Earfun Wave Pro are ridiculously cheap LDAC over-ears with ANC and an 80-hour battery

Serious stamina for a fifth of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra

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Traditionally,CES 2024is a stage for big things: the hugely expensiveSonus Faber’s $750k speakers, the hugely innovativeEssilorLuxottica’s Nuance Audio hearing aid glassesor the hugely funOttonomy’s draught beer-toting robot, for instance.

So a set of cheap over-ear headphones can often fly under the radar. But not for me; not when they’re a debut pair from talented affordable audio specialist Earfun – and not when they boast LDAC hi-res audio and an 80-hour battery life for a fifth of the price ofBose’s latest QuietComfort Ultra(which have a 24-hour battery, just for reference).

So let’s meet the Earfun Wave Pro. Again, they’re the brand’s first-ever pair of over-ear cans, but that doesn’t mean Earfun’s scrimped on the extras. Along with hybrid ANC you also get support for theSony-made LDAC codec for high-resolution audio streaming of up to 32-bit/96kHz (in theory, at least).

The new Wave Pro are driven by 40mm diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) composite drivers to boast “rich detail” and “deep, immersive bass for a versatile, dynamic sound signature”. You also get 5-mics with an “Al algorithm” for call quality, plus hybrid active noise cancellation (ANC) tech that promises to nix up to 45dB of extraneous noise, plus any wind whistling past your shell-likes.

Opinion: if they sound good, Earfun’s hit a home run

OK I’ll get to it: perhaps the best thing about the Earfun Wave Pro is their stamina. Not since my belovedEdifier Stax Spirit S3have I seen 80 hours listed on the spec sheet. And although I adore my Spirit S3s, they do not come any active noise cancellation baked in. Earfun’s proposition does and there’s also a fast charging feature claim: 10 hours of playback from a 10-minute charge.

Also on the spec sheet is voice control tech for hands-free calls and a low-latency gaming mode for levelled up audio syncing during video streaming or games.

Look, I’ve been a huge fan of Earfun’s oeuvre since the 2019 release of theEarfun Air, and the company’s January 2023Earfun Air Pro 3are still some of thebest noise-cancelling earbudsat the entry-level end of the market. OK, so our October 2023Earfun Free Pro 3 review(note the difference in names) reveals a rare dip in form. Nevertheless, if they sound this good for this money, the heavy-hitters (aka Bose and Sony) should be worried.

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How much are we talking? $79.99, (which is around £62 or AUS119). It’s an awful lot of playtime for the money – $80 for 80-hours, if you will, but of course you can charge them and keep using them…

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Becky became Audio Editor at TechRadar in 2024, but joined the team in 2022 as Senior Staff Writer, focusing on all things hi-fi. Before this, she spent three years at What Hi-Fi? testing and reviewing everything from wallet-friendly wireless earbuds to huge high-end sound systems. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, Becky freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 22-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance starts with a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo and The Stage. When not writing, she can still be found throwing shapes in a dance studio, these days with varying degrees of success.

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