Soundpeats Air3 Pro Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Wireless In-Ear Headphones Review
Recently GearBrain tested new earbuds from Soundpeats, the Mini Pro and Free2 Classic. For those of you who don’t know, Soundpeats is a new brand of headphones, earbuds and in-ear headphones. The devices we tested are reliable headphones with respectable features at attractive price point. The company sent us their newest in-ear headphones, the Air3 Pro Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Earbuds and we put them through our test program for headphones. Here is what we found during testing these in-ear headphones.
What are Soundpeats Air3 Pro Earbuds?
Soundpeats latest earbuds, the Air3 Pro, are in-ear headphones that feature 3 listening modes including Noise-canceling, 12mm driver, 24-hour playtime, a rechargeable case and in-ear detection. They are lightweight and work on a 5.2 Bluetooth wireless connection. These means they are compatible with all Bluetooth-enabled devices with Bluetooth 4.0 or above.
We found the Air3 Pro to be like the Soundpeats Mini Pro and Free2 Classic earbuds. They all have aptX-Adaptive which is a Bluetooth audio codec that can combine premium audio quality with low-bit rate transmission to provide a more consistent sound experience from your smartphone. The Air3 Pro earbuds have the CVC 8.0 Noise Redection Tech which are in the other Soundpeats earbuds. We like how this technology can block out background noise while you are on your smartphone.
The Air3 Pro also comes with a charging case which is compact and lightweight. The case looks identical to what the other Soundpeats earbuds use to charge the headphones. There is the LED light on the front which lets you know how much battery life is left. Just remember the green light means 50 to 100%, a yellow light is 10-49% and red is 10% or less. And to charge the case, you need to use the supplied USB-C cable and it will take about 2 hours to fully charge the case and earbuds.
Once charged, you will get very long battery life. According to Soundpeats, you can get up to 24 hours of continuous listening on a single charge. Many users don’t listen to music for 24 straight hours, but they do use their headphones for long periods of time each day. For our tests, we used the Air3 Pros about 2 hours a day and the batteries lasted over a month before we had to charge them a second time.
Lastly, the best features of the Air3 Pros are their noise cancelling capabilities. There are three modes for you to choose: Normal, ANC Mode and Transparency Mode. There is also a gaming mode for those who want to use the Air3 Pro earbuds while playing games on their smartphone or tablet. To access these modes, you need to do a long press on the left earbud for 1.5 seconds. You will hear when the mode has been changed.
How to control the Air3 Pro earbuds?
Controlling the Air3 Pro is just like the other Soundpeats earbuds, touch control. Each earbud comes with a different control based on the number of times you touch it. Here is how each earbud works:
- Clear Pairing: place both earbuds in the charging case and hold both buttons for 10 seconds when the LEDs start flashing red and white twice. This means you have reset the earbuds.
- For the left earbud:
- Hold for 2 seconds for pairing mode.
- Hold for 1.5 seconds will put the earbuds in ANC or Normal modes
- Touch 3 times to put the earbuds in gaming
- 2 touches will answer a call or end it.
- 1 touch reduces the sound level.
- Right earbud controls
- 1 touch will increase sound level
- 2 touches answer or end a call
- 3 touches will access your voice assistant on your smartphone like Siri if you have an Apple iPhone.
- Hold for 1.5 seconds to forward to the next track or end a call
- Hold of 2 seconds to go into pairing mode.
In addition, Soundpeats has a new app which they launched this year. The app is available in the App Store (iOS 13.0 or later) and Google Play (Android 6.0 and up). The Soundpeats app allows you to check the battery levels for each earbud, select the noise reduction mode, turn on gaming mode and adjust the sound with an equalizer. The equalizer comes with preset options for you to choose as well as customize option which allows you to adjust the levels yourself. The preset options include the following:
- Classical
- Bass Booster
- Bass Reducer
- Electronic
- Fashionable
- Classical music
- Rock
- Ballad
- Treble Booster
The Rock mode was good but being a music lover, I like being able to set the levels. So, we preferred using the custom equalizer to find our sound levels.
Soundpeats app Home Screen
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Home screen
Home screen for Soundpeats app for iOS and Android devices.
Soundpeats Preset Modes - Equalizer
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Soundpeats app preset mode screen
Use Soundpeats app to select preset equalizer modes for your Air3 Pro ANC earbuds
Soundpeats app's custom equalizer
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Custom equalizer screen
Set your desire levels in Soundpeats app with custom equalizer.
Cost of the Air3 Pro earbuds?
Soundpeats Air3 Pro cost only $59.99 and are available on Amazon and the company website. This is a great price for in-ear headphones with excellent ANC, long battery-life and comfortable fit.
Buy on Amazon
How Well did Air 3 Pro in-ear Headphones Perform?
We used the Soundpeats Air3 Pro earbuds over a two-month period. We used them when working out, listening to music and just talking on the phone for work and pleasure. The quality of the sound is very good. We liked how the Soundpeats app came with an equalizer feature. Many earbuds we have tested don’t have this capability. Some have preset modes for you to select but not many had offer customization. We liked how you could the bass, treble or midrange sounds. We were able to find a mix which was quite good, especially for earbuds at this price. However, the app is new, and it didn’t work all the time and you have to have your Air3 Pro earbuds on when using the app. It was spotty and when we selected a preset mode, it took a while for it to activate on the earbuds. As our testing went on the app’s performance did improve.
The touch controls on each earbud are not as sensitive as they were on the Free2 Classic and Mini Pro earbuds. A tip for when forwarding or going back to a song, just hold onto the earbud until you hear the beeping sound then let go. They say to just touch the earbud to go to the next song, but you really must hold it until you hear the beep, or you just end up lowering or raising the sound levels which is a single touch control too.
For phone calls using the Air3 Pro, they really do block out the noise for your listener. And if you put your phone into ANC mode, you really don’t hear anything besides your caller’s voice. The ANC mode is better than any other earbud we have tested that cost less than $100.
Regarding design, we like how the earbuds fit into our ears. One of the problems you have with earbuds is when it is windy outside. Because of the way earbuds are designed, the wind can distort your sound when outside on a windy day listening to music. Even with the tightest fit, the wind seems to get in and cause listening problems. Based on our previous testing of other earbuds, we have found this to be common even when in ANC mode. However, with Air3 Pro we didn’t have much of an issue with the wind noise on those windy days at the beach or out walking. We just put the earbuds in ANC mode, and it cut down the wind noise a lot more than the other Soundpeats headphones.
Summary
If you are an audiophile who loves high-fidelity sound from your headphones, look elsewhere. However, if you are an average music lover in the market for earbuds and want to adjust the sound levels and mix in your headphones or earbuds, Soundpeats Air3 Pro is a good option. Just note that their app is still improving, and you might run into some delays when adjusting sound quality.
Soundpeats Air3 Pro are also good for buyers who are in the market for a good pair of inexpensive lightweight in-ear headphones with easy touch controls, long lasting battery, comfortable fit, excellent ANC and don’t want to pay $179 for Apple AirPods. Yes, Apple AirPods offer more features like Magsafe wireless charging, but you can’t adjust the sound levels and for only $60, Soundpeats Air3 Pro can provide just a good listening experience at an attractive price.
If looking for a great low-cost earbuds option, Soundpeats Air3 Pro is a smart choice to consider. They would make a great back-to-school or stocking stuffer gift. They work with any Android or iOS smartphone that has Bluetooth 4.0 or higher. The case is easy to store, charge and protect your earbuds. And they are a lot less expensive than Apple AirPods.
Pros
- Price
- ANC Modes
- Long lasting battery
Cons
- In-ear detection didn't work
- Mobile app still improving. spotty performance during testing.
- Only available in Black
SoundPEATS Air3 Pro Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds, QCC3046 Bluetooth 5.2 Stereo Headphones with 12mm Driver, aptX Adaptive, Game Mode, CVC 8.0, Transparency Mode, 24H Playtime
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