TWS true wireless earphones - under $50
4.5 STARS - The SoundPEATS Life combines strong Active Noise Cancelling with clear calls and a comfortable fit, making it a great deal under $50.
SoundPEATS Life specs and features:
Bluetooth 5.2 with AAC codec
No waterproof rating
5 hours listening on a single charge (ANC on)
Charging case can charge earpieces fully 4 times
Comes with 3 sets of ear tips, USB-C cable, English manual
$50 - Buy on Amazon US, Amazon Germany or other Amazon countries
Below this SoundPEATS Life review, you will find comparisons of the SoundPEATS Life vs SoundPEATS Air3 Pro, SoundPEATS Mini Pro, Donner DoBuds One, and Soundcore Space A40.
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Design, comfort and battery life
Wait, a new pair of SoundPEATS earbuds with stem-design and Active Noise Cancelling? It's only been four months that SoundPEATS released the SoundPEATS Air3 Pro, and now here's a successor that's seemingly the same.
The SoundPEATS Life follows a very familiair concept. The diagonal earpieces are just as easy, snug, and comfortable to wear as on the Air3 Pro, the battery life is around the same with a mediocre 5 hours on a single charge with ANC on. The earpieces even look the same. There are two minor changes: the logo is embedded in the black plastic, instead of a grey sticker on top of the stems, and... the LED-light in the bottom of the stem is always on when you're not playing music. That's inconvenient when you use the buds in dark spaces.
The SoundPEATS Life's charging case is bigger than the Air 3 Pro's, and follows the oval shape of the SoundPEATS Mini Pro and Free2 Classic, including the faux-leather texture on the plastic. It can recharge the earbuds four times fully before needing new power via USB-C, but it's not as comfortable to carry in a jeans pocket anymore.
The real reason why you should be interested in the Life? Well, the SoundPEATS Air3 Pro's availability was bar to none… and the Life undercuts the older model by 20 dollars. This model is priced under $50 - and that's an interesting price point for what's on offer.
Controls and connectivity
The SoundPEATS Life controls very easily, with responsive touch panels. The nice confirmation beep could fire a bit quicker, but all the controls straight at your fingertips:
Double-tap L or R to play/ pause music
Tap R to increase the volume
Tap L to decrease volume
Hold R to skip to the next song
Hold L to switch between ANC on, Transparency mode, ANC off
Triple-tap R to activate the voice assistant
Triple-tap L to (de)activate the Game Mode
The only thing missing on the controls is the option to return a track. You can't change the controls either, as the SoundPEATS Life doesn't have app support. It also means you can't turn the LED-light off in idle mode - again: annoying.
Connectivity is good, with the Bluetooth connection holding a stable signal up to 10 meters away from your device. It's possible to switch between listening to one or two earbuds at any time, but music doesn't automatically pause when you take an earbud out.
Calls, movies and Games
It's easy to take a phone or video call with the SoundPEATS Life. It puts your voice through loud and clear, and it stays that way when you're outside. The other one can pick up some of the higher notes from sounds around you - like traffic or wind - but likely not describe what the source from the sound is. Your voice remains clear and center in calls; better than in many comparably priced or slightly more expensive ANC earbuds.
Thanks to SoundPEATS' outstanding gaming mode you can activate on the earbuds itself, the sound effects in games are nicely synchronized with the action on your screen. Unfortunately, you also need the gaming mode to synchronize videos properly: they don't always play in lipsync.
ANC Noise cancelling of SoundPEATS Life
The SoundPEATS Life has convincing Active Noise Cancelling for its friendly price point under 50 dollars. It almost entirely copies the successful noise reduction of the Air3 Pro - and that's a good thing.
ANC quality: You only have to put the earbuds in and it removes and reduces loads of noise around you. Irregular nearby sounds like chatter or a radio playing songs are still audible, but are fairly reduced in volume. Static sounds like electronic humming and nearby sounds like keyboard clicks are filtered very well, and background noise is heavily reduced too - with the biggest volume and highest notes taken away from traffic, for instance.
In some situations, the Air3 Pro ANC does still feel a bit stronger, but it does mask sounds with a more noticeable white noise, you is almost unnoticeable on the Life. An impressive performance!
Transparency mode quality: Like on the Air3 Pro, the Transparency mode (called Passthrough here) is a lot less successful. The difference with ANC off is minimal. The function emphasizes brighter sounds like traffic somewhat, but it's only effective when you're not playing music.
Wind noise reduction: The ANC mode lets in quite a bit of wind noise, and in the Transparency mode, there's a ton of it. It's very helpful you can also switch to ANC off to reduce the biggest part of wind noise.
Also read: The best wireless ANC earbuds
Sound quality of SoundPEATS Life
The SoundPEATS Life is less big on treble than the SoundPEATS Mini Pro and Air3 Pro, which has its pros and cons.
The Life is heavy on bass. The mid-bass delivers fat thumps. They feel deep and last long, even loosely rumble somewhat. The sub-bass itself - the darkest bass tones you can feel as much as hear - dives deep as well, delivering heavy and dark rumbles in James Blake's great test track Limit to Your Love. The bass can be much, and it can even be too big in contrast to the rest of the music, but it does bring thumps with a pleasurable texture. The Life is SoundPEATS bassiest earphone so far, but it's not without problems. It's okay it doesn't have the tightest slam, it's less cheerful that the lows can distort a little in the most bass-boosting songs.
Compared to the SoundPEATS Mini Pro and Air3 Pro, the Life isn't just bass-heavier, it's also quicker to roll off the highs. That's good news, as both previous models could be a little thin and shouty on higher volumes. With enough volume on the Life, female and higher male vocals sound open enough and avoid thinness. Treble in general is controlled better than on the previous models: higher notes don't get the overhand in music, and even cymbals aren't too intrusive.
It's not all good. On lower to moderate volume, the Life sounds... not very lively. Not just the treble, but also center-mids play a minor role in the overall picture, that instead pushes the bass and lower-mids forward and comes across darkish. There's also a naturality problem. On all kinds of volume, mid-instruments and upper-mids like violins, piano play and acoustic guitars have a metallic feel. Vocals have the same issue.
If you're a bass lover and listen to genres that celebrate it wildly, like hip-hop, techno, or harder dance genres; precision in the mids matters less and you'd be happy to know the Life does a good job of producing a stadium-like sound. It's often not possible to precisely place instruments on your left and right, but dance genres can feel around you.
Changing between ANC modes does change the music a little bit as well, with the ANC on mode having the strongest bass, the ANC off mode the lightest, and the Transparency mode sounding a tad flatter.
While the SoundPEATS Life may not be the most versatile or precise sounding pair of wireless earbuds, it knows how to entertain in especially dance music.
SoundPEATS Life comparisons
SoundPEATS Life vs Air3 Pro: Which is better?
Is it justified SoundPEATS rules out its own Air3 Pro with the newer and cheaper Soundcore Life? For most parts: yes. The Life brings out the same convincing Active Noise Cancelling, and does so with less white noise. It also keeps better focus on your voice when there's noise around you during a phone or video call. Video playback is better on the Air3 Pro, and its slimmer case is more comfortable to carry in a pocket. The Life has heavier boosted lower-mids, creating a warmer sound on top of the deeper, tad tighter bass. The Air3 Pro puts more focus on upper-mids. Higher vocals have more space around them, but they become metallic and thin much quicker than on the Life. The newer SoundPEATS Life is an improvement over the Air3 Pro.
SoundPEATS Life vs SoundPEATS Mini Pro: which should you choose?
At around $15 more, the SoundPEATS Mini Pro is an in-house competitor to the SoundPEATS Life. The Mini Pro has a more unique design without stems, that's comfortable to wear, but requires a bit of twisting in your ears to get the most out of its potent Active Noise Cancelling. The Life's ANC is slightly stronger and unlocks easier. The Mini Pro has a more capable Transparency mode, whereas the Life handles calls better, both indoors and outside. The Life also has more responsive touch controls. The biggest difference is the sound. The Mini Pro has more prominent treble, creating a more vivid and open sound with crisper and more forward higher vocals. It also has tighter, more precise bass. The Life's bass sounds deeper and fuller, and as it cuts off highs earlier, it also reduces the Mini Pro's treble thinness on louder volume levels.
SoundPEATS Life vs Donner DoBuds One
With half an hour longer battery life, a slimmer charging case and also priced around 50 dollars, the Donner DoBuds One is a good alternative to the SoundPEATS Life. Both fire their LED-lights too easily in the dark and require the gaming mode to synchronize audio in videos properly. The Donner DoBuds One has app support, but it doesn't really add much. Besides: both these earbuds have all important controls right at your fingertips. Both Transparency modes aren't top of the line, but Life's ANC is noticeably stronger and more usable. When it comes to sound, both models embrace bass fullness over tightness, and can sound a little closed-in on lower volumes. The Donner opens up treble more when you turn the volume up; the Life creates more of a stadium-vibe in techno and dance genres.
Donner DoBuds One review ($50)
SoundPEATS Life vs Soundcore Space A40
Finally, let's do something crazy and up the budget to $100. The Soundcore Space A40 has a bit of a cave like-feeling to its sound, which is immediately noticeable next to the more open, more in-your-face sound of the SoundPEATS Life. In its cave, the Space has more natural mids. Guitars, piano and drums sound more straightforward than on SoundPEATS' rather pumped-up sound. Especially on higher volumes, the SoundPEATS Life has more forward vocals and more openness around the treble, but it does sound more metallic than the more laidback Space. The Soundcore lasts 1,5 hours longer per charge, it's easier to sleep with the stemless earbuds and its Active Noise Cancelling is stronger; the SoundPEATS has better call quality and an even more capable gaming mode. See - spending twice as much doesn't always give you twice as much.
Verdict
The SoundPEATS Life combines strong Active Noise Cancelling with clear calls and a comfortable fit, making it a great deal under $50.
4.5 stars - Great
Buy SoundPEATS Life/ check price:
Buy on Amazon US
Buy on Amazon Germany
Buy on other Amazon countries
I received the SoundPEATS Life by the manufacturer to test and review. My reviews are 100% independent and non-commercial - read about it here.
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