Courtesy of SoundpeatsTriangleUpBuy NowMultiple Buying Options Available$130 $109 at Amazon$130 at SoundpeatsCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyRating:8/10
Open rating explainerInformationWIREDMultipoint pairing. LDAC, aptX Adaptive, and lossless audio. Powerful, detailed sound. Clear calls.TIREDNo wireless charging. No wear sensors. Can't change ANC modes on calls. No auracast.With so many wireless earbuds promising extra features like spatial audio, heart rate tracking, hearing enhancement, and live translation, it can be easy to forget that most of us just want the best possible sound for the lowest possible price.
Which wireless earbuds give you this magic combo? I’m sure there are endless opinions, but as of today, the triple-driver Soundpeats H3 are easily in my top five. If you're looking for awesome sound but don't have a ludicrous budget, these are some of the best around.
Don’t worry if you’re unfamiliar with the brand. Like EarFun, 1More, and Baseus, Soundpeats doesn’t have much of a marketing budget (or much of a retail presence outside of Amazon). Nonetheless, over the past six years, it has created some of the best values in the wireless audio world.
Photograph: Simon CohenFor the H3, Soundpeats has tackled the sound quality challenge from two directions. On the Bluetooth side, they have an impressive array of high-quality codecs. Most of the time, you’ll see a company offer either Sony’s hi-res LDAC codec or Qualcomm’s rival, aptX Adaptive. The H3 support both, including aptX Lossless, giving Android users the ability to maximize sound quality based on their phone’s capabilities. iPhone users will have to make do with AAC.
On the acoustic architecture side, the H3 have triple drivers: One 12-mm dynamic driver paired with two balanced-armature (BA) drivers. It’s a very common approach in wired in-ear monitors (IEMs), but still somewhat unusual in the wireless universe.
The belief is that multiple drivers deliver better sound. By divvying up audible frequencies via a crossover circuit and sending them to drivers that have been tuned to render them, you should get a cleaner, more detailed performance than with a single driver doing all of the lifting.
Soundpeats H3
Rating: 8/10
$130 $109 at Amazon$130 at Soundpeats
Photograph: Simon CohenWhile this approach doesn’t guarantee better audio, it’s a winning formula for the H3; they sound superb. As I made my way through my standard set of test tracks, my head kept nodding, not just to keep time with the beat, but also as a subconscious response to how much I was enjoying the H3’s delivery.
Thankfully, the brand didn’t overlook comfort or durability. The earbuds use an ergonomic shape that IEM makers have favored for years. It’s chunkier than a set of AirPods (by a lot), but it gives your fingers excellent grip, making it easy to get them in and out of the case and, more importantly, to adjust them when in your ears. An IPX5 rating should prevent rain, sweat, or even the occasional water spray from causing harm (just make sure you dry them off).
Soundpeats H3
Rating: 8/10
$130 $109 at Amazon$130 at SoundpeatsEars vary, of course, but I found the H3 both secure and comfortable, even after several hours of wear. Soundpeats includes five sizes of silicone ear tips, and the Peats Audio app has a fit test to help you find the right size.
Photograph: Simon CohenThe best earbuds and headphones make it feel like you’re really hearing your music. They give you access to the detail that lives beneath the broad strokes, the small nuances and textures that have always been there, but that remain inaudible via lesser gear. The H3, when connected via aptX Adaptive or LDAC, reveal this hidden content as well or better than wireless earbuds that cost twice as much.
Even when using plain ol’ AAC, the H3 are a great listen. The Peats Audio companion app includes 12 EQ presets, the ability to create your own custom mixes with a 10-band equalizer, and a hearing test that generates a personalized “adaptive” EQ, but I found the default Soundpeats Classic preset almost flawless. It’s energetic in all the right places, and the bass response is punchy and articulate.
Soundpeats H3
Rating: 8/10
$130 $109 at Amazon$130 at SoundpeatsThe H3 aced my bass torture tracks (Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” and a medley of Hans Zimmer’s finest movie compositions) and demonstrated a precise soundstage with a surprisingly elastic width. By that I mean it could sound anywhere from intimate to airy, depending on the track. I don’t usually love Dolby Atmos Music tracks on earbuds or headphones (I think it sounds better in a room with a well-designed multichannel speaker system), and yet the H3 offered up one of the best Atmos renderings I’ve heard so far. They can’t fix awful mixes like the Atmos version of Huey Lewis’ “Power of Love” (why, Huey, why?), but given a thoughtful production like the Atmos version of the Doors’ “Riders on the Storm,” they open up new aural vistas.
Photograph: Simon CohenSoundpeats H3
Rating: 8/10
$130 $109 at Amazon$130 at SoundpeatsAs you might guess, triple drivers and fancy codecs add to the cost. To keep the H3’s price as accessible as possible, Soundpeats made some compromises in other areas. The case feels a bit cheap and plasticky, and it doesn’t have wireless charging. The earbuds lack wear sensors for music auto-pause, and despite using the latest Bluetooth 5.4 protocol, there’s no support for Auracast. You don’t get spatial audio modes or headtracking.
Once I found the right size, I was impressed by the passive noise isolation. You may find it’s all you need for not-so-noisy environments. You can kick on the ANC for more, and it does a decent job with lower frequencies, but don’t expect Bose, Sony, or Apple levels of hush. Think of it as pushing some of those annoying sounds further into the background as opposed to canceling them outright. The same is true for transparency mode. It’s fine for situational awareness, but you’ll still feel a bit separated from the rest of the world, especially when listening to your voice.
My only real complaint is that you can’t skip over Normal mode when jumping from ANC to transparency, unless you use the app, something I’m hoping Soundpeats will fix with a firmware update. Speaking of the app, Soundpeats is in the midst of transitioning its products from the legacy Peats Audio app to the newer Soundpeats app. Until that happens, you won’t be able to use the Peats Audio app without an internet connection, something to keep in mind if you’re routinely without a data connection.
With Bluetooth 5.4, wireless connectivity is strong and stable, even when using LDAC’s high bit-rate mode. You get multipoint support when LDAC is turned off (a fairly standard limitation with that codec), but the H3 can’t do LE Audio or Bluetooth Auracast. I realize that Auracast is still far from ubiquitous; however, if we want this incredibly useful tech to proliferate, it needs to be added to as many new Bluetooth devices as possible.
Call quality was another pleasant surprise. My voice lost some of its bass, leaving it sounding less natural, yet what remained was crystal clear. And it was consistent; regardless of how many loud, intrusive sounds occurred on my side of the call, none were transmitted to my callers, and they only affected my voice quality by a tiny amount. I’m not sure I’d want to rely on the H3 for longer calls and meetings, as the lack of a natural transparency option eventually proves tiresome, but for shorter, just-the-facts chats, they’re more than adequate. One caveat, though: Active phone calls will lock out the ANC mode switch—even from the app—so you’ll need to choose your ANC mode before taking or placing a call.
Soundpeats H3
Rating: 8/10
$130 $109 at Amazon$130 at Soundpeats
Photograph: Simon CohenI criticized Soudpeats for not giving us customizable controls on its Opera 05 (the company’s first triple-driver earbuds), and I’m happy to report that it heard me. You can now change any of the four gestures on both earbuds (single-, double-, triple-taps, and long-presses). Responsiveness is good (for touch controls); I had almost no missed taps, but I’d like an optional feedback tone or click.
Soundpeats claims the H3 will last seven hours on a charge, with 37 hours total play time when you include the case. With ANC off and volume set to 50 percent, those numbers are accurate—perhaps even a bit conservative. Add ANC and/or LDAC and you’ll get less, perhaps as much as 30 percent less stamina.
The Soundpeats H3 aren’t the most full-featured wireless earbuds, nor are they the most affordable, but they deliver great sound for the money. They definitely don’t care about tracking your heart rate, but if getting great sound quality at a reasonable price quickens your pulse, these are the buds to beat.
Soundpeats H3
Rating: 8/10
$130 $109 at Amazon$130 at Soundpeats$130 $109 at Amazon$130 at Soundpeats
To post a comment, you must be logged in. Please login. Login
Comments (0)