Soundpeats has been making tws IEMs for a while and they offer a lot of variety in shell shapes and driver types at various prices. I have heard a couple of their tws IEMs too but what I have here with me is their latest Air 5 pro+. It definitely sounds and looks like an upgrade to the Air5 pro but this is different. It houses an unique hybrid of one 10mm dynamic driver and a xMEMS driver. This looks very similar to the Capsule 3 pro+ with a smaller battery life and is priced at $129, which is $40 more than Capsule 3 pro+ and exactly same as the H3. Air 5 pro+ is available in only black color. This slots in as the flagship along with the H3 but can this do as good as the H3? Can this offer anything different? Will the app help anyway? Let’s break it down!! This is going to be interesting.
P.S I would like to thank Icy and SoundPeats for the unit and having patience with me.
Get one from here:
For our Indian viewers:
UNBOXING:
Don’t expect anything fancy at all. Open the box and we have the charging case infront of us and the ear pieces are placed inside them. We get a set of tips, a cable for charging and that’s all.
Here is my unboxing and initial impression video:
BUILD AND FIT:
Build quality of this IEM is as good as it gets. Yes, it looks slightly less premium than the Capsule 3 pro+’s matte finished body but this is slightly smaller in size and offers better fit inside the ear. Ergonomics of this IEM is decent, it has the curves at the right places, the stem helps with stability and alignment too and the ear tips offer good grip inside the ear. I would have liked a slightly deeper fitting tips but these tips aren’t doing bad either. On the back we have the shiny touch sensitive area.
Yes, this charging case is differently designed. They open side wise yet, the buds fit nicely, no clunky sounds whatsoever. I did struggle a bit while placing the buds back inside the case but here is my advice, put the rose gold side of the stem outward.
BATTERY, RANGE & CONNECTION STRENGTH:
Soundpeats TWS IEMs never had any issues with battery life, range and connection strength. I easily got around 5-6 hrs of battery life from each earpiece and one single charge lasted me more than a week with daily usage of around 2-2.5 hrs with the charging case.
We get a very good range of around 10-15mtr (30-45ft) in clean air and around 8mtr with a wall within while signal strength too remains good within this range. Good thing is, it doesn’t have issues with multiple walls within a small range. I barely have any complaints here. Thank to its slightly vocal forward presentation, call clarity is very good and no issues with the voices at the receiver’s end either.
APP SUPPORT:
Soundpeats has updated their mobile app, it’s named PeatsAudio now and looks a bit more tidy and sleek. We get to control ANC levels, how the touch sensitive area responds to various inputs, it offers preset EQs and a custom one too and can be used for software update and one nifty feature, “Find my Device” which makes an reasonably audible ringing sound (might not be audible in noisy conditions) but the device has to be connected with the phone.
ANC:
Unlike the Air5 pro, this + variant offers better noise cancellation. It can easily silences the distant ambient noises while handles closer, not so loud sounds nicely. Transparent mode let’s the ambient noises in, keeping the listener aware of the surrounding.
Just like any other ANC, turning it on offers a bit more flavour, here we get slightly bigger bass body and slightly bigger stage too.
SOUND QUALITY:
I have heard a handful of TWS IEMs under $150 and that includes Status Between 3anc too. Most of these IEMs tend to offer a V shaped signature with big bass body where the vocals take the back seat, this includes the Between 3anc too. When Soundpeats reached out for Air 5 pro+, which looks very similar to the Capsule 3 pro+, with a slightly smaller driver, I wasn’t expecting it to sound any different. Mostly because, this V/W shaped signature is very popular and consumers like the bassy and energetic presentation.
And not to my surprise, Air5 pro+ is a proper V/W shaped IEM. This TWS IEM offers big, thumpy bass thanks to it’s high quality DD and sparkly and agile highs, putting it’s xMEMS drivers to work. This signature nicely contrasts the H3’s slightly vocal forward signature.
Let’s break this down!!
BASS:
Putting it’s 10mm DD to work, Air5 pro+ offers a bassy lower end. It can be labelled as bass head, given that brands have labelled less bassy IEMs has bass head but I would not like to do that. This is bassy with thumpy, punchy and deep hits. It has class leading sub-bass extension and rumbles. Mid bass is aptly clean for a bassy IEM and offers good layered notes. Area of impact is big and moves plenty of air. Bass notes usually move in and upward, keeping the stage cleaner but do change their direction dynamically, when needed. We get good dynamics and contrast too but it’s not the cleanest because of it’s slightly slower decay. It definitely offers much better control and is more technically capable than the Capsule 3 pro+. Air5 pro+ has better clarity with upper bass notes too. All in all, Air5 pro+ offers a good, fun yet aptly controlled lower end.
MID RANGE:
Just like any other typical hybrid IEM, Air5 pro+ too has a V shaped signature and the mid range takes the back seat. It’s slightly pushed back with a little bit of pop to the vocals. It offers decent tonality and timber which is a bit more on the neutral side. If I compare this with the H3, H3 has a more accurate tonality and timber while offering natural decay and body. Air5 pro+ on the other hand sounds more precise and accurate. It offers good texture but H3 has much better performance in this regard. Instruments though have a different kind of story. Even though they aren’t forward, they have better clarity and resolution than H3. In fact, I think this is as good as any $100 wired IEM when it comes to micro details, resolution and transparency. Yes, it doesn’t have the technical chops of back and foreground separation but offers a good surrounding presentation. Upper mids are slightly more bity with a slightly forward presentation but has nothing to be wary of.
HIGHS:
This is where this IEM Excels. Powered by xMEMS driver, we get wired IEM like presentation. It has very good agility, lively presentation and extension for a tws IEM. We are getting very good transparency with macro notes, yes, the micro details are slightly smeared but they too can be perceived if paid attention. Another thing to keep in mind is, it doesn’t have a lot of air between instruments. They are slightly on the clumsy side, which is fine for soft rock or pop music but can affect the layering and separation clarity with rock or metal tracks where we usually have a lot of instruments in the background.
STAGE AND IMAGING:
Air 5 pro not only offers impressive instrumental clarity cross the spectrum, it has an aptly developed stage too. We get a slightly taller than wider stage while the Z-axis depth is good with the highs. Yes, most of the stage is placed inside the head but the clean separation and cue placements gives this TWS admirable imaging capabilities. Most of the notes beyond 4khz and some vocal notes do make it out of the head though. We are getting very good sonics too, background instruments have the subtlety, but retain a bit more transparency for better clarity and details.
COMPARISON:
Vs Samsung Buds 2 pro:
Samsung Buds 2 pro is one of the most popular TWS IEMs in this price range. This is a more balanced and dry sounding IEM though. Yes, it offers slightly better vocal clarity and texture but the tonality and timber are a bit too crispy and dry which does enhance the clarity but takes out the organic feeling.
It has much smaller bass body, faster decay, slightly less sub-bass extension, less meaty mid bass with decent movement of air. HIGHS though are not as transparent or forward like the Air5 pro+ but has better air between instruments. It’s layering and separation are better too.
If you want a more balanced presentation, Buds 2 pro is a very good option but Air5 pro+ has much better musicality and bass performance.
VS Soundpeats H3:
One flagship vs another. This has to be interesting. H3 is a warmer, calmer and smoother sounding IEM while the Air5 pro+ is a V shaped IEM with better instrumental clarity. Here is my comparison review video:
CONCLUSION:
Yes, I have been saying this for a while but I have no problem repeating myself, TWS IEMs are definitely getting better as the Bluetooth technology is improving with time. Air5 pro+ takes this one step ahead with superb treble performance. Yes, this is not as clean as wired IEMs in this price range but it definitely has one of the best, slightly treble forward highs out of any TWS IEM.
SoundPeats could have given it a more premium look, battery life could have been better but this an excellent TWS for those looking for an engaging presentation with powerful bass and clean instrument presentation. I will definitely like to see a TWS from SoundPeats (H3 pro+ maybe) with DD +BA + xMEMS drivers.
This is it, thank you for reading, feel free to ask about this TWS IEM and enjoy the music!!
