Soul Emotion Pro Hybrid ANC True Wireless Earbuds Preview
The new Emotion Pro hybrid ANC True Wireless earbuds from Soul run only $130 but offer just about every bell and whistle you can think of. They sport Active Noise Canceling (ANC), a transparency mode, an app for control, manual and automatic EQs, and much more. At this price, we had to take a closer look. Here is our hands-on preview of the Soul Emotion Pro earbuds.
Soul Emotion Pro Earbuds Unboxing
The Soul Emotion Pro earbuds with a charging case, a selection of rubber tips, a charging cable, and a small carabiner. In what seems to be the norm these days, they didn’t come boxed with a wall charger. There was a quick setup guide with insanely small writing that I ended up downloading from their website. There is, of course, an app for control available for both iOS and Android.
The first thing I noticed was the lack of plastic in the packaging. Everything was either paper or cardboard which meant you could recycle the lot. This also meant there wasn’t any holder for the rubber ear tips. They simply came in a bag that wasn’t resealable. Once you pick the ones that work best for you, maybe you throw the rest away. Me? I put them in a ziptop bag. It would have been nice if Soul had included some way to store the extra tips. That said, I did appreciate that not only did Soul include multiple size ear tips, but they were also different shapes. This practically guarantees you’ll find the perfect fit.
Sould Emotion Pro Case
The charging case increases the estimated battery life from 7/9 hours (ANC On/Off) to 28/36 hours. The case is solid and well constructed. It sits upright even with the carabiner attached. You can charge the case wireless on a charging pad. There are four lights on the front to let you know how much battery you have left. Of course, the app with do the same.
Soul Emotion Pro Earbuds
The Soul earbuds have three mics in each earphone that work together for calls and noise cancelation. They can connect to up to two devices simultaneously. The earbuds snap into the case fairly easily though they tended to want to flip upside down. The left and right markings on the earbuds are nearly imperceptible. I ended up having to put them back in the case in order to tell which was which. They sport Bluetooth 5.1 with HFP, A2DP, AVRCP codec support as well as IPx5 water resistance (basically, don’t drop them in water and they’ll be okay).
The Soul Emotion Pro earbuds have a very unique shape. We feel like for many people this would be a selling point. They come in black, blue, and beige. The small protruding arm gives you something to grab onto when handling them. They are more angular than many earbuds these days which may look cool but hampers interaction. That said, once you learn where to tap on the earbuds for control it becomes intuitive. Our only complaint is that we were never able to take them off without causing some command to be sent from the earbuds to our phone.
Soul Plus App
Everyone has an app for control these days and Soul is no different. Their Soul Plus app allows you to switch the different listening modes (normal, ANC, transparent), engage an EQ, or play/pause/skip tracks. There are three different manual EQs that you can set and save as well as eight different preset EQs. The nice thing is that Soul lets you see exactly what those different EQs are doing. That means that if you mostly like what the Jazz preset is doing, you can modify it and save it.
The one thing missing from the Soul Plus app is the ability to adjust the controls of the Soul Emotion Pro earbuds. Most apps these days will allow you to modify the control scheme of your earbuds to your liking. Once you get used to a specific control scheme, remembering a new one can be a hassle. The Soul Plus app doesn’t even give have a section where you can see the controls if you’ve forgotten. This would be a nice addition for a future update.
Our Take
The Soul Emotion Pro Earbuds seem like a solid addition to the $130 price point for truly wireless earbuds. They have many of the features you’d expect and some you wouldn’t. We particularly like the ability to modify existing EQs and save them in one of three presets. If you are looking for attractive earbuds that won’t break the bank, these deserve a listen!
