Edifier NeoBuds Planar Wireless Earbuds Review: Best for Boutique Listening

The Edifier NeoBuds Planar Wireless Earbuds weren’t the pair of wireless earbuds I was expecting them to be. On the one hand, these premium in-ears brought extra polish to tracks I’ve heard a million times over. But there were a couple of holdups that I won’t soon forget, too.

Edifier NeoBuds Planar

Experience studio-quality sound with 12mm planar magnetic drivers, featuring a 2μm ultra-thin diaphragm for zero harmonic distortion and lifelike audio detail.

Pros & Cons

• Good midrange and bass performance
• Solid ANC and transparency modes
• Hi-res audio support
• Feature-packed app

• Some detail loss at lower volumes
• Vocals often get tramped on
• Mediocre battery life

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Price and Availability

The Edifier NeoBuds Planar sells for $300 and is only available to purchase through Amazon.

Looks Modern, Fits Right

The Edifier NeoBuds Planar are a sleek and modern-looking pair of TWS earbuds with a cool wingtip design that provides a stable in-ear fit and an IP55 rating for dust and water resistance. I was able to achieve a great fit with the already-attached ear tips, and running, squatting, and doing neck stretches didn’t jostle the buds the slightest bit!

I applaud Edifier for placing the NeoBuds Planar touchpoints on the sides of the wing tip. I can’t tell you how many pairs of earbuds I’ve reviewed where the touchpoints are in the worst spots, leading to constant accidental play-pause actions. The NeoBuds didn’t pose a single issue with rogue commands, and the Edifier even lets you adjust how much force is required to register a single, double, or triple-tap or a press-and-hold command.

Pairing the earbuds to a host device was as simple as opening the case, heading to my iPhone’s Bluetooth settings, and selecting the NeoBuds. Bluetooth Multipoint is also enabled by default, allowing you to have the buds paired to more than one device at the same time, as is Wear Detection, which automatically pauses media when you remove the earbuds and restarts them when they’re reinserted.

The NeoBuds comes with a compact charging case that supports both wired USB-C and wireless Qi charging. A neat little trick: There’s a built-in LED status light on the front of the case that you can change the color of in the Edifier ConneX app. Other box contents should include additional ear tip sizes, a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, user manuals, and a carrying case.

Good Sound Quality, but Also Inconsistent

Traditionally, Planar earbuds and headphones are preferred by audiophiles and hi-fi enthusiasts. Considering the IP55 rating, though, I’m guessing that Edifier wants folks to be using these buds out and about. Still, Planar in-ears and over-ears tend to deliver the best performance in a quieter environment, where you can really focus on the soundstage and audio details. I was also glad to learn that these earbuds support hi-res codecs like Sony’s LDAC and LHDC formats, along with Snapdragon Sound and aptX Lossless.

I thought the NeoBuds Planar did a decent job at balancing its crowd-pleasing package with the wants and needs of more devoted audio enthusiasts, thanks to technology like Edifier’s 12mm modularized planar magnetic drivers and 2nd Gen EqualMass™ wiring. The idea is to more evenly and articulately distribute frequencies across each bud’s diaphragm, which should achieve more clarity and less bass-range distortion.

Those are all fun words to read, but does the tech actually work? Um, sort of. It was a bit of a rollercoaster experience walking through various music genres with the NeoBuds. Certain tracks and artists sounded more polished and detailed than ever, while other material had me dipping into the Edifier app to bump up treble or bass. That’s probably the most significant takeaway: the audio quality, while at times very good, was not consistent.

Songs like Harvest by Opeth and Never Have by Porcupine Tree are densely layered progressive rock compositions. The former has acoustic leanings, and the NeoBuds did a phenomenal job at honing in and enhancing the shimmer of the band’s lighter instrumentation. The earbuds also handled electric guitars, pianos, and synths beautifully. Singer-songwriter tracks like Teeth by Kristin Hersh are nothing but vocals and acoustic guitar, and listening with the NeoBuds made the melancholic folk ballad feel all the more dense, reverb-laden, and desolate (which is good because it’s a sad song).

But from one genre to the next, I had recurring issues with vocal volume. For whatever reason, vocals often took a dip in the mix. When this happened, I’d head into the Edifier app to try a different audio preset. I even made my own sound profile using Edifier’s graphic EQ, but a boost in treble would only result in more sibilance.

Overall, I achieved the best NeoBuds results when set to Dynamic. This preset did the best job (in my opinion) at balancing all frequencies on top of a little extra low-end kick.

Far Better ANC Than I Was Expecting

It’s not every day that Planar driver-equipped earbuds come with a great ANC system, but adaptive noise-canceling was actually one of the best parts of my NeoBuds Planar experience. While noteworthy names like Apple, Sony, and Bose offer some of the strongest ANC products on the market, the NeoBuds effectively canceled out many of the most annoying sounds in my apartment community, including my HVAC system and the bustling everyone-gets-home-from-school-and-work noises in the community. (That includes cars, yelling families, and loud footfalls up and down stairs).

You’ll be able to easily switch between noise-canceling modes with earbud tap and long-press commands, but you’ll also be able to toggle between these presets in the Edifier ConneX app (available for Android devices and iPhone). The app even gives you additional customizations for the ambient sound preset, though I experienced the best results when set to Balanced.

The NeoBuds use Qualcomm aptX Voice technology, three mics, and voice enhancement algorithms to deliver what I thought was a very clean phone call experience. The mics did good work at cutting down on background noise, so my girlfriend could hear me clearly, even while I was walking around outside with cars passing by.

Planar Technology Can Be a Bit Power-Hungry

According to Edifier, the NeoBuds Planar should last up to 5 hours with ANC enabled, with an extra 15 hours provided by a fully charged case. The company also claims you’ll get 7.5 hours with ANC disabled and 22.5 additional hours of playback from a charged-up case.

I never needed to recharge the buds from zero, but whenever I’d pop them in the case, the NeoBuds would get a sizable battery boost after only a few minutes. As mentioned, you’ll also be able to charge the case via USB-C or wireless Qi accessories.

Using the Edifier ConneX App

The Edifier ConneX app is one of the most thoughtful earbud-headphone apps I’ve ever used. There are useful features and settings intuitively laid out across a handful of screens, with the most important UI elements front and center.

The app allows you to customize everything from audio presets and noise-canceling modes to tap and long-press commands. The home page even features a toggle for Game Mode, which helps to reduce the input lag for the NeoBuds Planar when you’re playing games on your mobile device.

Should You Buy the Edifier NeoBuds Planar Wireless Earbuds?

While I wouldn’t recommend the Edifier NeoBuds Planar Wireless Earbuds for casual listening, hitting the gym, or for those shopping on a budget, I do think discerning audio connoisseurs will enjoy the dynamics the NeoBuds are able to achieve. It also doesn’t hurt that they support a number of hi-res audio formats, though that’s a perk only Android device owners can take advantage of.

If you’re looking for more noise-canceling audio recommendations, we have roundups of the best ANC headphones and best wireless earbuds you can look through. Also, if you want to learn what I thought of Edifier’s Planar headphones, check out my review of the Edifier Stax Spirit S5.

Edifier NeoBuds Planar

Experience studio-quality sound with 12mm planar magnetic drivers, featuring a 2μm ultra-thin diaphragm for zero harmonic distortion and lifelike audio detail.