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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-04 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
These two products get compared because both put "aptX HD" or "aptX Lossless" in the headline, and both get searched by people hunting for high-quality wireless audio. But they solve completely different problems. One is a transmitter. One is a pair of earbuds. If you're setting up a desk for remote work and trying to decide where your money goes first, that distinction is the whole decision.
• Middle Rabbit D1 — biggest strength: it upgrades the audio you already have. Plug it into a USB-C port and your existing AirPods, Sony, Bose or Sennheiser headphones run on aptX Adaptive, aptX LL or aptX HD instead of plain SBC.
• Middle Rabbit D1 — biggest trade-off: it is not a headset. There's no microphone of its own, and its call mode borrows your headphones' mic at a significant cost to audio quality.
• EarFun Air Pro 4+ — biggest strength: a self-contained listening and calling package — hybrid dual drivers, Snapdragon Sound with aptX Lossless, LDAC and LE Audio, up to 50dB adaptive ANC, and six ENC mics.
• EarFun Air Pro 4+ — biggest trade-off: it only works as a Bluetooth receiver. It won't transmit, so it can't fix a PS5 or a console with no Bluetooth audio out.
• Who each is for: Middle Rabbit D1 for the person with good headphones and a bad source; EarFun Air Pro 4+ for the person who needs earbuds, not an adapter.
The D1 is a Bluetooth 5.4 audio adapter built around a Qualcomm chip, and its job is narrow and specific: take a device that either has no Bluetooth audio out or has poor Bluetooth audio out, and give it a clean wireless path to the headphones or speaker you already like. It's explicitly built for PS5, PS4, desktop and laptop PC, and it supports Windows and macOS — Linux is not supported. It also won't work with Xbox or PS Portal, which is worth knowing before you buy.
Setup is genuinely simple and driver-free: plug it into a USB-C port, put your headphones in pairing mode, wait, then pick "Middle Rabbit D1" as your audio output. It reconnects automatically to the last paired device, and a three-second button hold pairs something new. Two practical notes from the manufacturer's own guidance: use a front-facing USB-C port rather than a rear one, and keep the adapter away from metal and from 2.4GHz mouse/keyboard receivers, because those cause stutter.
Who should buy it: anyone who already owns quality Bluetooth headphones and wants them to sound better and sync better on a PC or PlayStation. Who should skip it: anyone who needs a microphone for meetings, or who wants earbuds included in the purchase.
EarFun Air Pro 4+: Who It's For
The EarFun Air Pro 4+ is the opposite kind of product — everything is inside the box. It's an in-ear true wireless set with a hybrid driver system: a 10mm composite dynamic driver paired with a balanced armature, aligned at 11 degrees to reduce high-frequency attenuation. Frequency range runs 20Hz to 40kHz, and the tuning goal is clearly a full, detailed soundstage rather than a bass-heavy one.
On the codec front, this is where it earns its place in an aptX conversation. It runs a Qualcomm QCC3091 SoC and is certified for Snapdragon Sound with aptX Lossless, plus support for LDAC, LC3 and LE Audio. That's a genuinely broad codec list, and it means the earbuds can take advantage of a high-bitrate link when the source supports it. Bluetooth version is 6, there's no headphone jack, and all controls — including noise cancellation — run through the EarFun Audio App.
The noise cancelling is adaptive hybrid, rated up to 50dB, and it adjusts automatically to your environment. For calls, there are six AI-enhanced ENC microphones to cut background noise. There's also a real-time AI translation feature covering 100+ languages through the app, with both real-time and face-to-face modes — an unusual extra that has nothing to do with sound quality but plenty to do with travel and multilingual work.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for upgrading headphones you already own → Middle Rabbit D1. It's the only one of the two that changes how existing headphones sound.
• Best for PS5 or PC gaming audio → Middle Rabbit D1. aptX Adaptive or LL latency as low as 40ms, with the caveat that Xbox and PS Portal aren't supported.
• Best for music quality out of the box → EarFun Air Pro 4+. aptX Lossless, LDAC, LC3, LE Audio and a hybrid dual-driver setup in one package.
• Best for calls and meetings → EarFun Air Pro 4+. Six ENC mics versus an adapter whose call mode noticeably degrades audio quality.
• Best for remote work from a laptop → EarFun Air Pro 4+. Adaptive ANC up to 50dB plus a real microphone array make it the more complete bluetooth headset for remote work; the D1 would only help if you already had a headset to plug into it.
• Best for noise cancelling → EarFun Air Pro 4+. The D1 has no ANC at all.
• Best for a mixed household of devices → Middle Rabbit D1. It works across PS4, PS5, Windows and macOS, and handles Bluetooth speakers as well as headphones.
• Best for travel and language barriers → EarFun Air Pro 4+. The app-based 100+ language translation is something the D1 simply doesn't attempt.
In my opinion, if you're equipping a desk for remote work and you don't yet own a proper headset, the EarFun Air Pro 4+ is the one I'd buy. It's self-contained: ANC up to 50dB, six ENC mics for calls, aptX Lossless with LDAC and LE Audio, and a dual-driver design built for detail. Nothing else is required to make it work.
I'd only reach for the Middle Rabbit D1 if you already own good headphones and your problem is the source, not the headphones — a PS5, a PS4, or a laptop that's stuck on SBC. Then the D1 is the smarter, more targeted fix. Check the current price on Amazon for both before you commit, and match the purchase to the problem you actually have.
which earbuds support aptx hd
Among these two, only the Middle Rabbit D1 lists aptX HD outright — it supports aptX Adaptive, aptX LL, aptX HD, aptX and SBC, and picks the highest codec your headphones support. The EarFun Air Pro 4+ doesn't list aptX HD; it goes further up the chain with aptX Lossless, plus LDAC, LC3 and LE Audio. So for literal aptX HD, the D1 is the match.
Yes, but with a real catch. You toggle call mode with a triple-press of the adapter button, and your device then shows "Middle Rabbit D1" as an input device, with a white light when the mic is live. The manufacturer states plainly that audio quality drops significantly in this mode and doesn't recommend it for gaming or movie playback.
Yes. It uses six AI-enhanced ENC microphones designed to reduce background noise for clearer, more reliable calls. That's a dedicated built-in array rather than borrowed microphone capability, which is why I'd point anyone doing regular meetings toward the EarFun set instead of an adapter.
Yes. It's built for PS5 and PS4 as well as desktop and laptop PC on Windows and macOS, though Linux isn't supported. Two limits to note: it does not work with Xbox or PS Portal, and you should use a front-facing USB-C port rather than a rear one for stable audio.
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