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0 Do not let the simplistic and subtle design fool you. In a world where earbuds are more commonplace, do these very affordable Edifier W820NB Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Stereo Headphones offer a lot of bang for the buck?
Now, Edifier claims that these headphones last up to 49 hours on a single charge. So, we extensively put them through their paces.
Take a look at what we thought below.
Design and Control
Let’s get straight to the point on design. The Edifier W820NB doesn’t do anything fancy with its design, and it doesn’t need to. They are available in 4 colours; black, grey, white, and icy blue. The Headset is simple, clean, and weighs in at about 215 grams making them fairly lightweight and very comfortable. The cups swivel at 90 degrees making them flat, ideal for packing into your bag for work or school. With the thickly padded cups and lightweight design, means they can be worn for hours without any discomfort.
The cups extend fairly liberally too, leaving ample room for the megaminds of us all. I was surprised by just how comfortable they were considering the generous price point.
Physical controls on the headset are minimal too with the power button positioned in the centre of the volume rocker and a Bluetooth button. Positioning of the controls is well placed with everything easily accessible with your right thumb. Each of these buttons performs various other tasks too depending on your activity.
The Bluetooth button also lets you toggle between ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) and Ambient Sound modes. Long pressing the volume buttons will allow you to skip or go back to the previous track accordingly. A single click of the power button will also allow you to pick up and hang up a call.
Of course, everything in this day and age needs a companion app, and the Edifier W820NB is no different. The app will let you control the headset in terms of ANC and Ambient Noise but not a lot else. There is the additional Game Mode (in the app) which allows a lower latency for those into their mobile gaming.
I do feel like some preset and a customisable EQ would have been nice here, as Edifier does have that functionality on other devices. but, for the price point, it’s not a complaint at all because they still sounded great whether I was listening to classical or metal. 
Overall I was very happy with the comfort the Edifier W820NB had to offer and the level of control available.
Connection
The package comes with a USB-C charging cable and will connect via Bluetooth v5.0. This version of Bluetooth is still very stable as I experienced no drop-out at all while walking around my home using them.
A full charge of this headset will take about 1.5 hours. This is very impressive considering that it allows a battery life of 49 hours with ANC off, and 29 with ANC on. I listen to a lot of music and with an average listening time of about 3 hours a day, I found myself charging every 7 days while using the ANC.
While I was using the headset on an Android device, I didn’t really experience any issues considering it uses the lesser quality SBC codec.
Sound and Performance
I listen to so many genres of music where lower and higher-end frequencies are important. I was pleasantly surprised at how capable the Edifier W820NB was at handling the balance considering there is no customisable EQ. Sometimes I felt they were a little bass-heavy or the mids had been scooped out but overall, the quality was excellent. Even at higher volumes, there was no crackling in the tweeters or anything like that, just crystal-clear tunes. From the clarity of the high frequencies of Vivaldi to the low-detuned rumblings of Amon Amarth, the Edifier W820NB handled them all cleanly.
When recording and mixing my own music I was able to mix with precision as the headset allowed me to. They are by no means meant for pro recording, but they do a good enough job for me to produce the music I like.
The ANC, for the most part, worked fairly well. I would walk through high-traffic areas and it muted the sound with ease. But, for some reason whenever the wind blew, it seemed to be amplified. Living in a seaside town this became a bit of an annoyance so on windy days I would listen with the ANC turned off.
I used the Edifier W820NB for Microsoft Teams meetings and made a few phone calls too. Apparently, my voice came through clear as a bell, and likewise for me listening to others so no issues there.
Final Thoughts
The Edifier W820NB has so much going for it, for its price point. The design and superb comfort coupled with a superior battery life means you can listen for hours without them ever feeling like they’re clamping your head too much.
The balance of frequencies was more than satisfactory. The only real niggle I had was the ANC wasn’t quite up to scratch. I mean, it was good but still let a little too much nose in. But, this is only a minor issue and if you can tolerate it, this headset would be a worthy addition to your audio peripherals. It goes to show that good-quality audio does not have to break the bank.
The Edifier W820NB gets the Thumb Culture Gold Award from me!
Disclaimer: A product sample was received in order to write this review.
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