Edifier NeoDots Headphones review: Almost Perfect

Edifier is one of our favorite brands to review for audio gear. We’ve checked out plenty of their speakers and headphones and typically have a good experience, so you know we were going to be excited to check out their latest NeoDots earbuds.

Priced at $129, these are competing right alongside models like Samsung’s Galaxy Buds3 and Apple’s AirPods. Can Edifier hold up next to some pretty tough competition?

Design

In my opinion, the Edifier NeoDots have a pretty unique design. “Dot” isn’t quite the word I’d use to describe them; they’re pretty large, especially compared to the sleek look of similar earbuds. Fortunately they’re not heavy and stick with fairly comfortable material, but they won’t be discrete if you wear them in public.

Otherwise, though, they’re pretty standard earbuds. You get touch controls on the side, lots of microphones, and a handful of extra tips in the box to ensure you get the right fit.

The case itself is slightly larger than a similar AirPods Pro or Galaxy Buds case since it’s trying to cram in some extra battery. It’s not too bulky and should fit in most pockets or bags without a problem, but it’s definitely not on the compact side of wireless earbud designs.

Features

Edifier isn’t shy about trying to cram as many features into their products as possible, and the NeoDots will check a lot of boxes. They offer a variety of noise cancelation modes, including specific modes like wind reduction, plus six microphones for crystal clear call quality.

They offer a modern Bluetooth 5.4 connection with LDAC support, low latency for gaming, multipoint connections, and a huge battery to go with everything. Edifier claims up to 17 hours on a single earbud charge, with an additional 56 hours of battery through the case. I, unfortunately, am not in a position to run these earbuds for 17 hours straight, but after pretty consistent usage over around 6 hours, I’m always well over 50% battery, so I tend to believe those claims would get extremely close.

You can also quickly charge to get 5 hours of playback from just 15 minutes of charging, and the case is wireless charging compatible. And, of course, the earbuds are IP55 certified, so you can take them along while you exercise. All in all, it is extremely convenient, and I don’t think you’ll be missing any features that other earbuds offer.

Sound Quality

We’ve reviewed enough Edifier products to have a pretty good ear for the “Edifier sound” that these earbuds offer. Don’t worry; it’s not a bad thing, either.

Edifier likes big, thumping bass, and that’s exactly what you’re getting with the NeoDots. The default EQ setting in the companion app is, in fact, the Heavy Bass preset. You can tell.

For most people, this preset will also probably be good enough. It sounds good, it’s loud, and people like bass. More discerning ears will probably want to tweak the EQ just a bit to clean up some of the midrange and cut down on some of the flubbing that the default EQ has, but it’s generally very easy to get these headphones sounding excellent for their price point.

The noise canceling is also good and highly customizable. Usually you’re only looking at two modes, max, but Edifier includes five different ANC modes depending on where you’re at and how aggressive you want it to be. It’s not quite the best noise canceling on the market, but it’s good enough, and being able to tweak it like this earns a few extra points.

Unfortunately, the app’s not great. Edifier now has several apps, depending on your earbuds, and the NeoDots need the Edifier ConneX app, not the Edifier Connect app. It’s not pretty, and it doesn’t follow any modern design standards, but hopefully, you’ll only need it for a few minutes after setup, and then you can leave it buried in your app drawer.

Worth it?

Edifier does seem like the kitchen sink brand of audio equipment, but those kitchen sinks are generally pretty nice for most people. The NeoDots don’t break tradition. They sound good, have a ton of extra features, and are priced competitively enough that it makes sense to buy these if you aren’t locked into somebody’s ecosystem and want those really deeply integrated extra features.

NeoDots make good choices for someone who is into exercising, gaming, or just listening to music; they’re broad enough to fit a ton of different niches without compromising in many places. Sure, you can find some that are a little sleeker or with slightly better audio quality or ANC, but if your budget is around $100 and you want some headphones that do everything well enough that you won’t want to upgrade again in six months, these should be on your list.