Plenty of people are looking for noise-cancelling earbuds that won’t break the bank. Noise cancellation has become one of the most popular aspects of the search for headphones, as nobody wants to listen to other people on a plane, train, or bus talking loudly. Finding the right noise-cancelling earbuds that are comfortable and make your life easier can be difficult, especially if you’re not trying to pay Apple AirPods Pro 2 prices. The SoundPEATS Air3 Pro are an intriguing entry into this landscape.
I’ve been testing these out to see if they are worth your purchase. These aren’t without competition and need to do a lot right to wade through the rest of the wireless earbuds landscape. Read on to see how they stack up.
Pros
- Good battery life
- Comfortable for extended wear
- Lower price than many
- Different modes
- Easy to connect
Cons
- Touch controls aren’t the most responsive
- Microphone quality is poor
SoundPEATS Air3 Pro unboxing
When you take the SoundPEATS Air3 Pro earbuds out of the box, you notice the sleek case right away. Some wireless earbuds have clunkier cases that may feel bulky in a pocket, backpack, or purse. This has a sharp design that doesn’t take up much space. The earbuds nestle nicely into the top of the case and click in so you know they are in well.
The box comes with a USB-C charging cable, a charging case, the earbuds, three sets of ear tips, and a user manual. It’s very easy to test out the ear tips and see which one works best for you. You just have to slide them on and off the earbuds. You’ll need to have your own charging block to be able to charge the case and earbuds into a wall outlet. You can plug them into a computer or portable charger with the cable.
SoundPEATS Air3 controls
Once they are charged, you can connect them to your device. They utilize aptX Adaptive Bluetooth 5.2 to connect securely. The QCC3046 chipset made sure I didn’t have an issue syncing them up with my phone or computer, as the green light on the case indicated they were ready to be paired. You can also reset the case by pressing the button on the back and that will clear and you can connect to another device.
The controls are similar to the SoundPEATS T3 wireless earbuds that we reviewed earlier this year. You will either double-tap, triple-tap or press and hold the stems to utilize the different controls of the earbuds. The main difference between the Air3 Pro earbuds and the T3 wireless earbuds is that there are a few more modes. You triple-tap the left earbud to enter and exit Game Mode and press and hold the left earbud for 1.5 seconds to cycle through Active Noise Cancellation Mode, Transparency Mode, and Standard Mode. There are a lot of controls to remember and it can get tiresome to remember exactly which ones you need to perform each task.
SoundPEATS Air3 Pro fit
Once you try out all of the silicone ear tips and find the ones that fit the best, you will see that the earbuds are marked R and L for right and left. Inserting the proper one into your ear and having the stem towards your chin is the proper way to wear them. I found that wearing these for long periods of time didn’t bother my ears at all. They were very comfortable and could be left in for walks, sessions working at my desk, and even on the train. They are IPX4 waterproof.
Features
The first obvious feature is testing out the active noise cancellation of the Air3 Pro earbuds. The hybrid ANC up to 35dB does a pretty good job of tuning out the noise around you. While almost no noise cancellation is ever going to be perfect, especially from wireless earbuds, these do a solid job of getting rid of the outside noise and helping you lock in.
Transparency Mode helps you hear what’s going on around you, so you can still be listening to something and hear what’s going on. This is helpful if you’re walking down a crowded street and need to know if a car is coming if you happen to be looking down at your phone or something. Standard Mode is fine as well, thanks to the 12mm Dynamic Driver in each earbud. Also, Game Mode is great because it minimizes latency to 60ms and syncs up with your media.
The biggest issue with these earbuds is the microphone quality. In nearly every phone call I made in multiple locations, people had trouble hearing me. I could hear them fine, thanks to the noise-reducing technology. But an upgraded microphone would make these a more realistic challenge to higher-end earbuds.
Battery life
The battery life is rather strong for a pair of earbuds. I got six hours out of the earbuds out of the charging case and, with a few more charges in the case, it lasted up to about 24 hours of listening before everything needed to be plugged in again. It’s rare that you’re going to be wearing your earbuds for six straight hours anyway, so this gave me multiple days of wear before I really needed to worry about charging it.
The charging case glows green when the battery level of the case is between 100% and 50%. It then turns yellow between 49% and 10%. It’s red between 9% and when it’s about to die, letting you know it’s time to charge. While you’re charging the case, these colors will flash and when it remains green, it is 100% charged.
Conclusions
The SoundPEATS Air3 Pro wireless earbuds do a nice job of noise cancelling and are very comfortable to wear. The battery life lasts a good amount of time and the ability to toggle between different modes is helpful. The microphone lets you down and the controls are difficult to remember. But for a sleek pair of earbuds that won’t set you back a ton, they are worth a look.
The competition
The Jabra Elite 3 are noise-isolating earbuds that are in the same price range as these earbuds. They have four built-in microphones and allow you to customize the sound while being IPX5 waterproof.
Should I buy the SoundPEATS Air3 Pro earbuds?
Yes. They deliver in many aspects, should last you a long time, and are well under $100.
