Stock or modded Estrella?
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Currently in stock.
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If Soundeater is saying this, y’all HAVE to know this ain’t bs lol
Looking forward to your more in depth review, brother!
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Woof, that sucks. Have you tried contacting the courier? I’m at day 8 of it being stuck in customs exception. Linsoul responded with “it depends” so I’m going to sit tight until day 10 before I follow up.
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@VIVIDICI_111 I’m really considering FatFreq x HBB Deuce, have you tried them?
Any knowledge? The tuning looks similar to Estrella.
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If I’m not mistaken, no one has gotten a pair of the Deuce of the Deuce outside of FF besides HBB.
FF adding in an impedance adapter to increase the bass level is a smart move for sure.
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xMEMS & SoundPeats Capsule 3 Pro+ Review
Is xMEMS the future for TWS and IEMs? Or is this just another fad? I would say… it has potential.
What is xMEMS?
For those who are out of the loop, basically, xMEMS is a piezo based driver that is supposedly to have amazing high-end extension. But mainly, it acts as a cheaper mini EST that needs voltage, so you can’t really use these with analog and so far only xMEMS are only found in TWS and USBC as those can provide the driver with enough voltage
Capsule 3 Pro+ SOUND
As for the Capsule 3 Pro+ it has the all new xMEMS driver inside as well as a 12MM DD, and the drivers are pretty good, but the stock tuning is bright and thin. Soundpeat does have an app for EQ and I do recommend you to EQ it since this is an earphone that is worth EQing because of the drivers and the price. With EQ it’s very good, without? Not so much.
This is the EQ I’m currently using:
Peak: 250hz, +2-3dbs, Q-factor 1
Peak: 2000khz, -2dbs, Q-factor 0.5
Peak: 16500khz, -5dbs, Q-factor 3
But stock wise, the sound is very bright with a mid-bass scoop. Very sizzly and energetic in the treble, and I would say it leans into a bright slight v-shaped sound signature. The low-end is very good, the bass is tight, very well-controlled, texture is solid, and with some EQ it slams very nice, but you can definitely tell the treble is the main focus since sometimes the bass can feel too sharp in the attack because of the overboosted treble and uppermids which can affect the transients.
MIDS & TREBLE
Midrange wise it’s pretty open and spacious, lots of room, a very flat soundstage I would say, it doesn’t feel too wide, but it’s very pushed back. And similariily the vocals are also pushed back with it, a bit distant, and hollowed out because of the mid-bass scoop. Artists to me sound a bit thin and weak, lacking in power like they’re almost whispering to you, especially at mid to lower volumes. There’s an overemphasis in the uppermids and treble since the low-end is tilted down which shifts the focus even more onto the high end which produces this thin and light feeling to the notes and vocals.
Note-weight is also a bit floaty and light, and the imaging could be better, it’s not the most centred, but I wasn’t expecting that from a TWS, and the Capsule 3 Pro+ reminds me of the Oracle MK2s, as the overall sound has this familiar light and floaty timbre to it which can feel overly thin on many tracks, and the noteweight is also very light, but the weird thing is the sub-bass is bouncy and well-separated, but it’s just that the rest of the FR sounds light and thin in comparison as you can clearly tell the bass driver from the treble.
Now, even though there is A LOT of treble, I can tell the xMEMS drivers are pretty solid. The treble doesn’t have any weird graininess or metallic feeling to it, it’s definitely sizzly, yes, but it’s not peaky sizzly, it’s more smooth sizzly if that makes sense. I wouldn’t call it “natural”, but I don’t dislike it either, I think the sizzliness adds a nice color to the sound - it would really come down to personal preference.
However, stock wise it is a mid-lower volume set around 65-75dbs, and I do not recommend any higher because the treble will just get too hot and fatiguing without EQ. But, if you’re a treble head you might like the stock tuning since the detail and resolution in the treble is great.
WORTH IT?
For most people though, I do think the xMEMS and 12MM DD is held back by the tuning, again the drivers are great, and I think these are one of the few earphones that are actually worth EQing and tip rolling, but without EQ and wide bore tips, I’m not sure if I would recommend these to most.
Because they are pretty tip dependent. I couldn’t get a good fit with the stock tips and when I didn’t they did feel a bit peaky plus being really bright, but after I tip rolled a bit with some bigger wide bores, it really opens up the sound and smooths things out, and changes the treble completely.
The EQ preset I’m using basically just fills in the mid-bass scoop and tames the uppermids and treble a bit. Of course play around with it since it will vary depending on how much energy or low-end you like and depending on your unit variation, but ya, with EQ I think these are really good, especially in the treble at its price.
BATTERY LIFE & ANC
Features wise the battery life is great, I use these when I goto the gym which is usually around an hour or so 6 times a week, and I haven’t had to charge them since 2 weeks ago. Form factor is also really compact, a little bigger than my Air Pod Pros, but overall very convenient and light, and as for the mic go check out the mic test in the video, but TLDR, it could be better.
The ANC and transparency modes are also pretty good for the price, it’s not going to beat out the Apple, Sony, or Boses of the world, but value wise these are great… I almost got hit by a car because I couldn’t hear it, so ya, the ANC works.
vs APPLE, SAMSUNG, SONY
Sound wise with EQ I would take these over my first gen Air Pod pros, and I’d put them on the same level if not slightly higher than the Air Pod Pro 2, Galaxy buds 2 Pro and Sony XM5s with more sizzle and flare. Again, I wouldn’t call the Soundpeats natural, but I don’t dislike the change either, the xMEMS adds a nice sizzle to the sound without being grainy like the Galaxy Buds, and the detail is also better on the Soundpeats than the more expensive stuff, so ya, lots of potential if you’re willing to EQ and tip roll, but again, stock wise, it’s too bright and thin for me.
CONCLUSION
But with all that said, a good first try from Soundpeats with the xMEMS. Lots of potential with this and I think in the next version they just need to fix the tuning and add in bigger tip sizes, or wider bore tips, as well as improve the mic - the mic is passable for quick calls, but I would not recommend them for long meetings.
So if they can fix all that they’d have a winning product because these do have a lot of potential. If you have spare change lying around you can grab these for 30% off right now on Amazon, and for that price I would recommend at least trying these with EQ and tip rolling just to play around and get a feel on how xMEMS sounds.
Here is the Final Ranking:
Without EQ - Not Recommended
Tuning: B- (4/10)
Tech: A- (6/10)
With EQ and wide bores
Tuning: A/A+ (7/10)
Tech: A- (6/10)
Overall: A (6.5/10)
Thanks for reading
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Sounds a lot like Piezo (which they are made/based from)?
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Yup, it says it’s based on piezo, but it’s not like the early piezo drivers where the timbre is 
, this is more like the ones in the EW300 but sizzlier without being sharp, might just be a tuning thing as well since there’s A LOT of air around 15K
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The EW300 piezo is probably as it is because of how it is placed, NOT in the front. Although we had this level (or maybe even a step higher) for at least 5 years now since the Intime Sora Light 2019 is a thing from 2019.
The biggest advantage with these xmems drivers afaik is that they managed to make the piezo tech work for a much wider FR, than just being a tweeter/super-tweeter.
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Ya good stuff, lots of potential with this if done right
Also, review from Andy!
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Easy fight. The Estrellas play music back better than the eartips.
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John, what the hell, dude 
your brain needs to be studied.
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Do you agree with Andy’s conclusion that Arete is smoother, organic and is more musical, emersive and holographic?
He agrees that Estrella gives you 90% of TOTL 1K sets, superior in resolution, macro/micro, imaging, speed and details.
Is it as simple as Estrella is analytical and Arete are solely for enjoyment?
I enjoy the analytical nature of the EA500, red nozzle with foam and tape mod, and the smoother nature of PA02.
Not sure what he means by musical, but the Arete is warmer ya
To me the Arete is more laid back and smooth, and personally I didn’t get that holographic sound as I did on the Estrella, but that may just be tip or HRTF differences, so I can definitely believe Andy if he did find both to be holographic because tips and anatomy is a big thing. As for the analytical part, Estrella isn’t thin, you can argue that it’s bassy + energetic, it’s actually pretty meaty imo, but it’s for sure not thin - more dynamic and slamming than anything analytical.
No. Again, I’m not sure what he means by “musical”, but I was able to try both and I enjoyed the Estrella more since it was more dynamic and engaging, Arete was good, it’s a Dusk with more bass
Since you’re ok with modding, you can go tape mod + 300 mesh filters for warmer sound as well on the Estrella but with better drivers and tech
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Usually attributed to warmer, thicker sets. While analytical would be the thinner and brighter ones.
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