Soul SS19 Earphones Review

[Adam Matlock]

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Soul has been around the block for a little while, and their new SS19 earphones are the latest in a line of pretty snazzy earphones. They aren’t quite mainstream in the United States, but their website is chock full of products for you to choose from, and the SS19 is a solid reflection of the brand and what they are trying to pull off, and that’s stellar music quality.



The life-force of music is soul, which I think pretty much makes the brand name for the SS19’s spot on for delivering some solid music. When I want to listen to music, I want full spectrum sound with some killer drivers and solid punch in the bass, and the SS19’s deliver most of this. However, the comfort, sound, and power coming out of these babies make them a solid contender, especially at the low price of $39.99.



Sound Quality: Do you like to get loud with your music? I’m not talking Sunday morning choir rehearsal loud… I’m talking about dropping the hammer on some sweet riffs, and getting thunderstuck by some AC/DC. If this is what you’re looking for, then I think you’ll be tickled to death when you turn the volume knob to “10” with these guys. Volume is a really important characteristic for me when it comes to earphones. For instance, Bose has some pretty phenomenal sound – I have the Bose SoundSports for my daily drivers. However, they just don’t get loud enough for me. It could be that my eardrums are shot after spending a decade and a half in the military, but most earphones really don’t get close enough to my discomfort zone when it comes to volume. I am very happy to report that the SS19’s took the volume level to the max, and allowed their good friend “sound quality” to tag along with them. I put these earphones through the ringer and I loved listening to some of my favorite music cranked up – if you want a solid listen, check out the Thor: Ragnarok Soundtrack with these earphones; it's an audio treat. Now, the story isn’t all musical bliss. There are a few shortcomings, which mainly show up in the mids department. The lows and highs are solid, and the synths are oh so sweet. The vocals really hit home as well. The only issue is that because of the massive amount of power these guys are pushing through the drivers, the mids get lost in the shuffle. It varies from song to song, but I guess you can only push so much noise out of a pair of earbuds before you start to lose something. Now… does it diminish the overall sound experience? Not so much. Really I found that I enjoyed the sound quality so much that I lost focus on a lot of the nuances that I originally jumped on while I was listening to them. So… job well done on sound quality.



Comfortability: The SS19’s are curiously designed, but not in a bad way. I actually put them in the wrong way when I took them out of the box, and then I was a little confused by the wires that were sticking up and away from my ears. However, after I figured out that the wire was mold-able it was game-on, and I was super happy with the design. It's a pretty novel design actually. The wire coming out of the earbuds has a mold-able wire in it so you can adjust it/bend it to the contour of your ear - super cool! In addition to being cool, they are also super comfortable and probably the most securely fitting earbuds I’ve ever used. These guys seal so well that I can’t hear anything in the outside world when they’re on, and that’s a plus! Wearing these earphones for a long time isn’t a problem at all either. They’re very comfortable and really aren’t very heavy or bulky, so it doesn’t start to wear on you over time. In addition to their naturally comfortable design, the SS19’s come with four different sets of earbud tips for your individual comfort.

Before molding the wire:


After molding the wire:




Functionality: The functionality is pretty straightforward and easy to use. Unlike some of the other earphones I’ve reviewed lately, you will have to manually pair these earphones, but it’s pretty easy. From the “off” position, just hold the multi-function button (the power button) for five seconds and it will put the earphones in pair mode, and then you can easily select them from your Bluetooth menu. Other than that, the volume buttons are easy to use and built into the same control module as the power button. The earphones are charged with a standard USB 2.0 connector, which is on the right-side earphone. As is par for the course, the SS19’s come with a ridiculously short USB charging cable and no charging base. The earphones are also rated as “sweat proof”, which is great if you want to hit the gym with these guys on. I will say that the earphones are actually snug enough that I think they’re perfectly legit to workout in. One tiny negative area for these earphones is that they only have a 6hr battery life, but I think that’s perfectly acceptable considering the power that is pushed out of these things. Besides, 6 hours of listening time is more than ample for any activity I can possibly think of, not to mention the ease of which it is to recharge portable electronics now-days. And if you get in a pinch, the SS19s only take 2 hours to recharge. Call quality is perfectly fine, and can be controlled easily using the multi-function button. The multi-function button is pressed to answer a call, and to end a call. If you really don’t want to be bothered while you’re listening to your sweet tunes you can hold the button down for two-seconds and it will ignore the call. Finally, the volume up and volume down buttons also function as “back” and “skip” buttons when you’re listening to music.



Additional Features and Specs:
- Rated at 6 hours of playtime
- Comes with a MicroUSB 2.0 charging cord, but it’s very short. (charging base not included)
- Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity (one-touch pairing)
- Comes with four sets of silicone earbud tips
- 33ft connectivity range
- Built-in microphone for phone calls
- Can pair with up to two devices



Conclusion: The SS19s are a solid buy in my opinion. Great sound, great power, and a novel design that works really well. The overall comfort and quality that you get out of these earphones is top-notch, especially for sub-$40 earphones.

If you’re interested in picking up a pair of Soul’s SS19 earphones, you can purchase them directly through Amazon, with this link: Amazon link https://www.amazon.com/SOUL-SS19-Headphones-Lightweight-Sweatproof/dp/B074V6YG19 --- They are currently priced at $39.99, and are eligible for Prime 2-day shipping. In addition to the current pricing, Soul has also included a 31% off discount code (5R5PEBMT), which brings the purchase price down to $27.59!