SoundPeats PearlClip Pro Headphones Review

The SoundPeats PearlClip Pro have a very thin, bright sound that doesn't closely approximate any of the target curves available on our graph tool. That's to be expected, since they're designed to sit outside your ear canal, and thus don't form a seal with your inner ear, making it harder for them to reproduce low-end frequencies. Unlike similar earbuds such as the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, the SoundPeats don't have very flat or well-controlled mids and treble ranges. A large peak between the high-mids and low-treble can make voices sound harsh. In general, this tuning is best suited for spoken word content.

It's worth noting that these earbuds feature an automatic left/right earbud assignment system: whichever bud is placed on the left side of the case becomes the left channel, and vice versa. While functional, it can be confusing if you remove the earbuds mid-use and forget their orientation, as resetting the channels requires placing them back in the case for 10 seconds. Fortunately, swapping the buds has no noticeable effect on sound quality.

The SoundPeats PearlClip Pro have very good frequency response consistency. Their sound doesn't change drastically between wears, but it's worth taking the time to position them correctly in order to ensure a well-balanced stereo image.

The SoundPeats PearlClip Pro have decent compliance with our mid-range target. The low-mids are a little recessed, which can make sung vocals in tracks like I Will Dream by Emmylou Harris sound a bit thin. On the other hand, the high-mids have a peak that can make voices sound harsh and honky.

The SoundPeats PearlClip Pro have sub-par compliance with our treble target. The low-treble has a large peak, which is a continuation of a peak in the high-mids, that makes voices sound harsh and nasally. Above that, the treble response is very inconsistent, with peaks and dips making sibilants and cymbals sound alternately dull or piercing.

These earbuds have okay peaks and dips performance. They produce little bass in the first place, so there's not much scope for deviation from their sound profile in that range, but their response is still fairly even until the crossover between the high-mids and low-treble, where a big peak can render voices harsh. The treble range is rather uncontrolled, with a series of peaks and dips making higher-pitched sounds like ride cymbals alternately dull or piercing.

These headphones offer great stereo matching, with both drivers closely aligned in weighted amplitude and phase response. The largest deviations appear in the high-treble range, near the upper limits of human hearing, so it's unlikely you'll notice any issues in real-world use. That said, the clip-on design means fit and positioning are important—slight adjustments to either bud can noticeably affect the stereo image, so you'll want to take the time to seat these correctly with every wear.

Like other open-fit, clip-on earbuds, this model poses challenges for our testing rig, since the buds don't form a seal with the rig's ear. While the measured results suggest bad group delay performance, you won't notice these issues in actual use since the buds already struggle to reproduce low-end.

While these headphones produce a small amount of noticeable distortion during normal listening, the test score doesn’t fully reflect this real-world performance. At high volumes, the buds' loose clamp can cause them to rattle against the outer ear, which significantly worsens their distortion score in the bass range. As a result, like we did with Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 Bone Conduction earbuds, we've marked this test N/A. But you can still view the data we obtained in this graph.

These are Bluetooth earbuds, so they don't need an amp to drive them.

Although not clearly outlined in the manual or FAQ, these headphones offer a virtual soundstage mode: it's called 'Movie' mode in the companion app. Subjectively, it delivers a hollow and artificial sound. While it does create a slightly wider soundstage, the effect is more echo-like than immersive, and it detracts from the listening experience, whether you're playing music or watching videos.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when using them in this configuration.

The SoundPeats PearlClip Pro are comfortable. They're extremely lightweight and, when properly positioned on the outer ear, are almost unnoticeable during wear. However, after extended listening sessions (over an hour), some users may experience mild discomfort or fatigue due to the hard plastic resting against both sides of the ear. That said, the fit isn't as secure as the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, with a looser clamp that can cause the earbuds to shift, potentially altering driver stereo alignment, and reducing comfort. Additionally, the buds lack clear left/right indicators, and the similarity between the driver and battery sections can make it easy to misplace them on the ears, especially when trying to do so by feel alone.

The SoundPeats PearlClip Pro have acceptable controls, which you can view here. In general, the control scheme is fairly intuitive, if a little basic. The scheme offers straightforward access to basic playback and phone functions, making it easy to manage music and calls without reaching for your phone. However, the touch-sensitive area on the outer surface of the buds can be tricky to locate consistently. It often feels unresponsive, even when tapping the same spot, as there's no clear tactile indicator to guide your finger placement.

In terms of feedback, the earbuds include helpful voice prompts when switching between Power, Game, and Movie modes, and chimes that play when entering all other commands. Unfortunately, the chimes are all identical, so it's hard to know for sure which command you entered. Another minor drawback is the lack of audio cues to indicate left or right channels, since the buds themselves have no visible way of distinguishing left from right.

The SoundPeats PearlClip Pro are remarkably portable, and they take up minimal space and easily fit into a bag or pocket. They're easy to carry wherever you go.

The SoundPeats PearlClip Pro have a good case. It's lightweight and compact, making it easy to carry, but it's made from glossy plastic that feels a bit cheap. The magnets used to hold the buds in place are a bit weak, too, so the buds don't really snap into place when you insert them into the case. This also makes the buds slightly prone to falling out of the case if the case is shaken. While the buds have an IPX5 rating, the case doesn't have a rating at all. 

The SoundPeats PearlClip Pro have a good build quality. They're made from lightweight plastic and silicone that flexes slightly while still retaining the buds' shape. They feel solid, with no major durability concerns. They're one-size-fits-all, though, without a variety of ear tip sizes to choose from. The buds are rated IPX5 against water resistance, so you can take them for a jog in the rain without issue.

That said, the case has weak magnets, which can allow the buds to fall out if you're not careful.

The SoundPeats PearlClip Pro offer excellent stability. They'll stay in place during intense workouts such as HIIT circuits full of burpees and squat jumps. That said, they don't have quite as secure a fit as the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds. The Bose use a tighter bend that grips the ear more snugly, while the SoundPeats have a wider arc and larger body, which can cause them to shift a little more than the Bose. It's worth taking the time to set these correctly with every wear, especially if you care about sound quality, as even small shifts can subtly affect sound performance and stereo matching.

• SoundPears PearlClip Pro
• Panda bear stickers
• User guide
• App download guide
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable (16.7 cm / 6.5 inches)
• Hard case

As expected from an open-fit design, these buds offer virtually no full-range noise isolation. But that's the point. With your ear canals unblocked, you're able to stay aware of your surroundings when out jogging. Of course, that means these are a poor choice for taking on a commute or for working in a busy office.

In common scenarios, these earbuds deliver exactly what their open-fit design promises: full awareness of your surroundings. This makes them a great choice for outdoor runs, where staying alert is important. However, their complete lack of isolation makes them a poor option for travel or noisy environments, where blocking out background chatter or distractions is essential.

The SoundPeats PearlClip Pro have passable sound leakage performance. At higher volumes, people around you will hear your audio if you're in a quiet space. But if you're out running, you won't disturb passing pedestrians.

These buds have an alright microphone system. Your voice is easy enough to understand, though it might sound a little boomy due to a large resonant peak in the low-mids. It also lacks sparkle due to the attenuated high-end, but that's common with headphone microphones, as it helps reduce background noise.

We've listed the results of the microphone THD performance as 'N/A' because, while there is distortion present, our test's weighting means the result we obtained would have disproportionately affected the overall noise handling score.

In noisy environments, the microphone system offers mixed results. In our pink noise test, speech remains intelligible, though there's a clear drop in clarity, and the noise is never fully removed from the recording. The system also struggles with more real-world conditions, such as the noise of passing trains. In our subway noise test, the system heavily attenuates the overall volume, almost muting the speaker's voice to avoid overwhelming the listener. Unfortunately, it significantly reduces vocal clarity in the process.

These earbuds have a disappointing battery life. They're advertised to last six hours off a single charge, but we measured just over three, which is well short of the manufacturer's claims. This discrepancy is likely because our calibrated testing level of 85 dB is one notch short of these buds' maximum playback level. In our testing, we also noticed that the volume automatically reduced after about 2.75 hours of playback, likely to preserve power. While high volume use can impact battery life, our results were so far below the advertised runtime that we plan to re-test them in the future.

The case stores three more charges, and SoundPeats claim that a 10-minute charge provides enough power for two hours of audio playback. It took us about 45 minutes to fully charge the buds.

These earbuds have a sub-par app with a frustrating user experience. The app is prone to freezing and crashing, with long load and connection times. During testing, we frequently had to re-pair or reseat the earbuds in their case just to get them to reconnect. Switching between devices often required manually placing the earbuds back in the case to trigger a reconnection.

That said, the app offers a wide range of features, including options to disable touch controls, enable Game or Movie modes, assign custom key functions, and access firmware updates and factory resets. You can also adjust prompt tone volume, locate your earbuds, and fine-tune audio using Adaptive EQ, EQ presets, or a fully customizable graphic EQ. You can see a video of how the app works here.

These headphones come with a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging, but you can't listen to them via a wired connection.

These headphones produce excellent Bluetooth results, with one caveat. They use Bluetooth 5.4 and can pair with up to two devices at once, so you can quickly switch between your laptop and phone. They have fairly low latency via SBC with their Game mode turned on, though the total latency might still make gaming tricky. We also measured top-tier Bluetooth range, but that's where the caveat lies. While our line-of-sight test result suggests strong connectivity, we noticed that real-world performance was inconsistent. We experienced frequent dropouts when walking around the office, especially in areas dense with electronics, such as our testing rooms or TV storage areas. These headphones are designed to be used for jogging outdoors, so that might not be an issue for you, but it's worth bearing in mind.

You can only connect the headset to your PC via Bluetooth. Once wirelessly connected, you get full audio and microphone support.

The earbuds come with a charging case with a USB-C port for charging.