These $200 audiophile earbuds mix planar and dynamic drivers and they look like they might actually be decent for gaming
Low-latency mode and some planar drivers in there, too.
(Image credit: Soundpeats)
Although a lesser-known brand, Soundpeats earbuds seem to be pretty well-liked for the price judging by various comments and reviews online. And for CES 2026, it's just announced the Aura Nebula earbuds, which look like they might offer a good balance between audiophile quality and gamer-oriented features and pricing.
The earbuds feature a "breakthrough hybrid five-driver acoustic system paired with a sophisticated three-way electronic crossover." That crossover refers to a 10 mm dynamic driver, a 6 mm planar driver, dual balanced armatures, and a "micro-planar tweeter." Presumably the whole "three-way" thing is excluding the latter tweeter, as that's just more planar gubbins.
- 10 mm Dynamic Driver: Delivers tight, physical, and impactful low-end that you can feel.
- 6 mm Planar Driver: Provides fast, expressive, and texture-rich midrange.
- Dual Balanced Armatures: Offers extended clarity and pinpoint accuracy.
- Micro-Planar Tweeter: Adds airy treble extension and a rewarding sparkle to the high notes.
CES 2026
(Image credit: Future)
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Balanced armature drivers were originally made for hearing aids, and tend to do really well with clarity for mid and high frequencies. Dynamic drivers are of course the ones we're most used to, and they're capable of producing very—drumroll, please—dynamic sound, which can be useful for punchiness and so on. Planar, on the other hand, can offer a wider soundstage.
All these different kinds of drivers have their benefits and drawbacks, but here, presumably, the engineers at Soundpeats will have tailored and balanced things to get the best out of all three.
Apart from this, the main draw for us PC gamers is that these earbuds have a low-latency gaming mode. That's something plenty of earbuds have, of course, but not all of them, especially higher-end ones that aim at the audiophile market more than the gaming one. If Soundpeats gets this right alongside the mixed-driver audio, these could potentially be some decent but not too expensive audiophile earphones that actually make sense for a gamer. Though of course there's no saying for sure without testing.
