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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?
Get more info in our in-depth review below.
- Fun, dynamic sound with good detail
- Very comfortable & lightweight
- Smaller case with Qi wireless charging
- Strong Bluetooth connection
- Great active noise cancellation (for the price)
- Included swab for cleaning the earbuds
- Earbuds easily lose seal, affecting bass performance
- Less battery life compared to previous generation
- Slighty too aggressive noise reduction for voice calls
How Have EarFun Free Pro 2 Evolved from the Previous Model?
The new model starts at a higher MSRP than the previous one ($70 compared to $80). You can justify the price jump due to the newer ANC chip and more expensive components in general.
The biggest difference between the two is by far the active noise cancelling. It’s noticeably better in the second generation, giving the same level of performance as the Air Pro 2 model.
Design is also slightly different this time around, with an overall smaller charging case and more modern-looking earbuds. The size and comfort remain very similar between the two models.
The only thing that is considered a downgrade is the battery life. The new Free Pro 2 model lasts for 6 hours per charge and has extra 24 hours in the case. The previous generation had 7 hours per charge and 25 hours in the case.
You can read more in the EarFun Free Pro review.
Sound
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.
Check the EarFun Free Pro 2 Sound Test
Learn how to understand sound comparisons.
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.
EarFun Free Pro 2 Frequency Response
Comfort & Fit
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
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
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.
EarFun Free Pro 2 Battery Comparison
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
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.
Microphone Quality
EarFun Free Pro 2 are experiencing similar popping sounds as the previous model, although they aren’t as apparent. The call quality in a quiet environment is overall improved and sounds more natural.
On the other hand, despite using 2 additional microphones to suppress unwanted noise, mic quality still isn’t optimal for outdoor use. Earbuds apply heavy suppression of the ambient noise, leading to artifacts and distortion.
Still, if you plan to use them in an office, they should provide decent clarity. However, don’t make phone calls in a noisy environment since your voice will be hardly understandable.
Noise Isolation
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
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.
EarFun Free Pro 2 Active Noise Cancelling Test
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
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 usual range for Bluetooth headphones is around 15 meters, with only a few lasting more than that.
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.
Should You Get EarFun Free Pro 2?
If you’re a casual user who wants to get as much for the money as possible, EarFun Free Pro 2 are worth checking out.
These are small but strong performers in basically all areas. The active noise cancellation is excellent, and the Transparency mode is actually worth using if you want to reply to someone quickly.
The battery isn’t class-leading but good enough for a lengthy bus ride or outdoor walk.
Comfort is fantastic, and with only 4 grams per earbud, they weigh like nothing. Just be careful since they lack the stability of proper sports earbuds.
As a whole, the new EarFun Free Pro 2 are a great choice for everyone but the most demanding audiophiles. Even better in audio quality than the Air Pro 2 model.
However, if you already own the EarFun Free Pro from last year, there’s no reason to upgrade unless you really want better active noise-cancelling performance.
How EarFun Free Pro 2 Compare to the Competition?
- They offer an overall better value than similarly priced earbuds. While you get a similar number of features elsewhere, the ones in Free Pro 2 simply perform better.
- The sound quality is comparable to other true wireless earbuds in this price range. Others like FlyBuds C1 sound more neutral but don’t have as many details as the EarFun’s.
- Active noise cancellation is overall more effective at reducing the broader frequency spectrum. Most other earbuds are only successful at blocking lower frequencies.
- The battery life is below average for the price. While a total playtime of 28.5 hours sounds a lot, you only get 4.5 hours per charge. An average result is around 7 hours on a single charge.
What are EarFun Free Pro 2 Alternatives?
EarFun Air Pro 2
The sound signature is W-shaped, boosting lower mids and making the sound louder but also a bit shouty.
Their design resembles Apple AirPods Pro and is comfortable and stable to use. Noise cancellation works the same as on the Free Pro 2 since they use the same ANC chip.
They have longer battery life, with 6 hours per charge and 27 hours inside the Qi charging case.
Tribit FlyBuds C1
It’s all about sound with these Bluetooth earphones, outputting close to neutral audio throughout the frequency spectrum, with the smooth and warm midrange.
The FlyBuds C1 are slightly better for passive noise isolation but lack ANC and ambient sound mode.
With 9.5 hours per charge and an additional 38 hours in the case, these last considerably longer than the EarFun Free Pro 2.
SoundPEATS H1
The H1’s have an L-shaped response, with a boost in bass, while the rest of the sound stays balanced.
These also lack ANC and ambient mode and instead come packed with beefy 10.5 hours of battery life per charge (extra 30 hours inside the case).
Earbuds use touch controls and include foam tips for better stability, isolation, and slightly more transparent sound.
What’s in the Box?
- EarFun Free Pro 2 true wireless earbuds
- Charging case
- USB-C charging cable
- 4 pairs of silicone ear tips (XS, S, M, L)
- 3 pairs of ear fins
- Swab with instructions on how to clean the earbuds
- User guide
Specifications
| Type: | True wireless |
| Connection: | Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Back design: | Closed-back |
| Drivers: | 6mm |
| Frequency range: | n/a |
| Impedance: | n/a |
| Weight: | 8.2g (both earbuds) |
| Mic & Controls: | Yes |
| Water resistance: | IPX5 |
| Battery life: | 5h + 24h in case (with ANC on) |
| Charging time: | 2h + quick charge – USB-C & Qi wireless charging |
| Active noise cancelling: | Yes |
| Bluetooth codecs: | SBC, AAC |
| Wireless range: | 50ft (15m) |
| Microphone: | 6 ENC mics (3 on each side) |
From a childhood fascination with sound, Peter’s passion has evolved into a relentless pursuit of the finest headphones. He’s an audio expert with over 5 years of experience in testing both audiophile and consumer-grade headphones. Quote: “After many years, I can confidently tell which headphones are good and which are terrible.” Find his honest opinion in his reviews.
1 Comment
patrick weber
I have the first gen and upgraded to the second mainly because the improved ANC. I have to say, was worth it. I could purchase them for 50 bucks however. The anc of first gen always distorted on me on metro (air pressure change) and they amplified loude clacky noises (gym when plates hit plates). This doesn’t happen anymore now and I’m very satisfied with them.
Wavelet (android) is optimizing the sound.