Overview of high-quality headphones for listening to music SoundPEATS H1

Hybrid driver true wireless earbuds with great sound quality and attractive design, but lack extra features.

SoundPEATS H1 have a balanced and somewhat darkish frequency response apart from a generous boost in bass.

Their hybrid design (8.6mm dynamic driver and one balanced armature driver) provides a tighter, more controlled sound.

Although the fit, especially with silicone tips, isn’t that good, the overall comfort is excellent.

Connection specs with Bluetooth 5.2, aptX Adaptive, and Game mode are impressive, too, and you can control most things right from the earbud’s touch controls.

However, the Bluetooth range could be better and can get easily disrupted by other wireless devices.

Update: There’s a new companion app to tweak the sound. It was added after our review. But more on that later.

Also, our right earbud had a noticeable dip between 4-5kHz, which could mean a lack of proper quality control.

All in all, are the earbuds worth $80? What are their most compelling features and should you consider them? Find out in our SoundPEATS H1 review below.

Comfort & Fit

Star Rating 4.5 Almost Perfect

The ergonomic housing covered in a soft silicone finish feels great, but the fit could be better. The included foam ear tips help a lot.

SoundPEATS H1 have a unique design that tries to contour the shape of the outer ear. Form factor feels strange to hold at first, but you quickly get used to the grip.

Earbuds are made of plastic, with a soft silicone finish that prevents them from rubbing your skin. A see-through plastic is a cool touch, exposing the two drivers inside.

Inside the box, you get 3 pairs of basic, thin silicone ear tips and a pair of Comply foam tips. The latter are packed and squeezed too tightly, meaning they’re permanently deformed.

Comply has a bad rep for packaging their tips poorly. Fortunately, the deformity doesn’t affect sound quality.

All in all, the H1 earbuds are very comfortable to wear, especially with foam tips. They don’t put any pressure on your ears, and you can wear them for hours.

In contrast, fit can be a bit tricky, especially with silicone tips. When you place earbuds in your ears, you have to wiggle a bit to feel a slight pressure in the ear canal. That tells you got a secure seal.

Such fit sensitivity is a bit annoying when you want to grab earbuds and use them right away.

Earbuds are stable enough for running, and they shouldn’t fall out. Though the seal can break a little, resulting in weaker bass response.

Thankfully, the included foam tips make a night and day difference. They make the fit even tighter, more secure, and more comfortable.

Of course, you have to consider that foam tips don’t last forever, so you’ll eventually have to buy new ones.

Noise Isolation

Star Rating 4.5 Almost Perfect

Earbuds successfully reduce most of the ambient noise, with foam tips performing the best.

Due to deeper fit, earbuds can passively block a lot of outside noise. SoundPEATS H1 are no different.

Even with silicone tips, you don’t get bothered by passing cars or other people talking right next to you.

Comply foam ear tips seal even better. Not only do they increase the perception of bass, but also further isolate you from the outside world.

While the excellent passive noise isolation is good for commuting, running or walking near busy roads could be dangerous.

Is There Wind Noise?

Earbuds are quite bulky, so a little bit of wind noise is expected. Thankfully, it isn’t too distracting, even when you’re running.

Unless it’s very windy, they are fine for listening to music outdoors.

Bluetooth

Star Rating 3.0 Good

Despite having some of the latest specs (Bluetooth 5.2, aptX Adaptive), the connection range and stability aren’t great. At least they’re lag-free and support mono mode.

Bluetooth connectivity is about average on SoundPEATS H1. They managed to reach the second brick wall before starting to stutter.

However, if you have many wireless devices in your room (laptop on WiFi, wireless mouse), the range worsens significantly. In my test, audio starts to stutter right after passing the first brick wall.

The pairing process is fast. They appear in your Bluetooth menu as soon as you place earbuds out of the charging case.

If you like using only one bud at a time, the H1 also support mono mode.

Multipoint?

Unfortunately, earbuds can’t connect to 2 devices at the same time.

What Bluetooth Codecs They Use?

Apart from standard SBC and Apple-friendly AAC, they also use aptX Adaptive. The latter is adapting settings based on connection strength.

However, your smartphone also has to support the Bluetooth codec to work.

Is There an Audio Lag?

There’s no visible lag when watching videos on both Android and Apple devices.

Enabling low latency mode called Gaming Mode ensures that you get the same lag-free gaming experience on your smartphone.

Battery

Star Rating 5.0 Perfect

Earbuds boast an impressive runtime of 10 hours and 24 minutes per charge, with an additional 30 hours inside the Qi wireless charging case (according to our test).

Battery life is above average on the SoundPEATS H1, playing your music at 50% volume for more than 10 hours straight.

While their cheaper siblings, the Sonic model, can do almost 5 hours more, the result is still excellent.

A rather chunky charging case holds another 30 hours of battery life. It supports USB-C and Qi wireless charging.

Durability

Star Rating 3.5 Almost Great

An IPX5 waterproof rating makes them water-resistant against splashes of water but not fully submersible. For exercising, that’s more than enough.

SoundPEATS H1 seem quite durable, with no visible weak points. Housing feels sturdy, and with no physical buttons, there’s nothing that can break.

SoundPEATS H1 have a long-lasting battery life of 40 hours in total. Four dots inside the case show the current battery status.

Bluetooth earbuds have an IPX5 water resistance rating against water, which is more than enough to survive sweaty workouts. You can also use them in the rain without causing damage.

The charging case seems compact, too, except for the lid. It’s made of fairly thin plastic and could easily break if you put too much pressure on it.

Features

Star Rating 3.0 Good

Touch controls are a bit tricky to use but offer all the essential commands. There’s a new companion app that enables EQ, sound presets, and more options.

Apart from the features mentioned above, like Bluetooth 5.2, aptX Adaptive, and Qi charging, you don’t get much else.

Underneath the SoundPEATS logo, you find touch-sensitive controls. They’re a bit finicky at first since you have to press at the exact spot. However, you master them quickly.

Controls offer all the necessary commands so that you can keep your phone in a pocket at all times.

SoundPEATS H1 controls:

Volume control up – 1x tap on the right earbud

Volume control down – 1x tap on the left earbud

Answer call/pause & play – double-tap on either side

Gaming mode – triple tap on the left earbud

Voice assistant – triple tap on the right earbud

Next song/decline call – press and hold for 1.5s on the right side

Repeat or previous song/decline call – press and hold for 1.5s on the left earbud

Switch between two active calls – press and hold for 2 seconds on either side

Enter pairing mode – press and hold for 6 seconds on both sides

SoundPEATS H1 also let you summon a designated voice assistant on your smartphone. It works well, with microphones accurately capturing your words.

Update: The H1 do have a SoundPEATS mobile app now. They’ve added it after our review, so we can’t comment on it. From the looks of it, you can play with an audio equalizer, presets and additional options.

However, according to Google Play comments, it often doesn’t work as intended. For this reason is has a low 1.5 star rating.

Sound

Star Rating 4.0 Great

Expect an extra bass sound signature with boosted sub-bass and fairly balanced midrange and detailed treble. The low-end can sometimes be overwhelming.

SoundPEATS H1 have a hybrid dual driver system, meaning they have one dynamic driver for lower frequencies and one Knowles balanced armature driver (BA) for the rest of the spectrum.

The idea behind it is simple: only a dynamic driver can produce rumbly sound, whereas a BA is very fast and detailed.

Essentially, H1 tries to mix the best of both worlds. However, the execution could be better.

Bass

Much like the SoundPEATS Sonic, the H1 wireless earbuds also boost their bass by 10dB above neutral. As a result, the sound is very punchy and has no problem producing rumbly lows.

Since the bass starts elevating before 100Hz, you get a pleasing sense of warmth to the sound.

Thankfully, since you have a dedicated driver to produce bass, it’s quite tight and fast. Earbuds have no problems keeping up with speedy genres like metal and drum n’ bass.

It has a great extension, which makes them an excellent pick for more modern genres like hip hop and trap rap.

If you use them at home, the bass can be a bit overwhelming. It draws too much attention from a more balanced midrange and treble.

However, if you plan to use them for workouts, this type of tuning should suit you well.

Midrange

Mids are balanced but with a small dip at 4.5kHz. They don’t feel too recessed, and the BA driver does a great job portraying instrumentals with good clarity.

Using standard tips, vocals can sound a bit dry and grainy, especially in the upper midrange.

I noticed during frequency response measurements that the dip at 4.5kHz is far bigger on the right earbud than on the left one.

I also tried using the frequency generator to make sure if my MiniDSP hasn’t malfunctioned. However, that dip is clearly audible when playing the same frequency from the right and left earbud.

While that could indicate the point of crossover (where the dynamic driver stops playing and BA takes over), it’s a shame to see such disparities slip through quality control.

Fortunately, you don’t hear that dip when listening to music.

Treble

Treble is quite neutral and can sound a bit dark if you’re used to more fun, V-shaped earbuds. Even the Harman curve has a bigger boost in the treble.

Its flat tuning means that cymbal crashes aren’t as pronounced. Also, using silicone tips, they can sound a bit splashy and lacking texture.

Interestingly, the included Comply foam tips can significantly improve the sound.

They somehow boost the treble a bit, making both cymbals and vocals more pleasing and textured. The sound even becomes slightly more detailed.

Since you get better passive isolation, the bass feels even tighter and punchier.

The soundstage is relatively wide for earbud standards, preventing songs from sounding too congested due to bass boost. Imaging is also pretty accurate.

Overall, the SoundPEATS H1 sound excellent, especially with foam tips. They’re pretty neutral in the mids and treble and have good dynamics.

But, sadly, much like on the Sonic model, the bass is too strong and can sometimes veil the midrange.

SoundPEATS was very close to making excellent wireless earbuds below $100 that would appeal to audiophiles.