One of the best budget earbuds I’ve tested can make everything sound good

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Soundpeats Capsule3 Pro+ earbuds are available now on Amazon for $72 (or $90 if you don’t apply the 20% coupon).
• These earbuds produce incredibly accurate and agile sound to bring music alive in ways an inexpensive pair of earbuds shouldn’t.
• The only negative I could come up with is that these earbuds are hard to photograph.

If only I could have had such amazing sound from the headphones I wore in the eighties, when I was rarely without a pair of “cans” over or in my ears. Of course, we all know the technology we have today didn’t exist back then. Now, there’s just no excuse to listen to good music through bad headphones (or earbuds).

One company that has regularly surprised me with the quality of its sound vs. the cost of its devices is Soundpeats. The name might not be of the household variety, but if you’re looking for sound that shoots way above its price point, this company is a great place to start.

The Capsule3 Pro+ prove it. These earbuds deliver on sound in ways that some pricier devices can’t.

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The specs

• Cowell MEMS top-firing speakers have a response time 150x faster than dynamic drivers
• Frequency range – 20Hz to 40kHz
• Noise cancellation of up to 45dB with a bandwidth of 0.5kHz to 1.5kHz
• Bluetooth 5.3
• Profiles – A2DP/AVRCP/HFP/HSP
• Supported Bluetooth codecs – LDAC, SBC, AAC (LDAC supports up to a 96kHz sampling rate)
• Battery – up to 6.5 hours of continuous play on a single charge and a total playtime of 43 hours (using the included charging case)
• Single earbud weight – 5g
• Waterproof rating – IPX4

My experience

As you’ve probably come to expect, the first thing I did (after connecting the earbuds to my new Pixel 9 Pro) was crank up Rush’s “Signals” album. Typically, I play “Analog Kid” and then move on to other artists and genres, but the Capsule3 Pro+ earbuds impressed me so much, I continued listening to the album.

For me, the mark of a good pair of earbuds or headphones (beyond overall sound quality) is their ability to make me feel like I’m hearing a favorite song for the first time. If a pair of earbuds can make me hear something I’ve never heard in a song, the company is clearly doing something right.

Also: I gave these $79 headphones a second chance, and they surprised me in the best way

When “Digital Man” started playing, that very thing happened. Somewhere in the middle of the song, I was able to hear Geddy Lee’s fingers slapping the strings (in that way only Geddy Lee can do). Although I don’t think he’d developed that almost “flamenco” style he plays in now, he’s always been an aggressive bassist, and it really showed here. I loved hearing that sound because I hadn’t heard it before in this song. After that, I continued listening to see if something else popped out at me. When “New World Man” arrived, I found the Capsule3 Pro+ earbuds made it even easier to follow Geddy’s bassline.

I then skipped to my all-time favorite album, Rush’s “Grace Under Pressure” and played my all-time favorite song, “Between The Wheels.” One of the greatest moments in music is the interplay between Alex Lifeson’s guitar and Neil Peart’s drums coming out of the guitar solo. That moment in the song rarely fails to give me goosebumps, and the Capsule3 Pro+ earbuds did it justice. The tone of the Lerxst guitar was spot on, and when Neil started mimicking what Alex was doing, these earbuds gave it all the space and agility it needed. As a cherry on that particular mound of whipped cream, Geddy’s bass (and keyboards) added the perfect bottom with these earbuds.

Also: These $70 wireless earbuds are my go-to recommendation for audiophiles on a budget

I eventually had to move away from Rush to put the earbuds through a few more genres because (much to my disappointment) not everyone likes Canada’s best prog trio.

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Here’s a quick rundown:

• Choral music – Stephen Paulus’ “The Road Home” is beautiful, and even when a large chorus might distort when things get dissonant, the Capsule3 Pro+ earbuds didn’t falter.
• Metal – Devin Townsend Project’s “Kingdom” is as hard-hitting as on any other pair of earbuds I’ve tested.
• The 80s – The Psychedelic Furs’ “The Ghost In You” brings the music to life in ways I don’t remember from back in the day.
• Alt-Pop – Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” has plenty of space to help the singer’s voice stand out clearly, but without overbearing mids.
• Shoegaze – The Sundays’ “Here’s Where The Story Ends” proves it doesn’t get any better than Harriet Wheeler’s voice… especially when it’s crystal clear.
• Classical – Mahler’s “Symphony Number 2” shows that when the singers and orchestra are at their peak, these earbuds don’t blink and the separation between instruments and voices is quite good.

To boil it down, everything sounds good with these earbuds.

ZDNET’s buying advice

It’s getting harder and harder to tell the difference between expensive and inexpensive earbuds these days, and the Soundpeats Capsule3 Pro+ earbuds<!–> prove that in a glorious soundscape fashion. Even without using an app to customize the sound, these babies are wonderfully tuned out of the box. 

If you’re looking for a pair of sub-$100 dollar earbuds, and the quality of sound produced is important to you, these earbuds are hard to beat.