Edifier Comfo Run Review – Major HiFi

Edifier has a ton of great wireless headphones and earbuds in their library. Now, they are adding their first pair of open-air headphones for sports. I’ve reviewed a few different pairs of open-air headphones in the past, and while I am a fan of the concept as a whole, I have yet to hear a pair that captures how good I think they could sound. Does the Comfo Run change that impression?

What You Get

• Comfo Run open-air headphones
• USB Type C charging cable
• User Guide

Look & Feel

I tend to appreciate the classy design that Edifier tends to have. It’s not usually the flashiest look, but there’s always a quality level of build that still catches the eye. The Comfo Run are probably the best-looking open-air headphones I’ve seen. There’s not much to it, but the logo plates help make the design pop. While worn, the Comfo Run is as comfortable as the other open-air headphones I’ve tried, which helps when you don’t have to insert anything in your ear.

Design & Functionality

The Comfo Run uses 16.2mm dynamic drivers, which is standard for open-air headphones. You have dual mics for phone calls, and the Comfo Run with ENC technology to improve intelligibility. There’s a companion app you can download that has only a few features, including bass boost, and game mode.

Bluetooth

You can enjoy fast pairing with a reliably stable connection supported by Bluetooth 5.3. Do not expect anything other than standard CODECs for the Comfo Run, so no LDAC or aptX.

Battery Life

At full charge, you can expect 17 hours of playtime from the Comfo Run with fast charging. Only fifteen minutes of charge should be able to grant you 5 hours of listening time.

Soundstage

Open-air earphones like this can sometimes have better soundstages than true wireless earbuds. Their speaker-like nature allows for more fluid imaging and spaciousness. That is one of the Comfo Runs’ best attributes. Even though this isn’t meant to be a casual listening experience, the Comfo Run exhibits better separation than some more expensive wireless earbuds I’ve heard. The left and right channels form a considerable wingspan, distinguishing certain positions of instruments quite well. My only gripe would be that the movement of the imaging is very flat. You only get a very narrow representation of sound elements.

Low End

If you want to get the most bass out of the Comfo Run, I highly recommend downloading the app and activating Bass Boost. Otherwise, the lows don’t have the best gain. Its energy is too subdued for being primarily sports headphones. With the bass boost, there’s at least a more defined foundation of tone, but there’s just no impact. It’s not completely anemic, but there’s certainly a lack of meat on the bone here.

Mids

The low mids do most of the heavy lifting here, and even then there’s too much of a softness to the timbre. It features minimal warmth and lacks definition throughout, feeling coated in a confused fog of disorganized frequencies. Notes appear blurred, but vocals do an okay job of communicating some form of clarity. It lacks crispness, but vocals still come forward nicely.

Highs

Nothing in the highs is very notable, but the response has a bit of juice to it. It has a surface level of detail that has some definition but don’t expect any sizzle or other expressive textures. There’s a very plain timbre to these highs, but you get at least some treble presence to the sound signature.

Summary

I have high hopes for what open-air earbuds could be in the future, but this is my least favorite pair that I’ve heard so far. If you’re looking for an inexpensive pair of headphones for running and don’t like anything going in your ear, that’s what the Comfo Run is made for. However, just listening to music casually isn’t the best way to use it, as the sound quality is lacking outside of the soundstage.

The Edifier Comfo Run is available from Amazon.