Best ANC Headphones Under £200?
My 1-Month Review of the Edifier WH950NB Headphones
I wanted to start this review by saying WOW!
These are really good! But I feel that that would be a bit a bit of a short review, but to be truthfully honest, I couldn’t help myself as these are incredibly good!
The Google Pixel Buds Pro have been my main go-to earbuds for well over 6 months, but that changed around a month ago when I got sent the Edifier WH950NB headphones to try out. (This isn’t a sponsored post).
The Edifier WH950NB are usually sold for £179.99 on Amazon in the UK, which I think is a pretty decent price because you really are getting a lot here!
But are these really worth it and have my thoughts and feelings changed since my first review?
Design and Comfort
I wanted to start this review by talking about the design and comfort. I mean they really are a stunning set of headphones. I absolutely love the leather effect and the premium feel these have to offer.
To make things even better, Edifier has decided to include a premium-looking case which looks strong on the outside but feels nice and soft on the inside providing your headphones with a perfect layer of protection.
In terms of comfort, they really are a comfortable set of headphones, and that’s coming from someone who wears glasses. The earcups feel nice and soft and I don’t feel anything pressing against my ears or my head.
To make them feel even more comfortable, the top of the headband is fitted with a soft cushion which makes them even more comfortable to wear. Put it this way, I know of several manufacturers which haven’t perfected their headbands to such an extent, as Edifier have with these!
Yes, I’m talking about you Microsoft, on your future set of Microsoft Surface Headphones, you need to make the headband more comfortable!
Sound Quality
The next thing I wanted to talk about is the sound quality, after all, if you’re spending that kind of money on headphones, you want them to sound good right?
Before we start talking about sound quality, I just wanted to mention that we all have different preferences when it comes to sound. I like there to be a decent amount of bass but I also want to be able to hear all the other instruments clearly, but I know that some may not like that.
To cut to the chase, I think that these sound incredible, you can really hear the instruments clearly and if you combine that with the bass, it’s perfection.
Although, one thing that I will mention is that I don’t find these headphones naturally bassy in their default settings. But if the song you are listening to is bassy in general, you really do get treated. I just wish they had slightly more bass in general.
In terms of vocals, I think that they are clear, making them perfect for listening to audiobooks and podcasts.
I also think that the Mic sounds great, but you’ll have to check out my YouTube video to get a better overall impression.
But with that in mind, I’ve used them for online meetings as well as phone calls and I didn’t get any complaints, in fact, people seem to like the quality when I asked.
Other Useful Features
Comfort and sound quality are important when it comes to buying headphones, but the Edifier WH950NB are a lot more than that. They are packed full of useful features which set them apart from other headphones on the market.
Active Noise-Cancellation (ANC)
I wanted to start this section talking about ANC because it’s incredible on these!
As part of my full-time job, I tend to travel a lot using public transport and that involves spending a lot of time working from busy trains or cafes. It also involves spending a lot of time in areas that are generally noisy.
To cut a long story short, having used the Edifier WH950NB in these scenarios, I think that they coped incredibly well.
I mean, my local train tracks aren’t electrified, which means that we have a lot of incredibly loud diesel trains operating from the station. That gives me a great opportunity for testing ANC headphones.
When a diesel train sets off it can be incredibly loud and so far no headphones or earbuds that I’ve tested were able to fully block out the noise. But the WH950NB coped incredibly well under those unusual circumstances.
The headphones offer two modes of noise cancellation including low noise cancellation and high noise cancellation. I find low noise cancellation to be perfect for working in the office or for when you are listening out for announcements on the train and high noise cancellation for when you just want to settle down distraction-free.
They also offer wind reduction which is perfect for those long walks.
Ambient Mode
Ambient mode is another important feature for headphones to have, especially if they feature ANC.
I find the ambient mode on the Edifier WH950NB to be good, I mean within a few clicks of the mode button, you can enable ambient sound without taking your headphones off, which if you are walking and carrying a coffee in your other hand can be very useful.
I tend to use ambient sound in a number of scenarios, such as walking down a busy road or when I’m at a shop or buying a drink in the cafe and it tends to work really well in those scenarios.
But, where the ambient sound proves to be incredibly useful is during meetings and phone calls, where you want to make sure you’re not talking too loud and you want to be able to hear the things around you.
Overall, I think it’s fair to say that I am incredibly satisfied with what the ambient mode has to offer, it hasn’t let me down on a single occasion as of yet.
Multipoint Bluetooth
This is another incredibly useful feature that I seriously think more headphones should have. It allows you to connect to two devices at the same time, which can be extremely useful at work.
I usually have my headphones connected to my phone as well as my work laptop or my iPad, that way I can listen to music from my laptop and when a call comes in on my phone, I can just answer it without having to take my headphones off or disconnect them from my laptop and connect them to my phone again.
It really is a great feature to have, especially if you are planning to use them for work!
Multipoint tends to work really well on the Edifier WH950NB and I haven’t experienced any issues with this feature yet.
The Edifier Connect App
The Edifier WH950NB are compatible with the Edifier Connect app, which I think is a well thought of app.
The app allows you to switch between the ANC modes on the first page and if you swipe to the next page it allows you to choose between Classic and Dynamic modes as well as a well-built custom EQ.
If we swipe again we can switch between music mode, game mode as well as theater mode.
On Android, the app also comes with a pretty handy widget that allows you to switch between the modes, which I think is a nice addition.
Other Features
Other than the features I mentioned above, the headphones have the LDAC codec with Hi-Res Audio, which includes a Hi-res wireless connection, which sounds really good (Listening to Queens Bohemian Rhapsody in Hi-Res while I say this).
The headphones also support Google’s fast pair technology, which is great if you are an Android user.
In terms of battery life, I think that they are incredibly good, there wasn’t a single occasion where I was forced to charge them due to running out of battery when out and about or when travelling.
The manufacturer states that 1.5 hours of charging time will give you around 34 hours of playtime with ANC activated and 55 hours with it turned off, which based on my experience, I feel is about right.
My 1-Month Verdict
After using the Edifier WH950NB as my daily driver for around a month, I think that these are an incredible set of headphones, seriously worth the price and I will continue using them as my main headphones for the foreseeable future.
They are perfect for someone looking for a great set of headphones for work or for those busy commutes.
I think that they sound great and are incredibly comfortable to wear for extended periods of time, especially for someone who wears glasses, and that says a lot about their comfort!
They also come packed with some pretty impressive features such as Multipoint Bluetooth, which is something that so many headphones and earbuds lack in.
Overall, I would seriously recommend these!
Check Out My 1-Week Review, Unboxing and Test…