SoundPEATS is a brand of headphones that is focused on Bluetooth earphones or earpieces, and I have already had the opportunity to try several of their models. The ones in this article are the Mini Pro HS, which are recent and integrate a series of sound technologies that makes them very interesting from the outset. Above all I mean active noise cancellation, which is always difficult to implement on earpieces, and LDAC, Sony’s high-performance audio codec.
unpacked
Los Mini Pro HS de SoundPEATS They arrive in a small box with a good design, with some multicolor gradients that look quite good. As soon as you open the box, you can see the case for the headphones with a small cardboard insert in which the additional silicone tips go, large and small, since the medium-sized ones are installed by default on the headphones themselves. Beneath the insert is the short USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable for charging the case, which is just 15cm in length.
The headphone case It is made in black with a speckled in light tones. Together with its matte finish, it gives it a very good look and feel. The box has the name of the company on the front, which is really barely visible because it is inscribed on it, and on the back is the USB Type-C recharging port. It has a led on the front that indicates the charge level, being green above 50%, and yellow when it is between 10-49%, then turning red.
The penguins are small, with a wide head to include all the electronics on which the company logo appears. The controls are tactile, not overly responsive, and there’s room to toggle them on and off without affecting triggering any action. Even so, the headphones do not have proximity sensors so the music will not automatically pause when removed.
The positioning of the earpieces is quite simple, although having a hybrid active noise cancellation you have to block out outside noise. In my case, the medium-sized tips that are set by default have served me perfectly. It has not taken me too long to put them on properly, staying quite fixed. It will not move with light exercise. In general they have been quite comfortable for me.
Characteristics
SoundPEATS offers these Mini Pro HS earpieces with hybrid active noise cancellation and the SBC codecs as well as Sony’s LDAC, so from the outset they are not going to offer any type of additional sound quality for those devices that do not have LDAC. That’s all Apple products and a lot of older Android phones, as well as a lot of PCs. They are a product obviously more oriented to use them with mobile devices, but they can always end up being used for convenience with televisions or the PC itself.
Transducers are 10mm with biocellulose which have a frequency response between 20 and 20,000 Hz, with an impedance of 32 ohms and a sensitivity of 102 dB. The sound is fine, and it has all the usual features of an intras with Bluetooth 5.3, but when you remove it from the ear it doesn’t pause automatically, so it doesn’t have a proximity sensor.
| Mini Pro HS de SoundPEATS | |
|---|---|
| Type | pinganillos (intraauriculares Bluetooth) |
| Connection | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Transducers | 10 mm |
| Autonomy | 8 h sin ANC, 6 h con ANC |
| Frequency | 20 Hz a 40 000 Hz |
| Impedance | 32 ohms |
| Sensitivity | 102 dB |
| Codecs | SBC, LDAC |
| recharge case | 20 additional hours |
| Battery of each pinganillo | 45 mAh |
| battery charging case | 300 mAh |
| charging connector | usb type c |
| set weight | 37.4 g |
| Microphone | yes, omnidirectional |
| Others | waterproof, IPX5 |
| PVPR | 60 euros |
According to the company, Hybrid active noise cancellation reduces external noise by 40 decibels. I have managed to put them on well to notice the noise cancellation, but the 40 dB seems exaggerated to me. They do not reduce noise that much, they just attenuate it somewhat, but enough so that an improvement is noticeable compared to not having it. They include a transparency mode which is always useful and works well to let more of the midrange through.
The charging case provides 20 hours of use to the headphones with its 300 mAh battery. Each earpiece has a 45 mAh battery that gives it an autonomy of up to 8 h without active noise cancellation (ANC), but that they leave more than 6.4 hours with her. In addition, if LDAC is activated, the autonomy plummets even more, around 5 hours, which is certainly not enough by current standards, even if the sound is improved. They can be recharged in about an hour and a half.
A low latency mode can be activated, which reduces it to 70 ms -three touches on the earpiece left-, which for games and videos will come in handy. The included microphones, one on each earpiece, are omnidirectional and do their job of recording the voice well, although the rest of the sounds will be heard canned.
Mobile app
There is a mobile application that allows you to manage some aspects of these headphones, although it is quite limited. It requires useless registration with an email that they might have missed. In addition, they should review the spelling and the translation into Spanish because there are too many errors for the little application that it is.
There is a basic equalization system with some predefined settings, such as ‘bass boost’, which works well but still doesn’t allow you to hear the deepest bass better, ‘rock‘, ‘pop’ or ‘classic’, among others. I will always say that I am not a friend of equalization since I prefer the frequency response as flat as possible, but there are users who prefer to boost the bass, for example, to combine it with the game mode of 70 ms of latency and to be able to better enjoy games or videos.
cheap noise cancellation
Los Mini Pro HS de SoundPEATS They are Bluetooth earphones that generally have very good features to fully enjoy music, whether you are at home or away. For the latter case, it is very unsafe to go down the street with them on, but when you go on public transport, the transparent mode that will let the voice pass through is very interesting. As long as, of course, they sit well in their place to create a vacuum and that the noise cancellation they include works as it should.
This time I have had no problems getting the noise cancellation to work, although it is not as good as the company says. A 40dB reduction is a lot, and it might be possible with certain types of noise, but overall it’s much less noticeable than if you were wearing ANC over-ears like the QuietComfort QC 35 II I wear daily. The difference is significant, but for 65 euros you can’t expect noise cancellation like other headphones that cost 200 or 300 euros. It works well, in my case it reduces the noise of the footsteps of the riffraff that I have upstairs who seem to be going through the ceiling a lot, and if I’m playing music I don’t notice them.
As for the sound, SoundPEATS products usually have good audio, although they also often have the same problems. In the case of the Mini Pro HS, in SBC mode they have good 10mm transducers being able to reach the deepest bass, reproducing clearly. The higher treble sounds slightly canned, and it brings out the vocals a bit more. It is noticeable, for example, when listening Under pressure by Bowie and Queen, and similar songs. At least on an iPhone, where you can easily equalize with the iOS app, since on a Mac it totally kills them. In addition, some background noise is heard very occasionally, as has happened to me in other models of the company. It is not annoying, unless it occurs in moments of quieter music.
When switching to LDAC the sound is noticeably improved, and will probably please even audiophiles, probably because they are precisely intended for this codec and not for SBC. I have tested them with a Realme 10, and in general the bass is noticeable a little more, the voices are heard much clearer, and the treble is richer. The only thing that doesn’t improve is the deep bass. Sporadic noises do not completely disappear. It would be advisable to buy the Mini Pro HS for use with a system with LDAC, but they behave well with SBC.
I really liked the design of the headphones, and I have been able to wear them without problems for three and four hours without having to take them off. The inclusion of the silicone tips is important so that anyone can achieve the vacuum in a suitable way for the ANC to do its job. They’re waterproof and stay in place during exercise, so they’ll fit right in with almost any sporting activity. In general, they seem to me to be highly recommended earpieces For those who want good audio and good features without spending too much.
Via:
WCCFTech.