SoundPEATS Q29 totally wireless earbuds review
SoundPEATS Q29 totally wireless earphones
£41.99Pros
- Look good
- Light and compact
- Neat charging case
- Buds can be used separately
- Decent sound
Cons
- Bit fiddly to set up
- Audio lacks weight/depth
The SoundPEATS Q29 are totally wireless earbuds. We’ve seen similar before but how does this stack up?
The miniturisation of tech continues, even though phones seem to be getting larger.
The Q29 are completely wire free. This not only makes them extremely compact, but also others will hardly notice you wearing them – especially if, like me, you have longer hair.
Like the VerveOnes, Elyxr Air these are self-contained earbuds that come with a cahrging case – but these are a fraction of the price of either.
SoundPEATS Q29 design
The Q29 have a tasteful design. They also measure just 23mm x 18mm x 30mm.
Each unit has a small LED indicator and a multi-function button that can be used for power, pairing, pausing or skipping songs.
The black and muted silver colourscheme looks well on their rounded shape. They’re not what you’d class as eye-catching but they also don’t look cheap. Neither do they feel cheap.
The Q29 earbuds come in a black plastic charging case with a smoked, opaque lid. The earbuds attach magnetically to the pogo pins within.
A Micro USB port on the back of the case recharges the case’s 220mAh battery, which in turn charges the 45mAh battery inside each earbud. When the earbuds are charging, an LED is turned on.
The Q29 are not designed for sports, they have the Q16 for that, although the Q29 are sweatproof.
The SoundPEATS Q29 is a neat, compact package.
Check out our review of the SoundPEATS Q30 Bluetooth earphones
SoundPEATS Q29 performance
If I hadn’t have tested the SoundPEATS Q30 recently, I would not have expected much from the Q29.
In terms of the fit, I generally found the Q29 quite comfortable to wear. They are light weight (5.3g) and there’s no wires to bother with. This all adds up to making them very convenient to use. Of course, this is balanced out by the need to return the headphones to their charging case every few hours.
However, one downside of not having any wires is that, should one of them decide to eascape your ear, off it runs. Not great on a packed tube or bus.
I haven’t been able to ascertain the size of driver/s used but I am assuming there’s just a single on in each bud. I can tell you that they use Bluetooth 4.2 though.
Set up
Usually, Bluetooth buds are pretty in intuitive to get sorted. Not so much the Q29.
The right headphone needs to be turned on and set to pairing mode by holding the key down, then connected to your smartphone. To connect the left one, you need to hold its button for three seconds; it should then find the right headphone and then you’re golden,
As well as using the Q29 in stereo mode, you can also use the headphones in mono mode, paired to the same or a different smartphone.
I didn’t really find a use for this but, if you and your partner need a Bluetooth headset just for when driving and such, then this would work. Additionally, if you and a friend wanted to share music from one phone without either of you missing out on a channel then, sure, I guess.
Sound quality
The SoundPEATS are decent, sound quality-wise. They give a clean and crisp reproduction but not what I’d call an exciting performance.
There’s very little low end which means that you lose depth in orchesteral pieces. Moreover, you will notice this more in Hip-Hop, Drum and Bass, etc. However, Singer/Songwriter and acoustic numbers are handled well enough for the commute.
Isolation is OK, although there is an amount of bleed from the outside world. But, there’s not a great deal of leakage the other way. Great news for those who like to indulge their ‘Guilty Pleasures’ playlist on the commute – your secret will be safe.
Lag
One design characteristic of truly wireless headphones is the amount of audio lag.
The reason for this is that the first earpiece has to receive the audio signal from your device and then send it on to the other earpiece. Also, so you don’t get an annoying echo effect, the first earpiece has to wait for the second one so that they squirt lovely audio in to your lugholes together at the same time.
This means that there is a momentary delay which isn’t noticeable when playing music, but it is if you’re playing games or watching videos, for instance.
As I said, this happens with any truly wireless buds. However, it is worth noting in case video and/or gaming is on your list of uses.
Connectivity
I have to tackle some quite busy transport hubs on my daily commute (Kings Cross and Liverpool Street stations) and these are always a great test for Bluetooth connectivity. The SoundPEATS did suffer from drop outs but, so have earphones that cost twice as much.
SoundPEATS Q29 review conclusion
It is hard to knock the SoundPEATS Q29 for this price.
The look and feel good, you get additional tips, and the recharging/storage case is nice and compact. They are also pretty comfortable.
Unfortunately, the audio reproduction is lacking in depth for me and set up was a little fiddly.
But, as some commuter ear buds at this price, they may well be perfect for some.
SoundPEATS Q29 price and availability
The SoundPEATS Q29 are available right now at the bargain price of £41.99 from Amazon.
