EarFun Wave Life Review: Comfort Doesn’t Save Awful Sound
EarFun Wave Life offers comfort and long battery life, but poor sound quality makes them hard to recommend. Read our full review.
Looking for affordable wireless headphones? The EarFun Wave Life offers a low price, Bluetooth 5.4, and comfortable design. They also have decent call quality.
But the sound quality isn’t great, making them hard to recommend even at $79/$59.
Are they still good for casual use? Let’s find out in this review.
EarFun Wave Life: Full Specifications
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Price | $59 / £59 (often discounted from $79 / £79) |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C (no 3.5mm jack) |
| Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) | Yes (but weak performance) |
| Battery Life | 60 hours (without ANC), 37 hours (with ANC) |
| Weight | 8.9 ounces |
| Drivers | 40mm dynamic drivers |
| Dimensions | 8.2 x 7.8 x 1.9 inches |
| Colors | Black |
| Compatibility | iOS, Android, USB-C playback |
| Controls | Physical buttons for ANC, power, volume, track skip |
| Wireless Range | Up to 320 feet |
| Dual Device Connection | Yes (manual setup via the EarFun Audio app) |
| Customizable EQ | Yes (via EarFun Audio app) |
| Wired Mode | Yes, via USB-C cable (no standard AUX input) |
| App Features | EQ adjustment, button customization, dual-device pairing |
| Build & Design | Lightweight plastic body, 90° rotatable ear cups |
| Comfort | Soft ear cushions, lightweight but questionable durability |
| Microphone Quality | Decent for calls, minor distortion on sharp sounds |
| Noise Cancellation Performance | Poor; does not effectively block ambient noise |
| Sound Quality | Muffled, tinny, weak bass, and distorted mids |
| Best Use Case | Casual listening, basic calls |
| Alternatives | JLab JBuds Lux ANC ($79, much better sound & ANC) |
| Final Verdict | Affordable, but weak sound & ANC make it hard to recommend |
EarFun Wave Life Review: Pricing and availability
The EarFun Wave Life headphones are positioned as budget-friendly wireless headphones, but their pricing can be misleading. While the official list price is $79 on Amazon U.S. and £79 on Amazon U.K., they are almost always available for $59 and £55, respectively.
At $59, these headphones are among the cheapest wireless options available. However, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. In comparison, the $79 JLab JBuds Lux ANC deliver far superior performance making them a better value despite the slightly higher price.
While EarFun has produced decent budget earbuds in the past, the Wave Life headphones struggle with tinny sound, weak bass and muffled mids—issues that were also present in the Wave Pro model. The lower price may make them appealing but audio quality remains a major drawback.
EarFun Wave Life Review: Design, Comfort and Controls
EarFun Wave Life headphones have a basic design that is not very exciting. They look like cheaper version of Sony WH-1000XM5 with plastic ear cups and buttons that get dusty easily. The ear cups can turn 90° to make storage easier and soft padding makes them comfortable to wear for a long time.
The headphones have buttons for noise cancellation (ANC), power and volume. You can also skip songs by holding the volume-up button. You can change the controls using the EarFun Audio app, but the default settings work fine.
One problem is that the mesh on the ear cups feels weak, and I could feel the speaker parts through the padding. This does not change the sound, but it makes me worry about how strong the headphones are.
The headphones are light, which makes them easy to wear, but they might not be very durable.
EarFun Wave Life Review: Key Features and Connectivity Options
The EarFun Wave Life headphones offer a few useful features, including Bluetooth 5.4, which provides an impressive range. I was able to stay connected to my phone from nearly 320 feet away, making the wireless performance a standout feature.
These headphones also support dual device connectivity, allowing you to pair them with your phone and laptop simultaneously. However, enabling this feature isn’t automatic—you’ll need to long-press the ANC button and manage the connection in the EarFun Audio app.
For wired listening, the Wave Life headphones use a USB-C cable instead of the standard 3.5mm audio jack. While this is an option, the included USB-C cable is short and stiff, making it inconvenient for regular use.
A customizable EQ is available in the app, which lets you tweak the sound profile. Unfortunately, the default sound quality is poor, and even with adjustments, the EQ struggles to fix the weak audio performance. Most users may not even realize they can adjust the sound, which raises the question—why didn’t EarFun just optimize the default tuning?
EarFun Wave Life Review: Noise Cancellation Performance
EarFun Wave Life headphones’ active noise cancellation (ANC) is bad. Performance is bad even though EarFun claims to filter out 94% of background noise.
During testing, I played music at a moderate volume and could still hear voices and background noise clearly. Even with ANC on, external sounds weren’t blocked effectively.
Strangely, the ‘Normal’ mode didn’t just turn ANC off—it actually made air conditioning and background hums even louder. There’s also no true ANC off option, meaning you’re stuck with these audio issues no matter what mode you choose.
For those looking for solid noise cancellation, the Wave Life’s ANC won’t meet expectations.
EarFun Wave Life Review: Sound Quality and Performance
The EarFun Wave Life headphones have terrible sound quality, making them one of the worst-sounding headphones I’ve tested. The audio is muffled, tinny, and muddy, with almost no bass to speak of.
I was so shocked by the poor sound that I had others in the office try them—and they all winced at the audio. Music sounds as if it’s playing underwater, with distortion across all frequencies.
The same disappointing results were confirmed by testing a variety of songs in different genres. Wave Life headphones have trouble with clarity, bass, and balance when listening to rock, house, or high-resolution music on Qobuz. Lowering the bass in the EarFun Audio app lessened muddiness but added an intolerable tinniness, so adjusting the EQ settings didn’t really help.
Compared to EarFun’s Wave Pro headphones, which already had subpar sound, the Wave Life is even worse. At $59, they may be cheap, but better options exist in the same price range.
EarFun Wave Life Review: Microphone and Call Quality
The EarFun Wave Life headphones offer decent mic quality, making speech audible and clear during calls. While testing, my voice came through well, though there was some fuzziness on sharp sounds like “s” and “z.”
Compared to premium earbuds like the AirPods Pro 2, the clarity isn’t as refined, but for basic calls, the Wave Life gets the job done. However, call quality alone isn’t a reason to buy these headphones—especially given their lackluster audio performance overall.
EarFun Wave Life Review: App Features & Customization
The EarFun Audio app lets you customize the EQ, touch controls, and dual device connection for the Wave Life headphones. It’s simple to use and helps improve the listening experience—though it can’t fully fix the poor sound quality.
Unlike premium apps with sophisticated features, EarFun app concentrates on the essentials and makes it simple for users to adjust settings. Either muddiness or tinniness can be decreased by EQ adjustment, but not both simultaneously. While the app adds some flexibility, it doesn’t completely save the headphones’ audio performance.
EarFun Wave Life Review: Battery Life & Charging
The EarFun Wave Life headphones offer up to 60 hours of battery life without ANC and 37 hours with ANC, which is decent for budget headphones. While not the longest-lasting, they still compete well, though models like the JLabs JBuds Lux ANC (70 hours) and Marshall Monitor III (70 hours with ANC) last longer.
Charging is simple via USB-C, and the red charging indicator light lets you know when they’re powered up. Since the same USB-C port is used for wired playback, it adds convenience—but also means you can’t charge while listening this way.
Pros and Cons of EarFun Wave Life
| Pros ✅ | Cons ❌ |
|---|---|
| Bluetooth 5.4 provides excellent range and stable connection | Wired playback further degrades sound quality |
| Comfortable ear cups for long listening sessions | Tinny sound without bass EQ |
| ✅ | Muffled and muddy audio with bass EQ |
| ✅ | Distorted sound across most frequencies |
Conclusion
I can’t recommend the EarFun Wave Life headphones. Unless you desperately need a pair and don’t care about sound quality, these aren’t worth it. And honestly, if that’s the case, would you even be reading this review?
The only good thing about them is comfort. Beyond that, the sound quality is terrible—muffled, tinny and distorted. Everyone who tested them had the same reaction: disappointment.
If you’re looking for budget headphones, skip these and check out the JLab JBuds Lux ANC instead.
