These $60 wireless earbuds have no business sounding this good

9 hours ago 2

ZDNET's key takeaways

The Soundpeats Air5 Pro earbuds are available on Amazon for $60 for a limited time.
The Air5 Pro earbuds offer dynamic lows, crisp highs, and smooth mids that make any genre of music sound good
The battery life isn't as good as other earbuds in this price range.

Sound clarity is important, especially when the sound is as up close and personal. When earbuds fail to offer clear and dynamic sound, the end result can feel tinny, shallow, and compressed.

This was often the case with lower-end earbuds; however, over the past few years, even inexpensive devices have risen above their price point. Such is the case with the Soundpeats Air5 Pro earbuds.

The Soundpeats Air5 Pro earbuds in hand.

My experience

The Soundpeats Air5 Pro earbuds do not support Google Fast Pair, so setting them up requires following the usual steps (Settings > Connected Devices > Pair New Device).

After that process, I opened Spotify, tapped play, and accepted whatever random song was up on my playlist. That song was "My Name Is Ruin" by Gary Numan, and I was taken aback by how good these earbuds sound. There was depth and presence, tight and punchy bass, highs that don't fatigue, and a soundstage far larger than the price would indicate.

Wow. Seriously.

These earbuds certainly earn the Pro label (even though they aren't audiophile-level devices).

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What surprised me out of the gate was the balance between the lows and highs. Quite often (especially in earbuds at this price), one or the other tends to be more prominent, leading me to adjust the EQ to level them out. In the case of the Air5 Pro earbuds, that adjustment was not necessary.

Also, the lows were really clear. For example, when listening to "Heartbreak Beat" by the Psychedelic Furs, I could hear the bassist plucking the strings with his fingers, which made the sound so present and unique.

To really push the lows, I pressed play on one of my all-time favorite tunes, "Kingdom" by Devin Townsend. I like using this song to hear how a pair of earbuds handles the low end because of the brutal, driving kick drum in the beginning, and when the bass kicks in during the bridge. The Air5 Pro earbuds handled the song with grace and all the dynamics necessary to deliver Devin's tune to my ears.

Because the bass line in that song isn't very agile, I had to spin up "Analog Kid" by Rush. This tune really shows how well a pair of earbuds can handle bass lines, and the Air5 Pro earbuds did it masterfully.

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Let's talk about the soundstage. The Air5 Pro earbuds didn't widen the stage so much that the musicians felt too distant from one another. Instead, they placed everything just right -- not too close and not too far apart.

The soundstage was wide enough that I could close my eyes and place each instrument and voice in their rightful places (voice above my head, drums surrounding my head, guitars on the periphery (but still very much prominent), and keyboards sort of drifting around. Of all the earbuds I've tested in this price range, I'd say the Air5 Pro earbuds have the best soundstage.

I put them through the usual paces, switching between genres, trying to find a style of music to trip up the earbuds, and they handled everything very well. From metal, prog, pop, classical, choral, electronic, industrial… nothing sounded bad through these earbuds.

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Finally, I'll add that one of my favorite songs I listened to through the Air5 Pro earbuds was "Weightless" by 311. Why do I mention this? Because I heard things I'd never heard before in the song, and that's always a good sign.

ZDNET buying advice

If you've got $80 itching to be spent (or an Amazon gift card) and you're looking for a new pair of earbuds, put these in your shopping cart and hit Purchase. Soundpeats has been delivering hits for some time, and the Air5 Pros are no different.

With dynamic sound, smooth lows, and crystal highs, these earbuds are a real winner and will put a smile on your face, no matter what kind of music you listen to.