SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE review

SoundPEATS is an earbuds brand that has been making a name for itself since 2012. The Truengine 3 SE is one of their better models. As always, the SoundPEATS design looks bold and stylish. But do these Bluetooth earbuds sound as good as they look? The sound, in particular, can give you the wrong first impression. Find out why in this review.

In this article

• 1. Quick facts: SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE
• 1.1 Sound quality
• 1.2 Microphone: calls
• 1.3 Earbud controls
• 1.4 Charging case
• 1.5 Battery: how long do they last?
• 2. Conclusion: our verdict
• 3. Alternatives

SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE specifications

• Price: ~60
• Chipset: QCC3020
• Codec: APTX
• Bluetooth: 5.0
• Range: 10m
• Case battery: 500mAh
• Earbud battery: 55mAh
• Cable: usb c
• Waterproof: IPX5 (the earbuds can withstand high-pressure water jets)

In our view, 500mAh is a decent battery capacity for a charging case. Really want to stop worrying about battery life? Take a look at the SoundPEATS Trueshift2. Those have 3000mAH. Then again, the charging case is about the size of a computer mouse. Every upside has its downside.

Truengine 3 SE sound

Sound quality score: 8.5

Let's start with the sound. SoundPEATS has done a great job with the Truengine 3 SE's sound. But it's not for everyone. It is for those who appreciate the finer details. Here's why.

No booming bass, just quality and balance

The Truengines aren't subwoofers booming in your ears. You get balanced sound with a strong midrange. You can hear every instrument in your music. That's not always the case with wireless earbuds in this price range.

Does that mean there's no bass at all? Oh, there's definitely bass. You hear exactly as much as the producer or artist intended. But no more than that. Of course, you can adjust things to your liking with an equalizer on your phone.

Tip: Get foam ear tips for these SoundPEATS earbuds. The included silicone ear tips are a little hard and inflexible. Foam ear tips replace the included silicone ear tips and feel much more comfortable. Squeeze them just before putting them in, and they'll slowly expand in your ears. That makes them much more comfortable. And an extra tip: at the bottom of the SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE product page, you'll find a bundle discount. Buy the SoundPEATS & foam ear tips together for an extra discount.

Microphone: is the Truengine 3 SE good for calls?

Microphone score: 9

The SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE microphone is exceptionally good. Wireless earbuds generally have poorer microphones than wired earbuds. That's why we thoroughly test the microphone in every Bluetooth earbuds review.

First, the 2 (!) small microphone openings are very well placed. They're on the outside, at both the bottom and the top. On many earbuds, believe it or not, the microphone opening is awkwardly placed, making it hard for others to hear you. SoundPEATS clearly thought this through when designing the Truengine 3 SE.

Buy SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE

When testing these earbuds on calls, we were genuinely surprised by the quality. Your voice comes through very clearly. Even in the car or while frothing milk at an espresso machine, you can still be heard, surprisingly enough. Great work from SoundPEATS. We hadn't tested a microphone this good before.

Want to know which earbuds have the best microphone? We put together a comparison with all the audio clips.

Earbud controls

SoundPEATS earbuds almost always have touch controls rather than buttons. The Truengine 3 SE is no exception. The touch control sits right on the bronze section of each earbud.

Controls: 7

How do the Truengine 3 SE touch controls work?

The SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE controls never let you down. Sometimes we're glad earbuds have physical buttons because they're so reliable. But these earbuds are a good example of touch controls that are just as dependable as buttons. Solid controls!

The control layout, meaning which action goes with each touch, could be a little more logical in our view. For example, a single tap would work better for pause/play. Two taps for next/previous track. Press and hold to adjust the volume. Still, SoundPEATS made different choices, and you'll get used to them after a few tries.

Full credit to SoundPEATS for the detailed user manual. It covers every setting and scenario. They also include it in several languages (unfortunately not Dutch, but that's an understandable choice). At the end of this very detailed manual, there's a QR code linking to a page on the SoundPEATS website. There, you can download an even more detailed manual. Could it really get any more detailed? Wow!

SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE factory reset

Thanks to that helpful manual, we discovered that a light on one earbud wasn't supposed to stay on whenever we paused the music or made a voice or video call. The manual explained that this happens when you don't tap 'accept' on your device during pairing. No harm done: according to the manual , a Truengine 3 SE factory reset takes no time at all.

1. Place the earbuds in the case
2. Press and hold both earbuds' touch controls for 10 seconds
3. The factory reset is now complete. You can pair them again.

SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE manual (user guide)

View the SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE manual here. You can't download the 3 SE user manual anywhere on the SoundPEATS website. So we've made it available for you ourselves.

Truengine 3 SE charging case

The charging case has a battery capacity of 500mAh. That's about average at the time of writing. Nothing special, then. Still, it'll keep you going for a good while.

The Truengine 3 SE's 'little' brother, the Trueshift2, has a 3000mAh charging case. That's 6 times as much, which is exceptionally high. The downside is that its case is much larger than the Truengine 3 SE case we're reviewing here. We've also put together a comparison of these 2 earbuds.

Battery: how long can you use the earbuds?

The case has a 500mAh battery, and the earbuds each have 55mAh. That 500mAh isn't anything special. Neither is the 55mAh, really. What is special is that you can listen to music for about 6 hours with these earbuds, even a little longer.

The QCC3020 chipset and AptX codec help the earbuds use power efficiently. That results in solid battery life. Another reason to choose real quality.

Conclusion: are the Truengine 3 SE any good?

The SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE surprised us in many ways.

The sound is beautifully balanced and holds its own against the more expensive Jabra 75t we tested earlier, for example. You'll hear instruments in your music that you hadn't noticed before. The sound really shines when you fit the foam ear tips. Highly recommended.

The microphone is exceptionally good. We'd even say it's the clearest microphone we've tested so far. You won't have any earbud-related issues when making calls with these. They make calling easy.

The battery specifications aren't particularly special. 55mAh in the earbuds is decent, and 500mAh in the charging case is average. What's interesting is the 6 to 6.5 hours of continuous use you get. We're very happy with that too.

In our view, the SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE are top-notch earbuds for less than €50!

Buy SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE

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Alternatives

SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE vs SE

Keep in mind that there's also a SoundPEATS Truengine SE, without the 3. That one number means a completely different product. The 3 SE is the newer version of the SE.

The Truengine 3 SE has better sound. The fit is a little different, but which you prefer is personal.

See our full comparison of the 3 SE and SE

SoundPEATS Truengine 3 SE vs. Trueshift2

The Truengine 3 SE sounds slightly better than the Trueshift2. But the difference is small and partly comes down to fit. In short, they're neck and neck on sound.

Also see the full Trueshift 2 review.

The Truengine 3 SE has AptX. The Trueshift2 doesn't. AptX transfers audio more efficiently, allowing earbuds to deliver better quality over a Bluetooth connection. That's an advantage for the Truengine 3 SE.

The Trueshift2 has more battery capacity in its charging case:

Speaking of the charging case: having 6 times as many mAh also means a much larger case. That makes it less handy and convenient to use, especially when you're out and about or traveling.

The TrueShift is more waterproof than the Truengine 3 SE. Here are the ratings:

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Others also viewed:

• Browse all our blogs about wireless earbuds
• Also see the Truengine 3 SE review (the Trueshift2's big brother)
• See our in-depth blog about QCY earbuds
• And check out our blog about alternatives to AirPods
• Also see the top 3 earbuds for running
• Also check out our hands-on review of the Eardopes B6 pro. They cost a little more, but the quality is worth it.