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We’ve just got the Air5 Pro, but now we’ve got the SOUNDPEATS Air5 Pro+ which has a dual driver design consisting of a xMems Cowell diaphragm reproducing the high frequencies, and a 10mm dynamic driver taking care of the rest. Since the power draw is higher than a single driver setup, the stated battery life is shorter with ANC turned off. With ANC on, battery life is quite average, I got about 5 hours of use on an iPhone with ANC.

What xMems is known for is fast transient response and accuracy, so it’ll be interesting to see how their sound quality stacks up to the older Air5 Pro, as well as the SOUNDPEATS H3, the OnePlus Buds4, and the Earfun Air Pro 4+. We’re also going to look at their features, as well as performance such as their mic pickup, active noise canceling and transparency, so buckle up!

Microphone Quality

First let’s talk about their microphone pickup. Just like the Air5 Pro before it, the Air5 Pro+’s mic pickup is pretty good in the sense that in noisy, windy conditions, it’s able to deal with background noise effectively, and while my voice sounds robotic, it’s very intelligible because the noise gating isn’t too aggressive.

All of them are quite good in terms of mic pickup and are Ranked A in my Mic Quality rankings, with the exception of the Earfun which is ranked B because its background noise reduction is so aggressive that it cuts into my own voice.

👉 Have a listen to the mic quality samples

Active Noise Cancelling

In terms of active noise canceling, the Air5 Pro+ has different noise canceling modes, but we’re going to compare them based on its default Adaptive mode which I found to be the most effective. Based on these measurements, its ANC performance is one of the most powerful in this comparison. It is a little quieter than the Earfun Air Pro 4+, and it cancels more high frequency noise than the previous model.

👉 Have a listen to the ANC sound quality

Transparency Mode

As for its transparency mode, the Air5 Pro+ is usable. It’s not the clearest transparency, and it still is a bit occluded in the mids so my own voice when I’m speaking sounds a bit muffled, but I can still see myself using its transparency for general awareness and verbal exchanges. If I were to rate them in this group, it is the OnePlus Buds4 that has the clearest transparency, followed by the older Air5 Pro, the Air5 Pro+, the H3 and finally the Earfun Air Pro 4+.

Sound Quality Comparison

SOUNDPEATS Air5 Pro+ vs Air5 Pro

Comparing the Air5 Pro+’s sound quality to the older Air5 Pro, the Pro+’s main improvement over the previous model is its cleaner, more relaxed and focused signature. Soundstaging is just as intimate but the Air5 Pro sounds noticeably more crowded. That’s not to say that its track separation is poor, in fact it’s decent, but the Pro+ with its xMEM drivers has better resolving power which cleans up the soundstage even more, and sharpens the focus on vocals and instruments. To be honest, I didn’t really like the Air5 Pro’s sound out of the box, and I did have to tune it in the PEATS Audio app to sound good. But the new Pro+ model sounds awesome out of the box. That’s the biggest difference.

SOUNDPEATS Air5 Pro+ vs SOUNDPEATS H3

Compared to the SOUNDPEATS H3, the Air5 Pro+ has a more shallow presentation with more mid-range emphasis. On the one hand it’s more exciting and engaging because its soundstaging is more intimate, but H3 has the upper hand because soundstaging is deeper, background details have more distance, and its upper mids are more rolled off, making it more relaxing to listen to.

SOUNDPEATS Air5 Pro+ VS Earfun Air Pro 4+

Compared to the Earfun Air Pro 4+, the Earfun is a bit more bass heavy, but otherwise the SOUNDPEATS is quite comparable to it in terms of staging and signature. Where the SOUNDPEATS is better is in terms of mid-range clarity. Vocals have more focus, and strings and percussions have better attack, whereas the Earfuns’ vocals sound warmer, more boxy, with instruments sounding a bit less defined. It’s still very enjoyable to listen to, but not as Hi-Def as the Soundpeats.

SOUNDPEATS Air5 Pro+ vs OnePlus Buds4

Compared to the OnePlus Buds4, the OnePlus is more relaxed in the bass and has more emphasis in the upper mids which can come across as a bit shouty when compared side by side with the SOUNDPEATS. Soundstaging-wise, they are just as close and intimate, but where the SOUNDPEATS wins out is track separation and focus. There is more definition of the different elements in my music, from the vocals to the winds and the strings so overall, the SOUNDPEATS do sound cleaner and more hi-def when listening to intensive music passages. The OnePlus is also a bit lower in volume so I had to push it to 60% to match the SOUNDPEATS 50%.

👉 Have a listen to the sound quality samples

EQ Settings

To me, the H3 is the best sounding one, in fact I nominated it as one of the best sounding earbuds of this year, but the Air5 Pro+ is a close second. Of course you can tweak the sound further with the EQ presets and Graphic EQ, there’s even a very basic auto-calibration that you can try but personally, it already sounds great out of the box.

As for codecs, it’s got the standard AAC, then the not so standard aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive as well as LC3, but those aren’t as common as LDAC which is supported on all Android devices. Take note that if you’re using LDAC codec on the Pro+, you cannot use multipoint pairing which allows you to connect to two devices at the same time.

Conclusion

Features-wise, there’s not much missing on the Air5 Pro+ except spatial audio, which the OnePlus Buds 4 has, and wireless charging, which the Earfun Air Pro 4+ has. What I’m not so impressed by are the same issues I complain about with the PEATS Audio app. It’s sluggish, and making changes in the graphic EQ tests my patience because every change has a buffer time.

Its touch controls are decent but there’s also no way to disable ‘Normal mode’ when switching ambient modes, so every time I want to switch from Hearthrough mode to Noise canceling I have to get through ‘Normal mode’. And even in noise canceling mode, there is a faint static sound in the right earbud, which not even the previous version had, nor any of the others in this comparison.

But overall, what I like about the Air5 Pro+ the most is that it’s got most bases covered. It sounds great out of the box, and ANC, mic and transparency are also decent.

Check latest prices:

SOUNDPEATS Air5 Pro+ - https://amzn.to/4risJ3Q
SoundPEATS Air5 Pro - https://amzn.to/3SU5q0w
SOUNDPEATS H3 - https://amzn.to/3JcFufg
Earfun Air Pro 4+ - https://amzn.to/4hrd79E
OnePlus Buds 4 - https://amzn.to/4kY9EQ4