SOUNDPEATS H3 Almost KILLED the market... 🤔 | Review
It’s very easy to like the SOUNDPEATS H3 if we’re simply talking about sound quality. And it’s not just because it’s triple drivers, because we all know that having more drivers don’t necessarily mean it’ll sound better, nor is having a whole slew of codecs like LDAC, AptX Adaptive, or even aptX Lossless which the H3 supports. All of those things are nice to have, but it’s really how it’s tuned that makes them one of the best sounding earbuds in this price category.
It can even challenge some of the best sounding, albeit much more expensive B&W Pi8 and Noble FoKus Rex5. (Although, as we’re about to see, it’s still got some ways to go, so I wouldn’t say these are the best sounding earbuds.)
It’s got 3 drivers so it’s a big chassis, but it does look very good. That transparent shell which lets you see the components inside? That is a look inspired by IEMs.
I’ve got no problems with fit and stability either, they plug in very well with their default ‘M’ sized eartips. But how do they perform in terms of mic pickup, active noise canceling and transparency? What are their pros and what are their cons?
Microphone Quality
Its mic pickup is quite good. Voice pickup in quiet conditions is great for the price, and it does a very good job at noise gating and voice filtering. So good that I feel comfortable giving it a rank A in my mic quality rankings.
👉 Have a listen to the mic quality samples
Active Noise Cancelling
For active noise canceling, it seems to be very effective. It’s able to deal with noises in the low and midrange frequencies very well. Better than the top sounding earbuds in this comparison. So you’re going to hear less of traffic noises, human chatter, and the clickety clack of the keyboard as you’re typing. But it does apply a low level of white noise masking also, to mask over midrange frequency noises.
Transparency Mode
In terms of passthrough mode, it doesn’t have the best transparency I’ve tried, transparency that feels like you’re not wearing earbuds so you get full awareness and crystal clear voice passthrough when you’re speaking to people. But it does fare pretty well, with decent pickup and amplifying my voice during conversations, and moderately clear amplifying of sounds around me.
Compared to the Pi8, the Pi8 is a little clearer because it amplifies closer to the base noise level, but compared to the Noble, the H3 is more transparent in the midrange although the Noble amplifies more of the highs so there’s an airier quality to its transparency.
Sound Quality
Out of the box, the SOUNDPEATS H3 sounds clean, full, rich, and they nailed the track separation. They also have great dynamic range and lots of low-end where it’s needed, not to mention, spacious soundstaging with good detail resolution in the background. Suffice to say, they sound enjoyable.
However, it’s not perfect, because it is a little too brilliant in the upper mids so there’s a slightly glassy texture to the mids. The fact that the H3 also has a more mid-focused emphasis might also accentuate the sharpness and brittleness of the upper mids. So on its default setting, some listeners might find its midrange overwhelming.
It’s also got a flatter presentation compared to something more 3D and deep like the B&W Pi8 and Noble FoKus Rex. This goes to show that the number and type of drivers is just one factor, processing also plays a key role. But the fact that the H3 comes very close shows how good they sound for the price, punching high above their weight class.
👉 Have a listen to the sound quality samples
Apps
The SOUNDPEATS app has a great range of EQ presets but most of them sound horrible, either too bright, too boomy or too dull, and the Adaptive EQ made it sound worse, which is why I set out to create my own custom EQ. I wanted to tame the brittleness of the upper midrange, just to bring it under control, and make the sound smoother.
This is the EQ setting I arrived at, feel free to copy it if you’re getting the SoundPEATS H3.
But aside from EQ settings, the app is okay. Decent range of features, different noise canceling and transparency modes, ability to customize individual control taps, but it’s not the most feature-rich experience.
What’s also worth highlighting is that it doesn’t support both multipoint pairing and LDAC codec at the same time, you have to choose between one ot the other. The SOUNDPEATS H3 also doesn’t support wireless charging. At this price level I would have expected it to do at least that.
Conclusion
Clearly, the focus here is on sound qualiy, and for the price, the SOUNDPEATS H3 is one of the best sounding earbuds. It can even rival much more expensive offerings from brands like B&W so it’s definitely worth a look if you’re only concerned about sound. Furthermore as a bonus, they have good noise canceling, mic pickup and decent transparency.
Check latest prices:
SOUNDPEATS H3 - https://amzn.to/3JcFufg
Noble FoKus Rex5 - https://amzn.to/45c9zEi
Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 - https://amzn.to/3U8n9lT
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