I use earbuds daily, and while I use traditional earbuds for the most part, I have always appreciated the open-ear design to help users to keep track of their surroundings; a helpful feature when you’re taking the dogs for a walk at night or want to stay aware of the nearby traffic on a bike ride.
Of course, each type of earbuds has its own benefits and gripes, depending on the features you’re looking for. In many ways, SOUNDPEATS has brought their new UU2 or Pop Clip 2 Clip-On Open Earbuds to the entry-level end of the market, a move that just might incentivise you to make the switch.
The UU2 earbuds won’t necessarily blow you away in terms of outright sound quality, but for A$59.99, they’re actually packing a bunch of handy features that make them worth trying out.
Design & Setup
The market for open, clip-on earbuds seems to be expanding with each passing year, and SOUNDPEATS have adopted this design, which essentially clips around the back of the ear on one side and over your ear canal on the other. Its lobed U-shaped design might look a little awkward out of the box, but its flexible build means it’s going to fit around most ears.
The only real issue here, which I believe comes from its design, is the inconsistency of the positioning. For example, getting this to sit over the ears is fine, but I found there were a couple of times where I would slightly nudge it inwards, only for the audio quality to improve drastically, implying I had them in the incorrect position to begin with. They’re generally sturdy and comfortable after that point, but it’s worth noting nonetheless.
Pairing the earbuds is also incredibly easy, as I found simply opening the case made them discoverable on my iPhone. If that wasn’t to work, or you needed to pair them to something else after the fact, there’s a dedicated button around the right-hand side and a USB-C charging port around the back.
The plastic build of the charging case itself feels a little flimsy at times, but it’s generally serviceable. In the box, you’ll also receive a small USB-A to USB-C cable for charging.
Sound
Thanks to the included 12mm dynamic dual-magnet drivers, the audio quality is decent. Once again, it’s not going to blow you away, but it will get the job done. In most cases, especially for music, there’s quite a wide and even soundstage that manages to push out the mids and highs with ease.
Unfortunately, like most open-design earbuds, the bass is lacking, and there is a touch of distortion at louder volume levels. It’s far from terrible, but depending on your choice of music, in tandem with the noticeable sound leakage, it could affect the overall experience. There’s a Privacy Mode that can be turned on via the app to reduce sound leakage, but it’s unfortunately not very effective. Ultimately, given I used this for a mix of music and podcasts, I found them to be decent, particularly for the price.
While we’ll touch on the software support soon enough, there are ways to enhance and customise the listening experience, even down to the physical buttons on each earbud, but only ever so slightly. While you can juggle EQ settings, I found the included Spatial Audio setting to be way too aggressive, essentially minimising bass levels and increasing distortion to get its point across.
That being said, the inclusion of things like Bluetooth 6.0 and multipoint connectivity to pair with two devices on the go certainly adds value. In addition to this, the battery life is fantastic. With 42 hours of total listening time via the charging case and an impressive 10 hours of listening time from the buds themselves, this will get you through a full day with ease, for example, if you’re using it in the office. Even if you’re out and about or even working out, the IPX5 waterproof rating is sure to come in handy.
Finally, the two included microphones work well. They won’t cancel or even minimise background noise, but the sensitivity is decent, and my voice carried across quite clearly. It feels like a double-edged sword if you’re going to use it in a more active environment like the gym or outdoors on a bike ride, but it’s generally going to get the job done.
Software
The SOUNDPEATS companion app available on both iOS and Android is not essential, but will help deepen the overall experience. As previously mentioned, the Spatial Audio feature seems counterintuitive, to say the least, but the EQ settings and even additional features like the Drainage Function to get rid of excess embedded water and the Game Mode to minimise audio delay are a nice inclusion.
There’s even a secondary Explore tab, while let’s you test out different EQ presets, and even download various white noise samples.
The app itself isn’t really fancy or detailed, but it’s easy enough to navigate, and once again, gets the job done.
Verdict & Value
When you weigh up the SOUNDPEATS UU2 (Pop Clip2) Clip-On Open Ear Earbuds against other entry-level options, there’s plenty to love for the price.
While they lack the punchy bass for true music lovers, they also provide fantastic battery life and decent microphone quality, making them a great option for those looking to switch to, or at least try, open earbuds.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Decent audio; Generally comfortable when in the right spot; App support and customisation; Serviceable microphone quality; Fantastic battery life
Lowlights: Fit and positioning can feel awkward at first; Lacks outright bass and suffers from distortion at higher volumes; Sound leakage can feel quite prominent at times
Manufacturer: SOUNDPEATS
Price: A$59.99
Available: Now available via Amazon.
Review based on unit provided by SOUNDPEATS.
