SOUNDPEATS AIR6 HS – COMFORT-TUNED CLARITY

INTRODUCTION:

Soundpeats as a brand has hold its position securely in the crowded market of TWS quite some time with their unique releases. This serves the arena of people who seeks both the budget and high end premium wireless earbuds. Today in out hands is the newly released Soundpeats Air6 HS, an half in ear designed earbuds here to treat the ears of users wishing for this design language. Let’s dive into the review in detail.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Driver Type: φ13mm Triple Magnet Dynamic Driver

Diaphragm: PU Bio-composite Diaphragm

Magnetic Circuit: Triple Magnet Design (Neodymium Magnet ×3)

Voice Coil: CCAW (Copper-Clad Aluminum Wire)

Frequency Response: 20Hz – 40KHz

Supported Codecs: SBC/ AAC/ LDAC

Bluetooth Version: Bluetooth6.0

Charging Time (Single Earbud): 45min

Fast Charging: Supported (10min→3hours)

DISCLAIMER:

This unit was provided to me by Soundpeats Officials in exchange for my honest opinion about the product and is not an influenced one. Despite the audio is a subjective thing, I have tried to make keep my review straight and simple as possible.

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4sTC1Uq

Discount Code: SPA6HSPR01. It can be stacked with the Amazon coupon for up to 30% OFF, bringing the final price down to $27.99. It’ll be valid for 7 days from now.

DESIGN AND FIT:

After trying out several half in ear designed TWS, I can confidently say that this one fit much better and has better ergonomics. The earpiece fits snug onto the conchae without much interruption. Even after vigorous movements they tend not to leave the position once its sets in.

The case itself has a unique design which lets the lid open in a different way. The magnets hold the earbuds strong enough thereby preventing the accidental falls. The nice little LED indicator in the case let’s you know the status of the battery of both the earbuds and the case.

The type c cable is included in the package for charging and is short enough to be carried along with you or thrown in the backpack.

SOUND ANALYSIS:

Signature: Flat Signature

Tonality: Warm with Dark background

BASS PROFILE:

• Despite its design constraint, the bass is tuned well with good presence that spices up the fun at its best.
• The bass of Air6 HS gives the warmth to the notes but does sacrifices on the fullness due to the lack of isolation that this design provides.
• They do feel less pronounced compared to the full in ear’s thereby delivering a weaker impact.
• The speed, however, appears to be on the right side, allowing the notes to appear without getting mixed up.
• VERDICT: It’s completely subjective! User’s who are used to the full in ear’s will find its bass to be weak while the half in ear enthusiasts will adore its comfort over the sacrificed low-end impact.

MID-SECTION:

• The Air6 HS pushes the mid-section upfront for an engaging listen that suits well for podcasts and vocals.
• The warmth goes along with the vocals to provide a thicker note thereby giving a warmer tone to the overall presentation.
• The background instruments take up their spaces without cluttering the vocals and that gives them a cleaner outlook.
• The restriction can be seen in the upper mid-section due to it’s tamed and muted nature.

TREBLE:

• One can easily find out its limitation in this section and that is the restricted air.
• For genres like podcasts and vocal focussed tracks, this treble will suit well, delivering a calmer charm.
• Treble heads or person in general who likes a more balanced profile will find the treble to be slightly muted.
• The dark tint gets exposed in this section leading the way to a tamed out treble profile.
• Despite the restriction, the speed appears to be on the precise side allowing the percussion instruments to sound at its best.

TECHNICALITIES:

STAGING AND IMAGING: The added benefit of an half in ear is it’s expansive space within the presentation. This allows the sound to be more open despite the restriction in its tuning. There’s good amount of width thereby allowing the notes to spread out well in their terms.

DETAIL RETRIEVAL: Can’t expect much out from a TWS in general for its price. This extracts the essential nuances with ease and struggles a bit with complex tracks due to its limitation.

ADDED FEATURES:

Mics: The total of 4 mics helps in providing the best call quality in its segment. They do use the AI to isolate the users voice from the background noises for a clearer call quality.

Codecs: This does comes with LDAC for a superior resolution yet I don’t find a big difference in it. AAC does a decent job and doesn’t feel any inferior to the highly resolved LDAC.

Bluetooth Version: Air6 HS is equipped with top-of-the-line V5.4 connectivity ensuring a strong connectivity of 30 metres.

Battery Life: The brand claims 45H of listening with the earbuds and does meet the same in reality with a difference of 5 hours between LDAC and the AAC modes.

Touch Controls: The gestures are quite friendly for the users allowing multiple options to be chosen on the go. The app does allow the users to configure the controls on their own terms.

Spatial Audio: This comes as an added bonus yet I don’t find this to be any interesting or in fact this does makes the sound worse. They try to widen the positioning of the notes but end up in sacrificing the accuracy.

APP SUPPORT:

Peats Audio is the app that’s need to be downloaded from the play store or app store to access the equaliser of Air6 HS. The app in general feels bug free and well optimised for both the operating systems. The pairing felt easy with just 2-3 taps and it takes the user directly to the settings.

Here it lets you control the modes like LDAC, Spatial Audio, Gaming Mode, Dual device connection and dynamic EQ. The best part is its equaliser! The 10-band equaliser gives the user the flexibility of choosing their own signature and get the best out of it. The app does allow the user to update the firmware for staying up to date.

VERDICT:

Soundpeats Air6 HS, the latest TWS with its 13mm Dual Magnetic Dynamic Driver delivers an astonishing value to the consumers seeking half in ear designed earbuds. This 40 USD product sets a new benchmark in its category that’s even liked by people who hate this design language specifically.

The reason I hate most of the half in ears is because of two reasons:

1. The half in ears in general doesn’t stay good in the ears.
2. The lack of isolation brings the worst onto the table.

Despite this Air6 HS being a half in ear, this sits well and comfortable in the ears without causing much trouble to the users. They are designed in such a way that it feels like an in ear but with a freedom. The blacked-out isolation without spatial awareness that one gets from the usual in ears is not seen here, which is definitely a big boon if you are a regular commuter. Additionally, the good mics adds up the beauty to the overall package.

Sonically, the Air6 HS with its single 13mm Bio Composite diaphragm dynamic driver delivers an expected output from a half in ears that goes in line with a flat signature with lacklustre dynamics. Is this a surprise factor? No! In fact, the Soundpeats tried to implement this in a good way by giving out their best. The EQ support helps the user to fiddle its output and extract the best out of it. The whole point of getting a half in ear is the ultimate comfort it provides over the sound quality and to that regards this excels at its best.

The bass has softer definition and less impact throughout its presentation and it’s all due to its design language. The mid-section however is brought forward with enough space for the background instruments making this a perfect choice for podcast listeners. Treble extension is calm and quiet making them appear more tamed out but great for those who want calmer, longer listening sessions. Details are on par with the competitors, extracting the essential nuances without any trouble. Stage feels open and wide providing enough space for the notes to express themselves with emotion.  

Despite the fact of being a standard performer in the sound aspect, I find this to be a great value-added package for listeners who love half-in-ears at just USD 39.99. Now this all comes down to the user’s preference! What’s your primary priority? Is it the fuller sound or the clarity enriched comfort!?

POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES:

Pros:

1. Well-designed half in ear
2. Flat Signature (Flexible EQ)
3. Great Microphones
4. Forward Mid-Section (Suits Podcasts)
5. Comfort and ambient awareness

Cons:

1. Design Constraints (Lacks Isolation)