This is painful: one of my favorite budget audio brands is still building elite 5-driver earbuds with LDAC and hi-res iPhone streaming, but its engineering blog and Q&As are a refreshingly open look at audio design issues

Date:
Wed, 08 Jul 2026 10:15:25 +0000

Description:
The Soundpeats Aura Nebula sound better and better every time we hear about them, and fans are desperate to try them out.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Soundpeats Nebula Aura were teased in January 2026 Since then, the brand has continued to run a blog
about their development Fans look willing to sell a kidney to try them Thanks to its roster of solid affordable earbuds, Soundpeats is a brand I always
keep an eye on. Between the Soundpeats H3 three-driver in-ears, Soundpeats Clip1 open earbuds and Soundpeats Cove Pr o over-ears, I'm always interested in what they've got up their sleeves.

After being given a glimpse up said sleeves in January 2026, when the brand teased some five-driver earbuds , we've been learning more and more over
time. Through 2026, Soundpeats has been running a blog dedicated to the development of the buds. We already knew a fair bit, for example about the five drivers: the 10mm dynamic driver is joined by a 6mm planar driver, two balanced armatures and a planar magnetic driver. The support for aptX Adaptive, LDAC and Snapdragon Sound was all also in the knowledge bank.
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But the blog shines a light on some other elements of the bud, for example in the design department. One post discusses the charging case, and how it was designed to allow you to remove the buds in the same gesture as opening it. It's the stuff you don't think about when you're buying some buds online, and shows that the brand is putting care into its Nebula.

In another post, the brand details a transmitter that the Nebula will work alongside, allowing for 24-bit 96kHz audio playback from iPhones. That's right, the barren LDAC-less wasteland will finally be able to enjoy high-res music (Androiders can just use LDAC for this quality with the Nebula). You
may like Soundpeats' new earbuds boast a battery life that walks all over AirPods 4 and the 13mm drivers are also big news These open earbuds use reverse noise cancellation tech to stop sound leaks Best earbuds: top buys, all TechRadar-tested and recommended Fans can't wait One other side-effect of publishing this blog, is that Soundpeats has managed to build plenty of organic excitement for the Aura Nebula. And I'm not just talking about how interested I personally am to try them.

A representative for Soundcore has been actively sharing the blog posts on Reddit, and they've seemingly amassed a dedicated audience of fans who want
to test out the buds. There's also a Discord dedicated to the buds. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

For example, in the r/Earbuds subreddit, a recent posted inspired a Q&A between one of the product's developers and excited fans dying to test the buds. And when I say "dying", I mean it: one interested party asking for updates said "this is painful". So, yes fans are pretty keen. Comment from r/Earbuds In the Q&A, fans' main questions were about when the buds would be arriving unfortunately they weren't given an answer, though TechRadar has today (Wednesday 8 July) reached out to the company and will update this article if we hear back.

But Soundpeats was very honest about other topics. For example, when asked about battery life, the representative confirmed that they didn't have a concrete battery estimate yet: "the exact battery life still needs to be tested and confirmed [... it's] one of the things I'm personally watching closely too". What to read next Anker Soundcore's new earbuds have flashy screens on the outside, but the inside is the best bit The 9 best wireless earbuds for all budgets, all tested by our reviewers Cleer Arc 5 review: feature-packed open earbuds sadly beset by sonic issues

Elsewhere, the developer shared more details about the buds: "55db hybrid
ANC, transparency mode support, 3 microphones per earbud, AI call noise reduction, and Qualcomm cVc 8.0". Comment from r/Earbuds When one fan asked
if the Aura Nebula would be top-end buds to compete with Sony , Bowers & Wilkin or Technics, the response admitted "in terms of overall product capabilities and brand influence, we aren't quite ready to be compared to those industry giants just yet". So they're staying humble, while also
hinting at these buds wont be prohibitively expensive.

It's fascinating to see a brand like Soundpeats not just tease a product well before their launch, but be so open about their R&D process. It's creating interest in a way that press-release-in-inbox announcements don't, and making the brand seem more trustworthy than many peers. It's quite surprising that more brands don't do this kind of thing.

We were meant to see the Soundpeats release in Spring 2026, but obviously
that didn't happen. The brand posted about pre-production prototypes in
April, so hopefully we won't need to wait too long before the Aura Nebula
gets released. I would worry for that Reddit poster if they're delayed much longer. The best wireless earbuds for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best earbuds 1. Best overall: Technics EAH-AZ100 2. Best mid-range: Cambridge Audio A100 3. Best budget: Nothing Ear (a) 4. Best for noise-cancelling: Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Ultra 2nd Gen Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/this-is-painful-one-of-my-favorite-budget-audi o-brands-is-still-building-elite-5-driver-earbuds-with-ldac-and-hi-res-iphone- streaming-but-its-engineering-blog-and-q-and-as-are-a-refreshingly-open-look-a t-audio-design-issues


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