Audiophiles on a budget need to buy these wireless earbuds now – I’ve tested them and they’re the real deal

Soundpeats H3: Two-minute review

While you’ll most likely know Chinese headphone company Soundpeats from its dime-a-dozen budget buds, this rare foray into the mid-range market is still enough to pique interest… and to open wallets, because let me be clear: these are some of the best cheap headphones^[2] I’ve tested all year.

The Soundpeats H3 (no, you’re not expected to have heard of the H2) look like and sound like premium earbuds, and they make easy work of rivals at their price point, such as the AirPods 4^[3].

The unique selling point here is the specs list, as the buds each have three drivers per earpiece (the AirPods, for example, have one) which let them handle the extremes of the audio spectrum with grace. They offer a vivid, insightful and well-defined sound, an expansive soundstage and support for a range of audio codecs.

I personally appreciated how Soundpeats didn’t follow the example set by most other mid-range and budget audio brands: the buds don’t turn the bass up to 11 to excite, at the expense of balanced sound, making them an option that offers something distinct from other buds you might be considering.

Audiophiles on a budget should add this to the shopping list straight away – and I do not write that lightly.

The premium sound is reflected in the design, with both the buds and case looking chic and classy. The earpieces also fit well and I never had problems with them falling out, which isn’t something I can say about many non-stem earbuds.

If there are issues with the Soundpeats H3, or at least reasons to temper your expectations, it’s in the features department. The battery life and active noise cancellation (ANC) are both a little below what I’ve experienced in other similarly-priced earbuds, and I had some app connection troubles (these didn’t affect streaming music, just using Soundpeat’s apps for some extra functionality).

Despite these small setbacks, the Soundpeats H3 are still exemplary earbuds that have certainly earned their way onto personal ‘best headphones’ list of 2025.

Soundpeats H3 review: Price and release date

• Released in September 2025
• Costs $149.99 / £139.99 / AU$142
• Slightly pricier than AirPods (in most regions)

The Soundpeats H3 were released in September 2025, as a follow-up to 2021’s Soundpeats H2 – given that the new buds cost almost twice as much as their predecessors, and look vastly different too, it seems that the name is the only thing these buds have in common.

The new earbuds cost $149.99 / £139.99 / AU$142 (no, that’s not a typo, the buds are inexplicably cheaper in Australia compared to the rest of the world, given that an exact conversion would put them closer to AU$280).

That’s not cheap cheap like most Soundpeats earbuds, and it means the H3 bumps shoulders with the $129 / £129 / AU$219 AirPods 4, but any buds that serious audiophiles will be considering will cost a fair bit more. Top picks from Sony^[4], Apple^[5] and Bose have much higher price tags.

Soundpeats H3 review: Specs

Soundpeats H3 review: Features

• ANC is fine, but can be beaten by rivals
• 7/37 hour battery life (ANC off)
• Occasional app connectivity problems

According to Soundpeats, the H3 last for 7 hours of listening time before needing to be charged. From my testing, this figure is presumably with ANC turned off, as I listened with it turned on and just scraped the 5 hour mark.

Soundpeat’s figures continue to 37 hours for the case, which again would be lower if your noise cancelling is hogging all the charge. That’s still a fair amount higher than many other rivals though, so I can’t knock it.

Another case of ‘fine, but not the best’ comes with the noise cancellation, which will certainly take the edge off surrounding sounds but not remove them. Some of the environments I was in when testing the buds included the gym, near busy roads, on the train and on a flight, and the H3’s ANC would rarely totally remove a sound, but was decent at reducing its volume so your music could sit over the top.

I can’t say the same about Transparency mode, however, which seemed to amplify ambient noise while muffling voices – that’s the opposite of what it’s meant to do.

In an apparent attempt to make my testing job harder, Soundpeats offers two different apps which you can use to control the buds (they work independently, so you only need one, but to do my job well I have to test both): there’s the SOUNDPEATS app (all caps in the name, not my excitement) as well as PeatsAudio.

SOUNDPEATS has the same features as PeatsAudio but also a little bit less visual flair… when it picks up the buds, which wasn’t always the case during my testing. Sometimes I had to re-enrol the buds in the app to listen.

You can use the app to toggle what the touch controls do, change the volume and language of voice prompts, turn on LDAC, connect to multiple devices, test your buds’ fit to see if you’re wearing them properly and, in theory, play with a 9-band equalizer. I say ‘in theory’ because every time I tried opening this part of the app, I got an error message in Chinese and also an error screen saying an error occurred in English, so could never try it. This happened even when I reset the app and the earbuds.

PeatsAudio, meanwhile, has most of the features of SOUNDPEATS but the EQ actually worked. I sometimes found that LDAC toggled itself though, once when I was looking at (and not touching) the toggle on the app. Unless I’ve unknowingly been cast in a new Paranormal Activity movie, that’s a possible bug.

• Features score: 3/5

Soundpeats H3 review: Design

• Light, well-fitting buds
• Handy touch controls
• Bulky carry case

I’ve never given Soundpeats kudos for original design, mostly because it’s never deserved any, but that’s certainly different now. The Soundpeats H3 have a unique and, dare I say, classy design.

It starts with the charging case, which I’ll readily admit is too big to comfortably fit in a pocket, but it makes up for it with its looks. The shell is transparent so you can see the buds while a gold trim blends well with the black; opening the case reveals the buds as well as a leather-esque patterned design. Admittedly the panel pleading “Hear the difference” looks a little gauche, especially with its inconsistent font that sees the ‘f’s descend to different levels, but this error triggers the editor in me instead of the tech reviewer in me, so I’ll let it slide.

Talking of letting things slide, let’s slide out the buds. These are in-ears with no stem; the whole thing sits in your ear. I’m generally skeptical about the reliability and fit of buds like this, as I’ve tested too many that are too heavy and fall from your ears, but the Soundpeats H3 worked a dream. They sat comfortably in my ear, never falling out and barely being noticeable during listening.

I’m a fan of how the shape of the H3’s body loosely resembles an ear, making the buds look like a part of the body when worn. This has a functional benefit too, with a small raised section at the far side of the body to the bud bearing a little hook, which helps keep the bud in place.

Each bud has a touch control and I found these fairly convenient to use. It feels like you can tap anywhere to trigger the function, instead of on one specific area, so you won’t waste time hammering away at your ear hoping to pause your music.

One thing that could be better here is the waterproofing which, at IPX5, sits below quite a few rivals. That marks the buds as being fine against sweat and rain but not water immersion or jets of water.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Soundpeats H3 review: Sound quality

• Three drivers per bud
• Lovely neutral sound
• Range of codecs supported

Why do these buds rate so highly? This section. The Soundpeats H3 come with three drivers, more than most rival buds: there’s a 12mm dynamic driver paired with two balanced armatures which in tandem, according to the company, ensure the entire audio spectrum is covered.

It works too, with the H3 perhaps the best-sounding mid-range earbuds I’ve ever tested that don’t have a bass focus (an important distinction given that many rivals focus on powerful bass more than Soundpeats has).

Treble is clearly the focus here. The balance, brimming with clarity and making vocals and higher-frequency instruments sparkle with energy and clarity, is refreshing and insightful. This extends to mids, which get to make a rare and detailed appearance, after getting somewhat overlooked in the vast majority of similarly-priced wireless earbuds.

Lower frequencies aren’t as powerful as on many rival buds, but they’re better-defined too, which more than makes up for it – the integrated bassline these buds provide sits well in the mix without ever dominating or encroaching.

There’s a lovely sound separation going on too, spacing and layering each musical passage and instrument in a way that justifies the use of multiple drivers.

Not content with a solid array of hardware, Soundpeats has included support for a wide variety of wireless audio codecs too, including aptX, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless, LDAC, AAC and SBC. I only briefly tested with LDAC for fear of running down the battery (unless the app turned it on without telling me…) but the buds’ release at the same time as Spotify Lossless is a lovely little treat for audio reviewers.

• Sound quality: 4.5/5

Soundpeats H3 review: Value

I’ve got an ongoing list of great-value mid-range wireless earbuds that I can recommend to people who ask for my advice – placement on the list boils down to whether or not I’d buy it myself if, god forbid, I stopped getting sent buds to test.

The Soundpeats H3 certainly earn a place on the list. They may not have the features of rivals but the audio chops more than make up for it. They sound great and, more importantly, distinctly different from most same-priced rivals – all for half the price of other audiophile-grade earbuds.

• Value: 4/5

Should I buy the Soundpeats H3?

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

Soundpeats H3 review: Also consider

How I tested the Soundpeats H3

• Tested for 21 days
• Tested at home, in the office and on walks

I tested the Soundpeats H3 for at least three weeks in order to write this review.

For testing, the buds were connected to my Android phone and I used music platforms including Spotify, Tidal, Netflix, YouTube^[6] and various games. I tested at home, on walks around my neighborhood and on various modes of transport, including trains and planes.

I’ve been reviewing gadgets for TechRadar for six years now, including many earbuds across a wide range of prices.

• First reviewed in October 2025

References

1. ^{^} Find out more about how we test. (www.techradar.com)
2. ^{^} best cheap headphones (www.techradar.com)
3. ^{^} AirPods 4 (www.techradar.com)
4. ^{^} Sony (www.techradar.com)
5. ^{^} Apple (www.techradar.com)
6. ^{^} YouTube (www.techradar.com)