OK. They didn’t save my life.. but they might. Soundcore‘s P41i ear buds have a neat trick up their sleeves and all jokes aside, they may just save you in a sticky situation!

A while ago, we looked at Soundcore’s impressive flagship Liberty 5 ear buds and were suitably impressed. Priced a little lower, we are keen to see how the new P41i ear buds perform, both sonically and due to their innovative case, functionally.

 

Soundcore P41i: Unboxing and First Impressions

Unboxing the Soundcore P41i’s reveals all the regular ear bud inclusions: Beyond the case containing the ear buds, a set of 8 tips are included (ranging from XS through to XL) along with a Quick Start Guide. No separate charging cable is included as the P41i has a USB-C cable cleverly built into the case.

Where Bowers and Wilkins added a Bluetooth retransmission feature, Soundcore has opted for a different party trick for their case: Power.

Unlike the pebblesque Liberty 5 case, the P41i’s case has a rounded but distinctly cuboid design. It’s satin black finish feels clean and while it is a little larger than most ear bud cases, it’s very pocketable. In a clever piece of design, the USB-C charging cable is integrated into the case and acts as a small carry strap. I’m generally not a fan of non-removable cables mainly due to longevity but the implementation here looks solid. The design is sturdy and the loop is secure enough to idly swing the case around your finger. The cable retracts smoothly and without any real effort and when fully extended measures around 15cm. As a reviewer, discovering intelligent and thoughtful design is one of the favourite parts of my job and this implementation was no exception.

There’s no denying the case is larger than most but considering it houses a 3,000mAh battery, its 114g, isn’t particularly heavy. And while it is larger than the average case and is clearly larger that the Liberty 5 case, it isn’t bulky or particularly unwieldy: As mentioned earlier, the P41i case fits in your pocket, no problem.

 

While the majority of the case is unremarkable, the front face is dominated by a digital display with the rear housing a USB-C charging port. The top features the familiar Soundcore logo, while opposite the strap side is an unobtrusive reset button. The underside features an ever so slightly grippy pad for keeping it steady on more precarious surfaces.

 

   

Upon opening the P41i’s lid, its screen displays a quick readout of the status of both the ear buds and the case’s charge. Each ear bud is given a five bar charge scale while a central number display shows the case’s current charge. Small Bluetooth, charging and recharging icons are also visible when the case is undertaking such activities. The display is bright and crisp and effectively provides all relevant status information at a mere glance.

Opening up the case reveals not only the P41i ear buds themselves but also another clever piece of design. When open, the case is designed to hold a phone for landscape viewing. We mostly tested the stand with our iPhone 13 mini, which worked well, but it can fit most modern phones: An iPhone 11 Plus sat perfectly, as did the new iPhone 17.

 

Sound Quality and HearID: A Personalised Audio Experience

To get the P41i’s setup, we opened the lid and while the small Bluetooth icon flashed, we connected them up via our phones Bluetooth preferences. All very standard. Connecting to our MacBook Pro was similarly painless but on a phone, the accompanying Soundcore app opens up the P41i’s full potential.

The ear buds themselves were a good size, if a touch larger than the Liberty 5s – particularly the thicker stem. From a hardware point of view, the only real zonk we can give the P41i’s is the omission of wireless charging. Yes, at this price point it can be forgiven, but it would be a nice feature to have, especially considering its charging credentials.

Having experienced the benefits of the Soundcore’s HearID, we began by tuning the ear buds to our particular preferences. The experience was even more involved this time with a quick tone hearing test prior to sound tuning to music. The whole experience took around 5 minutes from start to finish and was well worth it. Now I don’t know if this is an age thing, but after tuning with HearID, the sound was just excellent.

I listened to a variety of music, from classical soundtracks from John Williams right through to Silverchair’s grunge fuelled Tomorrow and to my ears, the P41i’s sounded fantastic. The bass was solid but not overpowering and the treble was a little bright but – and here’s the thing about the HearID system – that’s just the way I like it. Pop music too sounded great too, with Rose’s infectious APT blasting our ears with ear candy. Now I know it’s the HearID sound tuning, but the ear buds sounded a nice and warm and just plain enjoyable. Interestingly, when I switched back to the default untuned setting, I was less enthused, with the sound being somewhat muted. Not awful by any stretch but just a little dull. I had my partner try the ear buds and her experience was the same – tuning to your own HearID preference really tailored the P41i’s to your very own version of excellence.

The P41i’s active noise cancellation was excellent too, effectively drowning out unwanted sounds in office environments and muting most sounds while on the street. Transparency also worked as expected and while both were not class leading, they were more than adequate.

Beyond the sound quality, Soundcore’s companion app is excellent, providing a solid interface for adjusting not only the sound quality but also configuring the P41i’s tap functions. Up to three taps can be configured in any way you like, from skipping tracks to adjusting the active noise cancellation. Soundcore even provides an iOS widget for quick adjustments!

        

And then there’s the P41’a charging trick. While the internal 3000mAh won’t fully recharge a modern phone, it will certainly give you enough charge in an emergency and beyond that, can recharge the ear buds up to sixteen times! Considering the ear buds themselves have around 12 hours of play life in them (10 hours with ANC), the P41 makes for a solid travel companion!

While I spent a fair bit of time testing these ear buds, even for casual listening I genuinely found myself choosing both the P41i’s and Liberty 5s over much more expensive ear buds. While I do think the top of the line Bowers & Wilkins do have a slight edge in overall crispness, I’m not sure the price difference is warranted. Considering the overall tailored sound the P41i’s produce , the slick iOS app and the versatile charging case, the $149 price point is a steal.

 

SELECTED SPECS

Drivers: 11mm
Microphones: 6
ANC: Yes
Listening time: (Up to 12 hours on a single charge/192 hours including case charge)
Quick Charge: 10 minutes = 5 hours of listening time.
Battery Capacity: 3,000mAh
Power Output: 10W
Water proofing: IPX5
Weight 114g (ear buds and case)
Case Dimensions: 75.4 x 59.4 x 29.6mm

For a full list of technical specifications, please visit Soundcores’s P41i product page.

 

Final Verdict: Are the Soundcore P41i Worth the Price?

Beyond the charging function, the P41i ear buds are a stand-out product. Once tuned to your preferences, the sound quality is excellent and the configurability and app functionality is what all other manufacturer’s should be aiming to emulate. The built in emergency charge and incredible overall playtime make these great for travel and that’s not even considering the built in phone stand. As a quasi-audiophile, Soundcore’s HearID system makes me wonder how many other sub $150 ear buds would sound as good as the P41i’s, with just some EQ.

The P41i ear buds are available online directly from Soundcore for $149.99AUD. They are available for a bit cheaper on Amazon, down to A$129.99.

DRN would like to thank Soundcore for providing the review unit.