Edifier W320TN Earbuds Review – Affordable Apple AirPod Alternatives

Edifier launched the new W320TN open-fit ANC earbuds at the start of September, which appear to be the successor to the W220T which was launched last year.

These have a semi-open fit design which lacks the silicon eartips most earbuds have, and this gives them a similar design to Apple Airpods.

This style of earbud tends to have mixed opinions, but if you prefer the open-fit design, these are an excellent, more affordable alternative compared to Apple AirPods or Huawei FreeBuds.

Preview	Product	Rating	Price
	Edifier W320TN Adaptive Active Noise Cancelling Earbuds,...	No ratings yet	£99.99	Buy on Amazon

Edifier W320TN vs W220T Specification

The Edifier W320TN Earbuds are packed with some excellent features. They boast of Bluetooth 5.3 protocol, LDAC for high-quality audio, and IP54 environmental protection. The earbuds have a playtime of up to 5.5 hours, which can be extended to 22 hours with the charging case when ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) is off. A full charge takes about an hour for the buds and one and a half hours for the case.

The main differences between the W320TN and the W220T are:

• The W220T use a Qualcomm Snapdragon QCC3056 chipset, which allows them to use the aptX and aptX Adaptive codecs, which provide superior quality audio and lower latency vs the SBC codec.
• The W320TN uses a different chipset that utilises the Sony LDAC codec, which is a higher resolution codec than aptX but with a higher latency.
• The W220T lacks active noise cancelling, whereas the W320TN has adaptive active noise cancellation, and Edifier claims they have AI adaptive environmental noise cancellation.
• The W220T has 6 hours battery life, whereas the W220T has 5.5 hours with the ANC off and just 3.5 hours with ANC on.
• Both earbuds have the same 13mm dynamic drivers, frequency response, and output sound pressure, so I would guess the audio components are the same.  

Open Fit Design and Comfort

The W320TN earbuds open-fit design is the defining feature of these earbuds. From my experience, you either love or hate this design.      

I am personally not a fan because I have never had a pair of earbuds with this design that I find fits securely in my ears. On the other hand, my partner prefers this design and has always been loyal to Apple Airpods as she finds them fit comfortably in her ears.

For me, with these earbuds, they fit OK when I am sitting around or walking, and I do appreciate the comfort this design offers. There isn’t the same sense of pressure, and they are definitely more comfortable to wear for extended periods.

For anything more vigorous than walking, I am less confident wearing them. They stay reasonably well in my ear for most activities. It is just that sense of looseness that I find quite distracting when doing fitness, as I am paranoid they will fall out.

Edifier Connect App

The Edifier Connect App is a handy tool that allows you to customise your listening experience with all recent Edifier earbuds being compatible with it.

It enables you to tailor your audio with some basic pre-set EQ options, you can customise the touch controls, and enable the high-resolution LDAC codec and many other settings.

Sound Quality

The open-fit design is naturally at a disadvantage in sound quality compared to traditional earbuds with silicon ear tips. The seal that is created with the tips improves passive noise cancellation and improves the bass response. Therefore, open-fit earbuds typically don’t have the same rich, deep lows.

Companies like Edifier try to counter this by using large drivers. These have a massive 13mm dynamic driver, whereas earbuds like the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 have just a 10mm driver (even this is large compared to many brands).

The end result is that the sound quality of the W320TN Earbuds is generally excellent. Some may even prefer the sound signature of these earbuds as they don’t have the overwhelming bass levels many earbuds have nowadays.

I’d say the sound signature has much more focus on the mids, and I find this provides an enjoyable listening experience. Thankfully, there is not too much uplift with the highs, so I don’t find them too sharp. The end result is almost the opposite of the ubiquitous V-shaped sound signature. I would say these are closer to being balanced; they may even verge onto analytical, just without the elevated highs.

The LDAC audio codec needs to be enabled within the settings of the Edifier Connect app. You have a choice of

Active Noise Cancellation

One of the standout features of the W320TN earbuds in comparison to the older W220T is the Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation (ANC).

Once again, the open fit design doesn’t really compliment ANC very well, as these don’t benefit from any passive noise cancellation.

Using my standard synthetic test of playing airplane cabin white noise on my Edifier S3000 Pro speakers with the volume set to 80%, the earbuds did a better job than expected at reducing the noise.

I did find that I needed to make sure the earbuds were as snugly fit inside my ears as possible, but switching the adaptive ANC on provides a significant reduction in the noise. Likely due to the adaptive nature, I found that the ANC takes a second or two to kick in properly, but it does a surprisingly good job of removing the most intrusive low-end frequencies.

It does leave most of the high-end hiss, which is typically blocked out with the passive seal of normal earbuds. With no music playing, this does leave a very audible hiss, but with music playing, it almost completely drowned out.

The main thing with the ANC is that it does a good job of reducing the noise level enough so that I can enjoy listening to the earbuds without cranking up the volume too high.

Battery

I recently criticised the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 for their relatively poor battery life when using them with ANC on.

Unfortunately, the W320TN are even worse. The official specification states:

• ANC On: 3.5 hours
• ANC Off: 5.5 hours

I personally don’t think a 3.5-hour battery life is acceptable. I would guess that Edifier has chosen to sacrifice battery life in favour of larger-than-standard drivers and the power-hungry LDAC codec.

In defence of the W320TN, the AirPods (3rd generation), which lack ANC, only have a battery life of 6 hours, or 5 hours with Personalised Spatial Audio enabled. The recently launched Huawei FreeBuds 4 can only do 3.5 hours with the ANC enabled.

Similar to the TWS1 Pro 2 review, these seem to achieve the rated battery life, whereas I have found some LDAC-equipped earbuds fall well short of the quoted figures with LDAC on.

Microphone

The microphone performance of the W320TN Earbuds is noteworthy. They come with 3+3 microphones with AI Adaptive Environmental Noise Cancellation, ensuring that your voice comes across as clear as a bell in calls, even in noisy environments.

Price and Alternative Options

Preview	Product	Rating	Price
	Edifier W320TN Adaptive Active Noise Cancelling Earbuds,...	No ratings yet	£99.99	Buy on Amazon

The Edifier W320TN have an RRP of £99.99

The AirPods (3rd generation) are priced at £170. They lack ANC but feature spatial audio.

You can find the older Edifier W220T in Blue for around £70.

The new Huawei FreeBuds 5, which are also open fit with ANC and LDAC, are £139, or the older Huawei FreeBuds 4 are available for around £128.

James Smythe( Editor-in-chief )

I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.

As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.

In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.

I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.

Last update on 2024-04-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API