I’ve been reviewing earbuds, headphones, and speakers for a long time. One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that headphones tend to follow trends with sound. Back when Beats first came into being, the sound was bass-heavy to the point of being over-driven and unnatural. That tendency still holds true today, and finding a more neutral-sounding pair of earbuds is becoming harder and harder.
Why would you want a neutral sound from your earbuds? Think of it this way: a neutral sound presents the music as the artist intended. Instead of cranking up the bass, lowering the mids, and raising the highs, a neutral sound (often called “studio sound”) doesn’t force a certain EQ curve on you that presents the music with a distorted EQ curve.
A studio sound is clean and well balanced.
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Typically, when I receive a pair of earbuds for review — especially those in the lower-mid price range — I assume the EQ will follow the trends. However, when I experience a pair of sub-$100 earbuds that deliver a clean sound, I am excited.
That’s exactly what happened when I paired the Soundpeats Air 5
The one caveat I ran into with these earbuds is that I couldn’t get them to connect with my Pixel 9 Pro. I was able to get them to connect with my Pixel 7 Pro. No matter what I tried, the pairing was rejected by the 9 Pro. The good news is that after rebooting my phone, I was finally able to get them to connect to the 9 Pro. Other than that one brief hiccup, the Soundpeats Air 5 earbuds were an absolute joy to use.
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It all boils down to this: if you like the idea of a more studio-clean sound for your earbuds, the Soundpeats Air 5s