Soundpeats has steadily carved out a name in the budget audio segment with a lineup of value-for-money earbuds. Their latest release, the Soundpeats Air5 Pro, aims to bring flagship-like features—like ANC, LDAC support, and custom EQ—at a wallet-friendly price of around S$99. On paper, the Air5 Pro offers a lot for less: Snapdragon Sound certification, long battery life, and impressive ANC. But do the earbuds live up to the promise? Let’s take a closer look.
Unboxing
Here’s what you’ll find in the box:
- Soundpeats Air5 Pro earbuds
- Charging case
- USB-C cable
- Silicone ear tips
- User manual
Build quality and features
The Soundpeats Air5 Pro uses a stem-style shape, with its teardrop stemmed design and silicone ear tips. Each earbud features a brass-colored accent on the outer surface that houses the touch controls. While the materials lean budget, the overall design feels clean and understated, giving it a slightly refined look despite the price.
The charging case follows a simple, rounded design which feels a little thicker compared to competition. The lower base is a little slim, so you might need some thought when flipping open the case. It uses a USB-C port for charging only since there’s no wireless charging, which is a small miss, but forgivable at this price point.
The IPX5 water resistance rating adds durability, making the Air5 Pro suitable for workouts or use in light rain. While it doesn’t feel premium, the build is practical and thoughtfully designed for everyday use.
Controls and App
Touch controls are available on both earbuds via the capacitive surface. You get basic commands like play/pause, volume, and track skipping. While the default layout feels slightly unintuitive (e.g., a single tap on the right earbud increases volume, long press skips tracks), you can remap some gestures via the Soundpeats app. Notably, there’s no audible feedback when adjusting volume, so you may not always be sure the tap was registered until the music gets too loud.
The Soundpeats Air5 Pro works with the PeatsAudio app, which provides basic functionality but lacks polish. You can:
- Adjust touch controls
- Switch ANC modes
- Access custom EQ and sound presets
- Use the “Adaptive EQ” calibration
A nice touch is the EQ customizability. Out of the box, the sound can be too boomy and shouty, especially in the mids, but with some EQ tweaks (reducing mids, boosting highs slightly), you can achieve a much more pleasant listening experience. There is also an Adaptive EQ which gives you a customised EQ based on how the app deems your hearing abilities are.
Fit and comfort
The Soundpeats Air5 Pro offers a secure and comfortable fit, thanks to its lightweight build and ergonomic shape. The silicone tips provide a good seal, helping with both comfort and passive noise isolation. The stem is a little longer than other brands, so those who are sensitive to slight contact of the stem against our face might feel it.
With the right tip size, the fit feels snug and stays in place during daily activities, including walking or light exercise. Overall, the Soundpeats Air5 Pro is comfortable enough for extended listening without causing ear fatigue.
Sound quality
Out of the box, the Soundpeats Air5 Pro delivers clean audio with good dynamic range. The low end is immediately noticeable – there’s plenty of bass, but it leans too far into boominess. For bass lovers, this might initially seem exciting, but after extended listening, it can overshadow other frequencies, especially when the music gets dense.
The midrange is where things get a little shouty. Vocals, both male and female, can sound slightly too forward. This emphasis can make speech pop with clarity, but it also introduces a sharpness that becomes fatiguing, especially at higher volumes. Treble performance is relatively restrained, enough to balance the bass and mids, but not quite elevated enough to introduce real sparkle or detail. As a result, the overall sound feels slightly compressed, lacking that open, airy quality found in more refined earbuds. The soundstage, too, is fairly compact.
The earbuds support Snapdragon Sound, LDAC, and aptX Adaptive, but note: LDAC and multipoint pairing can’t be used simultaneously.
ANC performance
Active noise cancellation on the Soundpeats Air5 Pro is surprisingly effective for its price range. In its default Adaptive mode, the earbuds do a solid job of cutting down low-frequency sounds like engine rumble and air conditioning hum. Commuting with them on MRT rides or buses, the low-end noise was noticeably reduced, making for a more focused listening experience.
The Soundpeats Air5 Pro also offers multiple ANC presets such as Outdoor, Traffic, and Indoor modes. Indoor mode feels slightly weaker in comparison, and I’d much rather leave on Adaptive mode the whole time. Still, having the flexibility to switch modes is a nice touch, even if the differences between them are subtle.
Microphone quality
Call quality is solid. The Soundpeats Air5 Pro‘s mics reduce background noise rather effectively, though at the slight expense of vocal clarity. Still, it’s reliable for my daily use cases – great for indoor calls, passable in noisy environments.
Battery life
The Soundpeats Air5 Pro offers up to 7.5 hours of playback on a single charge, which aligns well with real-world use. The charging case holds an additional four charges, bringing total battery life to about 37 hours. Quick charging is supported – just 10 minutes gives around 2 hours of use. While there’s no wireless charging, the battery performance is good enough to cover daily needs.
Pairing, connectivity, and latency
The Soundpeats Air5 Pro runs on Bluetooth 5.3, ensuring fast, stable connections. Pairing is seamless, though accessing multipoint connectivity requires toggling it in the app. Hi-res streaming is available through LDAC and aptX Adaptive – if your device supports it (ie. not for iPhone users). There’s no wear detection, which some users might miss. On the plus side, connection stability and latency are excellent, with no noticeable delay when watching videos.
Conclusion
The Soundpeats Air5 Pro punches above its weight with strong ANC, decent mic quality, and codec support that rivals more expensive models. The tuning may require some tweaking out of the box, but its EQ flexibility gives you the tools to shape it to your liking. If you’re after affordable, customizable earbuds with ANC and support for high-res audio, the Air5 Pro is a worthy contender – just be ready to tinker with the app.