DealsBluetooth earbuds

These customizable earbuds are under $90, with one connection tradeoff

Soundpeats Air5 Pro+ black earbuds in their open charging case
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Soundpeats’ Air5 Pro+ earbuds let you adjust a 10-band equalizer and change what their touch controls do, so you have more say in how they sound and behave. The black pair is currently $87.70 on Amazon US, putting its hybrid drivers and app controls below $90.

That’s $42.29 off the brand’s $129.99 regular US price, or about 33%. The current offer is sold by SoundPEATS Audio and ships from Amazon.com. It’s for the Air5 Pro+, the model with an xMEMS driver alongside a 10mm dynamic driver in each earbud. Check the plus sign if you’re comparing it with the separate Air5 Pro.

Soundpeats Air5 Pro+ in Black
Price: $87.70
Regular US price: $129.99
Saving: $42.29, about 33%
Where to buy: Amazon US
Seller: SoundPEATS Audio
Ships from: Amazon.com
Buy the Air5 Pro+ on Amazon

Sound settings and connection tradeoffs

Soundpeats Air5 Pro+ official LDAC, aptX Lossless and LE Audio codec overview
Soundpeats’ codec overview. Compatibility depends on your source device and settings.

The PeatsAudio app is a useful part of this package. Alongside the custom EQ, Soundpeats includes preset sound profiles and adjustable touch controls. You can change the listening balance and the taps you use most often.

In his February review of the Air5 Pro+, GADGETEER’s Bill Henderson found the earbuds comfortable and the app easy to use. He preferred the HIFI preset and his own custom EQ to the result of the app’s hearing-based adjustment. For audiobooks, he liked the Book Whisper preset because it reduced the boominess he heard in spoken content.

His experience gives you a few settings to explore before assuming the longest codec list will produce your favorite sound.

The Air5 Pro+ supports LDAC and aptX Lossless, along with AAC, SBC and other codecs. The receiving earbuds are only half of that connection. Qualcomm says both the source and receiving device need the relevant aptX hardware support, so check your exact phone’s specifications rather than assuming any Android handset will provide the same options.

Lossless playback also depends on a lossless music source and suitable wireless conditions, according to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound guidance. Buying these earbuds doesn’t make every stream lossless.

There’s a separate everyday tradeoff in Soundpeats’ own product FAQ: LDAC and the two-device connection mode can’t be enabled together. LDAC is off by default and needs enabling in PeatsAudio.

What to weigh at $87.70

Soundpeats Air5 Pro+ manufacturer battery estimates at 40 percent volume, with shorter playback in ANC mode
Soundpeats’ battery estimates at 40% volume. Actual playback varies by codec, mode, volume and environment.

Bill found the active noise cancellation effective, though less powerful than the AirPods Pro he compared it with. He also called the charging case awkward to open because it needed two hands. The sound settings won him over more than the case design did.

For battery planning, Soundpeats rates the earbuds for about six hours per charge and up to 30 hours including the case. The brand’s stated test used AAC, 40% volume and normal mode, so those figures aren’t a promise for ANC or higher-bandwidth listening. It also claims a 10-minute charge adds two hours of playback.

Soundpeats Air5 Pro+ in Black
Price: $87.70
Regular US price: $129.99
Saving: $42.29, about 33%
Where to buy: Amazon US
Seller: SoundPEATS Audio
Ships from: Amazon.com
Buy the Air5 Pro+ on Amazon

For laptop-and-phone switching, plan to use the two-device mode with LDAC off. If you mainly listen from one LDAC-compatible device, you can enable that codec in the app instead. Choose the connection that fits how you’ll actually listen.



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