SoundPeats Q40 HD Review: cheap and very cheerful sport headphones

At T3, we’re often known for reviewing premium earbuds and high-end running headphones, but every now and then we come across a budget-friendly pair that really impresses – like the SoundPeats Q40 HD.

After all, trying to find a decent pair of budget headphones nowadays is a bit of a nightmare. With new models dropping almost every week, it’s tough to know which ones are actually worth your time and attention. So, if we can make the search a little easier for you, we will.

The SoundPeats Q40 HD may not be flashy, but they deliver impressive sound and brilliant battery life. Factor in their price – less than the cost of a dinner for two – and they become an easy standout in the budget workout category.

SoundPeats Q40 HD review: Price and availability

The SoundPeats Q40 HD headphones are available to purchase at Amazon UK and Amazon US for the recommended retail price of £39.99/$39.99. They seem to be available in only one colourway – black. On one hand, this is a positive – you won’t waste time trying to choose what colour will go best with your stuff – but, on the other hand, it's a little sad having absolutely no variety to choose from. However, it is possible that SoundPeats may add to this in the future, as its predecessor, the Q30, was also available in electric blue.

SOUNDPEATS Q40HD review: Specifications

• Battery life: up to 20 hours on single charge, 10 10-minute charge delivers 5 hours of listening time
• ANC: No
• Weight: 17grams
• Weather resistance: IPX67
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.4 & Multipoint Connection

SOUNDPEATS Q40 HD review: Design and build quality

When I took the Q40 HD out the box for the first time, I wasn’t blown away by their design, but I also wasn’t disappointed by it either. It’s important to remember that these headphones cost less than £40/$40 and, for that, their simple, straightforward design gets a respectable nod from me.

These headphones have a neckband structure which, although may feel a little outdated, is still very popular amongst those with active lifestyles. Plus, this style can offers plenty of benefits over your more trendy wireless earbuds – such as a more secure listening experience and longer battery life (these offer a very decent 20 hours of listening on a single charge or five hours on a 10-minute charge). They can also remain clipped around your neck when not in use, thanks to the magnetic clip built into the buds.

On the right-hand side of the band is a three-button control panel – it has a triangle for ‘play/pause’, a ‘-’ to lower volume and a ‘+’ to increase volume. You also hold down the ‘+’ and ‘-’ to go forward and backward with songs and pick up calls, etc. Call me old-fashioned, but I personally love headphones that have intuitive buttons, as I think they’re so much easier to use than touch controls.

The headphones themselves have a comfortable silicone bud and long wing tips that you can snuggly wedge into the crooks of your ear for a secure fit. Inside the box you get five different sized silicone ear tips and three pairs of wings, as well as a sweet pebble-sized pouch to store the headphones in. You also get two small plastic clips (which, sadly, do feel pretty cheap) so you can attach the headphones to your clothes for extra security, as well as an adjustable silicone bead.

While the Q40 HD don’t have active noise cancellation, they offer very good passive noise cancellation thanks to their in-ear design and 360-degree spatial audio. It also has an IPX67 rating, so they’ll hold up if you head out in the rain or get seriously sweaty during a workout.

SOUNDPEATS Q40 HD review: Performance

I was very pleasantly surprised by the rich, balanced sound that came through these headphones the first time I wore them. They may not have ANC, however, the spatial audio is so effective that it doesn’t feel far from it. I wore these predominantly whilst working out, and on a couple of walks, and the Q40s easily cut through the loud clanging of heavy barbells and music pumping through the gym, which was a refreshing change from my favourite (albeit open-ear) headphones, the Cleer ARC II Sport. On my walks, it blocked out sound so well that I couldn’t hear cars that creeped up behind me – just something to be aware of if you’re a runner.

You can also customise the audio in the PeatsAudio app, which comes with four EQ presets: bass boost, bass reduction, treble enhancement and then there’s SoundPeat’s default sound effect. I went straight for the bass boost, which definitely lived up to its name, adding extra punch and depth to my music. I’m not usually a fan of these extra apps you have to download with products, but this one is worth it.

While the headphones remained securely in my ears during my treadmill runs and strength training, they did fall out on a couple of occasions during a few high-intensity WODs, which included burpees and single unders. I reached for the two small plastic clips so that I could attach them to my training top to prevent the lead from swinging around as much. This largely resolved the issue and made them way more secure. They still managed to sneak their way out of my ears during a few wall walks (but I’m not going to mark them down too much for this, as I was going upside down). The silicone wings are also very comfortable and non-irritating. My sessions lasted anywhere between an hour and a half to two hours, and my ears felt good afterwards.

Call quality, according to the people on the other end, was impressively clear – likely thanks to the AI-powered mic noise cancellation, which separates your voice from background sounds. Even when I made calls at the gym, my caller mentioned that although they could still hear the background noise, it never overpowered my voice, which came through very clearly. The only drawback was that my voice notes were very quiet

My only other grip was that I wasn’t able to connect the headphones to multiple devices, despite apparently being able to. This meant when I wore them for work and wanted to connect them to my laptop, the only way I could make this work is if I disconnect them from my phone first, which was annoying.

SOUNDPEATS Q40 HD review: Verdict

In short, if you’re looking for a pair of headphones that are highly affordable, comfortable and can hold up during your workouts (going upside down excluded), then I don’t think you’ll be disappointed by the Q40 HD. The audio quality is excellent; they go super loud (I doubt you’ll ever reach their limit), and are comfortable to be worn for long periods at a time. The battery life is also solid.

They may not have all the bells and whistles that more premium headphones come with – like ANC or wireless charging – but when it comes to budget-friendly headphones, I think sound quality matters far more than an overload of features, and the Q40 HD deliver strongly on that front.