Disclosure: I’d like to thank SoundPeats for sending me the Air5 Pro for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and SoundPeats had no say or input on the contents of this review.

If you have been paying attention to the TWS earbud market, you will have noticed a surge of new products released in the last couple of years from companies not named Sony, Apple, and Bose. What’s more, these new Bluetooth earbuds are typically selling for less than $100 USD. So, when SoundPEATS contacted me to see if I had any interest in reviewing their latest flagship TWS earbud, the SoundPEATS Air5 Pro, I enthusiastically said yes. Why? Because companies like SoundPEATS are the ones pushing innovation these days, and providing a lot of value for the price. Recently, I looked at products from EarFun and Roseselsa, both of which I ended up recommending. Will the SoundPEATS Air5 Pro overshadow them both, or underdeliver? Let’s get into it and find out.

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• Air5 Pro earbuds and charging case
• S, M, L ear tips
• USB-A to USB-C cable
• Manual

I really like the minimalistic packaging for the Air5 Pro. You get a small box with the ear tips and charging cable tucked nicely away, and the earbuds nestled in the charging case in the very middle. Within the top box is the manual, smartly tucked inside and out of the way. You get just the right amount of accessories for the price, too.

The Air5 Pro has a stem design similar to that of Apple’s AirPods Pro. The earbuds are glossy black, which means they do collect fingerprints and sweat quite easily. The outside of the stem has a really interesting copper colored design, which is textured. The top part of the outside of the stem has a “5”, indicating the model number of the Air5 Pro. This part is also where the capacitive touch button resides (more on the button in the usability section). The earbuds feel well built, but the material makes them feel a little plasticky and cheap. They are IPX5 rated, though, meaning they are protected from sweat and water splashes.

The Air5 Pro might be one of the most comfortable TWS earbuds I have ever used. Despite the in-ear design, they don’t insert themselves too far into the ear canal, yet they still seal nicely and stay in place securely. I feel like if you have large ears, the earbuds may not fit as snugly (my ears are a bit smaller than average), but for me, they sat in my ear comfortably and, due to the smaller shape of the shell, did not cause any discomfort. They are also very light at just 4.8 grams.

The charging case is decently small and light, at just 41.6 grams. It feels well built and overall very nice, almost premium. It has a rather unique design with the front flipping up, revealing a “Hear the difference’ motto on the front. I’m not entirely fond of the way the earbuds sit in the case, as I never have full confidence that I have fully inserted the earbuds, which could just be due to the magnet not being particularly strong. The earbuds won’t accidentally fall out of the case, but I guess I have grown used to other earbuds and how they snap into place in their case (like the EarFun Air Pro 4).

On the bottom front part of the case is an LED indicator light to indicate battery charging status and the pairing status. The bottom of the case has a USB-C connector and a button used for pairing.

Setting up and using the SoundPEATS Air5 Pro is fairly straightforward and easy, just like any other TWS earbuds these days. Once you open the cover, the LED indicator will start flashing white, which means it is in pairing mode. From here, you can pair it with your device, and then you’re good to go. The default controls take a little getting used to. You tap the button on the left earbud once for volume down, and once on the right earbud for volume up. Double-tapping either earbud will pause/play audio. Triple press either earbud activates your voice assistance, and a long press (1.5s) on the left earbud cycles through the ANC options, while a long press on the right earbud goes to the next track. I ended up modifying the controls a bit, which you’ll see below when I talk about the companion app.

The capacitive buttons are very responsive and placed in just the right position, in my opinion. I didn’t find myself accidentally activating them very often, but there is no feedback (either haptic or audible tone) when pressing them. Having one of those feedback options would be nice, just so you can have confidence you actually tapped the button.

Companion App

SoundPEATS has a companion app called “PeatsAudio” for Android and iOS that offers advanced functionality and settings. I had no issues using the app on my Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 and Apple iPhone 16, but it would not work on any of my Android-based DAPs. You can’t even install it from the Play Store; instead, you need to sideload it. The app will open, but will not connect the the earbuds. This is a huge barrier, in my opinion, as many of us use TWS earbuds with our digital audio players.

Once added to the app, you have three different screens to navigate. The first one, which is the main screen, shows the earbuds and the approximate battery level for them and the charging case. I say approximate, as there is no battery percentage indicator anywhere. To see the battery level, you have to use your smartphone’s battery widget or go into the Bluetooth settings to see. And even then, it will only show the earbuds’ battery level, not the charging case. This is an area that could be improved.

Next are the ANC and Transparent options, toggles for Dual device connection, disabling touch controls, and game mode. As well as a button for customizing the touch controls.

At the top right is a hamburger menu button, which brings you to another screen that gives you the overall device information, Firmware Upgrade check, Device Reset, toggling LE audio and LDAC, Fit Test, Find Earbuds, prompt tone language, and tone volume.

Going back and looking at the second screen is the Equalizer section. From here, you can set up the Adaptive EQ, choose from one of the many presets, or create your own custom EQ using the 10-band graphic equalizer.

The last screen is the account screen, showing which account you logged in with.

ANC and Ambient Modes

The Air5 Pro has four different ANC modes:

• Adaptive Noise Cancellation
• Indoor Noise Cancellation
• Outdoor Noise Cancellation
• Traffic Mode

Indoor is the weakest, followed by Outdoor, with Traffic Mode being the strongest. Leaving it on Adaptive should, in theory, allow the earbuds to adjust to the environment depending on the amount of ambient noise. It’s hard to tell if this is actually what happens, as the difference between the various modes isn’t drastic (going from Indoor to Traffic mode is noticeable, though), but I left it on Adaptive for the majority of my testing and had no complaints with the performance.

Traffic mode is the strongest ANC mode, and it works very well; if that is what you’re after, you can leave it on Traffic Mode instead of Adaptive. The amount of noise cancellation is almost on par with my AirPods Pro (gen 1) and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4. Considering those earbuds are more than double the price of the Air5 Pro, that is impressive indeed. It also does a decent job of handling wind noise.

There are also two Transparent modes:

• Voice Enhancement
• Standard Transparency

Voice enhancement boosts the midrange slightly to allow you to hear voices better, and it does a very good job of this. Typically where Bluetooth earbuds can have issues with their transparency mode, is allowing too much white noise through, which can sound scratchy to the ears. There is some white noise noticeable here, but it’s not distracting at all, and in fact, it’s one of the better implementations. Transparent mode isn’t fully transparent, but there’s definitely enough sound being let in to allow you to be aware of your environment.

SoundPEATS has included excellent Bluetooth codec support with the Air5 Pro. With the Qualcomm QCC3091 chipset, we have support for Snapdragon Sound. The earbuds have Bluetooth 5.4 supporting the following codecs: SBC, AAC, LC3, aptX, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless, and LDAC.

You get essentially every modern codec supported here, which is refreshing to see as it gives you a lot of choice and broadens compatibility. I’ve tested every single codec with multiple devices and never encountered any issues. Even aptX Lossless was solid and reliable. LDAC maintained a strong connection as well, with most of my devices able to use the Optimized for Audio (990kbps) stream, with the exception of the Sony NW-A306, but that DAP tends to struggle with LDAC at that bitrate regardless of headphones or earbuds used.

The Air5 Pro supports being connected to two devices at once, and it works very well. If you want to use LDAC or LE-Audio (LC3), you need to disable the dual device connectivity option. These changes must be done in the PeatsAudio app; there is no way to change this using the earbuds themselves.

SoundPEATS includes a Game Mode that theoretically brings the latency down to 60ms, which should be adequate for watching videos and playing games. In practice, it works very well. I turned it on to watch podcasts, YouTube videos, and even movies. All of them were perfectly watchable with just a very slight delay if you’re looking for it.

The same goes for gaming, which worked very well for single-player games on my PC and laptop. With competitive games like Call of Duty, that slight delay did make a difference for me, but honestly, it was still great considering it’s a Bluetooth connection. Very well done here.

The Air5 Pro is rated for 7.5 hours of battery life for just the earbuds, and a total of 37 hours with the charging case. If you do not use ANC and just use Normal mode, you will get close to the 7.5-hour rating (mine lasted just a hair under 7.5 hours). If you use ANC, the battery life is just under 5 hours for the earbuds and roughly 25 hours with the charging case. Still very respectable. The earbuds can be charged very quickly, with 10 minutes of charge giving about 2 hours (or 1.5 hours when using ANC).

The SoundPEATS Air5 Pro has a V-shaped sound signature, with the bass region and treble elevated. The V-shaped sound profile is considered a fun sound, and I do agree, if implemented correctly. Thankfully, it’s done very well with the Air5 Pro.

The bass is on the deep and punchy side and carries a lot of weight. This is perfect if you listen to music with a lot of sub-bass and mid-bass, as it extends well and allows you to really feel it. Listening to tracks like Angel by Massive Attack and Find My Way by Nine Inch Nails really hit home here. The low end can be a little overbearing on really bassy tracks, but it can easily be tweaked with EQ.

The midrange is slightly recessed, but vocals come through clear and with good texture and body. Instruments are decently layered but can sound sort of thin or condensed in tracks with a lot going on.

The treble is bright and sparkly with decent extension. It has some occasional harshness on tracks that are bright, but overall isn’t very sibilant. It complements the elevated bass nicely in my opinion.

Overall, the Air5 Pro has a very fun and lively sound that’s great for more casual listening than critical.

The soundstage is on the smaller side, with good width but below-average height and depth. This results in tracks not sounding very open, but more on the intimate side. You’re not going to have an “out of your head” feeling when listening to these. Imaging is good with accurate positioning, no complaints there.

If the default sound profile isn’t to your liking, SoundPEATS has an adaptive EQ setting within the PeatsAudio app, which guides you through some sound settings and takes about a minute to complete. There are also built-in EQ profiles, as well as the custom 10-band equalizer if you want to really customize things. This is great as the hardware within the earbuds is excellent, and toning down the low end and increasing the midrange slightly opens up the soundstage some. Lots of potential here.

The Air5 Pro uses 6 microphones with AI-enhanced algorithms to handle calls, along with Qualcomm’s cVc technology. The results here are very good for the price. In a quiet environment, my voice comes through clearly and loudly. When background noises like traffic and construction are present, it does a really good job at filtering those out and isolating my voice. These are easily one of the best microphones I have used so far for a TWS earbud, with only the much more expensive Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 surpassing it.

My two most-used TWS earbuds are EarFun Air Pro 4 and the Roseselsa EarFree-i5. They are also priced similarly to the SoundPEATS Air5 Pro, so let’s see how they stack up against each other.

Vs. EarFun Air Pro 4

The EarFun Air Pro 4 is priced the same as the SoundPEATS Air5 Pro at $79 USD. The earbuds themselves are very similar in shape and design, but the Air5 Pro is just a bit smaller on the back side of the shell, resulting in a more comfortable fit for smaller and average-sized ears.

The charging cases have a similar profile, though the SoundPEATS ’ case is slightly smaller and lighter. The EarFun’s case does support wireless charging, whereas the SoundPEATS case does not.

The ANC and transparency mode performance is slightly better with the SoundPEATS Air5 Pro. The ANC blocks out a bit more noise in the midrange, and the transparency mode has less white noise present.

The sound profile is the biggest difference. The EarFun Air Pro 4 aligns remarkably close to the Harman curve, especially in the bass and midrange frequencies. Rather than following the “more bass equals better” approach, EarFun has opted for a more balanced, natural sound signature. This results in a tuning that is more pleasurable for critical or analytical listening.

Both earbuds have the same Bluetooth codec support and performance, but the Game Mode on the Air5 Pro is just a bit better.

In the end, I think there are two main factors to consider when choosing between these two TWS earbuds: ANC performance and sound signature. If you want the best ANC performance. Then the SoundPEATS win here. For sound, you are choosing between an analytical sound signature and a “fun” sound signature, so your use case matters greatly here.

Personally, I think the SoundPEATS Air5 Pro is better overall.

Vs. Roseselsa EarFree i5

The Roseselsa EarFree i5 is priced $20 less than the SoundPEATS Air5 Pro at $59 USD. The earbuds themselves have a slightly different shape and design. Both are very comfortable, but I think the SoundPEATS Air5 Pro has the edge here as it doesn’t need to go as far in the ear canal as the EarFree i5.

The charging cases are very different. The Roseselsa’s case is slightly thinner and taller. It’s also made of aluminum and feels very well built and premium. I do prefer the EarFree i5’s case due to the slimmer profile being easier to keep in my pocket.

The ANC and transparency mode performance is better with the SoundPEATS Air5 Pro. The ANC blocks out more noise overall, and the transparency mode is just slightly better as it’s less affected by wind.

The sound signature for both earbuds is somewhat similar. The Roseselsa EarFree i5 has a mild V-shaped sound signature that emphasizes both bass and treble without completely sacrificing the midrange. The bass is a bit more impactful on the SoundPEATS Air5 Pro, but the treble performance is a bit cleaner and slightly more detailed with the EarFree i5.

The EarFree i5 only supports the SBC, AAC, and LDAC codecs, so the Air5 Pro has much better Bluetooth codec support.

For the price, the Roseselsa EarFree i5 is a great TWS earbud, but if I have $20 more to spend, I can’t think of any reason to choose it over the SoundPEATS Air5 Pro. It’s better in every aspect.

If you’re looking for TWS earbuds under $100, you have no end of choices nowadays. Competition has increased greatly, and we are seeing some real value and innovation in this area. SoundPEATS is right up there now with the Air5 Pro. It has excellent Bluetooth codec support and performance, great ANC and transparency modes, and is extremely comfortable to wear. The biggest criticism I have with the earbuds actually isn’t with the earbuds themselves, but with the PeatsAudio app. It’s slow to navigate in, options are all over the place, and it doesn’t work with Android-based DAPs. It’s a shame, as the Air5 Pro is great, but I don’t want to have to connect them to my smartphone in order to change a setting. If you only intend to use them with your smartphone, though, then this is a non-issue for you.

Putting aside my issues with the app, the hardware, performance, and sound quality are all excellent. The SoundPEATS Air5 Pro shows you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on TWS earbuds. I highly recommend them if you’re in the market for Bluetooth ANC earbuds.

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