The widespread of TWS earbuds has sort of pushed over the ear headphones to one side just exactly how smartphones pushed PCs and laptops to one side. But it’s not over yet for headphones because the likes of Edifier W800BT Plus offer some high-end quality at an affordable price point which is one thing no one can take away from the device.

First is its affordable price point and then there is the build quality and other interesting specifications among other things. My initial impression of the W800BT Plus was mixed until I spent a couple of days with the headphone.

The first thing I noticed is the build quality which is really great. Made with plastic, it has a great cushioned head support and the ear cups are made with soft cushions which allows me to wear the device for a pretty long time.

Personally, I am addicted to wearing my TWS earbuds all the time and the bond between us seems unbreakable. The main reason for this is to submerge myself and focus on whatever it is I’m doing thanks to the ANC technology that blocks out environmental chatters and ambient noises.

One thing TWS earbuds don’t have is a monstrous battery – because they are pretty tiny, engineers have to squeeze every component within those tiny pieces and maintain lightweight at the same time but not with over-the-head headphones because there is plenty of room.

The first thing that drew me to the Edifier W800BT Plus is the 55 hours of battery life which to me is amazing in the first place and then there are other cool features I find amusing such as the ability to connect the headphone to multiple devices at the same.

So with that, I can listen to music on my computer and make calls on my phone while remaining at the same place. This is the perfect device that triple your sedentary life since you no longer have to leave where you are to do anything – not even picking your phone when it rings.

But that is just one of the many features and cool things I love about the Edifier W800BT Plus but it lacks the active noise cancellation (ANC) technology. I don’t mind that since Edifier also offers another variant that has ANC but is slightly expensive.

Design of the Edifier W800BT Plus

One of the main reasons I’ve been very far away from headphones is their looks. Most on the market turn you to something you don’t want because they often appear too big or too small. It’s almost hard to find the perfect size which is where the Edifier W800BT Plus comes in.

First, I like the design. Its cups aren’t circular compared to most headphones on the market. It has rounded edges that I like. Then there is the cushioned head support which often leads to a pattern on my hair after wearing it for a long time.

The soft cushions and the leathers are comfortable and my ears fit right inside the ear cups so there is no discomfort whatsoever. It’s also very lightweight because it’s made of plastic entirely – though there is light metal support within the head to give it the stability and support needed.

The right ear is where the controls are. From there, you’ll find the volume up and down as well as a button for power control. The volume rockers can also be used to skip tracks when long-pressed.

The headphones don’t fold and that may be disappointing to some especially if you don’t want to wear them all the time. There is also no carry case or even a bag. I think Edifier thinks we don’t deserve more than just the headphone.

Okay back to the designs, the Edifier W800BT Plus offers support for a 3.5mm audio jack so you can make use of this in situations like music recording or podcasts since Bluetooth may have some latencies.

It uses USB Type-C for power charging and that is also on the right ear cup. The placement of the buttons isn’t too far to be reached. I often make use of my right thumb to control the headphone while using my index finger to turn the headphone on or off.

I think the design is well thought out and that is one of the very interesting things about the Edifier W800BT Plus. It also looks sleek when you put it on. It doesn’t look bigger than my head and it looks pretty unique – because it’s not so common I guess so many people often stare trying to figure out the brand.

My overall rating on the design of the Edifier W800BT Plus is B-. It has all that you’d want from an affordable Bluetooth headphone which includes consistency, rigidity, and lightweight and that comes with the headphone.

Performance of the Edifier W800BT Plus

Turning on the headphone will take a couple of seconds and when it’s turned on, pairing is instant with a beep sound and when that’s done, you’re ready to feel the music…not so fast.

I used the Havit TW918 ANC earbuds for quite a while and so I was used to that. The battery suddenly lost its capacity and I needed to switch to something else. However, I was expecting the same aggressive bass from my previous earbuds on the bigger Edifier W800BT Plus with its 40mm driver – I was a little disappointed at first but got used to it eventually.

The headphone doesn’t sound bad at all. It in fact sounds incredible but its audio often gets over incapacitated with surrounding noises especially if you’re in an environment with loud sounds such as streets or at the subway. This may be good because you’re at least aware of your environment however, there is no way the audio sound coming from the headphones is able to mask out the ambient noise so it often becomes an unwanted mix and that can be annoying.

I think the lack of ANC caused this, unlike my tiny TWS earbuds, the protruding ear tips themselves are enough to block out ambient noise as it sticks inside your ear canal, and then there is ANC which makes blocking external noise possible.

Compared to a headphone that doesn’t have anything that protrudes into your ear canals, sound waves will often escape into the earcups and will disturb your experience. ANC on headphones is just the best combinations PERIOD!

But let’s forget about the market noise, what if you’re in your office or at home working or just chilling with the Edifier W800BT Plus on your head, well, you can expect a C+ quality audio output from the device.

It’s not bass-heavy as I would expect even though holding the headphones closer to my ears with my hands gives that bass feeling. It has an accompanying mobile application that is pretty useless in my opinion. You can’t create your own equalizer with it and it only has three presets.

The headphones can get pretty loud but that also depends on the song you’re listening to. However, the audio output is very consistent, and sound separation is one thing I find interesting about the headphone.

Listening to songs like Immortality by Celine Dion and Bee Gees, you can hear Barry Gibb falsetto in the background while Celine hits the high notes. The instrumental is also well arranged with everything coming one after the other. The headphone brings out the quality in good music and you can always praise the music producer afterward.

Making calls with the Edifier W800BT Plus

Did I mention the microphone picks your voice very quickly and well as though you’re speaking from your smartphone’s microphone (not entirely though but close)

Making phone calls via the Edifier W800BT Plus is fascinating. The fact that you can connect the device via Bluetooth with other devices such as smartphones and computers at the same time means that you can stay in control multiple times. The software running within the device is capable of knowing which device is playing what.

Let me give an instance if I am listening to music while working on my computer and a call comes in on my phone, the music which is being played on my computer automatically get paused while I can pick the call using the Power control button on the right side of the headphone. When the call is over, I can end the call using the same button or not but either way, the music resumes from where it stopped.

The same is true for other communication channels such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Calls are often clear and I don’t even have to scream. Sometimes, I can be speaking at the lower and everyone can hear what I am saying from the other side.

It also works well with virtual assistants such as Google or Alexa. Like I mentioned earlier, this is the perfect sedentary machine.

Controls

There aren’t many controls on the Edifier W800BT Plus. The main ones include skipping tracks as well as increasing or decreasing volume.

1. Long Press the Volume Up button for 5 seconds skips to the next track
2. Long Press the Volume Down button for 5 seconds goes back to the previous track
3. Power button can also be used to pick or end calls

Battery life of the Edifier W800BT Plus

On the paper, this thing is a beast. It has a big battery that can last you for about 55 hours nonstop. So if you want to win the next Guinness World Record of the longest headphone usage (if it hasn’t been gotten), then the Edifier W800BT Plus will help you achieve that.

The battery charges up within 2.5 hours using a USB Type-C port. The charge indication is a red dot LED on the power button which turns off when the charge is complete.

Battery percentage can also be seen on the accompanying mobile application or within the Bluetooth area of your device (smartphone or PC).

In real-life use, the battery longevity is real and I cannot stress it enough. I think I’m one of the few that can attest to this because I often wear headphones extensively.

Another thing that can affect how long you can use the headphone is the audio volume. So if you’re the on and off person, you might make use of the Edifier W800BT Plus for a whole week without ever recharging the battery for once.

I think they made good use of the size of the ear cups by fitting in big batteries within them to give the device all the juice needed to enjoy good music nonstop.

Should you buy the Edifier W800BT Plus

YES! If you want something that is affordable, stylish with long-lasting battery life as well as durability and nice audio quality all-in-one. Then go for the Edifier W800BT Plus as it’s one of the best out there on the market in 2021.

Aside from that, it also comes with the great build quality and has some pretty cool specifications such as Bluetooth version 5.1 which serves its purpose. It also uses the Qualcomm® aptX™ , SBC codec.

But if you’re looking for something extremely professional for music studio production and you have a high budget, then you might want to opt for something more expensive.

The fact that it uses a 3.5mm headphone jack alternative to Bluetooth, Gamers can definitely use the Edifier W800BT Plus as there won’t be any lag whatsoever.

Also if you’re specifically buying this for exercises, you might want to reconsider because there is no IP rating. Although I’ve used the headphone during slight rainfall and it worked very fine (Not Advisable).

In terms of the pricing, the Edifier W800BT Plus is pretty affordable despite the bells and whistles. With a US$65 price tag, you can get the device online.

Overall, this is a pretty decent Bluetooth headphone with some nice technology and high-end quality all at an affordable price tag. So in my opinion, get it if you’re not so keen on ANC. But investing extra bucks can get you the slightly expensive Edifier W860NB with Active Noise Cancellation.