Soundpeats Free2 Classic Earbuds (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Official Store: https://us.soundpeats.com/products/free2-classic
Soundpeats are back with a fresh update to their stylish flagship earbuds in the form of the Free2 Classics. The first thing I noticed when opening up the package was that the texture of the rechargeable case now has done away with the matte black fingerprint trap and taken it up a notch with a leather-esqe texturing. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of that aesthetic, but I could see how it might appeal to people who don't like smooth, modern, simplicity and want a little more pizazz in their pocket. With exactly the same size, shape, and form factor for the charging case, and a slightly taller profile for the buds as the Soundpeats Mini Pro, let's take a closer look at what the Fresh2 Classics have to offer.
Included in the box are the instruction manual, the standard super-duper-short USB-C charging cable, the rechargeable case, and the two earbuds. The USB-C cable is short but perfect for connecting to any USB socket to juice them up without having to manage reels and reels of cable in between. Some may say "it's too short", but I say "surely you have a longer one already" because the average tech consuming person should by now, in 2022, have at least one USB-C enabled device in their home, whether it be for charging their phone, or yet more likely; for charging their consoles controller.
Opening the rechargeable case and removing the initial plastic seals, the earbuds automatically go into their first setup pairing mode, and switching your phone's Bluetooth on finds and registers them with absolute ease. There are no button inputs required, no fuss or messing about at all. But should you ever need to re-pair or remove these from your phone, it's super simple because the earbuds only have one singular multifunctional button on each one to avoid any confusion.
As is tradition with Soudpeats products the MFB is used in combinations of tapping, double-tapping, triple-tapping, and holding to skip tracks, lower volume, accept/reject calls, etc. It's a short learning curve for beginners and second nature for seasoned fans of the brand.
Thanks to the 6mm bio-compound diaphragm driver, the super sturdy Bluetooth 5.1 connection and AAC, SBC codecs in play, the sound quality is superb. The overall profile is warm and definitely has depth, but it is not overly bassy. The fit of the earbuds directs the sound perfectly into your inner ear giving you optimal dispersal of sound waves once you have them plugged in properly, and rotating them to fit is very straightforward to accomplish once you first marry them up to your audio orifices. There is no active noise canceling and therefore no passthrough modes, however, there is a reasonable level of isolation provided by the silicon tips, which are interchangeable, though the supplied ones were perfectly adequate for me.
Busting out a full eight hours of moderate-level sound (50-60% volume) on a single charge, and when combined with the case you get a total of 30 hours of playtime: this is excellent. Thirty full hours is a heck of a long time if you consider exactly how long you use it per day. I personally use mine for 20 minutes per commute, twice a day, and then a couple of hours here or there after work, with an approximate calculated 29.25 hrs of playtime over my period testing this product before it died after its proceeding low power alerts. This means that the touted 30 hours lasted me almost two weeks before I needed to reach for a charging cable. If you were traveling, hiking, or using them to zone out while focussing on a project or even writing up documents, these are sure to outlast your entire duration.
Currently retailing at an incredible $19.99, down from $29.99 on Soundpeats site, these are an absolute no brainer to pick up for budget-conscious consumers looking for more than ample sound quality in a minuscule form factor. While these won't exactly move the Earth or redefine what's capable for budget earbuds, they will provide you with ease of use, comfort and reliability at a price that doesn't break the bank. I would suggest that the models with ANC are more worthy of investing in if you want elevated sound quality, larger drivers, and slightly more features, such as game mode and passthrough, to have in your arsenal.
Verdict
- Fantastic value for money
- Excellent battery life
- Fantastic sound profile
- Very comfortable
- No ANC or game modes
