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If you want a full-size, all-day listening companion with active noise cancellation, long battery life and the option of wired Hi-Res audio, choose Edifier V80; if you need a tiny, featherweight single-ear headset purely for calls and voice assistants, choose Hama Mono.
• Edifier V80 — biggest strength: Hybrid active noise cancellation, 45 hours of playtime and a 15-minute quick charge that yields 8 hours of listening, plus both wireless and wired modes.
• Edifier V80 — biggest trade-off: It's a full-size over-ear headphone (0.43 kg) in brown, so it's bulkier and more conspicuous than a discreet mono headset.
• Hama Mono — biggest strength: At just 9 grams it's genuinely feather-light, with an ergonomic ear clip, three sizes of silicone tips and multipoint pairing to two phones at once.
• Hama Mono — biggest trade-off: No noise cancellation, no audio jack, and with 9 hours of battery it's built for calls rather than long music sessions.
• Who each is for: Edifier V80 → commuters, travelers and home-office listeners who want immersive sound and quiet. Hama Mono → people who live on the phone and want something they forget they're wearing.
The Edifier V80 is the "one headphone for everything" pick. It's an over-ear, circumaural design built around 40 mm dynamic drivers with a 20 Hz–20 kHz frequency range, and the spec sheet makes clear that Edifier intended it for both wireless and wired listening. In Bluetooth mode you get version 5.4 with a 10-metre range, and the wired path over USB-C is the one Edifier positions for Hi-Res audio when you want a stable, uninterrupted connection. That dual-mode approach is the detail I'd weigh most: you aren't locked into charging cycles if you're at a desk for a long session.
Noise cancellation is the headline feature. The V80 uses hybrid ANC, which means it's designed to reduce ambient noise rather than just passively block it — useful on a train, in a shared office, or next to a noisy air conditioner. Battery life is where this model pulls away from the pack: up to 45 hours of average life, and a 15-minute charge gets you roughly 8 hours of playback. For a frequent traveler, that quick-charge figure matters more than the headline number, because it means a short top-up before a flight is genuinely useful.
Comfort and portability are handled deliberately. Lightweight materials and soft faux-leather cushions are meant to relieve pressure over long sessions, and the whole thing folds up for storage in its brown carry case. Multipoint connection, the EDIFIER ConneX app with preset EQs, and button-based controls including call control round out the package. Bluetooth latency is listed at 60 ms, which is fine for video and casual gaming.
Who should buy it: commuters, frequent flyers, remote workers and anyone who wants one pair of headphones for music, calls and quiet — especially if they value the wired fallback for Hi-Res listening.
Who should skip it: if you want something invisible, pocket-sized, or specifically built for all-day phone calls, a 0.43 kg over-ear headphone is the wrong shape. And if noise cancellation isn't something you need, you're paying for a feature you won't use.
The Hama Mono Bluetooth MyVoice Essential is a completely different animal: a single-ear in-ear headset that weighs 9 grams — Hama's own framing is "lighter than a ballpoint pen," and that's the whole design philosophy. It clips ergonomically onto your ear, and Hama includes silicone ear tips in three sizes (S, M, L) so you can dial in the fit. The ear hook is described as removable, and the enclosure is silicone in black.
This is a telephony-first device. Hama lists up to 9 hours of call time and 120 hours of standby, charged over USB-C — there's no audio jack at all. A multifunction push button handles the practical stuff: answering, making, rejecting and redialing calls, plus playback/pause and volume control. There's no noise cancellation here, so don't expect the V80's quiet-room trick; the value is in the microphone-and-speaker setup for talking, not in blocking out a café.
Two features stand out for people who juggle phones. First, multipoint: the headset can connect to two smartphones simultaneously, which is the classic work-phone-plus-personal-phone scenario. Second, voice assistant support for Siri and Google Assistant, so you can trigger commands hands-free. Hama also notes charging status can be checked on iOS and Android devices where the device supports it.
Bluetooth is version 5 with the same 10-metre range as the Edifier, and the driver is a balanced armature type with a 20 Hz–20,000 Hz range. Balanced armature drivers are typically chosen for voice clarity in compact headsets rather than for thumping bass — which lines up exactly with what this product is for.
Who should buy it: drivers, delivery riders, office workers on back-to-back calls, and anyone who wants a near-weightless headset that stays put while they move and can ring on either of two paired phones.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for noise cancellation → Edifier V80. Hybrid ANC versus none on the Hama Mono. This is the single biggest functional gap.
• Best for battery life → Edifier V80. Up to 45 hours versus 9 hours of call time. Not close.
• Best for charging speed → Edifier V80. A 15-minute charge returns about 8 hours of playback; the Hama Mono has no equivalent fast-charge figure listed.
• Best for all-day comfort while moving → Hama Mono. 9 grams and an ergonomic ear clip beat a 0.43 kg over-ear for wear-anywhere convenience.
• Best for calls and voice assistants → Hama Mono. Multipoint to two phones, Siri and Google Assistant support, and dedicated call buttons.
• Best for music and Hi-Res listening → Edifier V80. 40 mm dynamic drivers, a wired USB-C path for Hi-Res audio, and preset EQs via the EDIFIER ConneX app.
• Best for travel → Edifier V80. It folds into a carry case; the Hama Mono is smaller but built for one ear, not for immersive listening on a plane.
• Best for juggling two phones → Hama Mono. Simultaneous connection to two smartphones is a headline feature, and the V80's multipoint is aimed more at switching between a laptop and a phone.
If I had to pick one, I'd buy the Edifier V80. In my opinion it simply does more: hybrid active noise cancellation, up to 45 hours of battery, a quick charge that actually changes how you use it, and both wireless and wired Hi-Res modes. It covers commuting, home office and travel in one device. The Hama Mono is the better choice only if your day is genuinely about phone calls and you want something you'll forget is on your ear — in that narrow lane, its 9-gram build and two-phone multipoint are hard to argue with. For everyone else, the V80 is the more versatile purchase. Check the current price on Amazon before you decide, since that's the one variable I can't compare here.
Yes, in my opinion. The V80 uses 40 mm dynamic drivers, offers a wired USB-C mode for Hi-Res audio, and includes app-based EQ presets. The Hama Mono uses a balanced armature driver in a single ear and is designed around voice, not music.
No. The spec sheet lists noise control as "None" for the Hama Mono. The Edifier V80 has hybrid active noise cancellation, which is the main reason to step up if you commute or work in a noisy space.
The Hama Mono explicitly supports simultaneous connection to two smartphones. The Edifier V80 lists multipoint connection, which is intended for switching between devices like a phone and a laptop.
The Edifier V80 lists up to 45 hours of average battery life with a 15-minute charge giving about 8 hours of playback. The Hama Mono lists up to 9 hours of call time and 120 hours of standby, charged over USB-C.
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