Introduction
EarFun is a company that builds a variety of consumer audio equipment such as wireless headphones, a variety of Bluetooth speakers and of course, true wireless earphones. That’s… kind of it.
My interest in these kinds of super consumerist brands are usually non-existent, but what makes the EarFun x Oluv Free unique is, per its name, that it’s tuned by an audiophile personality.
“Who is Oluv” you ask? Oluv, or better known by his old handle clavinetjunkie, is a YouTube audio gear reviewer who got his fame from his Bluetooth speaker comparisons, but has recently branched out into IEMs and headphones with the help of his MiniDSP EARS measurement rig. A rig that he uses with what I feel is a bit too much confidence for my liking (given its wonky acoustic impedance) but that’s a separate topic for another time.
Oluv is a pedantic critic, much like me. He also loves measurements, just like me. Yet we disagree on many things and so this product feels like the perfect opportunity to get a feel of his tuning preferences and see where we stand. At any case, regardless of the outcome of this little experiment, the concept of collaborating with known reviewers during a product’s tuning process is certainly one that I hope to see more of in the future.
Product page: https://www.myearfun.com/earfun-free-truly-wireless-earbuds
MSRP: $50 (Limited edition, currently unavailable)
Driver configuration: single DD
This unit was purchased with funds from my Patreon.
NON-AUDIO OPINIONS
My unboxing posts are pretty much the only times I’ll ever talk about build quality, accessories and the like. I’m not really the person to ask about these things as I don’t really care about them that much.
Accessories: charging cable (USB-C) and eartips.
Connection: not very strong, dropouts are common and pairing can be a pain. There are a few times where only a single side paired and I had to do a full reset of the earbuds to fix the issue.
Build: feels very cheap and light, doesn’t have the same level of sturdiness as, say, the Samsung Galaxy Buds (the only other TWS in my personal collection at this moment).
Fit: fits well, though driver flex is a big problem for the Free. It takes a few tries and readjustments to get a seal that doesn’t disable or compromise either of the drivers.
Isolation: good, on par with certain BA IEMs possibly due to the lack of front venting.
Initial impressions
- Holy mother of bass. The EarFun x Oluv Free leans into the lower frequencies hard and isn’t afraid to go all the way.
- Treble is tuned to avoid all manner of sibilance and harshness, though also severely lacks sparkle and bite.
- Midrange tonality is pretty good, though is ruined by the overboosted lower midrange response which adds muddiness to the sound.
- Transients aren’t good, but not the worst either. Definitely adequate for a cheap TWS.
- Almost no treble extension in subjective listening.
Measurements
Choice comparison: Sony MH755
Comparisons courtesy of the Graph Comparison Tool
A big thanks to my Patrons who allow me to make purchases like this from time to time to satisfy my curiosity.
And of course, my shoutouts to my very special big-money boys:
“McMadface”
Denis
Nicholas
Justin
“caravan”
Alexander
4 thoughts on “EarFun x Oluv Free: Unboxing”
It seems, even Oluv is disappointed with the final production units of Earfun Free.
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/cg0na7/oluv_x_earfun_free_review/
If a product doesn’t mention what codecs they support, it is no doubt aimed at the applephile (the direct converse of the audiophile). With the plethora of the TWS product explosion, you would think at least one would support LDAC, if no other reason the marketing. It would at least differentiate themselves from 100’s of others that have swamped the market since the original Bragi.
oh dear lord that bass