Tom's Guide Verdict
The Jabees PEACE Duo Pillow Speaker is a compact and portable sound machine that slots neatly underneath your pillow for ambient noise-masking. As it utilizes bone conduction to transmit audio, you only hear the speaker when your head is pressed against your pillow. This makes it a great option for sleepers who dislike wearing earbuds but don't want to disturb anyone else in the room. Its comfortable and effective enough for side sleepers, but back sleepers might find the speakers aren't audible enough. Regardless of your sleep position, the sound isn't clear enough to listen to guided meditations or sleep stories. But the PEACE Duo Pillow speaker is a good choice for most people who dislike wearing earbuds but need ambient background noise in order to fall asleep.
Pros
- +
Comfortable for side sleepers
- +
Won't disturb a partner or roommate
- +
Ideal for ambient sounds and noise masking
- +
Comes with Micro SD card with preloaded sounds
- +
Timer options
- +
Simple to use
- +
Travel-friendly
Cons
- -
Not for foam pillows
- -
Too muffled for guided mediation
- -
Not as effective for back sleepers
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Jabees PEACE Duo Speaker: Review in brief
I'm someone who can't sleep without listening to something in order to drown out the distracting sound of my noisy street. After months of wearing earbuds every night I began to experience a level of irritation that left my ear canals too sore to wear even the best sleep headphones to bed.
Instead of earbuds, I've been getting my noise masking from white noise machines, the bedtime sound setting on my sunrise alarms, and even a tabletop fan cranked up to the highest speed. However, one thing that I never considered was an under-the-pillow speaker — until I came across the Jabees PEACE Duo Pillow Speaker, now $49.99 (was $59.99) at Jabees.
The Jabees PEACE Duo Speaker is designed for side sleepers like me who need to listen sound in order to fall asleep, but don't want to wear earbuds or disturb anyone else. Does it work? After three weeks of testing, here's what I think...
Jabees PEACE Duo Speaker review: Cheat sheet
What is it? An under-the-pillow speaker that relies on bone conduction technology to deliver private nighttime listening.
Who is it for? Side sleepers who want to listen to sleep sounds without disturbing a partner or roommate and find earbuds uncomfortable.
What does it cost? $59.99 at full price, but it's often $10 off at Jabees and Amazon.
What do we like? Side-sleeper friendly design, portability, private sound, intuitive controls, choose between wireless streaming or phone-free Micro SD soundscapes.
What don’t we like? Too muffled to listen to guided meditation or sleep stories; incompatibility with foam pillow and poor sound quality for back sleepers.
Jabees PEACE Duo Pillow Speaker review: Price and deals
- The PEACE Duo is $59.99 at MSRP but is usually $10 off
- Jabees offers a 1-year warranty and free shipping on orders over $50
- Free delivery and 30-day returns at Amazon
The Jabees Pillow Duo Speaker may cost $59.99 at full price, but I've yet to see it on sale without a $10 discount. At Jabees, the sale price is $49.99 (a little crafty considering that you need to spend at least $50 for free shipping), and comes with a one-year warranty. The return window is really narrow at just one week from delivery.
Over at Amazon, you'll find the PEACE Duo with the same discount. While Jabees's one-year warranty isn't guaranteed at a third-party seller, the return window stretches to one month instead of a week. Plus, shipping is free.
The Jabees Pillow Duo Speaker isn't a budget option, especially when you consider the prices of its rivals. For instance, the Sangean PS-300 Pillow Speaker, now $29.96 (was $39.99) at Amazon, and the Kinglucky Upgraded X50 Pillow Speaker, now $22.49 (was $24.99) at Amazon, are two of the most popular pillow speakers in America and are both under $30 when on sale.
Jabees PEACE Duo Pillow Speaker review: Design and features
- Bluetooth streaming and SD card playback available
- Timer options allow speaker to turn off while asleep
- Cordless, portable design has two compact speakers
The PEACE Dup Speaker gets its name from it's dual design, featuring two speakers for left and right stereo separation. These two speakers are joined by a single flexible strip, and you can snap the two speakers together to turn the device off (and pull them apart to turn it back on).
The control panel is located on the right-hand speaker, and features just three buttons, two of which are volume buttons.
On the underside of the left speaker, there's a switch that let's you toggle between Bluetooth Mode and Micro SD mode. The latter allows you to go phone free and access hours of preloaded, soundscapes (including ocean wave sounds and wind ambience).
In Bluetooth mode, simply pair up your speaker with your phone for wireless streaming. This mode allows you to listen to podcasts, sleep apps, and any other sounds you want to access.
If you need sounds to help you drift off but don't want the speaker to play all night, you can set a timer by clicking the + volume button three times to switch between a 30-minute timer, a 1-hour timer, or a 2-hour timer.
As for portability, the PEACE Duo has a light, cordless design that can pretty much be taken anywhere, making it a great travel companion (and a much better alternative to bulky nightstand sound machines).
The Peace DUO speaker comes in two colors: sunshine yellow or mist green, and you can also add touch of customization with the PEACE Duo Personalized Faceplates, now $15.99 at Jabees.
Jabees PEACE Duo Pillow Speaker review: Performance
- Side sleepers won't feel the speaker through the pillow
- Inaudible to others for private listening
- Great for ambient sounds but not for guided meditation
I used the Jabees PEACE Duo Pillow Speaker under the Helix Down and Feather Pillow for over three weeks. The PEACE DUO isn't compatible with thick foam pillows (especially memory foam pillows) as they tend to absorb sound more than other pillow types.
Luckily, Feather and Down pillows are compatible with the PEACE Duo, as are polyester fill and cotton fill pillows. However, my pillow has a high loft, so I was initially sceptical that the sound could penetrate though the thick material.
I needn't of worried, as I could hear clearly as soon as I placed my head against the pillow. For the first week of use, I stuck to ambient soundscapes from both the Micro SD card and my BetterSleep app.
I found the speaker to be a great option for listening to background noises like wind sounds and colored noises like brown and white noise. If, like me, you're the type of person who finds sounds like whale calls or ceiling fans soothing, you'll enjoy it.
However, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who likes to listen to guided meditation, breathwork instruction, or sleep stories. The sound quality is just too muffled for clear instructions or following a bedtime story.
However, I will say that if you like to fall asleep with the TV on in in the background, then the PEACE Duo Speaker is a great alternative. I listened to the intentionally boring Sleep With Me podcast one night, and the slightly muffled voices replicated the comforting feeling of falling asleep on the sofa. It put me to sleep within 10 minutes.
As for the "private nighttime listening" claim, the PEACE Duo lives up to its promise. I couldn't hear a single thing as soon as my head left the pillow, and I didn't have to worry about waking up my light-sleeping roommates.
Finally, I want to talk about sleep comfort. The whole point of a pillow speaker is to eliminate the discomfort of earplugs, and I think the PEACE DUO succeeds in doing so. I never felt the speaker through my pillow when side sleeping or back sleeping, though it bares repeating that back sleepers that they won't hear the audio as well as side sleepers.
Jabees PEACE Duo Pillow Speaker review: Battery life
- Lasts up to 10 hours on a single charge
- A USB-C cable comes with the PEACE Duo
- Takes around 2 hours for a full charge
The Jabees PEACE Duo Pillow Speaker has a similar battery life to most of the leading pillow speakers, including the Kinglucky Upgraded X50 Pillow Speaker.
The PEACE Duo has a battery life of up to 10 hours, which means it will last an entire night and then some. With this battery life, the speaker will last more than a week on a single charge if you set the timer to switch the audio off after and hour of playback or streaming.
To go from 0% to 10%, you would have to charge the speaker for two hours, which is a relatively short time. It uses a simple USB-C cable the type that the iPhone 15 and later models use.
Jabees PEACE Duo Pillow Speaker review: User reviews
- Reviews at Jabees and Amazon are mostly positive
- Users praise the clear audio and travel-friendly design
- Complaints mostly come from foam pillow owners
Currently, the PEACE Duo Pillow Speaker holds a 3.9/5 overall star rating based on over 20 reviews at Jabees's website. Over at Amazon, it holds an overall star rating of 41/5 based on over 25 reviews.
Positive feedback (which is the majority) praises the PEACE Duo's sound quality, with customers saying they could hear the audio clear and loud enough. Users also praise the lightweight, travel-friendly design and how it's a less intrusive alternative to earbuds.
Criticism mostly comes from those who own foam pillows, which the brand explicitly states the speaker is unsuitable for. Aside from that, some users find the volume too low and soft for podcasts and stories, which reflects my experience.
Jabees PEACE Duo Pillow Speaker review: Should you buy?
The PEACE Duo Pillow Speaker is a great sound machine for side sleepers who want to listen to ambient sleep soundscapes without disturbing others or wearing uncomfortable earbuds.
I recommend it to couples, co-sleepers, or college students sharing a dorm. It allows you to create your own private sound at home or on the go, thanks to its travel-friendly, cordless design. Plus, its build is non-obtrusive so you won't feel it through your pillow.
That said, I have to deduct some points for the fairly wide range of people who I wouldn't recommend the PEACE Duo to. For instance, I don't think back sleepers will get as much mileage out of the speaker as side sleepers, and the same goes for those who sleep on memory foam pillows.
Also, if you're planning on listening to guided sleep meditation or bedtime stories, the audio isn't clear enough. Listening to pink noise or rainfall, however? The PEACE Duo is a great option.
At $49.99 on sale, there are cheaper options out there. However, the set-up is easy, the controls are intuitive, and the you can choose between wireless streaming and screen-free SD playback.
