Edifier W830NB Review

If you’re in the market for Bluetooth headphones, you might have a hard time finding something in your budget. Edifier has put out a few inexpensive wireless headphones and has now released a rare sub-hundred-dollar option. The W830NB is a follow-up to Edifier’s W820NB which was also the same price. There was a lot I liked about the W820NB as an economical Bluetooth option, but a few things they could improve. Does the W830NB make those improvements?

What You Get

• W830NB headphones
• USB-C charging cable
• User guide

Look & Feel

Edifier’s headphones tend to have a similar design no matter the price, which seems to work out well. Their designs are simple but sleek, with soft earpads that make for a comfortable fit. The W830NB is no different, featuring an elegant look and that same secure fit that should give you comfortable listening for many hours.

Design & Functionality

The W830NB uses a 40m dynamic driver with an independent acoustic chamber layout. This will lay some interesting sound results, but the main concern here is the output level. You get some solid loudness here, and the headphones do an okay job making sure you reach a comfortable volume with headroom to spare. Noise-canceling helps too, and the W830NB has a few different modes you can cycle through. There’s high, medium, wind reduction, and ambient sound. Its strongest noise-canceling does its job considering the price. You can switch between these modes using Edifier’s companion app, which also houses an EQ and spatial audio.

Bluetooth

Edifier has upgraded the Bluetooth capabilities from their last model, now featuring Bluetooth version 5.4. The W830NB also features LDAC, making it one of the least expensive options to feature the higher-end CODEC.

Battery Life

Wireless headphones have been getting serious about boosting playtime, and the W830NB is the most impressive I’ve seen. It advertised a monumental 94 hours of battery life, outdoing the Sennheiser Momentum 4, which originally led the market. The W830NB is a much less expensive headphone than that, which makes this all the more impressive.

Soundstage

There’s more to the soundstage on the W830NB compared to a lot of budget wireless headphones. It’s not enough to wow you, but the lengths to which Edifier goes to provide a satisfying width are appreciated. The W830NB also features some nice depth, where the vocals come forward, and the music doesn’t feel like it’s sitting on a flat plain. While the soundstage and spatial imaging are still fairly limited, the W830NB does the most with the space it can. Surprisingly, its natural stereo environment is more immersive than its virtual 3D soundstage. In spatial audio mode, the W830NB feels narrower than the larger scope of the stereo field. It also solidifies the imaging in the center of the stage, lacking real movement and accurate positioning. Nothing about the spatial mode presentation feels 3D compared to other Bluetooth headphones that use Dirac or Sony 360 Reality Audio.

Low End

The low frequencies are pretty nimble without EQ, or the “Heavy Bass” preset. It’s clearly missing a bottom-end foundation, but with EQ, the bass takes on a completely different character. While it shouldn’t be expected to be realistic, the bass becomes energetic enough to have fun with. Most of its timbre will consist of a mid-bass thump, but it’s a thick tone that balances well with the rest of the mix.

Mids

You can set the EQ to put the mids in a good place. Of course, you’re not going to get the best detail out of a sub-hundred dollar pair of Bluetooth headphones, but the W830NB maintains a solid surface of midrange presence. Vocals give you the most clarity, and most instruments appear full while staying out of the background.

Highs

The highs are slightly elevated over the mids but still remain on a very linear surface. Certain height is shown well, and the overall timbre is smooth so you don’t have to worry about brightness unless you use the EQ.

Summary

There’s not much to criticize the W830NB for with that eighty-dollar price tag, but it holds up in its own right. It makes every improvement it could make from the last model, increasing its Bluetooth and battery life capabilities significantly. 94 hours for eighty dollars might even be all you need to convince you. Sound-wise, the W830NB isn’t perfect, but it’s easy to find enjoyment with if you use EQ. Overall, this is more than a solid option for the price, offering many features you usually need to pay more for.

The Edifier W830NB is available on Amazon.