ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Soundpeats Air 5+ Pro earbuds are available on Amazon for $103
- These earbuds offer audiophile sound on a budget
- The Air 5+ Pro earbuds deliver tight bass, smooth mids, crystal highs, and a nice wide soundstage.
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Soundpeats.
It’s a name you’ve probably never heard of.
In a market saturated with earbuds of all price points, features, and quality, it’s easy to understand why you’ve probably never heard of this company.
Let me see if I can rectify that.
I’ve tested several of Soundpeats’ budget-friendly earbuds, and have always come away impressed. Whether they’re at the bottom end of the pricing spectrum or veer toward the midrange, Soundpeats’ earbuds and headphones never fail to impress me.
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Naturally, when the company sent me the Air 5+ Pro earbuds, I got excited. I’d tested the previous earbuds (Air 4 Pro) of this line and found them to be an outstanding option for audiophiles on a very tight budget. The earbuds produced agile, tight bass, and well-balanced highs and midrange. The sound wasn’t in the slightest bit taxing to my ears (even after extended periods of listening), and a good seal was easy to achieve.
As you might expect, the Air 5+ Pro earbuds take the previous iteration to the next level.
Let’s see how well these performed.
My experience
Once I had them unboxed, I found the Air 5+ Pro earbuds to look pretty typical of Soundpeats devices. They’re unassuming and don’t draw attention to themselves. These (like most of Soundpeats’ devices) don’t look premium, which is one of the reasons why the sound quality is so surprising.
The Air 5+ Pro earbuds feature xMEMS’ Cowell solid-state micro-speaker, which uses a silicon MEMS actuator instead of a traditional voice-coil driver. This allows the speaker to respond in microseconds with far lower distortion. That speed and accuracy help reveal subtle transients, clearer high-frequency detail, and more precise imaging.
I decided not to connect the Air 5+ Pro earbuds to the Soundpeats app to see how well they performed without adjustments. I was seriously impressed with the sound.
The Air 5+ Pro earbuds took the sound of the Air 4 Pros and refined it, so the earbuds produce even tighter bass, smoother midrange, and more crystalline highs.
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One of the first songs I played was “A Principle God,” by Voices From The Fuselage. This is a haunting piece of music that starts with a playful exchange between piano and synth, and the pinging from left to right is seamless.
When the tune really kicks in, you get a nice soundstage, with the guitars and keyboards around the periphery and the drums and voice in the center. It’s a nice balance that works beautifully, and really shows itself at the end of the track, which happens to be one of my favorite outtros to any song I’ve ever heard, highlighting the sweetness of Ashe O’Hara’s voice.
Did I mention these earbuds are comfy?
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
There’s a moment in the end, where Ashe’s voice swirls around, and I’d never heard that quite as clearly with other earbuds. It’s a gentle reminder that nuance is so important in music, and the Air 5+ Pros handle it with aplomb.
Next up was the brilliant “Tom Sawyer,” by Rush. The Moving Pictures album never fails to sound good on any device, but the Air 5+ Pros really helped bring out the genius of this song, especially with regard to Neil Peart and Geddy Lee, where the low end was tight and refined.
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Finally, I turned up AC/DC’s “Back In Black,” which is considered the gold standard for sound engineers around the world. Any time an engineer needs to check the acoustics of a sound room, this is the track they use.
The Air 5+ Pros reminded me exactly why that’s the case. Everything about the song was put on incredible display via these Soundpeats earbuds. This was especially true after cranking the volume to 50%. Between Angus and Malcom Young, the guitar sound is just incredible, and the Air 5+ Pro earbuds really delivered.
ZDNET’s buying advice
The most amazing thing about the Air 5+ Pro earbuds (along with almost all of Soundpeats’ devices) is that they are currently selling for only $103 on Amazon. Finding earbuds that sound this good at such a price shouldn’t be a thing… but Sounpeats proves it can be.
If you have a friend or loved one who’s been asking for a good pair of earbuds, don’t sleep on the Soundpeats Air 5+ Pro. They might not look fancy, but they certainly sound the part.
The specs
- Bluetooth: 5.4
- Chipset: Qualcomm QCC3091
- Driver: 10mm Composite Bio-Diaphragm Driver (PU + PEEK)
- Active Noise Cancellation (ANC): AI-powered adaptive ANC, up to 55 dB reduction
- Microphones: 6 microphones with AI ENC and Qualcomm cVc 8.0
- Codec Support: LDAC, aptX, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless, LC3, AAC, SBC
- Battery Life: Up to 7.5 hours per charge (ANC on), up to 37 hours with the charging case
- Battery Capacity: 35mAh per earbud, 520mAh for the charging case
- Charging: USB-C
- Water Resistance: IPX5
- Weight: 4.8g per earbud
- Connectivity: Multipoint connection support
- App Support: Soundpeats app for EQ, codec toggles, and mode control
