlato ’s weakly , and it ’s patent the snare drum does n’t boast the same level of brittleness , the boot of the brake drum is n’t as punchy , clear , or articulate , while Parlato ’s voice is n’t captured with the same storey of clarity .
This is n’t to knock on the Edifier , merely to convey the differences between a good pair of earphone and one of the very secure .
judge on its own merits , the Edifier is capable of supplying tracks like Ball Park Music ’s Trippin ’ The Light Fantastic , an piquant sense of energy as the soundstage is deployed with width . There ’s clout , limpidity , and variation in its verbal description of low frequencies – rhythmically it ’s persuasively solid . I do n’t think you ’ll find much to argue with in these areas unless you ’re hanker for a high timber performance .
The midrange is an area I ca n’t quite figure out . There are good point of clarity , but the combination of crispness and smoothness that ’s apply to voice both softens the edges of what ’s sung and makes them vocalize slightly lean .
The thinness is more apparent when voices are stressed or with notes that are held for a long prison term , like the way Mitski stretch ‘ go ’ in Stay lenient or Serj Tankian ’s phonation in organisation Of A Down ’s Chop Suey ! It avoids harshness but can , from time to metre , make articulation sound a piddling cold in flavour .
High frequencies are conveyed with clarity , decent sharpness , and again with a magnetic declination that avoids soprano notes sounding one - notation . I ’d like more brightness – at times there ’s a slight dullness about how the Edifier blend in about its patronage . raise the volume up a small from default helps the Edifier to find its spokesperson ; it becomes more expressive and industrious .
They can be a more assertive and in some way more confident listen than theSennheiser Accentum Wireless , but I would n’t say considerably overall . The Sennheiser educe more contingent from the midrange and upper frequency . There are also some tracks like The Beatles ’ While My Guitar Gently Weeps that sounds rougher on the Edifier than it does on the slicker and clear Sennheiser .
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Should you buy it?
The Edifier does n’t voice as good as Sony orBose ’s latest premium models , but the WH950NB play in a less expensive playpen and offers a hearty performance for the outlay .
It ’s not as if the WH950NB is missing out on many features , but the want of AAC Bluetooth means iOS user will have to make do with the lesser timbre SBC codec .
Final Thoughts
The Edifier WH950NB are a very ripe twain of headphones , a consistent 8/10 performance able of strike 9/10 in some category .
Their feature set covers a lot of base , though it is slant towards Android rather than Io users . The noise - cancellation is a passably good effort . The audio frequency has a legato tone to it , and more suited to mainstream listeners , though I ’d say the ilk of theSennheiser Accentum Wirelessare more articulate .
Nonetheless , if you ’re after an telling spec listing , in effect quilt , and an engaging sound for less than £ 200/$200 ; I think you ought to give the Edifier WH950NB a closer look . Otherwise , see to it out ourBest Over - Ear Headphonesheadphones for more options .
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FAQs
There is n’t any support for AAC streaming on the WH950NB , so Apple user will have to make do with cyclosis in SBC .
