It's been a really long time since we last reviewed an Edifier audio product. Our last one was three years ago with the Edifier G4 gaming headphone which I'm still using until today so that probably can give you a good idea of their product quality. In this review, I'll be talking about their latest Edifier X3 wireless earbuds.
If you think Edifier is just jumping on the bandwagon of the recent smartphone brands' "obsession" with their own True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earbuds, you're mistaken. In fact, the company have already made a few before the trend got popular. But I digress, the X3 is currently priced at RM129 which is really affordable considering the standard TWS price range and all that's left is my impression of the wearable after using it for a week.
The Edifier X3 wireless earbuds and the charging case
Really bulky for its design
The charging case is using a microSD port
Starting with the design, the X3 looks like any ordinary wireless earbuds should. Depending on your preference, they come in either black or white and we got the black one which looks pretty solid. The charging case is also solid as in, the quality doesn't feel like it's some cheapskate version that you got from a pasar malam centre unlike some other brands, and you can find the microUSB port behind too.
Like any earbuds, you can find different earmuff sizes from inside the box to your liking. They are also quite bulky but believe it or not, it's actually pretty hard to drop them off even if you shake your head on purpose, so that's a thumbs up for Edifier. Although they stay quite intact ergonomically in your ears, you will eventually want to take them off and let your ears have a "breather" after a long duration.
The stuff you get inside the box
The X3 features Touch Controls which allows you to control your music playback as well as taking calls. Tap once to play/pause or answer/end a call, double tap to play the next song, triple tap to go back to the previous song, and finally, press hold for the voice assistant to appear. This works on either side of the earbud but there's one thing that I didn't like about this - since the earbuds are bulky in design to begin with, tapping them on my ears is always annoying, but that's my personal experience. For example, it's like someone knocking gently on your face whenever they want to talk to you (I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea).
In terms of other features, the Bluetooth connectivity is using version 5.0 and also IP54 dust and water splash resistant. Yup, that means you can also use the X3 wireless earbuds for exercising without worrying about accidentally dropping them while jogging. On top of that, there is also CVC 8.0 noise-cancellation technology, but do keep in mind this is not the same as Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). The CVC version does work, but you can still hear a bit of environmental noise if you're out in a noisy public crowd.
Don't worry, audiophiles - the X3 wireless earbuds do support Qualcomm aptX audio decoding. The decoding rate is supported up to 352kbps, which is the sound quality of a CD so that's good enough. But you should also know that depending on your MP3 file quality (if you're still doing that), low-rated files will sound "meh" and there's nothing much the X3 can do about that. That said, the overall audio quality is satisfactory at most.
From my 1 week experience with the X3 wireless earbuds, I think EDM songs sound the best. That's not to say that the bass is overpowered like Beats, I do find it quite balanced alongside the treble but not so much for mid. If you're the type that likes listening to acoustic music, sometimes the guitar strum sounds are not how you would like it to be. Keep in mind that there is no default Edifier equalizer control for your treble, bass and mid so it can be a frustrating moment for an audiophile (unless your phone already has its own), but after a while, you might eventually get used to it or not at all.
What about watching videos or playing games? Well, yeah they work just fine but as aforementioned, your ears would probably gasp for air after an hour. For video streaming like YouTube, I find that I tend to increase the volume a lot just to get a "just nice" sound and this is the opposite of mobile gaming. I didn't try them a lot on popular ones like Call of Duty: Mobile since they aren't a dedicated gaming TWS earbuds, but I did test them on rhythm games (Cytus 2 and Voez) and they sound great. Oh, network calls are also good on these wearables.
The audio quality might be a mixed bag for some, but the battery performance says otherwise. On paper, it's able to last up to 6 hours of music playback which turned out to be the case as I tried draining the wireless earbuds for around the same duration. So practically speaking, if you're just using it on say, an average of 2-3 hours per day, you could go on using them for more than 2 weeks with a fully charged-up charging case.
All in all, the Edifier X3 wireless earbuds are a fine pair of wearables. Its price of RM129 is already more affordable than most other smartphone brands' TWS products with acceptable audio quality and better battery life. It can be argued that the audio quality can be much better but in that price range, we just can't have everything. Customers who are just looking for a good pair of wearables can consider this, otherwise for those who want more will have to look elsewhere.
Edifier X3 wireless earbuds tech specs and features
- Qualcomm aptX, decoding rate up to 352kbps
- Audio Frequency - 16bit/44/1kHz
- Frequency Response - 20Hz - 20KHz
- Sensitivity - 95dB
- Bluetooth V5.0
- Battery playback time - 6 hours (earbuds) + 18 hours (charging case)
- Wireless distance - 10 metres
- IP54 dust and water splash resistance, Touch Control, Voice Assistant, CVC 8.0 Noise-Cancellation
- Measures 17 x 25mm (earbuds), 53 x 39 x 24mm (charging case)
Pros - Audio quality is good enough for a casual user, superb battery life, nice ergonomic design to stay intact in ears, and has IP54 dust and water splash resistance
Cons - Audio quality can be a mixed bag for audiophiles, not suitable to wear them for long durations, and no default Edifier equalizer control for your preference
Conclusion - People who are looking for a pair of decent TWS earbuds that work just nicely should consider getting these
Do you agree with our review? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more tech reviews at TechNave.com.
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