SoundPeats Air5 Pro+ Plus TWS Bluetooth Earphones – Natural To Hi-End Skies
SoundPeats Air5 PRO+ Plus is a 129 USD pair of TWS True Wireless Bluetooth IEMS with xMEMS drivers at the core, and they will be the star of our review today. SoundPeats put on plenty of features including aptX LossLess, LDAC and LC3 codecs, as well as Adaptive noise cancellation.
Introduction
SoundPeats is the type of company that gets sold through Amazon or their own shop, and also through channels like Apple iPhone sales shops, as an alternative to iPhones, at least in Romania and local shops. SoundPeats is known for reliable products and a natural sound tonality, having an excellent sound despite the entry-level price point.
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Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4rD7GbO
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3jU8HhH
Build Quality And Design
At their core, SoundPeats Air5 Pro+ is a pair of bluetooth earphones powered by xMEMS drivers, 10mm dynamic drivers and XAA-2000 Aptos Class H Amplifier. To be honest, I am not enthusiastic about the IEMs using AI adaptive ANC, a pair of bluetooth IEMS do not need to be powered by AI in any way.
SoundPeats promises Hi-Ress and even lossless audio, with support for aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless and LDAC, and even LC3 for low-latency. Charging is fast, and you get 2 hours of playback from just 10 minutes of charge, multipoint connectivity and a battery life of 30 hours total. Each IEM has a battery of 35 mAh, and the case has a 520 mAh battery inside. It takes 1 hour to charge the earbuds and 2 hours to charge the case.
LC3 and LDAC are disabled by default and can only be enabled when using the Peats Audio app. With the QCC3091 BT chip at the heart, and an earbud weight of 5 grams, Air5 Pro+ is rather ergonomic.
Subjective Usage
You likely can tell from the start that I am not a fan of SoundPeats including buzzwords marketing in a product that otherwise could just as well survive based on the tuning. The AI ANC thingy is just a disappointment to be mentioned to me, as the passive noise isolation is around 15 dB but the ANC adds up to around 25 dB of Active Noise Canceling. This being said, it damages the sound and it is far better to listen with ANC turned off as it changes the sound significantly.
It feels like Air5 Pro+ is overshadowed as a product by really poor marketing decisions, because it is really comfortable and fun to wear, they have a shallow insertion but the shape offers outstanding support in my ears and the case is nice and lightweight too, but you have all the good BT codecs disabled. You can’t just enable them either, like you can with FiiO and most other products, because the soundpeats android app requires an account to work, you have to register with them, and that’s just such a chore to do for a pair of bluetooth earphones.
There’s also the amplifier inside of the earphones being class H, and having quite a bit of background noise and hissing, as xMEMS drivers are naturally a bit more sensitive. I would usually spend some time complaining about the interface being touch based, but Soundpeats included a good accidental touch rejection, you can even adjust the IEMS without them overreacting to touch, which is top notch.
Sound Quality
Pairings – You can pair SoundPeats Air5 Pro+ with most android smartphones, but pairing them with iPhones makes no sense so I was surprised to see the brand being sold through Apple shops here in Romania. I am saying this because iPhones do not support LDAC or aptX protocols, only AAC, so you will not get the best sound with iPhones, so for this review I have used my Samsung S24 Ultra Smartphone to drive the Air5 Pro+.
The driving power of the amplifiers inside of the Air5 Pro+ is very limited, and above 90 dB they get shouty, aggressive and digital sounding, but at medium listening volumes and low listening volumes, they sound natural, brilliant. It is clear that the xMEMS drivers are much easier to drive and with increased volume they get much louder than the Dynamic drivers inside of the Air5.
Overall Signature – Sonic signature changes drastically with volume, which is an unwanted effect of the xMEMS drivers and dynamic drivers having different SPL and likely impedances, so you will get a different experience depending on how loud you go. We will review the air5 Pro+ at medium volumes with basic bluetooth protocols as LDAC and aptX are not easily made available for their users. Regardless of the complaints I have, the midrange of the air5 pro+ is just superb, they have one of the most natural, cleanest and most detailed midranges you will hear in this price range. Bass is boomy, bloomy, resonant and a bit exaggerated especially if there is a lot of it in the recording or mix. But bass is free of distortion, while treble is fast, a bit sharp, created by the very light xMEMS driver.
Bass – At the bottom, air 5 pro plus is very satisfying, can produce a resonant, deep and lush bass with extreme quantity and a blooomy, dark tone to it. This bass has absolutely zero distortion, and can handle songs with a lot of extra low-end, producing a beautiful, resonant and perfect for modern music sound. In fact, air 5 pro+ will be the best pair of BT IEMS in the entry-level you will hear for EDM, Dubstep, Pop and Rap music.
Midrange – Even the mids are beautiful, natural, getting both male and female voices perfectly. Voices like those of jake hill sound as if he is in the same room, while Yfu baby’s voice is simply angelic played through the air 5 pro +. I find those to be WAY above their asking price in sonic quality, and most soundpeats earphones have been, with the mids being just so beautiful, having a resolution that is usually heard in the 500 USD price segment.
Treble – The treble gets much faster than the midrange, having a sharp, crisp tone to it, a bit aggressive and metallic. I saw very little adoption of xMEMS from bigger companies and I feel like their exaggerated sensitivity and lower impedance are both reasons, you hear hissing and the amplifier noise with air5+, and treble can be quite aggro, so I recommend them for EMD, Dubstep, Pop and electronic, new, modern music in general, but not rock and metal as they get fatiguing FAST if the song has aggro parts recorded in.
Dynamics And Textures – With two vastly different drivers, texture is not cohesive and it is very different across different frequency ranges. This being said, it actually sounds more realistic and more vivid, because in a live concerts or when playing with a band, cymbals do sound far more metallic and sharper, harsher than a sweet voice and bloomy bass, so I would write off the Air+ as realistic, live sounding not necessarily problematic. Dynamic range is surprisingly wide, and not compressed, which makes me feel even sadder that they don’t make their app easy to use to test LDAC and aptX. Lower midrange has slower, more natural and voluptuous textures, while upper midrange has a fast, texture revealing and synth emphasizing presentation.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – With a fairly limited volume range for consistency, Air5Pro+ will change tuning with volume, and this is most likely caused by the difference in impedance and efficiency of the xMEMS and dynamic drivers inside. Sound is smoother, warmer, and more laid-back at lower volumes, easily becomes more aggressive louder, with best performance at medium volumes, between 75 dB and 90 dB, which is actually where you’re theoretically supposed to be listening for best long-term ear health.
Soundstage – Soundpeats gave the air5 pro plus a wide and holographic soundstage with excellent instrument separation, good layering and strong imaging. Staging is wide, deep and tall, with sounds having a strong expression in all dimensions.
Value and Conclusion
With a price tag of 130 USD, I just wish that soundpeats would stick to less marketing and more product quality, because they did not need AI noise canceling nor to require you to register with their app to use LDAC and aptX protocols. This being said, the value is very high, and this is a good implementation of xMEMS, air5 Pro+ are lightweight IEMS with good comfort, good passive noise isolation and a natural sound that is very detailed, so value is crazy good regardless. The company should still keep in mind that anything AI related is not a selling point and neither is requiring an email register to use an app and both are handicaps for a product that is otherwise very good.
At the end of the day, I may have mixed feelings due to my personal stance about the shortcomings, but I believe that for some those may not be as relevant, and Air5 Pro+ still sounds excellent at low and medium volumes, has an ergonomic shape, and are a great way to enjoy music if you’re on-the-go and need a comfortable pair of earphones.
PROs
- Deep and resonant bass with good punch
- Natural midrange with excellent tonality, next to perfection
- Comfortable and ergonomic, not heavy nor large, they fit my ears perfectly
- Eartips do a good job for keeping contact with the ear
- Excellent support from SoundPeats as a company and for warranty
- Easily available on Amazon and other sale channels
- Great for EDM, Pop and Electronic modern music
- High value despite the shortcomings
- Decent battery life and charging times
- Rejection to accidental touching is top notch
Cons
- Ai ANC is not good neither needed in a pair of earphones
- They require you to register on their website to use the app to access important features like LDAC and aptX protocols
- Cannot go beyond 90 dB without distortion and an aggressive sound, xMEMS drivers are far too sensitive and the AMP does not handle them well
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4rD7GbO
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3jU8HhH
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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