Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS ($59)
I recently received the Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HD for the purpose of review, and I’d like to thank Soundpeats for their generosity. Never will this impact my thoughts in any way. My job is to review, and to point out the pros and the cons. With that said, here is my full review of the Air3 HS.
Soundpeats have steadily rolled out successfully well done tws iems for years now. Always they strive to create products which are low cost but also are sonically gifted for the price. I have personally owned many Soundpeats products and have enjoyed them all. I acrtually just completed a reveiw of the Capsule 3 Pro previously. Today we are looking at the newest iteration within the “Air series”, in fact this is Soundpeats using this style. The Air3 are much like the Airpods, in that they sit outside the ear making them a semi-open design. I suppose you could also call them half-in-ear. I am more than impressed with how far Soundpeats has come and look forward to where the future takes them. At the moment the Air3 Deluxe HS can be purchased on sale at sites like Amazon for about $49.99 which is an absolute steal. Read ahead so I can tell you why…
*For a limited time get the Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS for a massive sale price:
| Prod Name | SoundPEATS Air3 Deluxe HS |
| Detailed Offer | 22% off coupon +10% off Code: NI6VXZF8 |
| Offer Price | $35.99 (MSRP: $49.99) |
| Offer Time | 03/27/2023 —- 04/02/2023 |
| Amazon Link | |
| SOUNDPEATS Page | |
Air3 HS Pros
-Build per price
-Light as a feather
-Functionality
-Hi-res Codec support (LDAC)
-Nice case
-Great App
-Game Mode & in-ear detection
-Call quality
-Clean sound
-Open & airy stage
-Detailed playback
-Actually has decent bass
Air3 HS Cons
-This “Airpods” style isn’t for everyone
-Fit may be a problem
-Midrange is slightly recessed
You can purchase the Air3 Deluxe HS HERE
Packaging
This will be fairly straightforward. The box that the Air3 HS arrived in is slim and square with the usual picture of a person rocking the earphones on the cover. In this case it is a young man looking far off into the distance with model looks. Once you open the package you will see the case staring back at you. Lift off the case and the only other accessory is a short usb type c charging cable. That’s it, no need for anything else. Okay, there is some reading material also. There’s a manual and a little sheet displaying the controls as well.
Build / Design / Internals / Fit / Case
Build / Design
The Air3 HS has a nice build for something so stinking light! These feel feather weighted in my ears. Very comfortable. I don’t know what they weigh exactly but it feels like absolutely nothing. The Air3 HS are a decently slick looking set coming in all black except for the “S” located on the touch surface, which is colored in a bronze/gold colorway as the accent color. Of course, I am only speaking of my set in ‘Black’ but Soundpeats also gives the option for Pink, Purple and White as well. These are made with plastic, like most tws, due to the antenna there is a shortage of different materials that will work as good as plastic. However, the plastic used has some good rigidity to it and doesn’t feel ultra-cheap and certainly doesn’t look that way. All in all, for the price this is a great looking set and nice build too. Oh, one more thing, the Air3 also has a IPX4 waterproof rating. Pretty nice.
Internals
Soundpeats opted for a mammoth 14.2 mm Bio-Coated Dynamic Driver! Absolutely huge by normal tws standards. This is all I know of the Driver material. I suppose for an open sound like these half-in-ears you need a larger diameter driver to pump as much sound as possible.
Chipset
The Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS are running on Bluetooth 5.2 with some nice connectivity ratings of up to 10m, at least that is what the promotional materials suggest. I have no reason to question this as I have yet to have a connection fail. From my perspective I have always had a great connection with any Earbud from Soundpeats. The actual chipset is the WUQI WQ7033M which carries with it some good features. One of those is a special AI tech for phone calls as well as LDAC etc.
Fit
Always the most subjective and almost pointless areas of a review will always be the “Fit” category. I can tell you that for myself, the Air3 HS feel like they are not very well seated in my ear. However, one person over… “my son”, for him they sit perfectly in his ears and even seal very well. The same goes for my wife. The style is not for everyone though I will say that once I began fiddling with this set I did get a great fit which helped tremendously with the soundquality. We have all used this type of half-in-ear design. Like I said it is very reminiscent of Apple products in size, and shape. I will say that fiddling with the Air3 for a bit I am able to get a good seat in my ear to properly hear them.
Case
The case is a catchy looking and glossy black in color. It is perfectly sized. I truly hope all tws manufacturers take a note from Soundpeats. The case is perfect, and that litmus is gauged by how well it slides into my extra tiny jeans pocket. It’s perfect. Perhaps the slick gloss finish makes it slippery but that isn’t a ‘con’ in my book. The gloss only helps it to slide into my tiny pocket better. I’m sold. There is also a bronze rectangle surrounding the hinge which has the name “Soundpeats” written inside of it. A pretty snazzy look if you ask me which adds a class to the overall Aesthetic of the case. You will also see a circular “pairing” button on the front of the case which has pretty obvious functionality. By the way, the case will also provide 21 hours of usage and will give you battery info with a small light on the front of the case.
Features
Codec support
Soundpeats have released a bevy of Hi-Res tws earphones of late and the Air3 HS is no exception. The Air3 HS just so happens to have the Crème de la crème of codes as they opted for LDAC support here. The only other codecs I believe which are supported are AAC & SBC. LDAC provides up to 990 kbs which easily trumps other codes by giving a CD quality listening experience, so long as your device supports the codec. Apple users will have to resort to SBC or switch over to Android like any good audio fan would do. Just kidding, just kidding, we are only having fun. Anyways, the addition of LDAC is a great sight and does certainly make a difference most of the time and equates to a portion of the sound quality. Driver tech and implementation of those drivers as well as tuning does do most of the leg work though. LDAC can also provide up to 24bit/96kHz audio as well.
Game mode
By simply tapping three times on the touch sensor located on each earpiece you will be greeted with gaming mode. I suppose you could also call it low-latency mode as well. I had zero issues playing games, even first-person shooters as I didn’t really notice lagging playback, which is awesome. Also, movies playback as they should without any lip sync problems. This is one thing I love to have as I wear tws every day of my life and can appreciate a low latency mode, even more-so when it actually does what it’s supposed to do.
In-Ear detection
I like this feature more than I thought I would, and that is “In-Ear Detection”. It is very useful that the Air3 HS shuts down and pauses whenever I take this set out of my ears. Trust me, you’ll only realize how nice it is when you’ve had it for a while and all of a sudden you have to go without it. For the price this is a feature you don’t normally see.
Soundpeats App
Anyone who has had a recent Soundpeats tws has probably witnessed how nice the App is. Inside the app you will be able to upgrade firmware as well as select “game mode” or toggle on the “in-ear detection”. You’ll be able to use the awesome 10 band equalizer which by the way will save your settings to the tws themselves. There are also 9 different preset equalizer settings which were created by Soundpeats. I think that if you can find a tws at this price with a solid and helpful app than you are onto something pretty good.
Battery
The Air3 HS run about average for battery length using LDAC. The promotional says that the Air3 HS will give you five hours of battery life on the buds themselves. In total, considering the case, you get a decent 21 hours of use in the Air3 HS. Not bad at all. I’ll be honest I never listen that long without putting them back in the case and this happens many multiple times a day. So, I have zero idea if the five hour battery length is accurate. It doesn’t sound too far-fetched though.
Call quality
One area that I was very surprised in was the amazing call quality. I seriously wasn’t expecting to have such a seamless time on Xoom calls for business as I had. Truthfully any call that I made, my voice came across natural and loud and clear. The Air3 HS also does well taking phone calls in crowded environments or even while driving with the window slightly down. Yes, I have tried it all and yes, the Air3 proved to be a major upgrade since the previous version.
Quick Sound Impressions
Overall, I’d say that Soundpeats did an admirable job tuning a set such as the Air3 HS. You have a smoothed over sound with good representation in the bass, nice midrange and decent treble. It has to be difficult to tune a semi in-ear, kinda like it must be difficult to tune traditional earbuds. You don’t have that great seal unless you really shove these in your ears. I should mention that I’ve had a hard time finding that seal, but I was able to situate the Air3 HS in such a way to actually achieve a seal. It surprised me quite a bit. Everything opened up at that point. Back to the point though, Soundpeats really did well tuning this set to maneuver around the seal problem and fit issues that may arise.
The Air3 is a mostly balanced replay for a V-shaped sound signature with a warmer tonal climate. There is certainly a bump in the low end and to my ears I hear a pinna gain that isn’t too drastic with likely a lower treble boost followed closely by a roll-off of the upper treble.
Bass Region
I have to say, the bass on this set is much-much better than I would have assumed. Soundpeats did a very nice job of elevating the bass region to sound very natural in relation to the rest of the mix. Really, as far as Airpods style (semi in-ear) sets go, the Air3 HS has some rumble to it. It’s odd because the way they sit so loosely in my ear I figured for sure this set would be majorly deficient in this area. However, that is simply not the case. The bass is there people! There are instances where the mid-bass feels a little more pulled back, but the bass still has a decent representation and nice oomph in tracks that provide some oomph.
Obviously fit will be the greatest indicator of whether you will really get a good feel for this region. I don’t want to oversell the bass, but I found the Air3 to have an impactful and tight rumble with decent transient response which doesn’t bloom or cover the midrange but instead it leaves room for that midrange expression. All in all, it’s not bad. The mid bass has a slight bump above the sub-bass but mostly stays in good control and can replay most genres really well.
Midrange
The lower midrange does have a slight recession which comes with the V-shaped territory. That said it isn’t so recessed that it is overly veiled. The Air3 is tuned to be a fun and energetic listen and sometimes the midrange gets left out to a degree. That said, male vocals have decent note weight and come across clearly with pretty good energy for a semi in-ear tws.
Female vocals on the other hand come across with nice levity and actually carry a bit of energetic shimmer without adding any glare or shout. Note weight in the upper midrange has a good body do go along with that shimmer. Females sound much more forward than males and really do well at replaying with an emotional flare. This is not a bright upper midrange but a slightly warm yet energetic upper midrange. There is a naturalness that is conveyed across the spectrum, but females seem to show this off better than the rest of the mix.
If anything, I would say that there is the slightest veil over the lower midrange, but it isn’t a tuning killer. Also, it is a ridiculously petty complaint for the price the Air3 is selling for. All things considered the midrange are done very well.
Treble
The treble region does carry a nice boost but also sounds a hint rolled-off up top. Still there is plenty of energy to entertain most tracks without adding any eye-wincing sheen up top also. For instance, any really sharp electric guitar action won’t kill your ear drums. For all intents and purposes, the Air3 have a nicely smooth and non-fatiguing treble which can be enjoyed for long periods of time.
I also hear decent macro details as well as some micro details in the treble while not sounding dry or analytical. The treble is actually more bodied and easier going. No this isn’t going to provide ultra level details, but it is going to provide enough substance and info to not feel cheated out of your favorite tracks. Another thing I enjoy is that there is enough of a boost in the treble to offset the low-end. Also, this set is ridiculously cheap for what you are getting sonically. I do have to urge whoever takes a chance on the Air3 that you must seat these so that at least a somewhat decent seal is obtained.
Technicalities
Soundstage
I hear a decently wide stage with decent height and average depth. I think the open nature of the Air3 does a lot to produce that larger than usual stage. Not a coliseum or a stadium but seriously… This is a tws product and as far as tws goes…The Air3 are very nice. The Air3 HS actually provides an extremely airy and open sound which when compared to other tws products it sounds much more expensive to the ear. A little psycho-acoustic trickery that sounds very nice.
Separation / Imaging
Now we are getting into some of the more difficult jobs of a tws earbud and that is separation and imaging. Tws is confined to the tuning capabilities of the on-board DSP which doesn’t always come across as technically savvy as we’d like. Honestly separation isn’t bad at all with one caveat, if the song you are listening to is more chaotic and congested you will likely hear just that… Congestion. Imaging follows this theme to a degree. Really, I would say that the imaging of a psycho acoustic stage full of elements within that stage is actually pretty nice. Again, so long as the music isn’t too congested. Acoustic tracks excel as well as tracks which aren’t so multi-layered.
Details
The Air3 is not tuned to bring out the finest of details as it is much more of a warm and emotional listen. Saying that, I still feel that some of the minutiae can be heard loud and clear as the overall balance of the Air3 is pretty nice. At times the bass will cover over some of the finer stuff but there is nice clarity in the lower treble of the Air3 which somewhat makes up for any veil or low-end rise.
Is the Air3 Deluxe HS worth the asking price?
Without question the answer is a yes from me. I went into this review never enjoying semi in-ear earbuds but came away really enjoying this set. If you take into account that the Air3 carries LDAC, fantastic call quality as well as very nice sound quality while also carrying gaming mode and in-ear detection at the price Soundpeats is asking, it’s a no brainer. Obviously, this style has to suit your tastes and that is a question for you but likely anyone reading this has already made that distinction. Absolutely the Air3 is worth the asking price and is a nice deal. It is a fine built, fine-looking set with a fantastic case, and it can jam. Not bad at all.
Ratings (0-10)
*All Ratings are given per the price point as well as the style of earphone. In this case I am comparing the Air3 HS to similarly priced “semi in-ear” tws sets.
Build/Design– 9.5
Bass– 9.0
Midrange– 9.0
Treble– 8.3
Technicalities– 8.2
Features– 9.5
P2P– 9.5 (Price to Performance)
Overall Rating- 9.0 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Conclusion
I want to thank Soundpeats and Ellen very much for providing the Air3 HS for a fair and honest review. It’s hard to not be completely impressed with this set. I was not a believer in this style of earphone and Soundpeats completely changed my mind. Fantastic job Soundpeats!
Please check out other reviews and get other perspectives as I am only “me”. I review with my own subjectively objective thoughts, and I may be completely different then the next man. We all have different likes and dislikes; our hearing isn’t all the same and we don’t all listen to the same libraries of music etc. So do yourself a favor and take in as much information as possible before a purchase. With that, I want to thank anyone who chose to read this review of the Air3 HS. Please take good care and stay safe.