SOUNDPEATS – Clip1 Open-Ear Earbuds

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SOUNDPEATS Clip1’s are a set of lightweight earbuds (weighing only 5g each) which provide good quality sound, come with a convenient charging/carrying case whose biggest selling point is unfortunately its biggest drawback.

The unique point for the Clip1’s are that they securely fit over the back of your ear lobe with an oval shaped module which means they barely move once worn. This means that they would be ideal if you are an active person. You may have that fear in the back of your mind that your beloved earbuds would fall out and get lost. With the SOUNDPEATS Clip1 fear no more, they wont come out. However this grip on your ears for myself at least isn’t especially comfortable. After around half an hour of wearing them I can feel the tightness on my ears, which is mildly painful. You notice them.

To quote the manufacturers website:

Traditional earbuds often slip during motion, breaking focus and rhythm. Clip1 redefines stability with its ergonomic open-ear design—lightweight yet firmly secure even through intense movement. Tested to deliver 135% higher stability, 4× longer wearing duration, and 90% less discomfort, it stays effortlessly in place whether you’re training, running, or serving for the match point. Move freely. Stay connected.

The problem here is that none of these figures are quantified against anything. How exactly do you measure “less discomfort”? Elsewhere on the website it mentions a “200% increase in comfort”. Compared to what however is completely unknown. Forgive the pun but these figures are just ‘noise’.

Open vs Closed

Whether you like open ear or closed ear listening devices is a personal preference. You could argue that there are advantages and disadvantages to both styles. With these earbuds you will hear background noise, traffic when out and about, people shouting etc. However not having things like traffic blocked by noise cancellation definitely makes them safer to wear in busy areas. It’s also easier to have conversations with others whilst also listening to content. You don’t have to constantly pause to listen to others. This feature is titled ‘Stay Awareness’ by the manufacturer, which fits quite well.

Other Features

Some other features of the SOUNDPEATS Clip1’s include content pausing. This means that when you remove one earbud whatever you’re listening to will pause. This is certainly very useful, although I do wish it actioned a little quicker. Interestingly enough I discovered that the earbud can be tricked into thinking you are still wearing them by placing your finger between the speaker and rear clip parts. They also have an IPX5 Waterproof rating. This means they protected from ‘low-pressure water jets in any direction’. So they will be fine in the rain, or from sweat, but that’s about it. Don’t take them swimming or in the shower, they won’t like it. The main feature you’d want a set of earbuds to have though, is good sound and on this I cannot find fault. So for anything negative I have mentioned in this review, the audio isn’t one of them, they sound great.

Final Thoughts

The SOUNDPEATS Clip1 are good sounding earbuds which come in at a decent price and you can be confident that they will never fall out of your ears. I cannot talk about this feature however without also speaking about the discomfort I experienced whilst wearing them. It is for this reason that unfortunately they are marked down in score. They sound brilliant, but if they aren’t comfortable to wear, I won’t want to use them.
Weighing only 5g each they are very lightweight, even when put into the case they are still very easy to carry. You may find however that the case is a little bulky. This is due to the unique shape of the ear buds, they need a larger case than usual to accommodate them.
I will also mention that we needed to be sent a second review unit as the first unit the left earbud didn’t work. We’re happy to put this down to a random manufacturing bug and the customer service we received in getting them replaced was very good.

3 out of 5

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