Soundpeats Opera (Opera05) Review – Mainstream
Pros — Excellent build
– Good ANC and Transparency modes
– Big, bold bass response will cater well to bassheads
– LDAC support
– Touch controls work well
Cons — Soundpeats Opera05 are bulky and not the most stable in the ear
– Thin mids
– Splashy treble
– EQ profiles are not the most versatile
In this Article
INTRODUCTION
Soundpeats has a range of TWS offerings in the budget realm with varying degrees of popularity. The Opera05 and Opera03 are two of their latest releases, and for a change, they are doing the sale over at Kickstarter.
I received the Opera05 for review, and they appear to be the top model in Soundpeats’ lineup. The design is flashy and the spec-sheet looks good on paper. So, do the sound live up to the presentation, and especially that price tag?
Let’s find out.
Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. Soundpeats sent the Opera05 for evaluation.
Sources used: Pixel 4 XL
Price, while reviewed: USD$99 (USD$70 for kickstarter early-bird backers). Can be bought from Kickstarter.
PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY
PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES
The included accessories are the usual affair for TWS IEMs: a charging case, 3 pairs of eartips, and a USB type-C charging cable.
BUILD QUALITY
The charge case has a matte black finish with a glossy gold accent around the top hinge. There is a type-C port on the back for charging, alongside a button on the left side that displays current battery levels.
As for the IEMs themselves, they are rather substantial in size. The 12mm driver takes up a lot of space, and the electronics needed to perform ANC/Transparency mode functions require their own place.
As such, Soundpeats opts for a two-piece design with the Opera05 – the front matte part before the “crease” houses the 12mm dynamic driver and dual BA tweeters, whereas the glossy part holds the microphones, PCB, crossover board etc. This way, Soundpeats avoids the issue where the drivers cannot move a lot of air due to a lack of space around the driver chamber.
The face-plate is glossy, and catches attention due to the color scheme. It also houses the touch panel (more on this later). The top and bottom of the face-plate houses two microphones. Meanwhile, the driver housing part of the unit has a solitary vent. Soundpeats still manages to certify the Opera05 with IPX4 rating, which means minor splashes are fine, while dust and ingress protection is absent.
An odd thing about the build is the oval-shaped nozzle that Soundpeats seem to use on many of their models. This particular shape seems like a strange choice to me. On paper, it’s shaped like the ear canal, but I am doubtful about the proclaimed improvements. All it does is provide an awkward seal in the ears. Fortunately, most aftermarket TWS tips worked fine (e.g. Spinfit CP-360).
COMFORT, ISOLATION, AND FIT
Soundpeats’ dual-chamber design works well in terms of isolating the driver housing from the remaining electronics. Unfortunately, it creates a new problem – size. The Opera05 might be a challenge for those with smaller ears. I did not face such issues, by the by.
Isolation is above-average without ANC. With ANC turned on, it’s great. You only hear some high frequency noises, while most of the low-frequency noises are filtered out. Thus, good at drowning out engine noise, not so much when it comes to voices around you.
BATTERY LIFE
Battery life has been decent for me under LDAC codec (ANC on) with about 5 hours of continuous use, and an additional 20 hours or so with the carrying case. As such, I needed to charge the case about once a week.
CONNECTIVITY
Both LDAC and SBC codecs are supported, but sound quality is noticeably better on the LDAC codec with less compression in the bass regions. Bluetooth 5.2 offered rock solid connectivity with zero dropouts when connected to my Pixel 4 XL for hours.
DRIVER SETUP
Soundpeats Opera05 sport a hybrid driver configuration, with a 12mm biodynamic driver handling the bass and mids, and a dual-BA tweeter handling the treble. The BA driver is definitely working here as intended since there is a strong BA timbre in the highs. Moreover, there seems to be no damping in front of the BA nozzle, and both drivers are co-axially arranged.
SOUNDPEATS OPERA05 TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES
The general sound signature of the Opera05 can be described as: bass-head-approved V-shaped, with spicy treble.
The bass on the Opera05 is strong. A bit too strong for their own good, as the bass on these has too much rumble at times due to the +12dB emphasis around the 40Hz region.
The good thing is that there is no mid-bass bleed, as the bass starts rising only after going below 200Hz. Sadly, this sudden bass-shelf results in thin lower-mids. The upper-mids are also boosted considerably, about 10dB, to retain the clarity in the voices.
These tuning choices favor female vocals more as those are put on the forefront, while male vocals take a back-seat. Vocal timbre is also not the most accurate, with things often veering towards shoutiness.
The other problematic part is the treble spikes around 6 and 8kHz. This gives rise to sibilance. The upper-treble is also boosted, resulting in fatigue. It initially sounds rather clear with surprising amount of bass but the novelty wears out quickly, as your own ears start wearing down due to the hyper-exciting sound signature.
The staging is above average, while imaging is below average. Macrodynamic punch is strong and shows good authority in sudden bass-drops, but macrodynamics are not well portrayed.
Overall, such “turn it up to 11” tuning is not for me but I guess there is a mainstream appeal for such a signature.
APP OVERVIEW
The Soundpeats app (Android/iOS) offers a better overview of the battery life, firmware upgrade, sound presets, controlling the level of ANC, and a basic 9-band EQ.
Unfortunately, trying to EQ the IEMs turn them into a dark, bassy mess. The moment you turn off one of the presets, all sense of clarity is lost and midrange honkiness appears. I believe the Opera05 are tuned with heavy DSP effects in work, so disabling them does more harm than good.
As a result of the heavy reliance on DSP, manual EQ-ing didn’t yield good results.
COMPARISON with Sony WF-1000XM3
Sony’s older flagships are still in production and has a similarly chunky profile as the Opera05. Sony goes for an elongated profile, with the carrying case being oversized. The carry/charge case is perhaps the biggest “offender” in the entire WF-1000XM3 package.
Comfort is slightly better on the Sonys, whereas isolation with ANC is almost similar. Mic performance was even slightly better on the Opera05.
As for the sound, Sony has a more boosted mid-bass region, but the sub-bass region is more under control. Sony’s default tuning profile is more geared towards smooth, relaxed listening, so treble is rolled-off noticeably. Reducing clear-bass by -2 and adding a bit of midrange and treble via the EQ, you can get a fairly balanced tuning out of them. The DSP effects work in conjunction with the EQ, unlike the Opera05.
So if the carry case is not a problem, the WF-1000XM3 can be a great alternative if you’re after a bassy sound signature under the USD$100 range. The Opera05 has the price-tag advantage now that they are on kickstarter early-bird pricing, but the value proposition becomes moot when MSRP is considered.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The Soundpeats Opera05 are feature packed, and the ANC performance is solid. They look the part due to the high quality build, albeit their shape and size are not the most ideal for those who prefer a discreet profile.
It’s the sound that is polarizing, as I cannot agree with the spicy treble on offer here. The bass is also rather unnaturally boosted, even though it sounds fun with certain modern genres.
I think for their early-bird price, they offer a sound signature that will appeal to the mainstream “Beats” crowd. However, more balanced sounding options exist, so those looking for utmost fidelity will find better suited picks out there.
DISCLAIMER
Get it from Kickstarter
Our generic standard disclaimer.
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