These Edifier earbuds are perfect for detail listeners — but there’s a tariff-shaped hitch

There are very few things I look forward to like unboxing a new pair of earbuds or headphones. As a self-professed music nerd, I love discovering new audio products that might make me hear new sounds in my favorite tracks.

And as the aforementioned music nerd, I was very intrigued to try out my first pair of magnetic planar driven earbuds. So when I started testing the Edifier NeoBuds Planar earbuds, I was extremely excited. However, with a treble-and-mids heavy soundscape, I was left missing bass more than I thought I would.

Even so, could the Edifier NeoBuds Planar be some of the best earbuds out there? Well, maybe if you prefer detail over bass. Oh — and if they were their original price of $199 (as opposed to the 2025-tariff-induced $299).

Edifier NeoBuds Planar review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A pair of detail-oriented earbuds with clear treble base
• Who is it for? Definitely not bassheads
• What does it cost? A whopping $299 — $50 more than AirPods Pro 2
• What do we like? They’re very comfortable, and the treble sounds great
• What don’t we like? Where’s the bass? Oh, it doesn’t exist

Edifier NeoBuds Planar review: Specs

Edifier NeoBuds Planar review: Price & availability

If you’re in the U.S., the Edifier NeoBuds Planar are a massive $299 from Amazon U.S.. This price makes them even more expensive than some of the best earbuds, like the AirPods Pro 2 ($249), and the same price as the Sony WF-1000XM5 ($299). I do not think they are worth this price at all.

Edifier’s representative has confirmed that the original price of the NeoBuds Planar was just $199, however due to the U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, the price was increased to $299.

In the U.K. and Europe, the Amazon U.K. original price of £199 remains unchanged. As a result, you’re getting a much better deal on the European continent, however I still think £199 is way too pricey for these essentially mid-tier (and mid-quality) earbuds.

Edifier NeoBuds Planar review: Design & controls

• Extremely comfortable
• Wear detection a little laggy
• Touch controls good

I could wear the Edifier NeoBuds Planar for hours (and I did!). These are some comfortable earbuds. I switched out the default medium-sized ear tips for the small and they fit perfectly in my ear. The sizes range from XS-XL.

No, these earbuds aren’t the most beautiful options on the market, but dang, they are comfy. The charging case is pretty ugly, and it’s considerably bigger than the charging case of the AirPods Pro 2. The silver plastic casing looks a little cheap, and certainly not worth the $299 asking price.

The buds themselves are also quite unattractive, with an inch-long stem made of the same silvery cheap-looking plastic. However, whether as a result of the well-fitting tips or the stem, the earbuds feel very secure in the ear.

However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I’m willing to look past the appearance when I consider how comfy they are. Heck, I wouldn’t necessarily say that even AirPods are particularly beautiful, and I love my AirPods more than sliced bread.

Comfort is one thing, but usability is another — the touch controls are pretty good, and customizable in the Edifier ConneX app, but the wear detection lags by about a second. Frustrating.

Sometimes, wear detection doesn’t work at all. This is majorly disappointing, especially for a pair of earbuds costing $299.

Edifier NeoBuds Planar review: Features & connectivity

• Dual device connection
• Bluetooth 5.4
• 4-band EQ customization, selectable frequency

Seeing as the NeoBuds Planar are a new product as of March 2025, I expected Bluetooth 5.4, which has been out for 2 years now. However, I still do see a lot of Bluetooth 5.3 gear (including on Bose’s 2024 QuietComfort earbuds!), so I appreciate that Edifier has loaded Bluetooth 5.4 on the NeoBuds Planar.

The difference between Bluetooth 5.3 and Bluetooth 5.4 is relatively small, but 5.4 has a higher transmission speed and more optimized audio.

Edifier says the range is 10 meters, but I was able to venture downstairs in the office and my phone was still connected. I’d say that’s a win.

Another win is the dual device connection. One of my main frustrations when using any audio gear other than my AirPods Pro 2 involves janky switching between my MacBook Air M2 and iPhone 16 Pro. However, that wasn’t the case with the NeoBuds Planar. I was able to switch seamlessly between both devices after connecting to the earbuds manually.

While connectivity is pretty good, the actual audio features are quite lacking. Yes, there’s wear detection, but as I discussed earlier, it’s quite laggy. Yes, there’s EQ customization, but it’s really anti-user. Instead of having pre-determined ‘sliders’ (like a mixing desk fader) to adjust at will, you first need to dial in the specific frequency (yes, in Hz), and then select the gain +/- 3dB.

I don’t know why Edifier made this so darn complex, as I’m sure it would put off even seasoned users. Even so, the EQ is still pretty poor, so perhaps that was why. It doesn’t actually change the bass output (mids and treble are another thing), so why make it really complicated to begin with?

Edifier NeoBuds Planar review: ANC

• Decent ANC
• Comparable to AirPods Pro 2
• Wind reduction

I was actually really impressed with the ANC. In testing, it felt as adept as my AirPods Pro 2. The sound of my Dyson Airwrap was mostly blocked out, and when I was walking around the city I couldn’t hear any traffic noise.

The dexterity of the ANC is one of the most impressive things about the NeoBuds Planar, and I’d recommend it to anyone who is in dire need of ANC adept enough to silence an overly loud environment. However, as I’m about to get into in the ‘Audio quality’ section below, the sound quality might not be good enough to justify the buds despite their effective ANC.

Edifier NeoBuds Planar review: Audio quality

• Great for detail
• Very disappointing for bass
• Unfortunately bass is literally nonexistent

As I’ve mentioned above, the NeoBuds Planar are not bass-heavy earbuds in the slightest. These are for detail listeners only. I’d consider myself a semi-bass/semi-detail listener, but even I thought these were too lacking in the low frequencies.

In an attempt to up the bass, I fiddled around with the complex-looking EQ on the Edifier ConneX app (which I’ll discuss in the ‘App’ section below) and eventually found something that worked a little.

However, even with custom EQ, I still couldn’t get deep, pumping bass. Although this means these earbuds aren’t for me, they could still be good for detail listeners. I increased gain by 3dB on both 100Hz and 201Hz frequencies (the lowest the ConneX app would let me), but the bass just crackled. If the drivers aren’t built for bass, there’s very little an EQ can do. It’s like painting an unplastered wall; it’ll recolor the texture, but it won’t smooth it.

As with all my earbud testing, I listened using Qobuz, our best music streaming service for audiophiles. When I listened to ‘ghost’ by Mary In The Junkyard, I noticed that the guitars, which are inherently quite crackly and fuzzy on this track, were a little wider, as if the soundscape was more expansive than normal. However, the reason behind this ‘width’ became apparent — there was no depth.

I don’t consider myself a huge basshead — I enjoy listening to a balanced track with detail and bass. However, the lack of complexity was definitely noticeable on almost every song.

‘Wet Dream’ by Wet Leg sounded great in the verses, which are built over breathy vocals and percussion. However, the guitar-heavy chorus just felt a little… empty. I still had a great time listening to the song, don’t get me wrong, but I was craving something more.

As with the previous track, I upped the gain on lower frequencies to see if this EQ adjustment could mitigate the lackluster bass. The answer was no.

I was curious about one of Edifier’s EQ presets titled ‘Electrostatic’. The app told me that this EQ is intended for classical music, so I thought, why not? I gave it a whirl by listening to some Mozart, and it actually sounded great. Each layer of the orchestra was clearly audible, from the strings to the wind section, and this was probably the most impressive piece of music I listened to on the NeoBuds Planar. Best earbuds for classical music lovers? Maybe.

However, I acknowledge that most people aren’t classical music listeners, so I promptly hopped back to the chart-topping hits we all know and love using my customized EQ.

I am absolutely not an Ed Sheeran girlie, but I listened to ‘Azizam’ by the aforementioned Ed Sheeran, and thought it sounded fine. The lead and backing vocals were both clear and detailed, and the guitar was loud and effective, although the bass was, again, lacking.

For classical music lovers, I think the Edifier NeoBuds Planar are some great detailed earbuds. For those who aren’t huge fans of bass, again, these Edifier ‘buds are pretty good. However, I would not say these are good earbuds for people who love bass-heavy tracks.

Edifier NeoBuds Planar review: Call quality

• Satisfactory call quality
• 3 mics
• A little clippy

To test the call quality, I called my boyfriend. He reported that he could still hear everything I was saying, but my voice was a little quiet and distorted. They were about the same as my AirPods, so audible, but not massively impressive.

Edifier says there are three mics on each bud with AI noise reduction. To test this noise reduction, I went outside and recorded myself talking. I could still hear some ambient city noise and the mics definitely picked up on two people having a conversation behind me, but I could still hear myself too.

Edifier NeoBuds Planar review: App

• Edifier ConneX app, not Edifier Connect
• UI a little ugly
• Easy to navigate

As with the Edifier NeoBuds Planar themselves, the Edifier ConneX app is a little ugly. It’s very gray and blocky, and is nowhere near as attractive as the Soundcore app, which I used with the near-perfect Soundcore Space One Pro headphones ($199) or even the EarFun app, which I used with the EarFun Air 2 NC earbuds ($69). Despite this unappealing appearance, the app is still usable.

There’s a homepage to adjust controls like noise cancelation, ‘game mode’, and EQ, and then a secondary page (under the hexagon icon) to control things like touch commands, wear detection, and dual device connection.

Edifier NeoBuds Planar review: Battery

• 30 hours without ANC
• 20 hours with ANC
• Less than AirPods’ 24 hours

For $299, I’d expect a pretty impressive battery life, like perhaps 40 hours with ANC. The $99 EarFun Air Pro 4 can last up to a massive 52 hours without ANC and 35 hours with ANC, so I’d like to see something closer to this battery life for $299.

However, the battery life is even more disappointing than AirPods Pro 2, whose 24 hours is almost pitiful now. The NeoBuds Planar will last for 20 hours with ANC, and 30 hours without ANC.

Some earbuds perform much better than these, though: the Bose QuietComfort earbuds (2024) last for 31 hours with ANC on. All is not lost, though! The NeoBuds Planar can be charged wirelessly, which is a nice touch, and they did charge up by 10% in literally thirty seconds during testing.

Edifier NeoBuds Planar review: Verdict

The Edifier NeoBuds Planar buds have one specific user in mind: someone who can’t get enough detail. For those who love surfing wide, expansive soundscapes full of high-frequency effects, strings, and wind instruments, I’d recommend these.

However, most listeners need some oomph, some groove, some power. Unfortunately, for anyone who likes a little bass or depth, the NeoBuds Planar are a skip. Maybe if they were at their original price of $199, I could recommend them more. But for $299? It’s just too much.

You can get high-end earbuds from Bose, Apple, and Sony for the same price or less, and, as a result, I regret to write that these Edifier earbuds are a skip. I’d get the AirPods Pro 2 and save the extra $50 for a little treat yo’ self moment.