True Wireless Stereo earphones are pretty saturated with very similar design and features. Edifier specializes in premium audio solution took a different approach by offering a more unique design and colour just like the Edifier TWS NB2 which look pretty bold in term of design, introducing the Edifier TWS NBQ.

Unboxing

The unboxing experience is pretty premium even the box itself has magnet closure. This is what you get inside the box

Design

The TWS NBQ has more rounded corners in and out including with the earbuds. Edifier did offer three very different than others pastel colours; Snowy White, Sakura Pink and Hazy Blue which I’m reviewing now.

The pebble shape case uses piano shiny finishes which look nice in the eye but would attract fingerprint smudge and micro scratches easily. Probably that’s the reason the TWS NBQ receive a mini pouch in the box. The “R” logo inside the case is actually a button to pair the earbuds or enable discovery mode by press and hold for 5 seconds.

There’s a USB C port on the rear for charging and a LED indicator to show charging status and the case battery levels.

Features

The Edifier TWS NBQ has a lot of similarity with the Edifier TWS NB2 including Active Noise Cancelling, Ambient Sound Mode, Low Latency Game Mode, up to 32 hours of playtime, IP54 dust and water-resistance and as well as companion supports, Edifier Connect.

Pairing

Pairing is pretty easy and straightforward as it supports Google Fast Pairing. It’s ready to connect when the lid is open, launch your phone Bluetooth settings and select Edifier TWS NBQ. Once done, it will automatically connect whenever the lid cover is opened and it is ready to use before you even place the earbuds in your ears.

Touch Control

Here are what you can control from your earbuds without taking out your phone.

The control is pretty limited and can’t even summon the voice assistant that very useful for at least allowing volume control.

Edifier Connect

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The Edifier TWS NBQ does supports Edifier Connect, a companion app that allows you to control some of the functions like enabling ANC, Ambient Mode, Gaming Mode and others settings. The app offers pretty limited control and not even EQ or music profiles. Edifier did add a widget on the dropdown notification for quick access to ANC, Ambient and Gaming while showing both earbuds battery percentage which is a good touch.

Sound Quality

The soundstage is pretty broad with good vocals and instruments separation. The bass is a little over and tends to cover mid and high tones – Save Your Tears by The Weeknd.

I do enjoy the jazz genre with this earphone, it can deliver clean vocals and rich instruments on one of my favourite song Come Away With Me by Norah Jones.

Active Noise Cancelling, Ambient Mode & Gaming Mode

The Edifier TWS NBQ features Active Noise Cancelling Technology, Ambient Mode and Gaming Mode to further improve the user experience. When the ANC enabled, the earbuds will filters out external noise for the most optimal listening experience. I did find the ANC intensity wasn’t that strong compared to the Edifier NB2 and white noise is much lesser.

Double tapping the left earbuds allows me to switch between normal, ANC and ambient mode. This is very convenient as you get to hear the external sound without the need to take out your earbuds, especially traffic noise or talking to someone.

There’s a gaming mode that reduces latency to as low as 80ms, all this is possible by reducing the audio bitrate playback. This is not ideal for music listening or video streaming.

Battery

Here’s the part where Edifier TWS NBQ shiny, with ANC on it able to deliver up to 7 hours of usage and additional 18 hours with the charging case. The battery life extended an additional 7 hours with ANC off, that’s a total of 32 hours. Throughout my test, the earbuds battery has never dropped to 70% before I place it back inside the case.