Beijing-based Edifier built a reputation for producing high-quality speakers and headphones. Now, with the upcoming release of its Neobuds Pro hi-res, wireless, noise-canceling earbuds, it looks hungry to capture market share from top contenders like Apple’s AirPods Pro and Sony’s new WF-100XM4.
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In Cult of Mac‘s ongoing coverage of people’s interesting computer setups, Edifier has made a few appearances. The brand usually shows up in the context of bookshelf speakers. But sometimes it makes the grade when the story’s setup-builder is clearly an audiophile.
Edifier earbuds for some sound mavens, not all
And there’s good reason to think the new Neobuds Pro earbuds may befit a budding audiophile. But for much less money than they’d have to spend on most high-end, noise-canceling wireless earbuds.
“The Neobuds Pro are the first hi-res-certified, noise-canceling, truly wireless earphones in the market that boast a dynamic driver, Knowles balanced armature, and LHDC+ACC codec,” the company said.
One catch as far as actually experiencing the highest-level audio quality has more to do with people’s smartphones, however. Most big smartphone brands sold in the United States don’t yet support the necessary Low Latency High-Definition Audio Codec (LHDC) for Bluetooth, according to a detailed report in Digital Trends.
Available for $99 by August
Edifier’s new Neobuds Pro wireless earbuds are available to preorder on crowdfunding site Indiegogo for $99 (some early-bird spots are still available at $89). About a month remains in the Indiegogo campaign. Shipping is expected to start around the end of July.
It appears the regular price will be about $149, with availability starting on sites like Amazon several weeks later.
Just to compare, Sony’s widely admired new WF-1000XM4 wireless earbuds go for about three times the price, at about $279.99. AirPods Pro often range from about $200 to $249.
