If Rick Deckard was sporting earbuds, I would imagine they are Edifier NeoBuds Pro 3.
Leading the team at DRN, I see every press release and reviews, and quite a lot of them are around audio gear. I don’t get my hands on all of them myself, but I definitely cast my eyes over every product.
Just like the previous generations, the OG NeoBuds Pro and NeoBuds Pro 2, these sport the “blade” stem design that immediately caught my attention. They stand out, not in a garish stare at the freak kind of way, but a what are those they look interesting.
It’s almost Christmas, the team has run hard this year and everyone is wrapping up what is left on their review benches for a well deserved break. The buck stops with me so I put my hand up to review these. At least that’s my story and I am sticking to it.
First Impressions: Striking Design and the Fit Challenge
I have a love-hate relationship with earbuds, specifically with in-ear type. For me the fit is finicky and it affects everything – comfort, sound stage, noise cancellation, microphone pick up.
Even my best fitting pair which I keep around also because the microphone works well, aren’t great at staying in my ear canal. I have dropped them:
just running the lawnmower – no I haven’t mowed over them yet but there’s been close shaves;
cutting up the cardboard into the recycling bin – yes I have had to empty the bin to find an errant bud
random falling out whilst just … Kevin being Kevin.
I have tested plenty of earbuds where as soon as the alignment is just a smidgen out, I would sound like I am underwater at best, or aliensque.
But you know, technology marches on, things improve, things change, and I have a thirst for reviewing. So here we are.
The NeoBuds Pro 3 aren’t a classical design. Personally I love it but I get that it won’t appeal to everyone.
My review is in Black but there is also a White colourway. The blade stem part is in a gunmetal matte colour, and the rest is in a gloss black finish. The case itself is in a matte black, with the Edifier logo debossed into the top in gloss.
The case is not particularly big, it fits into my palm, or pocket easily.
Real World Testing: The Ultimate ANC Gauntlet at a Christmas Party
My team at work is well aware of my DRN activities, and if my audio quality randomly changes for the worse, I get told straight away. The good news is, no complaints at all with the NeoBuds Pro 3. I was coming through loud and clear.
I put the NeoBuds Pro 3 through the toughest test I had on hand.
For a while now I have been using the Daelus clip on earbuds for convenience, but this style provides no noise isolation. I knew that from my initial impressions, that the noise isolation on the NeoBuds Pro 3 was superb. When I put them on, they are really good and blocking out surrounding noise.
This was what I was gambling on when I had a pre-CES 2026 briefing scheduled one night right in the middle of my work Christmas party, and opting out of either event was not an option.
I dialled into the media briefing from a the corner of the venue, the DJ is pumping out the beats. The NeoBuds Pro 3 dialled down the background noise to barely a murmur, and I didn’t have to crank up the volume to hear everything that was presented in the call.
When I did some test voice recording, you could hear some brief talking in the background, but the very loud ambient noise was cut out. My voice was perfectly clear. It was an stunning result for ANC, in the wildest, unscripted test environment you could get.
Audio Architecture: Hybrid Drivers and High-Res Codecs
The NeoBuds Pro 3 uses a hybrid driver system – a 10mm dynamic driver for bass and mids, and a Knowles balanced armature for the highs. The 10mm driver is the industry sweet spot for premium earbuds, providing the best sound quality for size.
Edifier is known as the “King of the budget tier”, and it’s a well earned reputation.
Kicking off my listening experience with Fxckup the World by Lalisa, I was impressed with the bass – punchy and deep, there is clarity without muddiness.
The NeoBuds Pro 3 is almost tailored for Lalisa’s vocals, with a natural mid-range and a real presence on the soundstage.
However the highs is where the NeoBuds Pro 3 truly stands out. It cuts through the soundstage with exceptional details and clarity. It might be too much for some tastes, but you can tune that within the Edifier ConneX app.
The technical details are not lost on me, for Android users the NeoBuds Pro 3 supports LHDC 5.0 (up to 192kHz/24-bit) and LDAC. You do have to enable it in the app first. Apple users will have to stick with their AAC.
Next I went with a FLAC version of Hotel California by the Eagles. It is a busy time of the year, lots of festivities and final school assemblies. With the NeoBuds Pro 3 in, the noise in the auditorium faded into a very mute background noise.
I initially had it on adaptive noise cancelling which let in a some level of noise until the music kicked in. Changing it to a high NC setting was significant. With the music on even at a reasonably low level, it really felt like I was in a cone of silence. Just the barest murmurs exist to let me know I am in an enclosed space with hundreds of parents and kids.
Listening to Hotel California (sorry to the graduating class of 2025) transported me elsewhere. The tinkle of the cymbals picking it way through the chords, and that use of the Vibra Slap was not lost in the mix.
Moving onto Teresa Teng’s 誰來愛我 (Who Will Love Me), a tragic song of betrayal and heartbreak. Her vocals are high on the register, which came through with excellent separation from the trumpet in the backing.
Edifier ConneX App: Deep Customisation and “DRN Orange” LEDs
The app gives you control over the functions of the NeoBuds Pro 3. These include:
- Noise Cancellation: Everything from Wind Reduction to Adaptive.
- Sound Effects: Equaliser in any other words.
- Sound Modes: Music, Gaming and Spatial Audio
What stands out here is that Edifier really goes all out with the custom mode, allowing you to change the gain, Q Factor and Frequency.
Honestly I was pretty satisfied with the Edifier base tune, it does a pretty decent job across the board. The full blown tuning is an endeavour that I am not about to embark on. However, Edifier gives a really good explanation here, and they encourage people to share their settings, right out of the Edifier ConneX app.
A nice touch from Edifier is the option to change the light effect on the case LED bar. You can’t choose from 16 billion colours, but there is white, yellow, orange, red, green and cyan. No prizes for guessing what I set mine to – yep, DRN orange.
Of course you can customise the controls to your liking, you can even change the pressure sensitivity of the controls.
There is also a Find My Product function. No GPS based data here, just a piercing sound so you can try locate it near you. Note that the sound does not play if the buds are in the case. They have to be out and lounging about. And oh yeah, don’t try this with them in your ear. Just don’t.
Battery Life and Daily Performance
Edifier rates the battery life at 36 hours in ideal enviroment – that’s including the case charge. Quick charging is supported with 15 minutes giving three hours of playback time.
There are no figures provided for per charge duration, however it seems to be around 5 hours with ANC on and 6 hours with ANC off. If you have LDAC and LHDC enabled, you are going to lose some of that due to the additional processing power required.
And if you want the spatial audio feature on, then you are going to chew into that battery life again as the gyroscopes need to be constantly on.
It’s not sterling but it is not sub-par either. It is pretty much at benchmark level for battery life.
Oh the customisable light? Animates like a Cyclon when you are charging the case. Love it!
Other Features
The NeoBuds Pro 3 are rated at IP54 – limited protection against dust ingress and protected against water sprayed from any direction. It’s not waterproof, it is weather proof.
Yes it does have multipoint connection support, largely seamless transition between my devices which is a major plus for me.
Gripes
Whilst the NeoBuds Pro 3 themselves feel premium, the same can’t be said for the case. It is totally functional and sturdy, but feels cheap in the hand due to the plastic.
I noticed that when I was doing some whipper snippering (aka line trimming for some) that the particular sound and frequency can occasionally overwhelm the noise cancelling and some crackle will creep in.
What is disappointing though is the lack of wireless charging support. At this price range and with the form factor of the case, I feel it should have been included.
Final Verdict: A Must-Have for Android Power Users
I am sitting here a week out from Christmas and pushing just one more review out the door and I am glad I am wrapping the year on a high.
To say that the Edifier NeoBuds Pro 3 defies expectations would be an injustice. Edifier has a reputation of punching well above it’s weight without the brand tax tagged on. They have a RRP A$249.99 but is currently available for A$179 at Officeworks.
At the lower price point, it is a clear winner in the bang for bucks stakes. Personally I think it wins the looks stakes too. Edgy but not cyberpunk garish.
As I mentioned earlier, I have a preference for a clip-on style earbuds, but I also do keep a standard pair for when I do have a need for better noise isolation and noise cancelling. I have hung onto a brand name pair that is over three years old because the microphone works for me, but the NeoBuds Pro 3 has kicked that to the curb.
They are not perfect and Apple users are not going to see the full benefits due to the codec differences, But if you are an Android user in particular, and looking for a budget friendly but quality sound, these are definitely worthly of a look.
DRN would like to thank Edifier for providing the review unit.
