SoundPEATS Capsule 3 Pro - Air 3 Deluxe HS - Mini Pro HS - Life Classic - Opera 03 - Opera 05 review and comparison
Six different models in five months! That's how many new wireless earbuds the Chinese audio manufacturer released recently. Time to put them all to the test - and to compare them. Which SoundPEATS earbuds are the best?
Like all 350 wireless earbuds reviewed on Scarbir.com, these earbuds were extensively tested, on both an Android phone and an iPhone. All models are tested on comfort, sound quality, controls, call clarity, video and games playback, and Active Noise Cancelling and the Transparency modes, when they're available.
What follows is a review and comparison of the highly anticipated Kickstaer models SoundPEATS Opera 03 and Opera 05, but also the SoundPEATS Mini Pro HS, the SoundPEATS Air3 Deluxe HS, and the newest of all, the ultra-budget SoundPEATS Life Classic.
As of February 28, the SoundPEATS Capsule 3 Pro is also added to this comparison.
Also check out the newer reviews of the SoundPEATS Air4 and Air4 Lite and SoundPEATS Engine!
Which are the best SoundPEATS earbuds of Q4 2022 and Q1 2023? Ranked from 1 to 6 - here we go!
1. SoundPEATS Air3 Deluxe HS review: Great AirPods-alternative under $50
$50 — 4,5 hours playtime — LDAC Codec — No IPX
The SoundPEATS Air3 Deluxe HS is the successor to the wildly beloved SoundPEATS Air3… and it's even better. With a more balanced sound and clearer calls, this is one great cheap AirPods-alternative.
UPDATE AUGUST 2023: The SoundPEATS Air4 and SoundPEATS Air4 Lite reviewed - click here!
UPDATE NOVEMBER 2024: Reviewed the SoundPEATS Air5 - a step up!
The SoundPEATS Air3 Deluxe HS (oh my, that name) are half-in-ear wireless earbuds. That means they're not as secure in your ears as earbuds with rubber ear-tips, but they're incredibly comfortable to wear, and as an added bonus, you'll still hear traffic around you when you're on the move. The smooth finish of the ear parts does make them a bit more slippery than Apple's own AirPods; but the battery life is comparable at 4,5 to 5 hours of playtime on a single charge. The charging case is also compact and thin enough to wear comfortably in any pocket.
Compared to the very popular predecessor SoundPEATS Air3, which can still be bought at $35, the new $50 model improves two important things. The first is the call quality. Your voice sounds clear and natural, and noise around you is reduced wonderfully in both phone and video calls. It doesn't handle wind noise well, however: that can drain your voice.
The other thing that's improved is the sound quality. The Air3 surprised with a warm and thick sound that wasn't the most detailed, but made almost every genre a pleasure to listen to. The Deluxe HS sounds more balanced and detailed than before. The mid-bass still has a decent thump, but the lower mid-tones have been dialed back a little bit and make room for the mid-tones.
Male and lower female vocals gained presence and come with a good amount of nuances. Guitars, piano play, cymbals and other center-mids sound natural, while treble is still rolled-off early enough to provide a smooth listen. While they have a smaller role than before, lower-mids are still accentuated enough to give the Air3 Deluxe HS a warm underlining - these are both warm and balanced, a lovely combination. Things can get a little shaky in the most crowded musical pieces, yet overall, this is a treat to listen to.
The Deluxe HS also has support from the free SoundPEATS app. It's basic, but still a nice extra here, with some sound equalizers and the option to deactivate single-touch controls - preventing a lot of accidental touches when you take an earbud out. Music does automatically pause when you do so, but the highly responsive controls may make you change the volume. Other than that…
The SoundPEATS Air3 Deluxe HS is a fantastic affordable alternative to the AirPods, combining comfort with good call quality and a very pleasant sound.
Design and comfort: 4.5/5 - A bit slippery, but very comfortable
Controls and connectivity: 3.5/5 - Auto-pause, full controls; perhaps too responsive
Playback: 4/5 - Flawless video playback, solid game synchronization
Call quality: 3.5/5 - Reduces surrounding noises, dodgy when there's wind
ANC: n/a
Transparency mode: n/a
App support: 3/5 - Basic but useful
Sound quality: 4.5/5 - Balanced with a warm undertone - very pleasant
VERDICT: 4.5 STARS (Great)
$50
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2. SoundPEATS Capsule 3 Pro review: SoundPEATS’ sweetest ANC earbuds
$70 - 5+ hours playtime - LDAC/AAC codec - no IPX
With a comfortable fit, solid Active Noise Cancelling and a smooth, warm sound, the SoundPEATS Capsule 3 Pro is the brands finest pair of ANC earbuds to date.
The Capsule 3 Pro (also written as the SoundPEATS Capsule3 Pro) is a direct successor to the SoundPEATS Air 3 Pro and SoundPEATS Life. Whereas the charging case became a bit bigger - although it's still flat enough to carry in a jeans pocket, the earbuds have exactly the same shape. That means the Capsule is comfortable to wear, thanks to convenient oval earpieces and the stems that fall nicely besides your cheeks. You can feel the ear tips in your ears a bit, but these are among the more comfortable ANC earbuds on the market.
The Active Noise Cancelling performs well for the $75 price. It reduces and softens low and high sounds especially well. Irregular mid-tones like chatter and laughter still come through, but these too are fairly dampened. The Transparency mode, meant to put through traffic or talking when you need it, is less convincing. Play music up to moderate volume, and you won't be able to follow a conversation. While we're at it, the Capsule 3 Pro doesn't wear an IPX waterproof rating - although it did survive a bit of rain in the testing period.
Most of the times, it's safe to take a phone or video call with the Capsule3 Pro. The microphones focus on your voice and reduces sounds around you well, including chatter. Outdoor calling isn't recommended: wind is the usual enemy for your voice - although even here, the Capsule3 Pro outperforms other SoundPEATS and many other earbuds - the mics quickly re-focus on your voice.
Without a doubt, the sound is the biggest improvement over the earlier models. The Capsule 3 Pro goes much louder than the Life (which is too soft on Android phones) and sounds more controlled and pleasant than both of them.
The Capsule 3 Pro boasts a balanced sound with a warm character. Female and higher male vocals are somewhat forward in the music, but are cut off before they become sharp, just like brighter instruments. As lower-mids are boosted (and therefore darker electronic tones, drums, and lower male vocals) the Capsule has a warmer-than-average sound. Meanwhile, there's a solid mid-bass that doesn't give off the tightest thumps, yet energizes enough. The sub-bass can dive nicely deep, and feels more natural than SoundPEATS Opera's later in this comparison. The sound may not be as outspoken as the Opera's, it isn't very detailed, or the most vibrant when it comes to vocal performance, but the Capsule 3 Pro provides a pleasant, smooth, and warm ride - easy to enjoy in pretty much all music genres.
Avoid the SoundPEATS Capsule 3 Pro if you take lots of phone or video calls with your wireless earbuds. Otherwise, these highly affordable ANC earbuds are easy to enjoy and recommend.
Design and comfort: 4/5 - Comfortable fit for hours, even though you feel the ear tips
Controls and connectivity: 3/5 - Touch panels can be a little too responsive
Playback: 4/5 - Flawless video playback, solid game synchronization
Call quality: 4/5 - Focuses on your voice, reduces noise well, wind is an enemy
ANC: 4/5 - Reduces low and high sounds well
Transparency mode: 2/5 - Not strong enough to hear conversations during music
App support: 3/5 - Basic but useful
Sound quality: 4/5 - Pleasantly warm and smooth
VERDICT: 4.5 STARS (Great)
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3. SoundPEATS Life Classic review: Super comfortable cheap earbuds
$25 — 6 hours playtime — AAC Codec — No IPX
The SoundPEATS Life Classic is the brands cheapest newest wireless earphone at the time of writing. At just $25, it does the basics right - and is even comfortable for smaller ears!
To start off, the SoundPEATS Life Classic almost has the same thin and compact charging case as the Air3 Deluxe HS, so it's easy to slide and wear in any jeans pocket. The earbuds themselves are wonderfully comfortable as well. They have the same oval earpieces seen on the AirPods Pro's and many of its rivals, but are actually a bit tinier - making them easy to wear even in smaller ears.
As said, the Life Classic does more basics rights. The battery lasts up to 6 hours on a single charge, and like its more expensive siblings, you get all the controls at your fingertips. Play/pause, changing tracks, volume, and (de)activating the game mode is easy here. In fact, the controls aren't as overly sensitive as some other models, while they respond faster! Like with the other models, SoundPEATS stopped communicating an IPX waterproof rating, but during the test time, they did survive some rain and sweat.
When it comes to sound playback, you'll sometimes hear a little beep on one of the earbuds after around ten seconds. It's soft enough to only hear it in quiet areas, but can still be annoying. Happily, videos play with ease and the gaming mode does a decent job of keeping up with the action on your screen. Calling is a mixed bag, however. Phone and video calls are doable in quiet areas, but your voice starts to crackle and beep when there are sounds around you.
When it comes to sound, this is the most straightforward model in SoundPEATS' line-up. It doesn't do anything particularly well, but nothing bad either. There's a slight focus on treble, with upfront vocals, and instruments that colour a bit brighter than average - but nowhere near the likes of the bright SoundPEATS Free2 Classic. Highs roll-off before they become harsh. Meanwhile, the mid-bass thumps provides modern music with enough power, and lower-mid tones are present enough to give the sound a bit of fullness.
With terrific comfort even for smaller ears, solid battery life, a solid game mode and a straightforward sound, these are great no-nonsense earbuds.
Design and comfort: 5/5 - Comfortable for hours, even for smaller ears
Controls and connectivity: 4.5/5 - Responsive, and all controls on the earbuds; no auto-pause function
Playback: 4/5 - Flawless video playback, decent game synchronization
Call quality: 2/5 - Doable in quiet areas only
ANC: n/a
Transparency mode: n/a
App support: n/a (may come later)
Sound quality: 4/5 - Straightforward, vocal-centric, not too bright
VERDICT: FOUR STARS (Good)
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4. SoundPEATS Mini Pro HS review: One step forward, one step back
$60 — 4,5+ hours playtime — LDAC / AAC Codec — No IPX
There's another SoundPEATS model that got an upgraded ‘HS’ version. The SoundPEATS Mini Pro HS is still one of the most comfortable Active Noise Cancellation earbuds, but not everything is better than its predecessor.
The SoundPEATS Mini Pro HS looks a lot like the previously released SoundPEATS Mini Pro, but the devil is in the details. The brand logo on the earbuds now has a gold finish instead of grey, and the charging case is covered in gold sprinkles. The fundamentals stayed the same and that's a great thing, as both the case and the earbuds are delightfully compact and comfortable to wear. The buds do stick out a little bit, so side-sleeping with these isn't recommended, but as the inner-ear part is so slim, they're still easy to wear for hours.
How long you can wear them? Well, battery life depends heavily on your phone or laptop. The playtime on a single charge with ANC on ranges from 4,5 hours with the LDAC codec (modern Android phones) to 6,5 hours on iPhone, which uses the AAC codec. Turn ANC off, and battery life is extended to respectively 5,5 or 7,5 hours.
The Active Noise Cancelling is surprisingly effective. It reduces noise around you in the entire range, lower sounds even more effectively than the higher ones. Chatter, a radio playing nearby, or distant traffic - you may still hear it all, but it's so heavily softened, the Mini Pro HS brings rest to your head even without playing music.
Push that play ‘button’ (a double-tap on the touch panel), and music plays with ease. There's a sense of airiness in the sound, with vocals well separated from instruments, and that nice impression that musical details come from your left and right. Lower mid-tones are slightly boosted to give the music some warmth, while the bass consists mostly of mid-bass thumps which strike quick enough, but bloat a bit. The sub-bass [darkest bass tones you can feel as much as hear] underneath it rumbles rather loose. Treble could have been better as well: cymbals and higher vocal outbursts can occasionally be too sharp.
That said, the sound is a good step up from the original Mini Pro. The newer models sound is warmer, has a more pronounced bass, more elevated lower-mids and a warmer vocal tonality.
Sadly, there's also a big drawback from the original Mini Pro - and that's the now terrible call quality. Somehow, the Mini Pro HS doesn't reach the same good test results as the predecessor. Your voice is so fragile, a bit of background noise makes it dip heavily, and wind noise makes you completely inaudible.
The SoundPEATS Mini Pro HS is a good step up from the original Mini Pro in sound quality, but as its call clarity takes a serious hit, it's a less versatile pair of earbuds. Shame, as these are still one of the most comfortable ANC earbuds under $100.
Design and comfort: 4.5/5 - Compact and comfortable - a bliss
Controls and connectivity: 4/5 - Volume, track and game controls directly on the earbuds; no auto-pause function
Playback: 4.5/5 - Flawless video playback, good game synchronization
Call quality: 1/5 - Insanely fragile voice output
ANC: 4/5 - Surprisingly effective
Transparency mode: 2/5 - Not strong enough to hear conversations during music
App support: 3/5 - Basic but useful
Sound quality: 4/5 - Energetic, sometimes too sharp on treble
VERDICT: FOUR STARS (Good)
$60
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5. SoundPEATS Opera 03 review: A mediocre attempt at audiophile earbuds
$60 — 5+ hours playtime — LDAC / AAC Codec — IPX4 splashproof
‘Design by SoundPEATS’, reads a proud statement on the sides of the Opera 03 earbuds. It's a bit unfortunate, as this is one of the most uncomfortable earbuds to come from the brand in recent years. The rose-gold-and-black Opera 03 (and adjacent Opera 05, more on it below) consist of a smaller oval part that goes into your ears, and a hefty bulb that sticks out of your ears - way too much so, according to 80% of Scarbir-readers on Instagram.
In order to get the most out of the sound and Active Noise Cancelling on the Opera, you may need to mount a bigger-than-average sized ear-tip, meaning these earbuds both feel very full and heavy in your ears. With my medium-sized ears, I found them tolerable. Happily, they block noise wonderfully when you're commuting.
With the big tip installed, Active Noise Cancellation is very usable even without playing something. The Opera blocks and reduces a lot of sounds from your surroundings; lower frequencies even better than higher ones. The Transparency mode lets you hear some traffic noise when you're playing music, but don't expect to be able to follow a conversation clearly. Speaking of which: it's hard to take a call with these. Your voice appears natural in perfectly quiet areas and background sounds are reduced nicely in itself, but they change your voice into a robotic mess that jumps up and down in volume. Even without wind noise you won't always be audible.
Maybe the available firmware update in the SoundPEATS app can prevent these problems, but updating the firmware never worked during the three weeks of testing, failing on both Android and iPhone.
Sadly, music doesn't automatically pause when you take an earbud out, and unlike more and more newer earbuds around this price point, you can't connect this pair to multiple devices at the same time. Aside from that, battery life is heavily dependent on your device - it differs from 5 hours on Android (with LDAC codec) to 7 hours on iPhone (AAC), both with ANC on.
So, how does SoundPEATS’ first ‘audiophile-grade’ pair sound? The keyword here is thick. There's a heavy slamming mid-bass that provides loose yet deep thumps, and an equally heavy sub-bass that serves its rumbles deep and accurate. The Opera 03 definitely aims to please bass lovers. Lower-mids are boosted and provide a slight warmth, and center-mid guitars and piano play have a fairly natural tonality… but it gets worse higher up. Voices are placed somewhat forward, but higher vocals sound flat, as they're also missing nuances in the lower frequencies. Worse, is that both higher-pitched vocals and other aspects of the treble can bear more sibilance and sound tinny.
Mind you - the Opera 03 definitely sounds more immersive than the more affordable SoundPEATS models, and to thank mostly is the sense that music surrounds you. Still, it does so in a compact soundstage where even details on your left and right feel relatively close, and more challenging musical pieces can strike as crowded and even messy.
The SoundPEATS Opera 03 has a big and thick sound that's engaging, but lacks too much naturalness and upper-mid refinement to classify as audiophile. Along with the awkward big fit and lacklustre call quality, it's easy to say this set isn't for everyone.
Design and comfort: 2/5 - Bulky, heavy, uncomfortable for longer periods
Controls and connectivity: 4/5 - Volume, track and game controls directly on the earbuds
Playback: 4.5/5 - Flawless video playback, good game synchronization
Call quality: 1.5/5 - Fragile, only tolerable in quiet areas
ANC: 4/5 - Surprisingly effective
Transparency mode: 2/5 - Not strong enough to hear conversations during music
App support: 2/5 - Basic; updating the firmware always fails!
Sound quality: 4/5 - Energetic, bass-heavy, lacks treble refinement
VERDICT: THREE STARS (Worth considering)
$60
Buy on Kickstarter
6. SoundPEATS Opera 05: Save the extra money
$80 — 5+ hours playtime — LDAC / AAC Codec — IPX4 splashproof
Next to the Opera 03, the Opera 05 is positioned as an even more premium pair of ‘hifi audiophile-grade’ wireless earbuds. According to SoundPEATS, they house an extra balanced armature to offer ‘improved fidelity, realism, and details.’ It doesn't turn out that way.
As the Opera 05 are precisely the same as the Opera 03 with gold instead of rose-gold accents, let's jump directly to the only actual difference: the sound quality.
As expected, the Opera 05 indeed has more emphasis on the higher regions. However, emphasis doesn't mean refinement. It mostly adds splashiness to the sound. Upper-mid instruments like violins, cymbals and also higher-pitched (female) vocals can strike as hissy, sibilant, and thin. The highs are tiring to listen to.
It's not the only difference either. In a good test track like James Blake's Limit to Your Love, the Opera 05's sub-bass appears to be more bloated than on the Opera 03 - again in a manner that it's a bit out of bounds.
It's not all bad though. The 05 does have clearer left-right separation and a slightly fuller mid-bass than its cheaper rose-gold sibling.
The extra balanced armature can’t prevent the SoundPEATS Opera 05 from sounding artificial, and on top of that, the sound is more tiring to listen to than the Opera 03. It's not worth spending the extra money.
Design and comfort: 2/5 - Bulky, heavy, uncomfortable for longer periods
Controls and connectivity: 4/5 - Volume, track and game controls directly on the earbuds
Playback: 4.5/5 - Flawless video playback, good game synchronization
Call quality: 1.5/5 - Fragile, only tolerable in quiet areas
ANC: 4/5 - Surprisingly effective
Transparency mode: 2/5 - Not strong enough to hear conversations during music
App support: 2/5 - Basic; updating the firmware always fails!
Sound quality: 2.5/5 - Annoyingly splashy treble, bloated sub-bass
VERDICT: TWO STARS (Disappointing)
$80
Buy on Kickstarter
Disclaimer: I bought these TWS true wireless earbuds myself or I received these products from the manufacturer or a distributor. I test and review all audio products equally honest - read about it here.
Consider buying this earphone? I'd really appreciate it if you use the links in this article. It won't cost you extra, yet it will financially support me a bit in my ongoing quest for great affordable audio. <3
Also read:
Leaderboard: All rated wireless earphones
