SoundPEATS H1 Review – Closer To God
SoundPEATS H1: Especially since the recent deluge of cheap dac/amp dongles, which has breathed new life into my innumerable wired IEMs, I’ve cooled off on TWS, which just don’t sound as good. That said, I still need TWS for work, gym, etc. and while my Samsung/Beats/Klipsch sets are undeniably utilitarian, I still seek that great-sounding TWS grail.
Enter the $80 SoundPEATS H1, which caught my eye on the basis of its ergonomic shape, 10hr. battery and Knowles BA/DD array. Build quality is so-so at best—the plastic casings have visible seams and the charging case looks perilously fragile, although pairing is instantaneous and connectivity is good.
I don’t like touch controls generally, and the SoundPEATS H1’s are counterintuitive, if functional. Long-term comfort isn’t quite as good as the Galaxy Buds or Airpods Pro-type buds—there’s some heft to the headshells—but fit is extremely stable and provides for good passive isolation (note there’s no ANC, but correspondingly less battery drain and sonic compromises). Microphone and call quality is serviceable.
Soundwise, the SoundPEATS H1are as tip-dependent as you’ll encounter. With Comply foams, the H1 present an atypically rich, warm tonality and a bass-emphasized L-shaped signature. The low end is voluminous but somewhat thumpy, with noticeable bleed into the mids, while high end is smooth but rolled off and lacking some detail—you miss the snap of drum heads and cymbal hits—and you can hear a bit of incoherence between the DD and BA drivers.
With the included silicons, sound changes radically to somewhat bright and balanced, with toned-down but much tighter bass and considerably more detailed and sparkly (if at times metallic-sounding) high end and rich forward-sounding mids.
I preferred this signature, which was more coherent overall, although bassheads and techno people might find it lacking in midbass punch. In either formulation, soundstage is holographic, with good height and depth, and stereo separation and imaging are very impressive.
Purely from the standpoint of audio quality, I rate the SoundPEATS H1 a notch under the Cambridge Melomania and Sony XM3, which have a more natural, less-synthetic sounding tonality. However, I find myself more inclined to reach for the H1 over any of the aforesaid—the H1 is louder and more energetic than the rather-reserved Cambridge and fits better and (at least with silicons) presents more high end sparkle and a more enveloping stage than the Sony.
All that said, the SoundPEATS H1 still sound like Bluetooth–comparably priced wired sets, e.g. KBEar Diamond or Moondrop Starfield, present a more accurate, less-compressed and quieter reproduction of the source.
Given what I’ll use ‘em for, however, the SoundPEATS check a lot of boxes for me—great battery, affordable, loud, very good-fitting and gym-friendly. That sonically they don’t transcend the “good for wireless” label isn’t really a criticism—they’re as good as you’ll find for the modest fare.
Recommended.
Specifications
| Tested at: $80 |
| Product page: Soundpeatsaudio |
Disclaimer
I bought the SoundPEATS H1 myself.
Our generic standard disclaimer.
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