With every audio manufacturer seemingly making earbuds, the market has exploded over the years. Standing out in the vast sea of wireless earbuds is becoming increasingly difficult. This is especially true in the sub-$100 segment where there are many options to choose from.
While it’s not challenging to find earbuds in this price range, finding quality ones can be. Enter the SOUNDPEATS Air3 Deluxe.
With a retail price of $49.99, the SOUNDPEATS Air3 Deluxe sits right in the middle of the affordable earbuds segment. While my experience with these earbuds has not been perfect, I believe they do enough to stand out in this competitive segment and offer a good experience.
Design
The SOUNDPEATS Air3 Deluxe looks very similar to Apple’s AirPods. They feature a solid-tipped design, which means there are no silicone tips to mess with. This also means that you won’t be able to adjust the size of them.
These earbuds are relatively small, with each earbud being about the same size and weight as an AirPod. SOUNDPEATS ships the Air3 Deluxe with a relatively small charging case. The case is small enough that once I put it in my pocket, I completely forgot it was in there.
The case and earbuds stay in place with a small magnet. When putting these earbuds back into their case, there is a satisfying feeling when you feel the magnet engage. It gives you the feeling that these will never accidentally fall out.
The Air3 Deluxe comes in two different colors. You either get them in white or black, with the charging case matching your earbuds’ color preference.
Performance
My time with the SOUNDPEATS Air3 Deluxe has been good overall. With its 14.2mm Bio-diaphragm driver, these earbuds deliver clear sound quality and quite a bit of bass. I routinely kept the volume around the halfway mark and never felt the need to go above it. The bass was obviously present, but in bass-heavy songs, it was almost too much at times.
After the initial setup, which is as easy as selecting them in your Bluetooth settings, they were quick to pair. They were so quick to pair that by the time I got them out of the case, I could hear it say connected long before I could get them to my ears. These buds have a wireless range of 33 ft. I was able to walk multiple rooms away without disconnecting or any audio issues at all.
The Air3 Deluxe earbuds were comfortable and I had no issues putting them in my ears. These buds also feature auto-pausing technology. If you take them out of your ear, it will automatically pause whatever you are listening to.
I have never had the most success with in-ear headphones, let alone earbuds. I must have an odd-shaped ear canal, but I had some playback issues at times. Every so often it would randomly pause what I was listening to. While it only happened a few times, it was a bit jarring when it did happen. I don’t think these were the fault of the earbuds themselves but thought it was something to note.
These earbuds feature a gaming mode to cut down on latency. While they don’t support active noise cancellation, they do make use of multiple microphones to cut out background noise during phone calls. Phone calls came through loud and clear and my voice was clear to the person on the other end.
Battery
Battery life was good, but not great. They are rated for five hours of listening and a total of 22 hours with the charging case. In my experience, this proved accurate, but keep in mind your mileage may vary depending on how loud you make these. It also means that they won’t make it through an entire work day without stopping for a charge. That was never an issue for me, but if you are someone who listens to music all day long, you should find something with better battery life.
Charging time is also only alright. It takes both the earbuds and charging case 1.5 hours to charge. While this is acceptable for the charging case, I was a bit let down with the charging times for the earbuds themselves.
On a positive note, the SOUNDPEATS Air3 Deluxe charges via USB-C and is IPX4 rated. This means that they are water resistant to splashes from any direction. So exercising with these or being in the rain shouldn’t cause any problems.
Final Verdict
I really enjoyed my time with these earbuds. Music and calls were loud and clear and they delivered a pleasurable experience. While I did have some issues with the earbuds pausing my music, it wasn’t enough to deter me from using them. I usually only listen to a few hours of music or YouTube a day, so I didn’t have any battery issues.
I loved being able to throw the case in my pocket and not worry about it being there. For $50, the SOUNDPEATS Air3 Deluxe delivers exceptional value and a good listening experience. You can find them on their website or on Amazon.
