Soundcore by Anker Life Q30 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones with Multiple Modes, Hi-Res Sound, Custom EQ via App, 40H Playtime, Comfortable Fit, Bluetooth Headphones, Multipoint Connection
soundcore by Anker Q30 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones with Multiple Modes, Hi-Res Sound, Custom EQ via App, 40H Playtime, Comfortable Fit, Bluetooth Headphones, Multipoint Connectio
From the brand
The sound quality is good, as is the noice cancelling, though it could do more to cut out wind at times. Even using the app and switching to ‘outdoor’ mode still leaves a little bit of wind to be blocked out.
The only real disappointing thing is that it interrupts your song every time you change from noise cancelling to normal to transparency. It interrupts the song to say it out loud in a robotic voice. It is unnecessary and annoying as somebody that likes to switch between modes – sometimes I like to hear what’s around me, sometimes I don’t, and my mind can change frequently. I don’t need to be told which mode it is because I can hear it clearly. It would be nice if I can turn this off, though I haven’t seen a way to do so as of yet.
Otherwise, I do a lot of walking and it works nicely, and it’s great in the gym to block out people grunting and annoying gym music.
I would definitely recommend the product overall. It’s reasonably comfortable (does give me hot ears after a while but that’s to be expected, and does slightly compress my hair) and is stylish, and, most importantly, sounds good. It captures low-end frequencies well so you get good crisp bass. In my experience, they sound especially good with house music.
Note my experience will differ from yours, hopefully it won’t and you will be extremely satisfied.
Also these are that good my household of four now have one each. All of which who love them, if they made them for the dog I would have gotten him some just for the anc alone, he must be sick of hearing fetch.
Cons
There is only one con for me, they removed the option of using ANC when wired, this Soundcore have removed from product description after realising you simply can’t mislead customers, but review sites still show this which they haven’t contacted reviewers to remove and it is littered all over their forums with backlash. Anker haven’t responded and haven’t reversed their decision. Which is ridiculous imo and bad customer service. Makes them untrustworthy imo.
Pro’s
Accessories: These come with a hard carry case which also includes a usb type c charging cable and a 3.5mm headphone jack so you can still use your headset wired if your battery runs out, iOS users who have a lightning port can buy a adapter that converts your lightning port to use a 3.5mm jack.
Comfort: The soundcore q20s where excellent for comfort and these are no exception they just took it that bit further and after a few hours of listening you get the odd oh I need to move these slightly but that’s it, the rest of the time it’s extremely comfortable.
ANC: It works and delivers an exceptional experience, everything I wanted ANC deliver wirelessly works, transparency mode also gives you the advantage of hearing the world around you and speak to others whilst having a conversation with someone else around you. The full on ANC mode is exceptional it blocked for me literally everything around me.
Sound Quality: Another reason to keep these it just delivers massive audio quality where it is imo for a headset I only paid 55.99 for packs a punch and is crystal clear. People keep saying they aren’t Bose headsets or Sonys. I’ve never owned either but I have listened to them in stores and they are exceptional quality, but being crucially honest the price difference and quality out of these does scream Buy the Q30s why wouldn’t you!
App: that excellent sound quality just goes one step further, the amount of presets you can change in the app is extremely welcome, but you can also change to a custom equaliser and you can edit away to your hearts content and find the perfects mids, bass etc to what you want.
NFC: Easy pairing for Android users with NFC. I’m a iOS user primarily so this I never tried, but it’s a handy feature to have, simply use nfc to tap on the headset and you should be able to pair the device rather quickly.
Ports and buttons: USB type C charging, which when your battery is getting low you can get a substantial amount of life back into these from so little time. USB Type C port is always welcome moving forward as we try to move away from Micro usb.
The buttons are the device has been criticised by some reviewers online as not being ideal, but I would contest this and say I prefer the click of a button opposed to gestures and the placements are perfectly fine. There is also a hidden sort of gesture button hidden on the right ear cuff so you can cycle through noise cancelling modes, but at the same time this can be a downside if your stretching a knock the gesture/hidden button it can be annoying.
I paid 55.99 which is a really good steal, they do go and retail now for around the 79.99 and even then it’s around the right price and is worth the money. Hence the reason for 5* Without the price point and knowing the distrust on the forums I would have to give 4*
Do think Anker need to respond to removing features from the headset that were their at launch and not use the whole “it improves sound quality” and review sites still advertise these features so damage control isn’t their either. Simply giving customers options to use which firmware they would prefer with wired and or wireless only and then being able to judge the sound quality accordingly should be a fairer outcome.
These Q30 noise cancelling headphones by Anker Life sounded too good to be true on the reviews (for the price point) but as I had an Amazon voucher & they were in the sale before Xmas, I thought I’d give them a try.
Well they come in a nice pouch & are easy to charge, they fit nicely over my ears, easy to adjust & are comfortable too. I’ve had them on for three hours max so far & no complaints. Once you get used to where the buttons are on each side they are also easy to use e.g. volume, on/off & noise cancelling mode.
I’ve worked out how to pair them with my iPhone & downloaded the App, so now I can listen to soothing sounds. They give you ‘white noise’ options & I like the nature one best. (You can also make your own DIY one). Obviously you can listen to the radio or your own music too if you want.
For noise cancelling I think they are pretty damn good, I went out in the garden when the next door neighbour was strimming & mowing with these on & without any background noises I could only hear a low hum. I have a loud clock in my study & when on I can’t hear it ticking, I also can’t hear the kids screaming in the street outside my window, or my hubby playing on his Xbox, or come to that trying to talk to me ha ha.
Listening to music I think they are also on a par with my Airpods but I am no connoisseur it must be said. The only thing that bled through, even when on noise cancelling with birds tweeting & cats purring in the background was Hubby watching the Willow series: I could hear some awful shouting (turns out it was some sort of demonic possession voice). I found this quite surprising as it was a very deep/low sound. Anyway my noise sensitivity is usually for high pitched stuff, so it did not bother me too much however I thought it may be interesting to others.
So all in all I’m very pleased with them & would recommend if you are needing something to take the edge of those irritating sounds, that cause distress.
Really like them got them on a recommendation and they are good. Happy with purchad
Bought it as a gift for a friend of mine and he went crazy abut it, and all for only 56 ponds
Anker smashed it out the park again. Great spec and fit for a budget price. They are sturdy and noise cancellation works great. Daughter uses them a lot and no issue with battery life.
Would buy agai
Bought for listening music. Happy with the purchase, great sound. Comfort fit.
Excellent quality and sound noise cancellation seems ok good battery life.
Absolutely brilliant headphones for the price tag, great build quality, comfy to wear, fantastic sound quality and noise cancellation and supplied in a good quality case to store them in when not in use to avoid any damage
Headphones have a very good battery life – charged it once and have been rinsing them for a well now 🙂
Quality of sound and noise cancellation are also very good – better than the airpods new gens that I own.
Would defo recommend
Don’t be swayed by others marketing fantasy headlines. Loads of choice around offering impossible quality for the price. I have had Audio Technica mx50, Sony MX4, and I have taken the odd and fell for the fakery headlines and reviews. Well worth 61. (New/sealed) buy them.
We laugh about it, she is very tolerant as goes it, but she can find repetitive noises that continue for some time beyond her control unbearable at times. She therefore needed some noise cancelling headphones only for that purpose, and I would guess you could argue there could be no better tester of noise cancellation than my girlfriend 🙂
These were the first ones we tested purely on the basis of light research that suggested them a great choice in offering a fantastic noise cancelling (NC) bang for your buck…..
We did check these out in terms of music reproduction, and can only say they sounded sweet enough although she is unlikely to use them for that as prefers music through a Bluetooth player, so I’ll leave the music quality reviews to others on here for now….
In terms of noise cancelling we had the loan of a seriously expensive (400) pair of top range Sony NC headphones for outright comparison, so how did these sub 80 competitors perform against them according to my girlfriend against a test of music playing in the room at a uniform comfortable volume?
Let me just say that the Sony noise cancellation is utterly stunning. Although residual music could be heard , it was muted to the point that even my girlfriend could completely tolerate it and ignore it. Given the 5x price tag for the Sony’s (more like 7x as we purchased the Soundcores for 62 due to a discount voucher), this was completely expected. They produced absolutely zero white noise in any NC mode.
Over to the soundcores, and immediately it was obvious they were not in the same league, but none to shoddy nonetheless.
You are given 3 modes of NC (Indoor, Traffic, and Outdoor).
To generally compare these 3 modes, 2 of the modes do create a degree of cancellation white background noise. Traffic is the worst for white noise (yet generally best at cancelling noise), whilst Indoor is the exact opposite having practically zero white noise, but not being quite as generally effective as Traffic. Outdoor mode was somewhere between the two.
We tried all the modes in terms of their respected environmental suggestions, and concluded finding the best mode for different individual circumstances might just reflect individual experience and experimentation over a longer period of ownership.
Comparing the Indoor mode on these to the best NC mode on the Sony’s, we would both say that whereas the Sony’s achieved 4/5 for outright noise obliteration, the Soundcores produced what might be assessed as a score of 3/5.
This may sound a big discrepancy, but looking at the relative costs of these headphones, we found it extremely impressive.
Despite being not as good, they did smooth noise away generally adequately enough for my girlfriend to achieve a great deal of relief.
An unexpected bonus of the Soundcores over the Sony’s was that in the quietest indoor mode they actually seem to transport you to almost another place.. By that I mean you feel as if you are almost in a protected and comfortable space by them. White noise is absolutely at a minimum, but you feel as if you are almost in a cocoon (it is difficult to explain)..
Neither of us felt that the Sony’s had the same almost sophorific effect (be that a good thing for one or the other or not).. The Soundcores actually made me feel a bit sleepy, but to the extent I was imagining that I am not sure.
Earphone comfort for both pairs was similar.
On that basis I would certainly recommend the Soundcores to anyone wishing to find a bit of peace and tranquility.
Not sure I can add anything further beyond recommending these for those more interested in the NC mode than the audio ability, but recommend at least giving them a try first as goes their very low price.
Sure there is better out there, but given the fact that you can buy 5 pairs of these in place of 1 of the very best ones out there, I might suggest it may not really be worth going down that route unless you are a serious audiophile and/or money is no object.
Very comfortable, excellent for voice calls and video calls. They look great too!
The battery life is good. I charge once every few days, because I use for long periods each day.
They are better than I expected.
The Sound quality is awesome, the ANC works well, and they are comfortable to wear for hours on end.
Noise cancellation is okay for the price of the product but if you want to hear nothing then you need more expensive model
Brought these to replace a different brand that stopped working after 5 mins.
These are excellent and great value for money.
We’re no power users but this headphones are very impressive and definitely excedded our expectations.
Sound quality is superb and no ice cancelling works fantastic.
Very pleased with them
Nice ear cups covering most sounds
Noise cancelling not amazing but a nice extra for this price
I personally use them for 2/3 hours a day in normal mode and I’ve not had to charge them yet.
Aesthetically I havent got any major complaints, the only thing I would say is they’ve got noise cancelling written on the band, not really sure why, again though its a very small thing
Very good quality for the price. Noise cancellation is not excellent though, sound is good.
Got these for my teen daughter. She absolutely loves them. Very light and easy to use. She loves the battery life.
Work really well was able to extend Bluetooth further than Bose headphones allow .
Once you master the switches it’s all plain sailing,I use for music and calls, first class.
The sound quality is amazing, also the noise cancelling it’s so good, I really recommend this product, I just charge them once a week.
Amazing sound quality, feels as if they could be 200 more than they were, comes with a high quality carry case. Very happy with my purchase
These headphones are amazing! The noise cancelling is amazing and the sound quality is great but you must use the app for best results.
Absolutely love these headphones. They feel great when wearing them and the sound quality is brilliant. Battery lasts for days. Love Anker products.
If you are in the market for new headphones these are excellent. You may need to adjust the eq to get the best out of them but very capable headphones.
Only two things that could be improved ( in my eyes ) are if the volume went a bit louder and they were a tighter fit as with them being a bit on the heavy side, I find when looking up or down, they tend to fall off.
Boise cancellation is terrible. Unusable even. It plays this “neutral sound” which makes it feel like everything is underwater. Just use them on the regular mode for best quality, or transparent mode if you’re walking outside and still need to hear obstacles such as traffic etc.
There are three stages on the headphones normal which is what you would hear with headphones on the second is what you would hear if you were not wearing headphones and the third is like being in a sound proofing room amazing
Great headphones and app. Sound great but my headphones arrived with damaged earcups.
Clearly, if you’re looking the most superlative sound spend far more but if good all-round everyday performance balanced with features are your desire. .you could be in for a surprise.
The headphones are excellent. Sound quality is fantastic. But you need to download the app for fine tuning the sound. Half the price of beats and twice the battery life and quality. The case is excellent all leads come with the headphones
I love these headphones, I usually get Sennheiser but took a chance on these. Nothing against Sennheiser, but I’m glad I did
I was disappointed the 3x more expensive pair of Bose headphones I’ve been using for a few years have not stood the test of time; basically they’re falling apart. So given it was Prime day I decide to find a replacement. Diesel’s two quid a litre though, so I paid more attention to price than I might previously have. I’d bought a pair of Anker earbuds for the gym a while ago on the basis that if I dropped a weight on them I wouldn’t be too upset, but that actually turned out to be wrong. I’d be extremely annoyed if I broke those now, because they’re really very good. Same can be said of these headphones. As has been written elsewhere it’s certainly true that to get the best out of these you need to go to the app and head straight over to the equaliser. There are plenty of presets and custom curves as well, so you can play to your heart’s content. I’m sure there are better quality cans out there, but for the price, especially with a deal, they really are very good indeed. Only thing I’m fibbing about is the battery life because I haven’t really put it to the test yet, I’m basing this on the ear buds and other reviews, but I have no expectation of them delivering anything other than claimed.
And yes, the sound quality and nose cancelling mode are good. Sitting here with a fairly stupid grin listening to some rather ancient Steely Dan while writing this. I’m happy with them. Any major dude will tell you.
They are far superior than anything in the same price bracket.
The sound quality and ANC performance is amazing.
Very comfortable too and phenomenal battery performances with ANC turned on.
Why pay 350 for Beats eith similar functions when you can get these at a Fraction.
Highly recommended, I rarely leave reviews ut these are worth my time to share as I am so happy with them
Notice cancellation is very good, 4 stars just because if a colleague is chatting very loud on the phone behind you, you can faintly hear them. I trued this on a flight, they worked very well.
Sound quality is good, clear with bass.
Battery life is amazing, I’ve never dropped below 50%.
Would highly recommend these, maybe in couple of years I would upgrade to the next model up.
Very good headphones for the price. The only fault is the low volume when you initially pick a call, so you just need to increase the volume and that’s all.
Overall, dope headphones.
These bluetooth headphones are really very good quality for the price. When used with the soundcore app there are a number of preset graphic equaliser options which really help, plus three noise-cancelling options. Rechargeable battery life seems very good. They are a little bigger than I had imagined, so they are fine for use at home, but maybe a bit too big for walking down the street.
I found that they were a good sound quality but a bit loud at times which distorted the audio. The noise cancelling is ok but not great it’s the best one I’ve tried for the price. You would be nice if it was able to remove voice more clearly. Battery life is good for the money. But with drain quickly when you use the noise cancelling.
Overall a good pair of headphones, But does need a bit more to put it into the next level. The app which can be downloaded from the app store is the thing that puts over the top of other cheaper one’s or in the same price range
I was going to buy the Bose 700 at 259 but after reading the reviews, I wasn’t convinced.
I already own an Anker product and it’s excellent so had a look at the reviews for these headphones.
I can’t fault them. For the price they are fantastic.
Yes, the bass is quite prominent, but you can change loads of settings through the app which was easy to download and install on my iPhone.
The headphones are also very comfortable with lovely cushioning.
The noise cancelling does work and does make a difference compared to normal mode.
I’ve still to try these out on an aeroplane but I’m sure they will be 100 times better than my standard in ear earphones.
I use these with my kindle fire and skso works great with my TV.
For the price, these are great quality headphones. They have twice the battery life over Bose.
Once I installed the app and dropped the sub-bass to it’s lowest setting things got much better. Punchy lows and decent highs. I have spent a fair amount of time with these and have them tuned pretty good. The app is an absolute must. Without it they sound bad.
For sound quality they are decent. They aren’t going to compete with expensive cans like the Airpods Max or XM4 / XM5s but they are 20% of the price. They are much more than 20% as good. I’d put them at 80% as good as the XM4s.
The ANC is decent and about on a par with the Airpods Pro. So, not utter silence but good enough to attenuate most distracting sounds.
So, I have been listening to a lot of drum and bass lately on my Sony m3s Earphones, but my ears are starting to hurt so I thought time to buy a pair of headphones. After much searching these kept coming up, and when they came today first thing I did was download the app and off I went, first impressions, they are very soft on my ears and comfortable, but they do make u sweat a little bit, but that’s a minor. Now the sound, I don’t work for amazon or soundcore so don’t think I’m biased, but these are prob the best you are going to get in this range, if I had paid 150 for these I would of thought they were a good deal but for 60 there ridiculously good. Bass is low could prob do with a bit more top end but I’m not complaining, my advice stop thinking and just buy them you won’t be dissapointed!
I bought these to replace a pair of AKGs that fell apart. They are the first pair of noise-cancelling headphones I’ve had, so can’t say whether or not the NC is good, bad or average; all I know is that they do a decent enough job to make my bus/train/tube commute more comfortable. For 60 (with discount), the sound quality, comfort and build are great. I wear glasses and these are very comfy with or without glasses. I was in two minds about buying a ‘non-brand’ set, but glad I did as I saved so much money and have a product that is more than just good enough. Highly recommended for a cheap pair of headphones with good features that you won’t have to worry about if you’re constantly chucking in your bag for the commute.
Noise cancellation doesn’t make everything disappear but I didn’t want it to as with kids and people around, I need to be aware of my surroundings without them interfering with my viewing/listening WHICH THEY DO BEAUTIFULLY!
I love the comfort. Not too big but will fit much bigger heads than mine.
Bluetooth connection is brilliant between devices and link up so easily.
The ear pads are really comfortably even after a good while wearing them.
The app is so easy to use and manage the setting
All round I LOVE them.
Avoid if you have a small head
The sound quality and noise reduction is pretty good considering the price tag, however, the sound quality is dependent on the soundcore app Equalizer and a Bluetooth connection, the same applies for the noise cancellation. When connecting via cable, the noise cancellation does not work and the sound quality decreases significantly because it does not use the soundcore app equalizer. If you are going to use it mainly connecting via Bluetooth, it is definitely worth it. To be noted that I’m reviewing this headset agains a Bose QC 35 (significant price gap).
I highly recommend downloading the app if you want to hear the sound quality at its best. The noise cancellation is brilliant, especially when you live in a noisy environment. The battery life is surprisingly long, and I could go without charging for a few days.
Im usually pretty scared about buying headphones, but I’m more than confident in saying that these are perfect for me and my needs.
What’s beautiful about them is I just lift my right hand up to my ear and the whole world becomes quiet again and I can cope. They come in an ace strong case and have a superb battery life l. Each time I switch them on a gentle voice tells me how the battery life is doing.
If they broke today I’d order a new pair for tomorrow- my world is better because of them. I have a big head and they’re comfortable. They don’t need the app to work either. If others noise is a problem for you then these will help.
Bought these as the replacement to a pair of Sony xm3’s that broke within 3 months. Noise cancelling isn’t as good as the more expensive Sony’s, but these are less than half the price, and are far more than half as good, I’d say nearing 70-80% as good. Sound quality seems great to me, although not out of the box. You will have to fiddle with their app to get the levels how you like them, and it would be nice if in the app you could save different presets for listening to music or audiobooks for example, but these are just minor gripes. My favourite thing about them is the build quality. They feel far more sturdy than the Sony’s, especially at the hinges on the cups, and I trust these not to break as quickly. Nice case if you don’t want them loose in a bag too. Can’t truly attest to how they will last in the long run, and if the perceived sturdiness will actually last, as I haven’t had them long, but I suspect that if this review doesn’t change then they have continued to far exceed expectations.
After reading most of the reviews on these Soundcore Q30 Headphones I was tempted to get a pair for my Holliday next week. I love the case they come in and how they folded up to fit it . Pairing them to my iPhone was a doddle. Also I downloaded the app which helps with sound quality. The noise cancelling ,transparency button is amazing and works well. The buttons on the headphones are small and it’s going to take time to get use to them but I’ve only just got them and so I’m still quite new to them . I’m sure I’ll get use to them . Also the sound quality is amazing .All in all I’m very pleased with my purchase hope they do well on my 13 hour fligh
I have had these for a few weeks now and I am still pleased with them.
You definitely need to download the app and adjust the Eq. Once you have done that the setting is stored in the headphones themselves, so you can use any app or device and keep the same Eq. That to me is a big plus point as I mostly use a dedicated music player.
These are my first set of noise cancelling headphones, so I can’t really comment on how good they are compared to other makes. I find noise cancellation does reduce the noise of cars somewhat , you can still hear them passing but it is much quieter.
The main reason I bought these was for the sound, I have managed to Eq them to my satisfaction. My favourite earphones are the Etymotic ER2XR and I have managed to Eq them to being somewhat close to them, but for me, nothing betters the Etymotic sound and passive noise cancellation.
Overall I would definitely recommend the Q30’s. I think with the Eq they definitely give a good sound, they are comfortable to wear and the battery life is fantastic.
Was a bit sceptical about the noise cancellation qualities of these headphones as I’ve used this type (not brand) before and been a bit underwhelmed. However, these headphones are brilliant. I use them all the time on public transport and they block out the sounds really well. As for sound quality, they definitely punch above their weight on that category! A nice but not overpowering amount of bass and good clarity let’s the music shine through, whether it’s pop, rock or metal.
The other two modes are useful too, especially the noise that lets you hear everything – you can have a clear conversation without taking the ‘phones off.
Another big bonus is being able to link them to two sources – I have my player and my phone linked so I can listen to music but still get calls. Never used this function before but these headphones make it easy and almost essential.
In short, couldn’t recommend enough.
I’ve tried many headphones in this price range (including Ankher’s A30 and Soundcore’s previous offering, the Q20) – and these are a marked improvement on every model I’ve tried.
Sound quality is far clearer and has much richer bass. They feel lighter, and cup your ears gently without sacrificing clarity or noise cancelling. No compromises on the excellent battery life either.
The ‘Transparency’ feature is ingenious – touching the capacitive panel on the right ear activates this mode, which sends the (great quality) microphone through the drivers – effectively resulting in an active hearing aid. No need to remove your headphones or even pause your content, you can hear and converse normally when active – and a quick press re-activates the excellent active noise cancelling.
At the 50 price point I paid for these, I’d say they’re one of the better purchases I’ve made on Amazon. 10/10!
Fit and feel is great with no loose joints and creeky plastic. Personally I like my headphones to squeeze my head a little more. If I lean forwards for an extended period, I am required to re-adjust as they slide down.
Battery life is brilliant, exactly what you would expect with a product from an Anker brand. Fast charging keeps you going with only a few minutes of charge and the device has a handy voice prompt when you turn them on to indicate low, medium or high battery level.
Sound quality is more than adequate, with good base levels. This is complemented by the noise cancelling, which with the app can be changed from indoor, outdoor and transport to optimize the cancellation. Transparency mode allows that quick conversation or even some slight eves dropping to happen easily by amplifying ambient noises and enhancing voice.
All in all an absolutely brilliant product that competes with really high end brands but for a fraction of the price.
Bought to help my Autistic son looked everywhere and read every review. Went out and tried them in shops all different prices from the not to bad to the eye watering.
These cover all bases and more the different modes of noise cancellation work well. The app makes changing it from mode to mode easily. The thing my son liked most is the ability to to tap the side of the headphones to turn Noise cancellation on and off.
Sturdy build as I would expect from an Anker product value for money exceptional.
I bought this for my husband to use with his iPad. He had no headphones as they are not supplied with iPads and the connections are different so the old headphones are useless. I went with wireless and read all the reviews (good and bad) and found these were around the price I was willing to pay with similar reviews to pricier headphones. I told him to download the app as recommended by other users. He put them on and loved the noise cancellation. He can now watch his programs without the tele overriding and he said it sounded so good that the sound effects on the horror he was watching scared him. Haha! Then he EQ’d it and said it sounded even better. So based on his response, definitely 5 Stars.
I can’t comment on battery life as he hasn’t used it enough to judge.
I bought the Q30 as an interim set until I could afford to replace my dying Beats. I am so impressed that I’m not actually going to buy another set of Beats!
Firstly though, I will say to anyone buying these; download the app!!! It will make using much easier, and will provide setting preferences you won’t otherwise be able to use. From what I’ve seen on other reviews it also helps to sort out any issues you might have.
To start, comfort: Anyone who’s had over ear Beats will tell you they press on your ears so much it’s painful to have them on for more than a few minutes. After a while you get used to that, and only really notice it when you take them off. These bad boys however, are the most comfortable over ears headphones I’ve ever had! My ears fit inside the cushioned areas so nothing is pressing on them. Bliss.
Pairing: Easy peasy! Press the on button until you get a flashing blue light, find the Q30 on your device and hit pair. If you want another device paired at the same time after you’ve got the first set up, press the on/off button twice and then pair on the other device. Simples.
That being said, I did this last night with my phone and kindle and when I started using my phone the sound from the kindle dropped off even though the app being used on my phone didn’t have any sound coming from it, which was annoying. Also wouldn’t allow sound from the kindle until the phone was off again. So while you can be paired with 2 devices at the same time, you can only have one in use at a time.
Sound quality: For my needs it is excellent. I use my headphones for calls, watching programmes or films, social media apps, audiobooks/podcasts and music when I’m cleaning. So, music isn’t the sole or most significant purpose and therefore I’m not one of those who will rave about bass, highs and mids. Not even sure how I would know what those things were. That being said, the soundcore app does let you set up your own preferences on the EQ thingie, so have at it if you need to!
Noise canceling: for the first time I can tell what NC is meant to do! It’s insane the difference it makes as well. I’ve seen other reviews saying it isn’t the best they’ve had compared to other sets, but those must have literally removed the world around them because this is pretty impressive. On the app you can also select your environment to tailor the NC to your needs. These also have transparency mode so if you do need to hear what’s happening around you you can do so by simply placing your palm on the outside of the right cup for a second. Same to turn it on again. It actually makes the environment louder though, I tried it when cooking and I heard the sizzling more clearly than if I didn’t have the headphones on!
Battery life: Pretty good, but this is the one area where the Beats win. With those, I need to charge them once a week. Usually turn them on when I get to work, use for calls during the work day and a podcast on my commute – 30 mins either way – and then at weekends use them more frequently for a few hours each day. I’ve only used these ones for my usual weekend activities so far, and they already need charging up. That being said, it’s not that much of an issue as I normally plug mine in to charge overnight anyway and a quick 5 minute charge gives another few hours of use if needed.
Portability: This is another area where the Beats are better because they fold down into a small case to carry around. These ones are still pretty big when folded and the case is large! And because the cups are much bigger they aren’t comfortable to wear round your neck when not in use, it’s like a neck brace! However, my handbag and work bag are big anyway, so it isn’t an issue for me personally.
Price: There’s no comparison is there. Beats= ~200 for the ones I was planning to buy. Q30=<50.
Overall, I would definitely recommend these headphones. Really impressed so far.
i have always stuck to wired headphones/earphones for fear of lower sound quality, and trouble with bluetooth connectivity, however have had no problems with these, and the sound quality is better than my old wired sony pair.
pros:
-surround sound effective with minimal effort
bluetooth very smooth
-stunning quality
-app works well, enhances the sound, and allows for customisation as well as including white noise functions, helpful for getting to sleep
-comfortable
-case is protective and good-looking
-shortcut buttons are very helpful when focused/phone is not accessible
-dual pairing feature
-cheaper than competitors, and similar level of quality
-podcast setting for prioritised dialogue
-app had built in equaliser
-aux wire included if bluetooth is not supported/battery dies, and could probably be plugged into an amp/used with an instrument
-very long battery life compared to charge time
cons:
-transparency mode only works for particular pitches
-not very secure on my head when i’m being active (could just be my head shape)
-app isn’t supported on select devices (e.g amazon fire)
-shortcut buttons could potentially be confusing to learn and there is no way to reprogram their functions
-not water/heat resistant
-microphone is not the highest quality
i have not had other wireless headphones, so take this with a pinch of salt as I have no comparisons, however am an avid music fan, so can tell the difference between good and bad quality.
i would recommend these for everyday listening, however if you are looking for top of the range music production or gaming headphones, these might not be for you.
i suspect i will get a lot of use out of these, and hope they will last well. overall another very good product by anker !!
I am a uni student. Was looking for noise cancelling headphones but didn’t want to pay an odd 100-200+ on headphones. I saw the reviews on thes headphones- on both Amazon and YouTube etc and decided to give them a try.
What is inside the box:
– headphones+ box
– 2 cables (one charging, one AUX)
– manual (guide)
Noise cancelling:
– 4/5: amazing noise cancelling that you get for the price of the item. The app allows you to change the noise cancelling level and depending on your environment also. However, I found that there were a lot of leaks and they were not as noise cancelling as you would expect. With music playing it is great but as someone who sometimes likes not listening to music I needed a pair that would do it without. They did, just not to my standard.
Pairing:
– 5/5: pairing is amazingly easy even without the Apple M1 pairing chip found in the Beats headphones and Apple products. You do not need the app to pair, the app simply controls noise council UG and equaliser (more on that later). As the headphones are able to connect to multiple devices (2) at one given time, I decided to try it connected to my iPhone and MacBook. It worked amazingly well, HOWEVER, I found that there was a delay in switching audio from one device to the other. For example, if I played something on my iPhone, the headphones will not play what is playing on my MacBook until the iPhone is closed (on lock screen). This isn’t really an issue, however may or may not be the same when you receive a call while watching something on another device.
Battery life:
– 5/5: haven’t got much to say about this as I have decided to return them due to aesthetic reasons.
Build quality:
– 3/5: this is probably the only bad thing I have to say about the these headphones- and ultimately the reason I am returning. They are very sturdy and the build is amazing (hence the 3). It has a metal top bar and the rest is plastic- yet this does not downgrade them at all. HOWEVER, they are very large and make it seem as if you have a halo around your head. I am very small, this may be the reason. They also have a branded logo which seems to mimic ‘beats’ a bit too much- wish they put this logo in black so it would not stand out. These are ideal for travel, studying and I’m guessing will last a very long time!
Sound quality:
– 5/5: best sound quality I have heard on a pair of headphones in forever. Despite the price, these pair of headphones are probably the best headphones for sound quality on a budget. Although the sound changes when you change the ANC settings, it isn’t much different. As an avid listener of ASMR I gave it a once over test and the headphones honestly captured every little sound and detail! Within the app you can change the equaliser which for me was a must as the headphones are very flat without changing it (although it is down to preference). The bass is amazing also. My only problem with the sound (and it’s not necessarily bad) is that you do NOT need to even go past half way on the volume. The headphones are super loud- the loudest I have possibly ever heard in headphones. This does mean also there is a LOT of sound leakage during the higher volumes- everyone will hear your song preferences on the Tube lol.
Mic quality:
– 4/5: I did not get to hear it for myself, however I called my sister and she said they sounded fine. My only concern was the practicality of the headphones on a loud tube or street- which I did not get to test.
Weight:
-4/5: these were rather heavy, but nothing you can complain about- it doesn’t weigh your head down!
Fit/ feel:
-4/5: as someone with a small head they were rather big. If I turned my head to the side noise leaked in- another reason I am returning. Also mentioned they look rather large around your head- but again might just be me. They feel super comfortable, you do not get a headache or pressure on your head whilst wearing at all. The cups on the headphones themselves remind me of a memory foam/ feather pillow. They do get a little hot around your hears over time- but that’s something you cannot avoid with headphones.
Overal: 5/5- AMAZING quality for price- if you are looking for backup headphones, or are a first time headphone user I would 100% recommend!
Sound quality is great. Comfort is great. Active noise cancelling is great. Great battery life, quick charging.
A word about active noise cancelling. I’ve seen several reviews on here about the white noise being over-powering, static-ey and whiny/ screechy etc. I have found that all active noise cancelling, regardless of brand can end up with over the top white noise if you are near a plug with even one thing plugged in. The worse case of this being a multi USB charger with several USB cables plugged in to it. Put on active noise cancelling then touch the end of a charger cable or even the phone/tablet being charged and you’ll see what I mean.
I have not mentioned Bluetooth functionality as I never use it on over ear headphones. I Just use the cable. I only use in ear Bluetooth headphones as Bluetooth is only used while exercising and I sweat a lot and don’t want over ear headphones to get all sweaty and horrible. Sorry for the TMI but it’s true. Plus Bluetooth can be glitchy on any device you connect headphones to. It’s fine if a song cuts out for a second with in ear headphones but it’d be annoying while watching a film etc.
Over all. A great pair of noise cancelling headphones for the price. I’m a smoker so have the air con on a lot, it really dampens the air con fans even when the fans are on max.
Five stars, unless a headphone detaches from the headband. Fingers crossed.
TLDR; Unlikely to beat them under 100, NC/App not as good as expensive Sony’s, but sound quality is somehow better IMHO. Battery life is amazing. Bluetooth is great but wired support is poor. Microphone just OK for meetings.
Battery life: is amazing! Mine are turned on 8+ hours per day with NC turned on and around 4 days. They also charged in less than an hour using my 20/30w USB C charger, otherwise 2-3 hours from low to full on a normal USB port?
Sound quality: is probably the best I’ve owned, not saying much 🙂 However, my daughter has the top rated Sony MX1000XM4s and I was able to compare back to back, play with both apps and features side by side etc. Its subjective but the with out of box, default settings on both, the Q30 wins for podcasts, and the hard rock and electronic genres I tried. Just much punchier and more alive, I think an audiophile would say the XM4s are more neutral though, and you can change the EQ etc…Both of them thrash my old Mixcder E9s which sound really dull in comparison – real noticeable improvement.
Noise cancelling: I had my Mixcder E9, Sony XM4s and these side by side next to my ridiculously loud portable aircon in my small office. I mean NOTHING short of ear plugs is going to cancel that out, no question the Sony has the best NC and turned the roar into a whisper. Q30s cancel out most the roar but still leave some of the rushing noise of the fan. I also wandered round the house and stood outside etc, in every situation Sony wins. BUT… The Q30s are still very good, and not that far off the mark and trounce the cheaper E9s in this dept. You get three modes, I leave it in “Transport” which is good for cancelling out fan noise and rumbling etc. I think the modes basically focus on low, mid and hi frequencies.
Comfort: My cheap Mixcder E9s are still the most comfortable headphones I own. These are a quite good, I wear a LARGE motorcycle helmet so I guess I have a large head, and for the record massive ears ( Think Prince Charles ) and the Q30s are comfortable for up to 2 hours at a time. Fit is loose and easily accommodates my glasses, but had to mess around to get the head band in the a comfy, stable place. Sony’s seemed slightly better for me but can’t compare as only borrowed for a couple of hours.
App/Features: Sony is way more advanced with “Adaptive Sound Control”, its really clever. Plus both Google/Alexa built in. There’s no comparison and might be where a chunk of your extra 150+ goes – IF you use it. Soundcore App works well, connects easily and no crashes on my Mi10Lite and has a nice simple UI to let you change the Noise cancelling and EQ. FYI… The EQ/NC DSP circuit is IN the headphones. So it works across all devices whether you connect the app or not, and it remembers the settings fine. You can play/pause/volume/toggle NC using the headphone buttons.
Microphone: Used for Microsoft Teams meetings daily and its a lot better than my cheap headset, but obviously without a proper mic arm its not as good as my purpose made meeting/gaming headset. It picks up background noise more, so if you’re in a quiet room its fine, but people have struggled to hear me in noisy environments. N.B. On Windows it creates separate “voice/chat” and “music/general” devices. That means you can’t hear your PCs sound while on chat. Only an issue for gaming maybe?
Other: Transparency mode is activated by touching the right ear cup, but its a gimmick IMHO, as it sounds weird and you can’t hear your OWN voice very well.
Wireless/Wired: Bluetooth reliability is excellent (never dropped out in a month) and range is good (next room but not furthest room through 3 walls). Its been great with Android and Win10, and that’s how I use them 90% of the time. But wired… Plugging in a 3.5mm cable just turns them off! No NC, EQ, even volume controls, all turned OFF! I read this is a recent firmware revision and they USED to work wired but it was unreliable, which is why they disabled it. Sadly wired quality is now bad and is almost pointless. DO NOT BUY TO USE ON WIRED CABLE – That’s why I dropped a star, my old ones work great on wired with full NC.
I already bought one cheap no-brand NC headphones and was worried I was literally buying cheap, buying twice… maybe three times! I’ve had Anker stuff before and they are known for being the premium end of cheap but these Soundcore’s have boosted my opinion of Anker. My daughter bought the Sony’s at the same time and I was ready to send these back and do the same but the price difference was not worth it for me.
Hope that helps.
* I haven’t posted a review here for a long time as I received a warning from Amazon for commenting on problems with review authenticity.
WOW !!!
Let me start off by saying I am very fussy about headphones and gave always used sennheiser and beyer up until now.
First impressions were a little muted as out of the box they are bass heavy and muddy but after downloading the excellent app and rolling off the bass in custom mode they instantly became crisp and relatively open sounding .
Comfort was an instantly welcomed bonus (my head and ears are on the slightly larger side) but not a problem here as the ear cups have plenty of room inside .
These are now my ‘go to ‘ cans as after tweaking the eq as they are slightly more informative and detailed than the big name headphones I own .
Thoroughly recommended .
Also what a wonderful company to deal with ,after having a minor problem with my Q30s they simply couldn’t do enough to help me and a replacement pair were issued instantly
Well done guys and thank you.
SOUND QUALITY – THE PROS
– Sounds good to a layman –
As previously stated, I’ve no skin in this game. But sounds good to me! It also comes with an app (which DOESN’T require you to sign up, you can skip that step, hurrah!) that allows you to fiddle with the equalizer. Again, means absolutely nothing to me and I’ve no idea what I’m doing with it (there are fortunately various pre-made settings to choose from for that exact purpose), but nice to have.
SOUND QUALITY – THE CONS
– My AUX cord arrived broken –
The subheading sums it up. The fresh-out-of-the-box AUX cord was broken by the first time I plugged it in. The music was extremely quiet and echoey when using it, so I tried the headphones with a different AUX cord from around the house and the sound quality was fine. (To be certain it was the SoundCore cord, I tried it with a different brand of headphones that I knew worked well and they sounded bad too). Fortunately, I have spare AUX cords, so I don’t know if I’ll bother taking this up with Anker, but I thought I’d mention it.
ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLATION – THE PROS
– Good noise cancellation –
Works really well! My neighbour helped me test this out by being particularly noisy the other afternoon. I didn’t ask him to, he just likes to help me test my ANC headphones on the regular by blasting loud music and letting his children pummel the stairs into dust. And wonderfully, when wearing the headphones with noise cancellation on (no music playing) I couldn’t hear a thing!
– Different settings available –
I was using the ‘indoors’ setting at the time of my test, but the headphones come with two more settings: ‘outdoors’ for those walks in the park we’re all having right now, and ‘transport’. You can change them via the app. I haven’t tried the outdoors or transport settings, as I use my headphones primarily in the house (and due to current circumstances, I’m not really leaving it at the minute).
You also have a ‘transparency’ mode that uses the in-built microphone to amplify instead of dampen sound, so you can hear whatever is going on around you without having to take the headphones off. Not too useful, since you can just take them off, but nice to have!
– Battery life good –
The headphones came with ‘medium’ battery life, and I used them for four days, hours at a time with ANC, before the battery level displayed as low on my phone. Gave them a charge, took under an hour to get to full.
ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLATION – THE CONS
– Not total silence –
The indoor setting won’t drown out loud sounds coming from a nearby source completely, such as people talking or the washing machine on a spin cycle. It will dampen the sounds significantly, e.g. speech will be muffled, but they will still be audible. Don’t buy this expecting total silence!
– ANC is fiddly to use –
My previous ANC headphones had separate switches for the ANC and the bluetooth connection, which meant I could use them for ANC without turning them on. This is really handy for someone with an audio sensitivity, as it meant I could just put the headphones on my head, flick on ANC, and whatever sound was upsetting me would be drowned out.
These headphones DON’T have that. To use ANC, you MUST turn them on. Even if you’re using them wired, you HAVE to turn them on, while wired, to use ANC. If you unplug from that wire (maybe you’re at your computer and want to get up without taking your headphones off) they will turn themselves off. I assume that’s to save power, so you don’t forget to turn them off yourself, but it means if I get up, I have to turn them back on if I want to keep using ANC while I’m pottering about (due to my audio sensitivity). And when you plug back in, they make the power down sound, but seconds later, will remember they’re still on the clock and tell you the battery level as if they’ve just switched on.
Not only that, but–though I appreciate having the ‘normal’, ‘transparency’, and ‘ANC’ modes–it doesn’t tell you which you have on when you power up the device. It tells you the battery level religiously, but not whether you’re on ANC or normal or transparency. To find out, I just cycle through the modes until I get the one I want, since they’re all on the same button. I just wish the ANC had its own separate button, so it could be switched on/off at will, no fuss.
THE DESIGN – PROS
– Good ear cup fit –
I hadn’t realised just how poorly my last over-ear headphones went over my ears until I tried these ones. They fully encompass the ears and give a really comfortable fit around that area because of it. Also they’re not too heavy, so you can wear them for hours without discomfort.
THE DESIGN – CONS
– Slightly loose headband fit –
The headband looks a bit odd. I feel like a cyberman. However, aesthetics aside, the band not being flat against the head means it’s not a secure fit. I’m sure this is done for comfort’s sake, but it makes the headphones feel a bit loose. I have them on the tightest setting, and they slide about a bit if I tilt my head, especially if its sudden. However, I have tried being a bit active with them, A.K.A. I’ve had a dance around, and they haven’t fallen off. I think is because the ear cups fit so well.
OVERALL
A good pair of headphones with all the essentials there: battery life, ANC, and sound quality. However, there are peculiarities in the design and function that may take some time to get used to, and detract from the ease of use. But when the competitors are hundreds of pounds more expensive, it provides a really good offering for the price.
Anyway, I heard good things about these and with next day delivery for 80 I thought it was worth a punt. I do a lot of gaming and watching movies, but I love to wear headphones for both of those activities. I wanted something I could use as a headset for the xbox.
I’d like to start by saying these are incredibly comfortable. their material is super plush and the pads kind of melt over your ears. They do get a bit warm over time but it’s nothing major to complain about. The headband support isn’t massive, but again, it isn’t something that’s caused me discomfort at all.
Sound is great, they are decently loud and their very adaptable EQ helps to bend the sound to whatever taste you prefer. This is absolutely essential, and companies need to stop assuming people will enjoy the stock tuning they deem to be the “best”. Sound preference is entirely subjective and it’s an individuals opinion that matters the most when they use their own stuff.
I’d recommend heading over to Oluv’s gadgets on YouTube and looking at his content covering this product. He explains why it’s one of the best 2020 products, great channel.
Battery life is stellar, offering 40-60 hours depending on if you use noise cancelling. The NC isn’t up there with Sony & Bose but it’s pretty close and decent enough for most. Don’t forget these are in some cases 1/4 of the cost.
Built quality is decent too, nothing feels cheap, but they aren’t overly heavy either.
After trying so many high end products, I did not expect to settle on something which was 80, from a company that hasn’t been playing the game for too long. I’m extremely impressed with what Soundcore did and I can’t wait to see where they go with the Q40 or Q30 mk2.
I have high standards, I compared this against Bose QC35 (gen 1) !
Where QC35 features 5* tis is:
Sound 4.9*
ANC 4.9* (more options than QC35 gen 1) including transparency
EQ 5* ( no feature on QC35) useful for crap players
Volume is 99% similar
Setup: is coming with predefined signature EQ – changed to custom (all on flat) this is important since is overly bass!
The band is metal snd a bit heavy and when you sit on sofa tends to fall, however comfort is 4.9* !
Built quality is impressive for price 5*
THIS is best buy in this range!
No distortion, bas can be adjusted to a huge impressive level!
Important !
Charge this (or any similar) with a NON fast charging ! Most devices will not charge with fast charging chargers and may be damaged by the excess currents ! A fast charger goes to a range of voltages from 5 to 9 and trigger protection and would not charge, in long run would damage incompatible devices ! Caution !
Note for low reviews: probably these people live in caves, this is alien tech for them, sincerely! If you set on flat EQ this pair and Bose QC35 or any other speaker … would not sound same! If you would expect that you are misguided – all speakers are dependant on manufacturing materials .. shapes cavity etc. We have EQ for a reason, and your hearing is not same as the person next to you. What matters is the ability to reproduce all range of sound it should do without affecting nearby range, and yes this is like an impossible task, what we have today is best trade-off quality is not absolute quality. This product does not compete Bose or similar priced products simply make them irrelevant for the ones that live in real life(use train, bus car) When the environment is not perfect why would you expect a perfect result? I can tell neither this product or Bose or any other would give you a perfect result .. not even close