SoundPeats is back with another pair of wireless earbuds, this time offering active noise cancellation and a pass-through mode with the T2. As with their other earbuds, these are in a very affordable price range especially when considering the features. At just $59.99 what can you expect if you pick these up? 

Let me take a step back and give you a rundown of what you get. In a small paper box you’ll get a relatively small charging case, a user manual, a tiny charging cable (USB-C), two pretty large earbuds, and 3 pairs of silicone ear tips in the standard small, medium and large sizes. As always, I personally go with the large tip for my right ear, and a medium one for the left. They fit really well, and the earbuds themselves are extremely comfortable. They are big, and stick out a fair bit from your ears, but the part that actually goes into your ear canal is placed in such a way that it doesn’t feel weird at all. As a matter of fact, during the several weeks I’ve tried these buds, I’ve fallen asleep with them on more occasions than I want to admit, and never felt any discomfort. 

Core Specs

• Bluetooth Chip: Airoha AB1562A
• Waterproof Level: IPX5
• Bluetooth: 5.1
• Audio Codec: SBC, AAC, MP3
• Working Range: 33 feet(10m)
• Technology: BT5.0, HSP, HFP, A2DP, AVRCP

Battery

• Battery Capacity: 370mAH (Case)
• Battery Capacity:55*2mAH(Earbuds)
• Charging Time: 2 hours
• Standby Time: 150 hours
• Playtime Time: ANC ON 7.5 hours, ANC OFF 10 hours

Package

• Product Dimensions:0.8 * 0.84 * 1.03 inches
• Item Weight:1.72 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 4.19 ounces

 

The charging case is small as I mentioned earlier, and fits great in your pocket or bag. It holds 20 extra hours of listening time to the earbuds’ 10 hours for a total of 30 hours of musical joy. This is with ANC disabled, with ANC the earbuds’ battery lasts for about 7.5 hours on a charge. The lid is snappy, and the earbuds connect as you open the lid, not when you pull them out of the case - so most of the time they’re connected before you even manage to put them in your ears. Very quick pairing, and very stable connection throughout.

It features 3 small LEDs on the front, showing how much energy the case has as well as showing if either of the earbuds are charging. The only downside with the case is that it is very slippery, if that’s something that bothers you. Its surface doesn’t attract dirt or lint, it feels great in your pocket and won’t get stuck, there’s no fingerprints - but it requires a little more effort when handling it to not drop it. 

The earbuds themselves are matte black, and look as good as new no matter how much you use them. They feature touch controls, of course, and they work really well: I have only made an accidental press once while scratching the back of my neck, hitting the earbud with my arm. You can use these buds as a pair, or as mono earbuds with ease, and change on the fly seamlessly by putting any earpiece back into the charging case, or taking one out. There are a couple of issues presented when using only one earbud though. First controlling the volume of the earbuds is as easy as tapping once on them - on the right to raise the volume, and on the left to lower the volume. If you only use one earbud, you can only raise or lower the volume depending on which earbud you use. This level is independent of the phone’s volume, and every time you take them out of the charging case they are at 50%; so you have to keep increasing the volume on the buds. It is a little bit annoying, but is a safety feature for your hearing, so it won't accidentally blast your ears with full volume music. 

Another issue with using only one earbud, also connected to the controls, is the ANC and pass-through mode. You activate this by tapping and holding the left earbud for 2 seconds. So you can’t do it with only your right earbud. However, if you pull out the left earbud, activate it, and put it back into the charging case - it will disable it again. So you literally can’t use the ANC or pass-through mode if you don’t have both earbuds out of the case. 

Why would you want that, you ask? Well, there are many reasons. I often use one earbud so that I can be aware of my surroundings better, and if I could activate the pass-through mode on the earbud that I actually have in my ear, it would increase my awareness even more. The same way, if I want to pay attention to my surroundings, waiting for someone to call my name for example, but want to hear something in a noisy environment - having ANC activated would help making it easier to listen to the one actually in my ear. 

 

So how does the ANC and pass-through mode work? They work well. They’re not the best, but you shouldn’t expect that at this price point. To be completely honest, I would have expected way worse! For the price, they are truly great at their job. The ANC cuts away the low frequency noises the best, while letting higher frequency noise pass a bit more. From a real life example: When I had ANC activated but without music playing, I went into the kitchen where bacon was fried. I heard the frying pan, it sizzled, but it wasn’t loud. Then I disabled it and heard that the kitchen fan apparently was going at full speed; something that was completely inaudible with ANC activated. Pass-through works well, but I think it is a little bit difficult to hear people talking even with it activated. It is great for hearing traffic when you are out for a walk however.

Sound quality is really good with a deep, exciting, rumbling bass, but with slightly dulled mids and highs. I don’t want to make it sound negative, it’s just not as crisp and sparkly as their own Truengine 3 SE. It is by no means a muddy sound, and the bass is very clear - I really enjoyed listening to bass driven pop, edm, and epic post-rock songs with booming kick drums, but they also work well with jazz, soul and RnB, and pretty much anything you throw at them. Video game music? Works amazingly! The microphone work well for calls, although they pick up some ambient noise, which is to be expected. Above average sound quality, no doubt. 

Do they work for gaming? No. They are wireless, and they do not have aptX, so the latency is not suited for games where sound is important for the gameplay. Listening to an audiobook while grinding in an RPG? Perfect!

 
Size comparison with a Nintendo Joy-Con to the left, SoundPeats T2 in the middle and the SoundPeats Truengine 3 SE to the right

So to summarize, I am very impressed with these earbuds and have happily been using them daily. There are a few minor inconveniences with the volume always being 50% after you take them out of the case, and that the ANC can’t be used with only one earbud. The ANC isn’t the best of the best, but then again they’re just a fraction of the cost of others so you really do get value for your money. 

I warmly recommend these.