Edifier W240TN ANC wireless earphones (review)

Review unit provided by Edifier

This is the third audio product I've reviewed from Edifier. The earlier two are the SGD 139 Edifier NeoBuds Pro wireless earphones and SGD 79 Edifier W820NB wireless headphones.

The Edifier W240TN ANC wireless earphones are priced at SGD 129. All prices listed are at the time of review, and the prices can vary whenever there are ongoing promotions. These are sold on Shopee SG and Lazada SG.

Here are the specs:

• Bluetooth v5.3
• Bluetooth protocol: A2DP, AVRCP, HFP
• Audio code: SBC
• Playtime: 7hr + 14hr (case) with ANC
• Driver: 6mm + 10mm
• Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz
• Output sound pressure level: 92dB±3dSPL (A)
• IP rating: IP55 against dust and splashes
• Weight: Each earbud is 11.6g, case is 39.6g

Bottom line
The price of the W240TN is not too far from the NeoBuds Pro. In terms of audio quality, the W240TN sounds great out of the box whereas NeoBuds Pro requires EQ to sound better. Audio codec is just SBC but the NeoBuds Pro doesn't sound significantly better even with LDAC, LHDC, AAC and SBC. Overall audio quality is on par and would get a 4/5 from me (5 stars is reserved for high-end IEMs).

The main difference is NeoBuds Pro has noticeably better ANC and that alone may make the NeoBuds Pro worth getting over the W240TN as the price difference isn't big.

In terms of value for money, I feel they are worth the money considering audio quality is good at the SGD 129 price point. You don't have to spend 3x to get Sony or Sennheiser when those more popular brands aren't 3x times better. The Sony WF-1000XM3 I have does not sound much better than Edifier W240TN.

Things included in the box:

• Earphones and case
• Extra S, M and XL silicone ear tips
• Quick start guide
• USB-C to USB-A charging cable

Earphones will drop into the case easily and snaps with magnets. It's not possible to put the earphone in the wrong sides because the magnets will repel the wrong earphone.

At the edge of the case is a light indicator to show Bluetooth pairing status.

Pairing with Bluetooth involves holding the button on the back for 3s. Subsequent device pairing is very fast.

Battery life of 7hrs with ANC is decent. You get another 14hrs with the case. Fast charge of 10 minutes can give you 2 hours of listening time.

Design for the earphones look good. They are lightweight and comfortable to wear. There's a single press button on each earphone for controls.

The silicone ear tips have good fit and provide decent noise isolation.

These are IP55 rated for dust and water resistance.

The accompanying app is Edifier Connect. With the app, you can see the battery life, adjust EQ, choose between the different ANC modes and customise the touch controls.

For ANC, there's on, off and ambient awareness.

Show above are the default settings for the touch controls. The shortcuts are customisable. Activation is based on how many times and how long the button is pressed.

Audio quality

For earphones that's priced at SGD 129 or around USD 92, the audio quality is good and would get a 4 out of 5 stars for me -- 5 stars are reserved for high-end IEMs. So 4/5 to me is basically full marks for audio quality for wireless earphones.

Audio sounds good out of the box without the need for EQ, and you can use the EQ from the app to tweak the quality to your satisfaction.

The earphones use a 10mm-woofer and a 6mm-tweeter and have a frequency response of 20Hz - 20kHz. Just for comparison purposes, the Sony WF-1000XM4's typical frequency response is similar, but expands to 40kHz with LDAC, Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 is 14 Hz to 48 kHz, Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 is 5 Hz to 21kHz.

I find the sound to be slightly warm. There's decent fidelity across the high and low frequency. Spatial quality is better than expected so there's some soundstage going on. Voice sounds terrific and are right in your head space. I'm actually very impressed with the audio quality considering the price point.

ANC can cancel out low frequency sounds quite effectively, e.g. fans, traffic, ambient noise. ANC is less effective with louder and sharper sounds, e.g. people talking loudly, and makes the noise sounds further away rather than lower in volume. If you want better ANC, consider the Edifier NeoBuds Pro instead.

Call quality

The company advertised AI DNN call noise cancellation technology to "keep conversation crisp". In reality, call quality sounds compressed and is no different from the call quality from other wireless earphones, even the more expensive ones. With ambient noise, call quality has additional, albeit slight, distortion.

Conclusion

The main selling point of the Edifier W240NT is audio quality at a reasonable price point. The earphones look good and are comfortable. The app has the usual features. ANC could be better to block out loud and sharper noise.

I listened to the earphones prior to looking at the specifications. I really enjoyed my music on these earphones and was quite surprised to find out that there's only SBC audio codec and not the other supposedly better codes such as AptX, LDAC, LHDC or even AAC. Maybe having two drivers (high and low frequency) in each earphone really helps more with the audio quality than the codec.

I prefer the ANC from the Edifier NeoBuds Pro but I prefer the audio quality of the W240TN.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Yeah, it's worth the money.

Pros and cons at a glance
+ Good looking design
+ 7hr + 14hr (case) battery life with ANC
+ Fits well
+ Silicone ear tips provide decent noise isolation
+ Good audio quality
+ Good price vs value
- No auto-pause when earphones are taken out
- Auto power off after 2 hours of inactivity
- ANC doesn't cancel out loud noises that well
- Only SBC audio codec

Availability

The Edifier W240TN ANC wireless earphones are sold on Shopee SG and Lazada SG.

Below are direct product links on Lazada SG
W240TN Coupon Link: https://bit.ly/3RD9Zd3
(SGD 25 discount with minimum spend SGD 128)
W240TN Shop Link: https://bit.ly/3ThDmTK
W240TN Product Link: https://bit.ly/3U5Y2yw