Soundpeats Opera 05 Review

General Info/Build/Comfort/Packaging

Soundpeats is a reputable company which produces high performance as well as cost effective TWS earbuds. I have no prior experience in Soundpeats product and Opera 05 is my first encounter with it, I am actually liking it except for one small caveat. The fitting, which we will get to later on.

Build quality is very solid, the TWS itself carries some weight to it, overall it has a very solid feel to it. The faceplate of the TWS is also a mirror finish, which will attract fingerprints easily.

Packaging itself is rather straightforward, and comes with 3 pairs of eartips, a charging cable, the charging case and the TWS itself. Minimal and straightforward.

As for comfort, this is where I'm having some challenges. The TWS itself is rather big, the nozzle of the TWS is also short and the bundled eartips doesn’t exactly help to give a good seal and fit (Based on my ear’s shape and my own experience, your mileage might vary), i have to resort to 3rd party eartips (Spinfit CP360) in order to give me a secure fit and good seal to achieve good noise cancellation performance.

Specifications

Battery Life

• Overall battery life is good for me, using it with Macbook and iPhone yielded approximately 6 hours + of continuous usage with ANC and on AAC codec

• It is quite in line with the battery life claimed by Soundpeats

Connectivity/Codecs

• AAC, LDAC and SBC codecs are supported, i am mainly using AAC because iPhone doesn’t support LDAC

• iPhone 12 Mini uses Bluetooth version 5.0 while Opera 05 supports up to 5.3 which is the latest version, however, despite connected to a Bluetooth 5.0 device, the connection remained solid without any dropouts

• However, i do notice a slight interference or stuttering when i’m out in the public, not sure if this is something to do with my device itself or it is due to the RF interference, but after disconnecting and reconnecting it, the issue seems to go away

App Functionality

• Opera 05 is compatible with Soundpeats app

• The app offers the functionality to change the EQ, either preset EQs or your own customisation

• You are also able to cycle through ANC, Normal, or Transparency mode (Audio passthrough mode/Ambient sound mode)

• Firmware upgrade of the Opera 05 is also possible via the app itself

• The app also offers the overview of battery life on both the L and R earbuds

Sound Impression (Based on default EQ preset Soundpeats Classic)

Opera 05’s sound tuning is tilting towards V-Shaped to my ears. Bass and the treble is boosted whereas the mids are a little recessed. In terms of timbre, they are not as natural due to the presence of BA timbre.

Bass

• Bass is certainly being emphasised here, sub bass rumbles whenever the track calls for it

• Mid bass has good punch to it, it is very pleasant and fun to listen to overall

• Bass has good texture and in terms of speed, it is doing quite well as it handled Slipknot’s People = Shit! effortlessly without sounding muddy

Mids

• Mids are not as forward as the bass, it does sound a little recessed but not to the point where it is bad

• Male vocal sounded slightly recessed whereas female vocal sounds a little forward

• Male vocal has good texture whereas female vocal does sound a little thin sometimes

Treble

• The treble here is energetic and lively, take note that when you crank the volume too high, it might be a little fatiguing for those who are sensitive to treble

• Certain song can sound sibilant while some are very fun to listen with it due to its liveliness

• Some 3rd party  eartips can help to tame the treble if you are very sensitive to it, E-Pro Horn TWS, Final Type E TWS are well known for their ability to tame the treble or rather smoothen it if you are someone who are sensitive to it or prefers a slightly warmer signature

Soundstage/Imaging

• Soundstage is good, good depth, height, and width to give a big perception of the soundstage

• Imaging is average in my opinion, it does well on normal track but during complex track where many instruments are playing at the same time, Opera 05 does struggle to image properly at times, with all that aside, considering the price point, it is actually pretty good

Noise Cancellation Performance

• ANC performance is very good

• Most lower frequency are being cancelled except for some high frequency which Opera 05 struggles at

• Considering the price point and the ANC performance that Opera 05 offers, also having an AirPod Pro for noise cancellation performance comparison, it’s safe to say that Opera 05 does offers at least 80% of AirPod Pro’s noise cancellation performance at a fraction of the price

Final Thoughts

Opera 5 is a very solid TWS overall. If I were to score it from an audiophile’s perspective, it would be a 3.5 out of 5. If I were to rate it based on the general consumer’s perspective, it will be an easy 4.5 out of 5. The reason why is that the sound of Opera 05 is tilting towards the preference of general consumer, an as a general consumer, the sound coming from Opera 05 is very easily likeable, whereas for audiophile, the demand and preference is slightly different in terms of sound preference, critical listening capability and technical performance (in terms of audio’s technical performance). Nonetheless, I find myself enjoying Opera 05 when I'm out and about. Let's be real, who listens critically when they’re out and about? The only caveat that i have with the Opera 05 is the fitting issue, the earbud itself is quite big, which i understand due to Soundpeats needing to fit in the drivers, as well as the battery and also the PCB boards, so the size is understandable. 

*Big thanks to Ellen from Soundpeats for sending the Opera 05 over for the purpose of this review, All thoughts are of my own.

Opera 05 will be launched via Kickstarter’s Platform, at the time of writing, the super early backer’s package is still available at 69$ which is a steal in my opinion, The SRP could  be 99$, i  am not exactly sure, but i will update the price once i have the correct SRP from the rep

Head over to the page if you are interested in getting yourself a unit

Opera 05’s Kickstarter’s page - Non affiliated