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When one thinks of flagship headphones, images of gadgets from well-known brands with innovative designs, great sound, multiple features and of course, hefty price tags come to mind. So imagine getting a pair of headphones that deliver a lot of flagship audio bang for surprisingly few bucks? The Earfun Wave Pro do just that.
They were launched at a price of about Rs 15,000 last year, which is classic budget flagship territory for headphones, going up against the likes of the Sennheiser Acentum and Sony ULT Wear, and won rave reviews, often being ranked as one of the best headphones of 2024. They are now available from many offline and online retailers at a price in the vicinity of Rs 5,000 (Rs 5,234 on Amazon India at the time of writing, for the Silver Black),
The Wave Pro were EarFun’s first over-ear headphones. The brand has built a formidable following for itself with its TWS, which are known to be flagship killers, offering great features at relatively affordable prices, a great example of which are the EarFun Air Pro 4 released earlier this year. The Wave Pro bring the brand’s strengths to a whole new audio segment. And even a year after its launch, are still a very formidable proposition.
The EarFun Wave Pro come with a classic headphone design, with two earcups connected with a headband. Both earcups are well-cushioned and in a very pleasant surprise, so is the headband. In a nice touch, the cups fold inwards so you can actually bunch them up into a small package that fits in your hand and carry them easily. Mind you, EarFun has also included a very good hard cover carrying case with the headphones in the bag, something that is a rarity in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment.
The Wave Pro are mainly made of plastic (like most headphones) and have a metal extension in the headband, which becomes visible when you pull the earcups. They come with what seem to be very strong hinges, and clearly marked right and left earcups. There is a type-C port for charging on the base of the left earcup, while on the base of the right earcup one gets a 3.5 mm audio jack, a volume rocker, a power on/off button (which is also the multifunction button) and a dedicated ANC button. The only touch of design flair is the EarFun logo in silver and a narrow silver band that runs along the outer part of the cups. All in all, these look smart and have a reassuringly solid feel to them, but are unlikely to stick out in a crowd.
Their design might not scream “flagship,” but the Wave Pro’s specs and features are pretty flagship worthy. They come with 40mm dynamic coil drivers, adaptive noise cancellation (ANC), LDAC support, support for Hi-Res Audio, multi-point connectivity, a staggering 80 hours of battery life and ENC for clearer calls with five microphones. It was a very impressive array in 2024, and remains so today.
The EarFun Wave Pro turn in a performance that make them easily among the best headphones not just at their current price, but actually in the zone below Rs 10,000. They are comfortable to wear at 268 grams, although they do have a strong clamping force initially (we are told it becomes more comfortable with time). The cups can get a little warm in the summer if worn outdoors but are very comfortable indoors.
Using them is easy: switching them on for the first time puts them in pairing mode automatically, and one can subsequently use the multi function button for pairing with other devices. Controls are through the buttons, which we find more convenient than the finicky touch controls on other headphones.
In audio quality, the EarFun Wave Pro tend to be more balanced, with a stress on clarity, instead of being bass heavy, as seen on other headphones at these prices. The result is a pair of headphones that are very versatile and can be used for any kind of content, ranging from regular film/show watching to podcasts to games. If one wants more bass or treble, one can get those using the equalisers in the very detailed EarFun companion app. The Wave Pro are more for general listeners than bassheads. Purists will like the support for LDAC, although that works only with Android devices.
ANC is surprisingly good and is on par with what we got on the Sony WH-CH720N, which we consider to be among the best in the sub-Rs 10,000 category. We were easily able to work in noisy cafes and even the hum of the Metro was easily suppressed by them. Call quality is superb, with many users not even being aware that we were using headphones – we would rate them as amongst the best in the segment. Round that off with a battery life that lasts about 50 hours with ANC and close to 75 hours without, and the Wave Pro become superb options even for those who want headphones mainly for calls!
At their launch price of around Rs 15,000, the EarFun Wave Pro gave the Sennheiser Accentum Plus and the Sony ULT Wear a run for their money in terms of performance. They are not perfect. The design is not a head turner, the clamping force might be too tight for some, and the bass-loving crowd will not like the sound out of the box, while others might find the absence of touch controls a deal breaker.
We will however, keep it simple: the EarFun Wave Pro get you good sound and ANC and great call quality and battery life, and even add a very good carrying case, all at a fantastic price. They were a decent proposition at their launch price, at their discounted price of around Rs 5,000, they are a dream for those looking for a flagship headphone experience on a shoestring budget.
