Photo Source: Amazon
Key Points
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Earfun's Free 1S wireless earbuds pair with phones, laptops, and other devices.
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Earfun's 1S earbuds provide six hours of constant use before requiring a charge and it only takes 30 minutes to get a full charge.
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The packaging comes with three different sizes for ear tips, fitting almost all sizes.
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These earbuds provide decent sound without causing any discomfort while listening for long periods of time.
Between taking calls at the office or hitting the gym, every man needs a solid pair of wireless earbuds. While it's easy to jump on the bandwagon and grab a pair of apple AirPods (or even a black AirPod alternative), there's something to be said for men who aren't afraid to go against the norm.
Earfun is a little-known company that manufactures earbuds and headphones at a wide range of prices. Earfun's Free 1S wireless earbuds are anything but free, but they come close. If you're on the hunt for an affordable pair of earbuds, these might be the pair for you.
Bradley Hill for Men's Lifestyle
I came across these earbuds while in search of an affordable pair for myself. This review comes after several months of frequent use in different environments for varying lengths of time.
by EarFun
Connectivity
The earbuds connect via Bluetooth 5.0 as any good wireless pair of earbuds do. I use an iPhone 12 Max Pro, and they have no issues pairing. After the initial setup, they automatically connect to my iPhone every time I put them in my ear without fail.
I'm not sure if there's some kind of seniority when it comes to its connectivity, but even after pairing with my MSI laptop successfully, they connect to my phone every time. That's potentially good or frustrating, depending on your need at the time.
Bradley Hill for Men's Lifestyle
Since they pair with my laptop, I imagine they pair with almost anything else that uses Bluetooth. The only outlet on the case is the USB-C charging port, making sense of the fast recharge time.
Charging Time Is Fast
Bradley Hill for Men's Lifestyle
Earfun lists six hours as the earbuds' lifespan on a single charge and that is correct. I use the earbuds throughout the day and get a little over six hours. Simply throw those earbuds back into their case and wait 30 minutes for them to have a full charge.
Ten minutes of charging gives them a full two hours of playback time. Needless to say, they charge fast.
There's a row of four little bulbs on the front of the case, signifying the charging status of the case. When you open the case, the earbuds flash a red light to let you know that they're not paired with anything. Once they pair with a nearby device, the red light turns blue.
Additionally, the case does come with wireless charging capabilities, freeing you from searching out the charging cable when you're in a hurry.
Comfort For All Sizes
Bradley Hill for Men's Lifestyle
Earfun's 1S wireless earbuds come with three different earpiece membrane sizes. This is my favorite thing about this device. I don't know the size that works best for my ears, so having options is a good call.
You get your choice of small, medium, or large. The large ones come on the earbuds by default.
I only used the large ones for three or four uses before I switched to a smaller size. If I eat while using the large earpiece covers, the earbuds gradually slip out of my ear, and I constantly readjust them.
I use the medium-sized ones now, and they work best for me. I still readjust them from time to time, but only while I'm at the gym and it only happens once or twice. Otherwise, they don't fall out, as they're pretty snug. Even after wearing them for 45-60 minutes straight, they don't cause any discomfort.
That's not something I'm accustomed to. Whenever I use over-the-head headphones, I get headaches. They eventually dissipate once I take off the headphones, but I expected something similar with earbuds, except as an earache. No such thing with these.
Controls Like Magic
I didn't expect responsive touch controls from a pair of earbuds so affordable, but there they are. Don't expect anything too in-depth. They aren't as fancy as other earbuds out there that respond to gestures that don't even make contact with your fingers or hands. Each earbud comes with its own set of controls.
The EarFun app allows you to completely customize the controls for your earbuds. While everybody has different preferences, my controls are set up as such:
Right Ear:
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One tap — Volume up.
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Two taps — Pause/play the audio track.
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Three taps — Skip the audio track forward.
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Long press — Summon phone's voice assistant.
Left Ear:
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One Tap — Volume down.
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Two taps — Pause/play the audio track.
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Three taps — Skip audio tracks backward.
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Long press — Switch the audio to Game Mode.
My setup isn't the most intuitive and is in dire need of some remapping.
Sound
While the sound is decent enough, it's also its biggest drawback. The audio playing through the earbuds is good enough. It's what you expect from a pair of $20 earbuds. Don't purchase these expecting Bose-level audio quality.
The biggest issue is its noise isolation design. While it's helpful when walking around downtown or in a loud gym, they don't necessitate casual conversation with friends. If somebody tries talking to me with these in my ears, I'm unable to hear them, meaning I need to take them out.
However, I use these for music, watching TikTok, the occasional Zoom meeting, and Netflix, and there is never an issue. Audio is always in sync with the video, and everything comes through clearly. Keep the volume even at the halfway point and you don't hear anything other than your audio. I miss people at my door occasionally when using these earbuds.
I don't use these to make calls, but tech expert and writer for CNET David Carnoy does, and he says, "Don't expect business-class performance, particularly outdoors in noisy or windy environments, but they worked a little better than I expected outside. Callers said they could hear me OK without too much background noise drowning out the conversation."
Use these to listen to Fall Out Boy's July 2023 remake of "We Didn't Start The Fire" like I did, and you get goosebumps every time the chorus starts.
App Support
Bradley Hill for Men's Lifestyle
Earfun's audio app (available for Android and iOS) allows you to manage all of your EarFun devices more intricately than the earbuds themselves allow. It's easy to navigate with its basic layout and intuitive design.
When you first open the app, you see any devices connected to the app. Make sure they're not stored in their case; otherwise, it doesn't detect the device. Once you click on the device you wish to manage, you see the various options available.
As you see in the image above, the app tells you the battery life remaining in each earbud and the case. The EarFun Free 1S earbuds are basic earbuds, so you don't get all the different modes that come with more advanced earbuds. It only contains game mode, a setting that drops the latency and saves the battery life in order to give gamers more time in their game.
Bradley Hill for Men's Lifestyle
Within the setting, the app allows you to toy with an equalizer for your devices. If you know how you prefer your audio, there's the option to manually increase/decrease the bass or treble. If you're more like me, you choose one of the preset options and walk away.
Six bands cover a range from 62Hz to 15kHz, and the app allows you to save multiple profiles. Audiophiles, have yourself a field day. I'm a basic man and simply choose the easiest options.
Going to the gearwheel for overall settings allows you to change the name of your device and look up tutorials, as well as download any firmware updates.
by EarFun
Verdict on the EarFun Free 1S Wireless Earbuds
I give them a 7.2 out of 10. Despite coming with three different-sized silicone ear tips, I find myself needing to push them in periodically to stay in my ears. They might not be suitable for everyone, and if you're not a fan of the "in the ear canal" design, you're better off looking at another affordable pair.
The biggest issue is my inability to hear anyone clearly when I leave them in without music playing. You get what you pay for because I don't expect much better from a pair of budget friendly earbuds.
With that said, I'm satisfied with my purchase. I'll continue using them until they break or I lose them because the sound is pretty good, and they help me drown out background noise at the gym.
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