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0 Edifier really don’t need any introduction. Here at Thumb Culture, we’re big fans. They seem to be churning out so many new audio devices I’m struggling to keep up! Trying to choose that new set of earbuds though can seem so daunting. There are just so many out there where do you even begin?
Thankfully, the Edifier R1 aren’t your run of the mill earbuds. They are open-ear earbuds, at a budget friendly price point of only £59.99. Intrigued? Read on to find out what makes these so unique.
Bud-get Smart, Ear-resistible Comfort
If you love all things tech and audio, feel free to check out some of our previous hardware reviews here.
Design
Edifier designs are often wildly varied. They’re not afraid of going bold, as much as they’re happy to offer a traditional aesthetic. The R1 fits the latter category, in a sense it’s a very minimalist design. Available in an array of colours. Black, Starlight, Green, Pink, Grey and Ivory, I was sent an Ivory set for this review.
Upon unboxing, we are greeted with a plain cardboard box, the R1 earbuds, an instruction manual and a short USB-C to USB-A cable for charging. Whilst the unboxing experience is not a stand out feature here, for the price I can forgive Edifier that.
The case housing the earbuds has an incredibly smooth glossy, almost pebble like texture. Which on first look I thought oh here comes a finger print magnet. But I was happy to admit I was completely wrong. It has a really satisfying texture to it and leaves absolutely no fingerprints whatsoever! Not sure how Edifier have managed it but I love it. The curved edges on the case make sliding it into your pocket a breeze as well. On the front of the case is a subtle Edifier logo and a charging / battery led indicator. Whilst on the back there is the USB-C port and a Bluetooth syncing button.
The earbuds themselves have that same smooth glossy feel to them. But they use a rubbery silicone material allowing them to grip your ears and not move when being worn. From rigorous testing this works a treat. You feel like they are going to fall off but they never move a whisker. Something that hikers and runners will certainly appreciate. The overall build quality feels excellent and certainly one built to last.
Comfort
The Edifier R1’s are ridiculously comfortable to wear. Because they are open ear buds, they don’t ever sit inside your ear. Rather, just on it. Using directional technology to drive the sound into your ears. Weighing approximately 5.8g each, after merely 5 minutes of listening, you completely forget you are wearing anything at all.
The R1 have an IP 56 rating, meaning they can withstand dust ingress and jets of water from all directions. Just don’t submerse them in water! Although not to worry if you do get them a little wet as they have a cool drainage feature. More on that below.
Control
To further advance the control functions of the Edifier R1 you need the Edifier ConneX app. Somewhat frustratingly this is a different app to the Edifier Connect app which we have used multiple times before when reviewing other Edifier earbuds and speakers. I’m not really sure why there are 2 apps serving an almost identical purpose for different devices. It would be nice to see them merge into one uniform app.
The ConneX app does have a plethora of good features though. There’s a wearing instructions demo, drainage function, control settings, tap sensitivity, wearing detection, find my product feature, prompt tones and power off schedules.
The drainage feature is one that immediately stood out. I’ve never come across this feature before and it’s certainly innovative. The idea is if your earbuds get too wet, whether from sweat or rain you can select this feature and the earbuds vibrate at such a rate it expels any water that has found its way through the mesh of the buds. Cool huh?! Well, I thought so.
The touch controls on the Edifier R1 I found to be good once you’ve found the exact spot you need to press. Thankfully there is that nifty feature in the Edifier ConneX app where you can adjust the touch sensitivity. Even turn it right down completely for those uninterrupted gym sessions. There are unfortunately only double and triple tap options so it is a little limited. I would have liked to see a single tap option at least.
Detection
The wear detection on the R1 is excellent. As soon as you remove either earbud the music pauses instantly. Starting up again if you choose as soon as you clip it back over your ear.
One other really cool feature is the smart auto channel detection. Using a three-axis sensor they automatically detect which earbud goes in which ear. Meaning no left or right earbud. They simply recognise whichever one you are using. Making them completely interchangeable. The “find my product” feature is becoming more popular in earbuds nowadays and I think it’s great. Press to find and the earbuds let off an extremely loud beep enabling you to easily locate them.
There is obviously no ANC here as they are open ear buds. Noise isolation will obviously be pretty poor as well. But that’s not the purpose of the Edifier R1. They are designed to be worn whilst simultaneously staying in touch with your surroundings. Being able to hear the faint buzz of the traffic or converse with your friends while at the same time listening to your favourite music, podcast or audio book is something I love.
In the ConneX app there are options for game mode, improving latency. Along with Classic, Bass Boost, Vocal and Treble Boost sound effects. There isn’t an EQ though which I think is a little unfortunate and something I’d personally like to have.
Connection
The Edifier R1 have a solid 28 hours of battery life from the case. Managing 7 hours of playtime from the earbuds on a single charge. There isn’t a wireless charging option, however there is fast-charging via the supplied USB-C cable. A quick 15-minute charge will give you an excellent 3 hours of runtime. With a full charge taking about an hour.
The R1 have multi point connection, allowing the user to connect to 2 simultaneous devices and seamlessly switch between them. At least in practice that’s what it’s supposed to do. It does work, but I wouldn’t call it seamless. It seems to require you to have to pause the stream on one device before switching to the other. Not something that is needed on other multi point connection devices I’ve tried.
The Edifier R1 at the time of writing has the latest Bluetooth version 5.4. They only support the codecs SBC and AAC. This is a bit of a shame as many others even at this price point are offering higher resolution codecs.
Performance
The Edifier R1 feature 12mm dynamic drivers. With a frequency response of 20Hz-20Khz. I would now normally go into loads of detail on subjective sound. However, I feel that being open ear buds at a £59.99 rrp these are clearly sacrificing quite a bit of quality over function when it comes to sound. I therefore went into this review with an open mind and with the intended user in mind.
If you are after deep bass or rich sound. Maybe even to be sat in a quiet environment enjoying the quality of sound produced, these are not for you. Or if you are after ANC earbuds to block out noisy environments the same applies. Who then are these for you might ask? Well, for the few weeks I have had them they have been used nearly every day. Out walking the dog for hours at a time, visiting busy cafes and restaurants, going on 10-20km runs and designing and constructing gardens for my day job. They have been a complete surprise to me.
Sound
The sound is definitely lacking any bass at all. It has little to no depth, the vocals are clear if sometimes sibilant, the treble is pleasant if a little harsh at times. Yet despite all this I’ve actually enjoyed my time with the Edifier R1. How you might ask?! Well having been so used to ANC earbuds for so long and constantly having to switch to ambient sound modes so I can hear people or hear road noise during my listening. These have been a breath of fresh air. Not having to worry if I need to hear someone or something, I can listen to my music or podcasts without having to stop and pause all the time.
The sound is absolutely enough for the intended use, albeit I would appreciate some bass. Bose manage to offer it with their Ultra Open earbuds, but the price is an eye watering five times higher than these so I can’t complain too much. The Mids I’d say are the best part of the R1. Instruments are presented really well. Particularly acoustic performances. There’s a nice smooth, almost warm delivery across the midrange that is noticeable through most genres. If you listen to podcasts and audio books these will not disappoint at all. Spoken word comes across clear and concise.
One massive plus is the volume levels. Even at just over 50% the audio levels are plenty loud enough with no distortion apparent even when really pushed. Something that I can’t say of other budget earbuds. Even at those loud volumes, thanks to the directional drivers, sound leakage is surprisingly kept to a minimum.
Microphone
Call and microphone quality on the R1 is, well not bad. Speech is clear and easily distinguishable. Thanks to there being a mic in each earbud, directional pickup is excellent. There really isn’t much to dislike and the clarity is good enough, especially in quiet environments. They use an AI algorithm to help filter out noises and keep calls clear. This does work and you can hear it working when out and about chatting to people. For 75% of daily usage, it did a commendable job. Only in really busy environments like bustling cafes and restaurants did it start to struggle. I could hear it trying to filter the background noises but often words were lost and had to be repeated as it struggled.
Final Thoughts
In summary then, is the Edifier R1 worth it?
Well, in my opinion despite its flaws yes, it is. If you’re after something that is ridiculously comfortable to use whilst out and about in the daily grind. Whether using it at the gym, out running or hiking. Or if on the daily commute, wanting to be aware of your surroundings. The R1 provide an ease of use that is hard to find, especially at this price point. They may sacrifice some quality for usability. But the comfort, feature set and price are enough for me to recommend them.
The Edifier R1 earn the Thumb Culture Silver Award!
Disclaimer: A sample was received in order to write this review.
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