I've found a new favorite pair of sub-$100 cuff-style open earbuds, with some surprisingly premium features

Date:
Sat, 13 Dec 2025 10:30:00 +0000

Description:
The Soundpeats Clip1 are budget clipping open earbuds done right, and they're great budget alternatives to Shokz or Bose options.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Soundpea ts Clip1: Two minute review

The real measure of whether earbuds are good, is if I keep wearing them after the two-week testing period is over. And judging by how keen I was to keep on using the Soundpeats Clip1, enthused by the best bits of the buds, that
theyre easily some of the best open earbuds Ive tested recently.

The latest clip-style open earbuds from prolific audio maker Soundpeats, the Clip1 follow the manufacturers style in being budget alternatives to bigger names, in this case the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds and Shokz OpenDots One . As a budget brand, theyve made some solid earbuds in the past, but the recent and impressive Soundpeats H3 made me curious to see what else was in the
pipeline.

What ended up being next in the pipeline, has quickly become one of my favorite pairs of sub-$100 open earbuds, and definitely the best Ive tested recently. The Clip1 tick all the boxes you hope for with open earbuds, and then go above and beyond in a few ways.

My favorite of these ways is that Soundpeats offers a listening test; these arent the first lower-cost earbuds to offer this once-premium feature, but
Ive never used such a test thats so simple yet so effective in its results. I couldnt stop listening to the finely-tuned personal audio mix it delivered
me.

Of course the buds also nail the basics; theyre comfortable to wear, grip reliably in the ear when youre working out and dont weigh too much. The battery life is solid, the buds are hardy and, in a rare case for clip-ons, they look a bit more refined than the usual childrens-play-thing look.

There are a few rough edges here though. The case feels cheap and plasticky, the touch controls were way too sensitive and the max volume just wasnt high enough to fit the bill for open-ears. But I enjoyed using the buds enough to overlook some of these concerns. Soundpeats Clip1 review: Specifications

Component

Value

Water resistant

IPX5

Battery life

8 hours (earbuds), 32 hours (total)

Bluetooth type

Bluetooth 5.4

Weight

5g / Charging case: 55.5g

Driver

12mm Soundpeats Clip1 review: Price and availability (Image credit: Future) Announced on November 12, 2025 Priced at $69.99 / 74.99 / AU$79.99 Generally cheaper than rivals

The Soundpeats Clip1 were announced on November 12, 2025, and put on sale immediately after.

Theyll set you back $69.99 / 74.99 / AU$79.99, so theyre fairly cheap as far as clip- or cuff-style earbuds go (especially in Australia). However theyre Soundpeats priciest clippers, costing more than the cheap PearlClip Pro and even cheaper PopClip.

In the grand scheme of open earbuds, theyre definitely towards the cheaper
end of the spectrum though. If you look for even more affordable options, youre only finding options from budget brands like Ugreen and Anker, and most top-spec rivals have price tags over the three-figure mark. Soundpeats Clip1 review: Design (Image credit: Future) Classy design of buds, but
cheap-feeling case Lightweight and comfortable Poorly-working controls

Despite clip earbuds being nice and small, and therefore generally coming in svelte carry cases, Soundpeats bucks the trend by putting the Clip1 in a fairly large carry case. Its a large, cheap-plasticky gray shell which weighs 55.5g, and I found it a little harder to open than Id like, due to the indentation youre meant to grip being a little shallow.

Im not saying its hard to open, just that you need to consciously think when youre getting the buds out, which is more brainwork than I generally use for
a brainless task like opening a case. At least the buds are nice and easy to whip out, not buried in the case.

Onto the buds themselves: these are, of course, clip-style earbuds which consist of a spherical bud and a counterweight, joined together with a small arch. They weigh 5g and have an IPX5 rating, which means theyre protected
from jets of water.

This is hard to state with anything resembling objectivity, but the Clip1 earpiece feels like it has an air of elegance about it; the dainty stem connecting the perfect sphere and little ellipsoid feels more refined than
the chunky alternatives Ive tested before.

Practically speaking, this translates to the feel of wearing the buds too. They were light enough that I barely felt like I was wearing anything, and stayed attached to my ear reliably there were no drops during testing.

There are touch controls on each bud, but every time I had gestures enabled
in the settings, my music would inexplicably pause or skip songs without me touching anything, and so I turned off the feature. I dont know if I had a faulty unit or if the sensors are just so oversensitive that wind can set
them off. At least a different kind of sensor works better: while the two Clip1 buds are identical, so theres no left or right one, they can automatically detect which ear theyre in to adjust channels accordingly. Design score: 4/5 Soundpeats Clip1 review: Features (Image credit: Future) Fantastic listening test Battery life is 8 hours, 32 hours with case Fewer other features than some rivals

In any earbud, but especially ones designed for fitness use, battery life is important; the SoundPeats Clip1 arent a frontrunner in this department but they have a decent battery life and I cant ask for any more.

The buds last for 8 hours of listening at a time, and the case has enough juice for 32 extra hours before that needs charging. Those respectively hit and exceed what Ive come to expect for this kind of bud. You wont see those figures if you use LDAC when listening, but the lack of noise cancellation means you wont have the battery leeched from that.

Onto the PeatsAudio app on your smartphone. Booting this up, youre faced with a wall of toggle sliders for things like Dolby Audio, in-ear detection, low-latency game mode, touch controls, LDAC and dynamic equalization.

If you dont want your dynamics, er, dynamically calibrated, you can also use the in-app equalizer, which offers eight genre-based presets as well as a 10-band custom mode and also a listening test. This latter was a lot quicker and easier to use than equivalents Ive had to slog through, simply requiring you to press a button if you can hear a sound while it cycles through frequencies and volumes.

I didnt have high hopes due to the simplicity, but the results it returned (and custom EQ mode) were pretty similar to what Ive received from similar tests, and greatly improved the music from the default mode but those are, sadly, spoilers for the next section. Features score: 4/5 Soundpeats Clip1 review: Sound performance (Image credit: Future) Single 12mm driver Supports Dolby Audio, LDAC, AAC, SBC, more Bright audio that perhaps lacks bass

The Soundpeats Clip1 have 12mm drivers squirrelled into those spherical orbs. That fine (rather large) driver spec is enhanced with a wide range of codecs, more than youd imagine for low-cost buds: they support Dolby Audio, Hi-Res Audio, LDAC, AAC and SBC.

Thats really good but also possibly overkill on a set of open-ear buds. By virtue of the form factor, youre getting an even 50/50 mix of music and your surrounding sound, so youre hearing a crazy train alongside your Crazy Train, a babbling river at the same time as The River, and dont even get me started on The Divine Comedys most popular song. Soundpeats touts the LDAC support as giving you CD-quality audio, and while thats true, its a CD thats playing
from your neighbours flat, not yours.

Thats all to say that theres a cap on how good open-ears can be before drastically diminishing returns, and the Clip1 arent in the select community which find a way to bypass the cap. Thats especially true when you bear in mind that their biggest issue is a max volume thats just not high enough; I could barely hear my tunes while cycling through traffic.

When you get a chance to actually hear the SoundPeats, though, youll find
that they sound pretty good as long as you play around with the equalizer,
as the default preset doesnt do the sound justice. No matter how you shake
it, the sound profile certainly tends towrds the bright side, with vocals shining through the audio mix, and as someone who prefers treble to bass for workout music, I was happy with that. Sung lines sound crisp and clear, with energy enough to motivate me through my run.

Songs have more audible detail than Im used to from open-ears; in songs like She Had Me At Heads Carolina by Cole Swindell, you can easily hear the
various guitars in the mix, and the panning in Declan McKennas Brazil giving the song a lovely dimension.

In all my equalizer fiddling, though, I struggled to bring out much bass. The mode called Bass Boost puts it on the map, and gives it a small amount of refinement, but its not exactly powerful or prominent. Yes, it's a regular issue with open-ear designs, but notable nonetheless. Sound performance
score: 4/5 Soundpeats Clip1 review: Value (Image credit: Future)

There are a few elements of the Soundpeats Clip1 that Im really surprised to see. Its uncommon to see LDAC in buds like these, let alone Dolby Atmos or a listening test that works really, really well.

Im surprised to see them because these are competitively-priced buds, coming in cheaper than some of our favorite open earbuds and a lot cheaper than some of our top-rated clip headphones.

While theyre not the outright cheapest on the market, they still offer fantastic value for money compared to lots of the alternatives which you
might be considering. Value score: 4/5 Soundpeats Clip1 review: scorecard

Category

Comment

Score

Value

They undercut their similar rivals yet offer great features.

4/5

Design

Reliably, comfortable and lightweight (though it's a shame about the case, letting the side down).

4/5

Features

The battery life is decent and the listening test is great, though I wouldn't mind seeing one or two more extras.

4/5

Sound

I liked the bright audio which lent itself to vocals well, although some
might malign the limited bass.

4/5 Soundpeats Clip1: Should I buy? (Image credit: Future) Buy them if...

You like personalized audio
Listening tests are becoming a trend, and if you want to try one of the easiest such tests, Clip1 these on..

You need something reliable for workouts
I really put the Clip1 through their paces and never had any issues with them falling out mid-workout.

You're on a budget
Most open earbuds have mid-range prices but the Clip1 are temptingly affordable. Don't buy them if...

You're going to be in really noisy areas
With no noise cancellation and a low maximum volume, you won't be able to
hear your tunes.

You need a small case
Some clip earbuds have svelte carry cases but if you want something that'll fit snug in your pocket, the Clip1 won't deliver. Also consider

Component

Soundpeats Clip1

Edifier LolliClip

Anker Soundcore AeroClip

Water resistant

IPX5

IP56

IPX4

Battery life

8 hours (earbuds), 40 hours (total)

9 hours (earbuds), 39 hours (total)

8 hours (earbuds), 24 hours (total)

Bluetooth type

Bluetooth 5.4

Bluetooth 5.4

Bluetooth 5.4

Weight

5g / Charging case: 55g

7g / Charging case: 46g

6g / Charging case: 42g

Driver

12mm

13mm

12mm

Edifier LolliClip

Edifier's Dali-esque Lolliclip open-ears have a higher price point than the Soundpeats but a longer battery life and better IP rating at IP56. The equalization isn't on par with the Clip1 though.

Read our full Edifier LolliClip review

Anker Soundcore AeroClip

These buds also cost a little more than the Soundpeats, and they're certainly doing something different design-wise. They sound good but only have IPX4 prorection, and the case holds a lighter battery load.

Read our full Anker Soundcore AeroClip review How I tested (Image credit: Future)

The testing period for the Soundpeats Clip1 was two weeks, which is the standard amount of time we give earbuds to make sure they're up to snuff after a thorough run-in.

I paired the Soundpeats with my Android phone for the duration of the
testing, listening on Spotify, Tidal, YouTube, Netflix and several games. I tested at home, on walks around my neighborhood, at the gym and on cycles around the city, so they really got put through their paces.

I've tested countless open earbuds for TechRadar, including other clipping
and Soundpeats models. And they're just the tip of the iceberg, as I've been reviewing gadgets for the website for going on seven years now.

Read more about how we test First reviewed: December 2025



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/earbuds-airpods/soundpeats-clip1-review


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