Edifier W820NB Plus Review

Edifier has some great wireless products that you don’t need to break the bank to be able to get. Recently, I’ve checked out some of their Bluetooth headphone options, like the WH950NB, and the WH500, which were enjoyable budget options for a good wireless sound. The W820NB is the most affordable Bluetooth ANC headphone that I’ve got to listen to. Its asking price is only $79.99, which is a price you won’t find on a lot of over-ear ANC headphones.

What You Get

• W820NB headphones
• USB Type C charging cable
• User Guide

Look & Feel

After testing a few other models from Edifier, it’s clear they have a certain aesthetic in mind when building their headphones. They like to have that elegant, sleek black design that is simple but classy. The parts are mostly plastic, but you really can’t expect more for the price. With that in mind, the headphones hold together pretty well, with a stable frame. They can be worn for hours too, as the headphones fit comfortably over your ears. The cushions provide good isolation with limited amounts of pressure.

Design & Functionality

The W820NB has a 40mm dynamic driver, which is able to sustain a solid output for your music. Not a lot of headroom is supplied but you can obtain a comfortable gain with your music without issue. Hybrid ANC also helps, with 38dB of reduced noise when activated. The strength of the noise-canceling is very good for the price, and even outperforms other headphones that cost significantly more. Like their other Bluetooth products, you can use Edifier’s companion app to access some extra features. There’s ambient sound, and game mode for low latency sound for gaming. You don’t get a full EQ, but you can switch between a few genre specific presets.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 5.0 is supplied here, and it carries a stable connection that won’t feature any dropouts. Only SBC is offered here for CODECs, which is your standard, but I would have like to see some form of aptX supplied here.

Battery Life 

While using ANC, you’ll be able to get around 33 hours of playback to enjoy. Impressively, the W820NB can give you around fifty total hours of listening time without ANC, which is incredible for eighty dollar headphones.

Soundstage

When I first started listening to the W820NB, I was impressed with how separated the instruments were. With its respectable width, the W820NB showcases clearly positioned instruments that are easier to localize than most Bluetooth headphones at this price. You won’t sense much depth in the performance but layers are displayed well throughout the soundstage. There is enough spatial imaging that the W820NB plays around with that structures the tracks in an interesting way. You really feel like the sound elements are being accurately portrayed in their own space, and I think that is very admirable for a Bluetooth headphone for less than a hundred dollars.

Low End 

You won’t get much thickness from the bass here, but the W820NB has more of a dynamic response than I was anticipating. It has a punch to it, but the tone isn’t as whole, lacking a considerable body that some listeners might be seeking out at this range. However, the sub-bass can reach down pretty far, offering a satisfying rumble in places. If these frequencies had more force behind them, I think this low-end could be spectacular. If you select the rock preset in the app, the timbre might come closer to how you might want it.

Mids

If the bass was missing some meatier elements, then the sound signature will make up for it in the midrange. The W820NB has a pretty solid body of tone here, and its frequency response remains consistently clean. Nothing about how instruments perform through these headphones feels artificial in any way. Everything comes through with some impressive transparency for a headphone like this. It feels like there is enough room for each individual element to express their clarity in a controlled environment. Nothing is relegated to the background, putting most sound elements on an even field.

 Highs

The highs don’t have much of a personality to them as the bass and mids, but still show an enjoyable response. The timbre is mostly smooth, but doesn’t roll-off too significantly. There are some details to take in, like the raised height of their placement in the mix. However, this is mostly a relaxed tone that just makes the sound signature that much easier to digest. Brightness takes a backseat, but so does texture and any other immersive elements that treble frequencies may bring you.

Summary

This is one of the best wireless headphones for less than a hundred dollars. The sound quality was not what I expected, and the W820NB is all the better for it. Its separation and midrange response is very engaging to listen to, while the bass and highs offer enough to really invigorate your listening experience. Noise-canceling and battery life also punch way above the price listing, making this a steal.

The Edifier W820NB is available at Audio46.