In this short, I’m breaking down the Soundcore V40i’s sound signature and why the mic + sound combo surprised me for the price. First up: bass. I honestly wasn’t expecting it to be there like that, but once you adjust the earbuds a bit and get the speakers closer to your ear canal, you can actually pick up that low-end. It’s not “crazy” bass, but it’s definitely present—and that’s a win for an open-ear style earbud. Then I get into the mids and highs. Vocals come through very clear, so if you’re listening to podcasts, audiobooks, or you’re just taking calls, you get a good, natural sound. Highs are crisp too, especially considering this is an open-earbud design. Just keep in mind: open earbuds don’t give you sound isolation, so you’re not getting ANC or any real noise blocking here. For around $60, the V40i’s tuning is better than I expected, and I’ll say it straight—it’s a great improvement over the V30i I reviewed before. I also run a mic test in a noisy environment so you can hear how the built-in AI noise reduction handles chaos while keeping my voice clear.