Best Affordable New Age Earbuds: SoulPod 12 vs SoulPod 14 vs SoulPods 2

You don't necessarily need expensive wireless earbuds for everyday music, calls and podcasts. New Age has several affordable options, but choosing between the SoulPod 12, SoulPod 14 and SoulPods 2 Deep Bass isn't as straightforward as their names suggest.

All three provide true wireless listening, automatic pairing, touch or smart controls, microphones for calls and compact charging cases. The biggest differences are Bluetooth technology, battery life and audio-focused features.

Here's how they compare.

SoulPod 12 vs SoulPod 14 vs SoulPods 2 Specs

SoulPod 12 — Best for Simple Everyday Listening

The SoulPod 12 is the straightforward option. It uses Bluetooth 5.4 with a 10-metre barrier-free range and automatically powers on and enters pairing mode when removed from the charging case.
New Age emphasizes high-fidelity audio with enhanced bass and clear treble rather than advanced noise cancellation.

Battery life reaches approximately four hours of music playback or three hours of calls at 80% volume. Each earbud contains a 25mAh battery, while the charging case has 250mAh capacity.

The SoulPod 12 also has particularly detailed touch controls. A single tap can play or pause music and answer calls, while double and triple taps control volume and track navigation. Holding an earbud can activate a voice assistant or reject a call.
That's useful for commuters and students who want basic hands-free controls without constantly reaching for their phones.

Best for: Everyday music, calls and voice-assistant users.

SoulPod 14 — Best Balanced Choice

The SoulPod 14 looks like the more refined version of the formula. Its biggest specification upgrade is Bluetooth 6.0, compared with Bluetooth 5.4 on the SoulPod 12 and 5.3 on the SoulPods 2.

New Age still specifies a 10-metre working range, but the newer wireless standard is intended to provide modern connectivity while the earbuds retain automatic power-on and pairing.

Music endurance also improves. The SoulPod 14 provides approximately five hours of music playback at 80% volume, one hour more than the SoulPod 12. Talk time remains around three hours. Its charging time also falls from two hours on the SoulPod 12 to approximately 1.5 hours.
The audio is marketed around deep bass and stereo sound, while touch controls let you manage calls, music and volume.

For someone who doesn't need the longest possible battery life but wants the newest Bluetooth specification of these three, the SoulPod 14 is the most balanced choice.

Best for: Commuting, work, casual gaming and everyday music.

SoulPods 2 — Best for Bass and Battery Life

The SoulPods 2 Deep Bass takes a slightly different approach. It uses older Bluetooth 5.3, but New Age gives each earbud a larger 30mAh battery and increases the charging case to 300mAh.

The result is the longest advertised continuous playback here: up to six hours of music. That compares with five hours for SoulPod 14 and four hours for SoulPod 12.
SoulPods 2 also explicitly has Deep Bass Enhancement, making it particularly interesting for listeners who prefer bass-heavy Afrobeats, hip-hop, dance and pop music.

Another difference is noise isolation. New Age says the earbuds are designed to reduce background noise and includes built-in microphones for HD calls. This is passive noise isolation, however, and shouldn't be confused with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). New Age does not specify ANC for SoulPods 2.

Type-C charging is explicitly supported, and both the earbuds and charging case take around 1.5 hours to charge.

Best for: Bass-heavy music and longer listening sessions.

Which Has the Best Battery?

This category is simple.

• SoulPods 2: 6 hours

• SoulPod 14: 5 hours

• SoulPod 12: 4 hours

Those figures are New Age's advertised playback estimates, so real-world results can change with volume, calls, connection quality and battery age. But if you regularly listen during long commutes, work sessions or study periods, SoulPods 2 has the clear advantage on paper.

What About Sound Quality?

None of these earbuds should be treated as premium audiophile products.
New Age describes all three around clear audio and stronger bass, with SoulPod 14 and SoulPods 2 particularly emphasizing deep bass.

SoulPods 2 has the strongest bass-focused positioning, while SoulPod 12 emphasizes a combination of enhanced bass and crisp treble.

What New Age does not provide are detailed driver sizes, codec support or frequency-response measurements for these models. Without those specifications and controlled listening tests, it wouldn't be reasonable to claim that one objectively has better overall sound quality.

Important Limitations

These are budget wireless earbuds, so expectations should remain realistic. There is no advertised ANC, transparency mode, spatial audio or premium high-resolution Bluetooth codec support.

Battery life of four to six hours is also considerably shorter than some newer earbuds that can exceed eight hours from the buds alone. And while the SoulPod 14 uses Bluetooth 6.0, a newer Bluetooth version by itself doesn't guarantee better sound quality. The drivers, tuning and codecs still matter.

Which New Age Earbuds Should You Buy?

For most people, the SoulPod 14 is our balanced pick. Bluetooth 6.0, five-hour music playback, deep-bass positioning, touch controls and 1.5-hour charging make it a sensible middle ground.

Choose SoulPods 2 instead if battery endurance and bass are your priorities. Its six-hour playback, 300mAh case, 30mAh earbud batteries and noise-isolating design make it the stronger entertainment option.

The SoulPod 12 makes the most sense if it is significantly cheaper than the other two. You still get Bluetooth 5.4, automatic pairing, touch controls, voice-assistant support and a six-month warranty.

Final Verdict

• SoulPod 14 — 8.6/10: Best Overall

• SoulPods 2 — 8.5/10: Best for Bass & Battery

• SoulPod 12 — 8.2/10: Best Basic Option

The SoulPod 14 offers the best balance of the three. Its Bluetooth 6.0 connection, five-hour playback, deep-bass audio and relatively quick charging make it easy to recommend for everyday listening.
But the SoulPods 2 may actually be the better purchase for heavy music listeners. It provides the longest six-hour playback, larger earbud and case batteries, explicit noise isolation and a strong emphasis on deep bass.

SoulPod 12 remains a perfectly reasonable entry-level alternative, particularly if New Age prices it substantially below the other two.

The deciding factor should ultimately be current price: if SoulPod 14 and SoulPods 2 are close in price, choose the 14 for newer connectivity and the SoulPods 2 for longer battery life and bass.

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