Last September, I reviewed the Soundpeats H3 hybrid headphones. What I said at the beginning of the review bears repeating: Reviewing earbuds (earphones, in-ear monitors, etc.) today is both good and bad news. The good news is that it’s almost impossible to buy the worst earbuds. Unless you bought a $15 pair at your local gas station, most modern earbuds are pretty good in terms of sound and build quality. The bad news is that there are so many great earbuds to choose from. Deciding which pair to buy usually comes down to price, comfort, and convenience. The Soundpeats Air5 Pro+ TWS Earbuds fit right into those categories. Let’s see why.
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
PricePrice: $129.99
Where to buy: Soundpeats, Amazon
What’s going on?
The Soundpeats Air5 Pro+ TWS Earbuds are the updated successors to the Air5 Pro Earbuds. The Pro+ version is a hybrid design with an added speaker (more on that later). This extra speaker increases the weight a bit, but not uncomfortably. Charging times are now much faster, while the total play time remains at 30 hours. Additional Bluetooth codecs are included, making the Pro+ version an audiophile choice—for Android users, at least (more on that later).
What is included?
- Air5 Pro+ Wireless Earbuds
- Charging case
- Ear Tips (S/M/L)
- Type C charging cable
- User manual
- Panda Stickers
Technical details
- Weight of one earbud: 5g
- Charging case with earbuds: 51.11g
- Control type: Touch
- Waterproof rating: IPX5
- Bluetooth: V5.4
- Bluetooth Codec: SBC/AAC/LC3/LDAC/aptX/aptX Adaptive/aptX Lossless
- Charging time: 1H (earbuds) 2H (case)
- 10 min. Fast charging – 2H
- Charging port: USB-C
- Total playing time: 30 hours
Design and features
The Soundpeats Air5 Pro+ are trunk-style earbuds, similar to the Apple AirPods Pro. I fell in love with this design because of its simplicity and comfort. I find them more comfortable than the H3 Wireless earbuds I reviewed previously. The title is easy to handle with custom functions. Also, you generally get better microphone performance on calls.
Opening the poorly designed case requires two hands, unlike Apple’s. However, the case is well made with magnets that help to “lock” the earbuds in place. The Vegas-style motif of gold and black looks good, but some may not like it. The back has a USB-C charging port. Soundpeats include a charging cable.
Soundpeats offers an app (iOS and Android) that allows for customization of both audio and daily use. The app includes a hearing test that helps determine which equalizer setting is best for your hearing. My result sounded clearer than the other preset EQ settings, but I still prefer the EQ labeled HIFI and my custom EQ. The app is easy to use – a good thing. Touch and touch of each earbud can be set to perform different functions. It’s not as simple as Apple’s AirPods Pro, but the customization options are still appreciated.
Like most earbuds, the Soundpeats Air5 Pro+ includes active noise cancellation (ANC) and transparency modes. Each can be activated by touching and holding either earbud. ANC works, although not as powerful as the Apple AirPods Pro. Then again, AirPods Pro are more expensive.
Both the Soundpeats H3 and Air5 Pro+ earbuds are hybrid designs, meaning they use more than one type of speaker per earbud. With the H3, it was a dynamic speaker combined with armature drivers. With the Air5 Pro+ earbuds, a dynamic speaker (similar to a small cone speaker) is combined with a MEMS speaker.
What is a MEMS speaker, you ask? MEMS stands for Micro Electro Mechanical Systems. This speaker consists of a thin layer of piezoelectric material embedded in a silicon substrate. When an electrical voltage is applied, the piezoelectric material contracts or expands, vibrating the silicon membrane and pushing air to create sound waves.
This new ultra-thin, lightweight speaker technology comes from premium earbuds. The membrane can start and stop vibrating almost instantaneously. This faster “recovery” of speaker vibration results in a smoother, more accurate high-frequency sound. A conventional dynamic speaker is better for bass.
Do you have all that? Simply understand that this piezo/dynamic speaker combination delivers a “perfect” speaker, with deep bass and crystal clear highs. Does it work? Heck yes, it works.
The Pro+ earbuds support more Bluetooth codecs than the previous Pro model and include Japan Hi-Res certification. It includes Adaptive aptX lossless, aptX, SBC, and AAC, and Soundpeats has added both LDAC (Sony’s hi-Res streaming via Bluetooth) and the new LE Audio, a low-power audio standard that delivers high-quality audio via Auracast (for public multicasting). The bottom line is that these additional codecs promise better sound from a variety of music sources—for Android users.
We Apple fans are—again—left out of these goodies. However, my ears tell me that Apple’s AAC sounds good on Apple’s iDevices. I’ve heard “better” sound on Android and I’m still satisfied with Apple’s approach. Also, the claims of lossless audio manufacturers with these other Bluetooth codecs are not true. ALL Bluetooth is lossy, meaning some audio data is lost during wireless streaming. So, do not despair if you are an owner of Apple devices. The Air5Pro+ earbuds will sound great regardless of the source device.
So, how do the Air5 Pro+ earbuds sound? Unless you’re a listener, you won’t be disappointed. I use earbuds for audiobooks almost as much as for music. The app includes a “Whisper Book” setting, which is ideal for spoken content. Eliminates the “boominess” most audiobooks exhibit when played through earbuds.
Most of the EQ settings in the app affect the music a lot. As I said, I prefer both HIFI and my customized settings. I lean towards 60s–80s music, which evolved from bass-weak (60s) to over-produced sound (80s). The A5 Pro+ earbuds handle everything well.
One of my favorite albums is Moya’s first album—a strange but successful blend of psychedelia and straight-ahead jazz. Due to the limitations of analog recording, Mark Andes’ bass and Ed Cassidy’s drums were not heard well. With the Air5 Pro+ earbuds, the album sounds like pure entertainment. There is no listener fatigue given the EQ options. Remember, there are no right or wrong EQ settings. That’s what sounds best to your ears.
Among the many 80s-sounding albums, Weep The Ultravox has a bass-and-drum punch that can only be extracted by digital remastering. The title track has a low end you can hear. Granted, it’s not the visceral feeling one gets from big speakers, but it’s a nice kick in the head that’s rare in most earbuds. MEMS speaker technology takes this to the next level.
Final thoughts
Soundpeats has created a great sounding earbud that balances overall comfort, sound quality, and affordability. It is rare to achieve all three.
My favorite is the Soundpeats Air5 Pro+ TWS Earbuds
- Panda Stickers!
- Sounds good
- You are free
- Customizable EQ
- Custom settings for the earbud
- The app is easy to use
What needs to be improved?
- The case may be difficult to open
- Overall desigh a little “Vegas”
PricePrice: $129.99
Where to buy: Soundpeats, Amazon
The source: A sample of this product was provided free of charge by Soundpeats. Soundpeats did not have final say in the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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