Pros
-
Great specification, even beyond the driver technology -
Open, revealing and meticulous sound -
Useful control app
Cons
-
Lack low-frequency substance and impact -
Only one finish -
Not short of alternatives
Key Features
-
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.4 with LDAC and aptX Lossless support -
Sound
12mm planar magnetic drivers -
Battery
20 hours of battery life (buds + case) with ANC on
Introduction
Edifier, it seems fair to say, is prepared to push the boat out – and these NeoBuds Planar are just the latest example.
Planar magnetic driver technology is esoteric, expensive – and doesn’t automatically lend itself to true wireless in-ear headphones. Or, at least, it doesn’t where most manufacturers are concerned. But Edifier is emphatically not most manufacturers…
Design
- Available only in black
- IP55
Given how very functional true wireless earbuds need to be where design is concerned, Edifier deserves congratulations for making the NeoBuds Planar even remotely individual.
They’re from the Apple-inspired ‘dangly stem’ school of design, sure – but the relatively broad, flat design of the earbuds means they’re slightly more interesting than the norm.
The case in which they travel is a palm-sized little pebble with a USB-C slot on the hinged rear and a light across the front to indicate that the case is charging.
Edifier has decided on pinch, rather than full-on capacitive, touch-controls for the NeoBuds Planar. There’s a slender little area on the edge of each earbud that can be pinched once, twice or three times, or pressed and held, to control playback – what you want each of these actions to mean can be specified in the app, and believe me when I say your options are extensive.
The standard of construction and finish is more than adequate, and the IP55 rating for the earbuds means they should be fine in any realistic environment. As far as colour options go, though, you have one choice and you’re looking at it.
App
- Edifier Connex control app
The Connex control app that’s free for iOS and Android offers a choice of eight different colours to allow a little personalisation, too.
The app also features ANC options, an indication of remaining battery life, the option to switch Game Mode on or off, a choice of four EQ presets, and an extremely thorough four-band EQ that features the ability to specify the area of the frequency range you’d like each of the four sliders to affect.
There’s also the option to specify the touch-control settings, switch multipoint connectivity on or off, decide on the sort of wear detection you’d like, and plenty more besides. It’s a clean and usable app, and if it had playback controls too it would be nigh-on perfect.
Features
- Bluetooth 5.4 with LDAC and aptX Lossless support
- 12mm planar magnetic drivers
- 20 hours of battery life (buds + case) with ANC on
The headline here is the use of planar magnetic driver technology. It’s unusual in true wireless earbuds at any price, and even more so in a product that’s so relatively affordable – it’s no wonder the magic word planar has made it all the way to this product’s model name.
Edifier is using a pair of 12mm planar magnetic drivers to generate sound here. Each is sandwiched between a magnet array, and the company has used the second generation of its Equal Mass wiring technology to produce a driver arrangement of extraordinary lightness, thinness and, it says, precise and uniform movement at every point in the frequency range.
Frequency response itself is quoted at 20Hz – 40kHz, and given the acknowledged strengths and weaknesses of planar magnetic technology, that second number is a little easier to credit than the first.
There’s been very little stinting elsewhere where specification is concerned, too. The Edifier use Bluetooth 5.4 for wireless connectivity, and thanks to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound technology, there’s compatibility with codecs all the way to aptX Lossless. LHDC 5.0 and LDAC are also supported, aptX Voice is on board, and there’s multipoint connectivity.
Three mics per earbud take care of telephony, voice-assistant interaction and active noise-cancellation. The control app offers five positions for ANC, running to On, Off, Adaptive, Wind Reduction and Ambient Sound (the last of which give a little boost to the sound of your surroundings).
With ANC switched on, Edifier reckons the NeoBuds hold five hours of power and have another three full charges available in the case – the earbuds will run for over seven hours with ANC switched off. And as well as there being a USB-C slot on the charging case, the NeoBuds Planar are compatible with any Qi-certified wireless charger.
Sound Quality
- Detailed, organised and insightful presentation
- Spacious and controlled
- Crying out for greater low-end presence
First things first: the Edifier NeoBuds Planar are by no means -all-rounders. That they have some areas of real expertise is not up for debate – but then neither is the fact that they have one or two shortcomings.
Detail and insight is where the NeoBuds Planar really score heavily. No matter if you’re listening to something as relatively complex as Optimist by David Byrne and St Vincent or something as unashamedly basic as Picture in a Frame by Tom Waits, the amount of detail the Edifier can identify, reveal and confidently contextualise is little short of staggering.
Every scrap of information in a recording, no matter how fleeting, is made apparent – and given appropriate weighting at the same time.
There’s nothing drily analytical about these earbuds, either – their attention to detail merely serves to ensure they’re painting as full and informative a picture as possible. There’s real unity and togetherness apparent in the way the Edifier deliver music, and the large and well-defined soundstage they create only helps that sensation of singularity.
There’s plenty of space on the stage, of course, but everything that happens on it sounds of a piece rather than being an occurrence that happens in isolation.
Dynamic headroom is considerable – when a recording ramps up the volume or intensity, the NeoBuds Planar track the changes faithfully and without any apparent stress. And when it comes to tonality and frequency response, the Edifier are smooth and confident from the very top end down to the bottom of the midrange.
There’s no obvious transition, and the attention they pay to the finest details means voices are characterful and individual. Their powers of resolution and communication here are a match for any price-comparable rival.
Low-frequency information, too, is loaded with detail and variation, and controlled so carefully at the point of attack that rhythmic expression is natural and convincing. But it’s also at the bottom of the frequency range that the NeoBuds Planar reveal their only meaningful weakness.
They reach down towards the lowest frequencies without issues, sure – but a relative lack of body and substance to bass sounds, a shortage of out-and-out punch, makes bass information sound remote from the rest of the frequency information and of a slightly different tonality at the same time.
Tentative or lightweight are seldom positive traits when discussing the way headphones deliver low-frequency information, and the lack of (for want of a better word) wallop these earbuds can summon is going to cost them a place on many people’s shortlists.
Should you buy it?
Impressive detail
You like the sonic accuracy and impressive detail retrieval the planar magnetic technology allows
You want some low-end wallop
You’re interested in the sort of significant low-frequency presence the planar magnetic technology doesn’t allow
Final Thoughts
I wasn’t at all convinced that planar magnetic technology + the need to keep the physical dimensions as small as possible = anything but a compromise and here we are.
The NeoBuds Planar are, ultimately, easier to admire than to love – but my admiration for Edifier, its expertise and its sheer bloody-mindedness, grows stronger with every product it releases.
Trusted Score
How We Test
The majority of my listening to the Edifier NeoBuds Planar was via a wireless connection to an Apple iPhone 14 Pro and a FiiO M15S.
This allowed me to listen to a lot of different content, of different file types and sizes, and also to listen to music streamed using a few different Bluetooth codecs.
As well as music stored on the DAP’s local memory, I listened to stuff via the Presto, Qobuz and TIDAL apps.
- Tested for more than a week
- Tested with real world use
FAQs
No, black is your only option – although the light strip across the front of the charging case can glow in one of eight different colours
Yes, the earbuds are ergonomically shaped and there’s a choice of five different sizes of silicone eartip in the packaging
Unlike some brands’ control apps, there’s no facility in Edifier Connex to integrate a streaming service – you’ll need to use the service’s native app instead
Full Specs
| Edifier NeoBuds Planar Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £199 |
| USA RRP | $299 |
| CA RRP | CA$549 |
| AUD RRP | AU$299 |
| Manufacturer | Edifier |
| IP rating | IP55 |
| Battery Hours | 20 |
| Fast Charging | Yes |
| Weight | 60.3 G |
| ASIN | B0DR7LSNQ7 |
| Release Date | 2025 |
| Audio Resolution | sBC, LHDC, LDAC, aptX, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless |
| Driver (s) | 12mm planar magnetic |
| Noise Cancellation? | Yes |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Colours | Black |
| Frequency Range | 20 40000 – Hz |
| Headphone Type | In-ear |
Trusted Score
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