Edifier TSW1 Pro 2 review: A great affordable AirPods alternative

Since Airpods took over the market, floods of cheaper wireless earbuds started popping up all over the web, and very fast, it became difficult to find genuinely good wireless earbuds in a sea of replicas.

Thankfully, Edifier has already established itself as a purveyor of reliable wireless speakers and headphones, and their latest entry to the affordable wireless market, the TWS1 Pro 2, comes in at a reasonable £49.99. While these aren’t going to blow your socks off, they are a solid, budget-friendly option for those currently in the market.

Bud light

Arriving in sleek packaging, the experience immediately feels more premium than what you expect from a device at this price. Inside the box, you’ll find the device, a charging case, a small USB C charging cable and four alternate sets of ear tips. Upon first inspection, you’d be forgiven for mistakenly thinking you’d been sent Apple Airpods. While the case's design might take inspiration from its competition, the actual buds themselves look entirely different. Its eye-catching ergonomic design impressed me instantly, and it certainly looks like a premium product. 

I spent some time messing with the various ear tips and eventually found one that fit my ear snugly. At this point, I have to confess that I have reasonably strange ears; most earbuds I’ve used in the past dig into various parts of my ear, causing discomfort over long periods of usage. Unfortunately for me, the TSW1 Pro 2 was no different.

Due to the fact that the tip is so close to the device's body, it became challenging to get a good seal on my ear without long-term discomfort. This will obviously be on a case-by-case basis, and I wanted to give them as fair a chance as possible. To get an alternate opinion, I gave the buds to my roommate for the day, and he reported no such issues. So, while you will most likely be completely fine if you have “strange” ears, these might not solve your ever-lasting hunt for comfortable earbuds. 

You have two options when it comes to controlling the Pro 2: the Edifier Connect app or the touch-sensitive panels on the end of each bud. These can be remapped to skip songs, pause or turn on/off Active noise cancelling. You can directly control volume from the touch panels, but you likely have a device nearby capable of that anyway. One feature I found to be irritating is that taking an earbud out automatically pauses the music. Thankfully, this can be turned off, but as someone who often takes out earbuds when other people are around, messing with the music constantly became a nuisance very quickly.

• Check out our review of the Logitech G Yeti GX mic

ANC for me

One of the most significant selling points for the TSW1 Pro 2 is the active noise cancelling feature, which you rarely see on budget devices. While it doesn’t compare to noise cancelling on a high-end over-ear headphone, it will block out most mid-tones relatively well. Conversations in the street or on public transport seemed to be the best usage of the feature. Low tones like the tram track humming or cars driving by were still definitely present even with the ANC turned on, but it still muffles them a little. You can, of course, turn on transparency mode to help those who still need to hear traffic or people talking around them, and this seemed to work well even with my music at a high volume. 

It should be expected that ANC will reduce battery life for the device, but I found it very suitable for the most part. The case will charge the buds four times over, and 10 minutes in the case will give you one or two hours extra. Edifier claims they have 24-hour playback time, and I’m yet to notice them running out with regular usage and reasonable charging habits. Battery life is a little lower than some competitors, but it should still be long enough for you to not have issues even with long usage.

Sound quality is likely your biggest concern in budget headphones of any kind, and I’m happy to report that the TSW1 Pro 2 fares well in all departments. The focus is obviously on the mid-tones, and it allows most pop music to sound very clear. Instruments like pianos or strings sound natural, and vocals sound crisp. Low tones like bass also sound solid; I listen to a lot of hyper pop and found that some intense 100 Gecs songs don’t sound as muffled as you expect from something this cheap.

The Edifier Connect app mentioned earlier allows you to choose two equaliser settings, Classic and Pop; I found that Classic is where those mid tones shine the brightest, and Pop allows for more Bass. After I got into a groove, I left it on Classic for the foreseeable future and haven’t looked back since. What would be great to see on future models is a more in-depth EQ control or just more presets in general. Highs, for example, don’t sound great, but I feel I could find a balance that works with some more advanced tweaking.

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The Verdict

Overall, the TSW1 Pro 2 is a solid choice for those on the market for budget wireless earbuds. 

While the ANC isn’t anything to rave about, its sound design helps make it stand out from its competitors. While a more customisable experience would always be welcome, it delivers a reliable device with excellent battery life and a premium-looking design. It will never satisfy those looking for a flawless noise-cancelling experience, but it’s hard to find faults in something this reasonably priced.

4/5

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