Chinese audio equipment manufacturer Edifier has been continuously expanding its catalog of true wireless earbuds, including the recent TWS330 NB model, featuring advanced hybrid active noise cancelation and ambient sound monitoring. The new NeoBuds Pro expand upon that hybrid ANC implementation, in a distinctive design that will appeal highly to the Japanese market - remember that Edifier is the owner of STAX since 2011. The new NeoBuds Pro true wireless earbuds deliver a noise-free listening experience, enhanced by a custom-designed bi-amplified reproduction system with support for Savitech's LHDC Hi-Res Bluetooth codec.
“With the ever-changing landscape and needs of consumers, Edifier continues to expand on its innovation to ensure that the best and most cost-effective products are offered to our customers while remaining at the forefront of personal audio innovation,” says Stanley Wen, Edifier’s CTO.
The Edifier Neobuds Pro are promoted as the first Hi-Res certified, noise canceling, truly wireless earphones in the market that boast a dual driver design, combining a dynamic driver and Knowles balanced armature, and support for the Low Latency High-Definition Audio Codec (LHDC) promoted by the Hi-Res Wireless Audio (HWA) Union, of which Edifier is a founding member. Together with Sony's own LDAC codec, LHDC is the only Bluetooth transmission system certified by the Japan Audio Society (JAS) for Hi-Res Audio Wireless. Edifier also details support for "LHDC+ACC" in its announcement, which is probably a typo and should be AAC (ACC or Audio Communication Coder is an old low delay audio compression technology licensed by ATC Labs, with no known applications in wireless audio transmission).
For this development, Edifier’s research team conducted hundreds of tests that led to the NeoBuds Pro design, achieving a premium audio quality reproduction level in a challenging compact and wireless package. The design combines bi-amping with a DSP-based active crossover technology in order to ensure that the dynamic driver and the armature driver are working in harmony - covering an extended range of frequencies as required by high resolution audio sources.
In order for the Neobuds Pro design to be able to receive the Hi-Res certification it was essential to support the LHDC codec, transmitting 24-bit audio at up to 96kHz sampling frequency over Bluetooth. This only works when the audio source is originated also from an LHDC-enabled source, normally an Android smartphone or dedicated audio player. But no user would be able to perceive the added quality of high-resolution audio in variable conditions and noisy environments, and that is the reason why Edifier optimized the earbud design with its best ANC implementation.
According to the company, the Neobuds Pro's advanced noise-cancelling system outperforms the company's previous TWS NB2 design by using a "smarter" algorithm to improve upon the passive cancelation provided by the in-ear form-factor. In the dedicated Neobuds Pro product webpage Edifier goes as far as claiming a record 42dB of noise cancellation (industry best averages 30dB). In this way, the user "benefits from a quieter environment to enhance the music listening experience while protecting the user’s hearing from the outside noise," the company adds.
The Neobuds Pro earbuds also host a total of six microphones - with two dedicated microphones per earbud being auto activated and capable of inducing directional voice pickup during phone calls, filtering out surrounding noise. The third microphone is specifically designed for wind noise suppression. This microphone system was specifically designed for on-the-go phone calls and wind-resistant indoor/outdoor communications, more advanced than any previous Edifier model.
Like other TWS designs from Edifier, the Neobuds Pro are packaged with a compact USB-C charging case that supports fast-charging. The earbuds will offer up to 5 hours of use with ANC on, and are able to be fully recharged in just 1-hour. The Neobuds Pro are available to pre-order with a retail price of $99 on Indiegogo - the campaign (essentially for promotional purposes) is available here. Remember that, as always, all claimed specifications will be pending actual independent review or production units.
www.edifier.com
