Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling
Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones, Wireless Over Ear Bluetooth Headphones, 40H Playtime, Hi-Res Audio, Deep Bass, Memory Foam Ear Cups, for Travel, Home Office
Hi-Res Audio
Enjoy certified Hi-Res Audio via 40mm dynamic drivers that deliver clear sound with rich details.
Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation
Internal and external microphones cancel out an extended range of low and mid-frequency noises.
BassUp Technology
Our custom algorithm performs real-time music analysis for instantly intensified bass.
Accessories
In the box you’ll find a travel pouch to conveniently store Life Q20 active noise cancelling headphones in, a 3.5mm AUX cable to keep the music playing when you’re low on battery, and a Micro USB cable to charge them with.
 Life Q20 |  Life Q30 |  Life Q20＋ |  Life Q35 | |
| Sound | Hi-Res, BassUp, dual EQ modes | Hi-Res, customized EQ | Hi-Res, customized EQ | Hi-Res, customized EQ, LDAC |
| Active Noise Cancellation | Hybrid ANC | Hybrid ANC with multiple modes | Hybrid ANC, transparency modes | Hybrid ANC with multiple modes |
| Playtime | 60H (ANC off), 40H (ANC on) | 60H (ANC off), 40H (ANC on) | 60H (ANC off), 40H (ANC on) | 60H (ANC off), 40H (ANC on) |
| Fast Charging | 5 mins = 4 hrs | 5 mins = 4 hrs | 5 mins = 4 hrs | 5 mins = 4 hrs |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5, AUX | Bluetooth 5, AUX, NFC | Bluetooth 5, AUX | Bluetooth 5, AUX with mic, NFC |
| Calls | single mic | 2 mics | single mic | 2 mics with AI alroghim |
| Charging Port | Micro-USB | USB-C | USB-C | USB-C |
| Soundcore App | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Recommended For | Travel, flight, train, commute | Travel, flight, train, commute | Travel, home office, commute | Travel, flight, train, commute |
Key Features
Hi-Res Audio: Oversized 40 mm dynamic drivers produce Hi-Res Audio with treble extended to 40 kHz for exceptional clarity and details.
Hybrid Active Noise canceling: Four microphones and a digital active noise cancellation algorithm detect and filter out up to 90% of low- and mid-frequency sounds.
BassUp Technology: Our exclusive technology conducts real-time analysis of your audio’s bass frequencies to instantly strengthen it by up to 100%.
All-Day Comfort: Memory foam earcups gently fit around your ears and the headband’s rotating joints adjust the angle of the earcups to adapt to the shape of your head.
40-Hour Playtime: Life Q20 active noise canceling headphones power multiple long haul flights from a single charge with up to 40 hours of playtime in wireless ANC mode. Increase to 60 hours in standard wireless listening mode.
AUX Cable: Use the included AUX cable for unlimited listening in wired mode.
Built-In Microphone: Make convenient, hands-free calls.
Note: According to regulations, the maximum volume of headphones should not exceed 100dB. In order to protect your hearing, Life Q20’s maximum volume has been set to around 95dB. It is recommended that you do not listen to excessively loud volumes for long periods of time.
This product is compliant with CP65, RoHS, and REACH requirements. However, certain people may develop skin irritation due to allergies or sensitivities. To reduce the risk of skin irritation: Clean your device regularly; Avoid using lotions or other products under the portions of the device that contact your skin; Do not wear over injured skin; Where applicable, tighten the adjustment until snug, but not uncomfortably tight; If your skin becomes irritated, stop using device. If symptoms are severe or persist, consult your physician.
| Dimensions: | 19.5 x 18 x 7.8 cm; 263.08 Grams |
| Model: | AK-A3025011 |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included) |
| Manufacture: | Anker |
| Dimensions: | 19.5 x 18 x 7.8 cm; 263.08 Grams |
| Origin: | China |
Nice
Good headphones, but a bit big on my head. You couldn’t use them if you are running
A vast improvement on my old ones!
Good quality of sound. Using daily and haven’t needed to recharge yet.
Great sound
For the price these Headphones are Excellent very comfortable good base sound and a charge lasts for days would highly recommend
Early Christmas gift exelent value for a high class priduc
Good sound could be louder but havent downloaded the app yet so it may be a setting issue
Comfortable to wear, good sound, some noise cancellatio
Comfortable to wear, good sound, some noise cancellation.
It reduces noise, does not cancel it and I suspect it’s the close fit as no difference when turned off.
Good music sound, worked well with rock music and I tied some acoustic, good quality, the bass is good,, but not thumpingly great.
I like the foldability and the supplied soft storage bag.
Battery life was good too, never needed re-charging in the first two weeks of testing it.
Excelle
Have soundcore buds so when needed new headphones thought I’d give these a go. Great sound quality and nice and comfy with plenty of adjustment.
Great sounding headphones
These beat all my other headphones, Monster, Sennheiser, and miscellaneous buds etc. bought as a present for son, and bookmarked them for myself for future reference.
Q20 review
Brought these after using a family members, all of the above plus comfort, only down size is they are a little bulky, but if used correctly they are fine. Great value for the money.
Nice clear sound and lightweight.
I had both the Q20’s and Q30’s at the same time and the Q20’s have much better passive noise cancellation. It might be to do with the smaller ear holes in the 20’s. I don’t know.
The Active noise cancellation was the same in practical use.
I’ve returned the Q30’s.
Good value headphones
These headphones have really good reviews and I managed to get a pair at a great price, cannot comment on how they perform as yet as they are a Christmas present!
What can I say about these headphones?
Sound quality is absolutely brilliant…. Crystal clear highs and lovely deep rich bass….. I’m using these with the 1mii Bluetooth transmitter on Technics separates and they sound as good as my Philips Fidelio wired headphones but with the advantage of the freedom of movement.
Wore these for 3 hours straight and at no point we’re they uncomfortable.
I purchased these because of the Anker quality of my previous items and wasn’t disappointed.
Worth every penny and more…. Very very happy with these…. Excellent packaging and fast delivery and the inclusion of a carry case is great as well.
Hope these last a long time as listening to music through these is a joy.
Excellent value
Bought these to cope with working in a noisy office. Use them with a white noise app. Very comfortable to wear (soft and don’t get too hot) and knocks out enough noise to allow me to concentrate. Good value and would recommend.
Headphones
Best set of headphones I ever got great value for the price. I work in a place with very loud machines thees headphones block out almost all the noise very impressed
Great for everything, apart from sport!
This headset is very good at noise cancelling and the sound is great, not much to grumble about. However, they are not too sturdy for working out in the gym, they slip off the head easily and the comfortable ear pads collect a lot of sweat. Maybe I sweat too much!?
Excellent for train journeys
I use these for a commute on a train. Massively reduces the ambient noise, sound is really clear. Would recommend
does exactly what it says it will.. so far so good
Well packaged, looks like a quality product and initial quality of sound so far is excellent.
These are my second pair of these headphones. They fit comfortably and remain in place whilst walking or in the gym. The sound quality is great too. I am sure that there are others on here better qualified to comment on the sound, but for the average person in the street, they are excellent.
Battery life goes on for ages and always catches me by surprise when it announces the the battery is low. The ease of control is another great feature, its easy and intuitive to find the volume up/down and to skip the songs that you don’t want.
Another great feature is the mic. I have used these headphones to make call whilst on the go and nobody has ever complained about the sound quality.
Overall, i think you’ll struggle to find a more complete set of headphones in a similar price bracket.
Really efficient and comfortable
Excellent value for money, great comfort and battery life is excellent , noise cancellation is great and they are comfortable to wea
Great headphones for the price
They don’t cancel background noise but they do reduce it and I can’t fault them for the price.
Amazing headphones
You can definitely tell the difference when you put them on. I use them in the gym
I had a set of bose qc45’s that were a lot of money. I had to sell them due to cost of living problem. I purchased these thinking that they will be OK at best? Boy was I wrong these by far are the best sounding most comfortable headphones I have ever had. I will never go back to bose. I’m sticking with anker soundcore all the way!
Really good
I use these headphones for going to the gym and they are amazing, I have only had them for 2 or 3 months but I’ve only had to charge them twice so brillia
I was worried when I first purchased them on the nixed reviews but defiantly worth the buy! I wear mine 4-5 times a week for 1.5-2 hours each time and the battery last such a long time! They are extremely comfortable, snug to head – perfect for me as I like the fitting side of them, the material of the actual parts that sit on your ears is easy to clean and dry off after a sweaty session! Great priced for decent comfort and good quality sounds. I live in mine!
Great Product & Amazing Customer Service
These headphones are fantastic, and when I had an issue with a piece of the headphone coming loose the team has no problem sending me a new pair under the warranty.
Great headphones at a cheap price, and amazing customer service.
A Great Product!!
I’ve never had a wireless headset before but I’m glad I chose this product. It’s very comfortable, flexible and does exactly what it says on the ti
Great value
For the price paid (40) these are pretty hard to beat! Sound and noise cancellation better than expected, and battery life is good.
Great headphones 🎧
Affordable, comfortable, clear cut sound and superb noise cancellation…
However, I personally found the noise cancellation extreme and too much. I got disoriented and dizzy .
My Dad loves them though . Thinks theyre percent worth every penny.
Good value
I used to work alone in our office but now I share with my partner. To begin with, I struggled with the distraction when he had a call or zoom meeting – these headphones are the perfect solution: now I just slip them on and can happily get on with my work.
Excellent product!
I am well pleased with the item. Deep bass, natural mid-ranges and crisp clear high trebles. Robust built material with extra soft earpads. Great product!
Comfiest headphones!
Very happy with my new headphones, noise cancellation is excellent, the sound is great and they are the most comfy headphones I’ve ever had.
Great sound quality
Great value noise cancelling headphones.Tried and tested on a long haul flight, exercise routine and general ipad/phone watching = 10/10. Very comfortable to wear. Would recommend
Comfy, great sound and long battery life
Been using these headphones to listen to podcasts on daily walks for a couple of months now and really pleased with them. They’re very comfy and the battery life is phenomenally good. I don’t tend to use the noise cancelling function, but the over the ear cuffs provide a massive amount of noise cancelling in themselves – they almost completely block out wind noise which was an issue with my in ear headphones.
Armed with a limited budget I bought these to replace my much loved and now dead Skullcandy headphones.
As these were a snip at 35, I wasn’t expecting much, but boy was I wrong. For a start, the headphones fit on my ears snugly and are comfortable to wear. Listening to music the songs are crisp and clear, and the bass is banging. I haven’t put them on full volume but I cranked it up to a bearable level and there was no sound distortion or ‘tinnyness’.
I love my music and I have quite varied tastes. From Tom Jones to Eminem..to drum and bass sound from Pendulum- these headphones are perfect and deliver a great bass sound. It just goes to show you don’t have to spend a fortune on these premium brands to get good sounding headphones.
Finally, I can honestly say I have purchased many products by Anker, and I consider them to be excellent, well made and reliable. And did I mention the 40 hrs battery life on these? Happy customer here
Excellent headphones
Very happy with these. The sound quality is excellent and they are VERY comfy.
Only slight issues I have is theres no USB C charging option (its 2022 ffs), and the noise cancelling can make your ears feel a bit odd after a while. Its hard to explain, but its like theres noise but no noise. I know thats probably related to how they work, but still annoying
Very impressed
Got on prime day and have to be the best valued headphones for 35. Got them for my son (5) and they fit him well. I would also personally use them but already have better buy way more expensive ones. Great value
great noise cancellation and long battery life!
i bought these headphones because i deal with sensory issues and needed noise cancellation. i was worried that because they were so inexpensive, they wouldn’t work. but they work really well!! they block loud noises, the sound quality is excellent, and the battery life is long!
Value for money
For the average user these headphones provide excellent sound quality, minimal (but present) hissing during noise cancellation and have a truly admiral battery life. I’ve used them as my bumbling around the house headphones for a while now and they serve that purpose very well. They do not however block out sudden sharp or irregular noises and the ear cups are slightly heavy for prolonged use.
Good value headphones
Good solid set of over ear headphones at a good price. Sound quality is good, comfort level is good, noise cancellation isn’t the best, but it’s more than acceptable for my purposes, and for the cost of these headphones, it’s good. The battery life is stunningly good compared to other ANC headphones at this price range. One charge lasts almost twice as long as a charge on another set I own with the exact same usage. The ear cups are slightly smaller than I would like for my own purposes, but this is more to do with the size of my ears (big) than the design. They’d make excellent over ear headphones for anyone with smaller ears or kids.
Amazing pair of headphones
Sound quality is fantastic as expected from Anker products. I have earbuds from the same brand and they are equally good. These headphones are super comfortable with ample battery power for those long journeys. Noise cancellation is good even within trains and planes. Build and sound quality is justified by the price. Good for those teams calls too.
Brilliant value for money
Have been using these for 3 years now on a near-daily basis and they’ve held up tremendously.
I’m sure they won’t get top marks from proper audiophiles, but they sound great to me with decent clarity and a punchy low end; and they don’t seem to have lost any quality over time. The only niggle is that intermittently they have a 0.5-1.0 second delay on certain apps.
Fantastic sound for a reasonable price!
I normally purchase Philips clip-on headphones for work use, which a decent quality, cheap and practical. However on this occasion, I thought I’d go for something with a bit more to it. Have to say, these are amazing for the price. The noise cancellation is very effective, but the sound range is simply astounding. Highly recommended.
Amazing sound quality, poor build quality, Amazing after sale service!
State Update: THEY RESPONDED!
I have contacted Anker for support on the issue, and they have issued replacements for both orders!
Extremely happy with the service, especially since they offer a warranty of up to 18 months on these headphones!
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I bought two of these last year as the sound quality is very good. However, my partner’s and mine have cracked and broken from the same location. Seems like a very poor build quality or a deficit. I will try to contact the seller to check if can get replacement parts though I don’t think they will.
Fantastic headphones at this price
I’m working from home and recently had builders in doing some work. Got these after using normal headphones for a couple of weeks because the noise was really distracting.
The noise cancellation is pretty good. I can’t compare with more expensive ones as I’ve not tried them but my wife has snuck up on me a few times and they’ve definitely blocked most of the banging and crashing so I can work (I do have music on but even without you can tell).
Sound quality also seems fine but I’m connecting to my Echo over bluetooth so I’m hardly expecting super high quality. It’s good enough for background music while I work.
They are pretty comfy, they are quit large though, I have them unexpanded and they only just fit my (what I think is a) normal sized head.
I paid about half the price of other head phones in a similar bracket, so I’m really happy.
Fantastic headphones and great value
Absolutely brilliant product! Stylish wireless, noise cancelling headphones. Bought a few Anker products and have never been disappointed. These are perfect for travelling or the daily commute to drown out the noise and listen to music and watch movies undisturbed. Very clear sound and great for calls too. Connect effortlessly with your phone or other devices. Works well with the Google assistant too. Lightweight, comfortable and very well made. Foldable and compact and comes with a drawstring bag for storage, plus micro USB charging cable and an auxiliary cable so you have the option to plug them into your phone etc too. Battery is very good as well and they charge quickly. I highly recommend them.
Best Student Buy
Had these headphones for about a year now and I use them everyday. They are really comfy to wear and completely cover my ears. When on a normal voume, there is little/no noise bleed. The battery life is good and, if you are on low battery, they charge quickly which is useful. When it comes to the noise cancelling properties, I think that the surrounding noise is reduced simply by the foam enclosing the ear and not much by the noise cancelling technology and so have taken one star for this as you can still hear some of your surroundings in a slightly louder environment. Sound quality is good for the work I do as don’t need anything special. Overall, great student buy and robust- I’ve had no issues with them this year and would recommend them!
Brilliant value for money
Noise cancellation is very good and they are comfortable. I must add that the service received directly from Anker Soundcore was beyond brilliant.
Okay
Comfort is great. This is the first pair of headphones that I can wear for hours without needing to readjust.
Sound quality isn’t the best. I have the feeling that the tuning is off. Turning the volume up helps a bit but it quickly leads to an irritation similar to when you hear high frequency sounds. But overall the sound quality isn’t terrible at all.
Noise cancellation could be better. The main reason I wanted headphones was to block out people’s voices but these aren’t really the best. I’d say it gives 50% noise cancellation at most without sound, and about 80% with sound on a manageable level.
Battery life is amazing. It lasts a few days before needing to be charged again.
It doesn’t respond well to a lot of vibration. It does this weird fluttering sound which makes me believe that they won’t work well on runs.
Overall, very good for the price, but it doesn’t fully satisfy my noise cancellation and sound quality needs.
Would of give them 5 stars overall but for 1 major issue..
I bought these as a replacement for a pair that were a little 2 small on my ears and because I stream needed bigger ones.
The only problem is I also bought them because they’re Bluetooth, which would also make it easier whilst streaming, except for some reason the Bluetooth function doesn’t work on streamlabs, so they need to be plugged in.
The actual sound and noise cancelling features are great and they’re also much more comfortable than my last ones.
(Another Sidenote) Just to be clear, the Bluetooth function DOES work, just NOT when you open up the streamlabs software, which is kind of annoying, as it defeats one of the key reasons I bought these.
Hence the reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5..
These headphones are perfect for day to day usage, the sound cancelling is excellent and the quality is more than enough for travelling, the gym and general use. One of the headphones did snap after a few months however Anker support were very good and responsive, sending over a replacement in just a few days.
One thing I do wish to see in future products is auto-turn off when idle, as these will run until the battery dies otherwise. Speaking of which, the battery does last a fair bit, I’ve used them regularly without needing to charge for approximately a week at a time.
For me, Anker is the go-to for entry level equipment and I’m never disappointed.
Bargai
It automatically connect’s to my flac ‘walkman’ via Bluetooth. However this produces a garbled signal. By disconnecting my ‘walkman’ and reconnecting it gives a stable Bluetooth signal. I can also imagine that they can break/crack if not looked after.
The sound quality is excellent, bass boost is great, NC works well. For under 40 these are a bargain.
Love them
For headphones from the ‘cheaper’ end of the range I have to say these are brilliant. Connected easily, charged quickly, and are light, comfortable, and stay in place without pinching, or leaving you with the ‘phantom’ headphone sensation after taking them off. I use for listening to podcasts and music whilst working, or when making dinner so nothing major but the quality for the price is excellent. Very happy.
I don't normally write reviews
These are just too damn good I have to review them, something I rarely do. I make my own music normally on a pair of 1,400 pair of focals clears. This has made my standards extremely high, but anker for a mere 50 deliver an exceptional product here with the sound quality being seriously impressive. Very full sou d which just hugs your senses. I won’t use any other headphones for travelling or walking other than these ever again probably.
Great Sound
You cant go wrong with ANKER. I am a music lover and an instrument player and have tried out all kinds of products though the years and I can say the Anker Q20 is an amazing pair of headphones. For its price, its a steal. Go for it !
Great quality and good value
Noise cancelling isn’t greater but better than nothing and the sound quality and battery are great for the price
Absolutely amazing
Took them across seas on 3 planes and 2 ships, while they were on with ANC on, I simply could not hear a thing except the crisp sound that comes out of the cups. Throughout that 45+ hour journey they stayed on and and only ran out of battery 5 mins away from home. Only negative is they are micro usb, would have been nice for them to be usbc but doesn’t really matter. The aux jack is also really useful and I managed to plug it into my airplane port and listen to the on flight movies through then and the quality didn’t change but the anc turns off. Great produc
What equipment at a great price
Very comfy, great noise cancellation sounds is good but not as good as other more expensive pairs. Overall very happy with them.
Impressive sound but...
They look and feel much cheaper than my last 50 pair of haedphones, but I was plesently suprise by the sound quilty. I would say they only just cover my ears, I guess if your ears are large like mine it could be worth investing in the slightly more expenise ones. I think Im happy with mine as I wear tem in bed and dont really need a 100 pair for now. They connect really easily to your cosen devise, just deconnect to then pair with another device. They seem to power off after a time with no use which is another bonus (saves battrey). They are very bass heavy so ypou can play around with base boost, and also use the NR mode that effects the bass.
Great Headphones!
I remember the first time I tried it, I was gobsmaked how well it cancels the noise around I was in a work office and nearly started panicking because I could barely hear anything…
Then I play some music through and I decided I had to have a set for myself (colleague headset).
It doesn’t matter if you are playing Classical music, Heavy metal, Hardcore, Hardstyle, Psytrance.. it is absolutely excepcional!
Battery life is great at least for now it holds for a long time.
For 35… The best you will buy! (Bought on prime Day price before was about 45-50)
Cannot use noise cancellation in wired mode!
Best cans I’ve ever used at a great price. Sound is excellent.
Don’t waste your time with the instructions about downloading an app, the app doesn’t work with this model, but that doesn’t matter as far as I can tell.
The most important thing to know is the noise cancellation doesn’t work in wired mode, so it won’t work whist connected to in flight entertainment systems, although the cans themselves isolate a lot of outside noise due to good padding. Although this is annoying and unnecessary, it’s still great value, good performance headphones.
Microphone performs well, good for using language apps like Duolingo with a bit of background noise.
Very comfortable! Good quality headphones for the price
For the price these are very good! Bought them to watch a movie on a flight. The noise cancelling function is better than most headphones I’ve had in the past.
But for me the comfort was amazing. No ear ache at all that you often get with other headphones when using for a longer period of time.
Would recommend!
I’ve used these headphones extensively every day since they were delivered & to say I’m astounded at how good they are is an understatement. For the price I paid (37.99) you won’t get a better pair of over ear wireless headphones, let alone a pair with active noise cancellation which is exceptional. I’ve had so many problems with noise from my neighbours around me, since I got these it’s been bliss I can’t hear no noise disturbance at all. Audio quality is outstanding & you will get a nice surprise if you turn off noise cancelling listening to music if you like bass. Bass is great with noise cancelling on, but if you turn it off these headphones are thumping bass like nothing I’ve ever heard before from a pair of headphones.
If you’re looking for the best pair of wireless headphones for the cheapest cost you can stop your search because you’ve just found them. I’ve owned a pair of Sony XM4’s & these beat them hands down in terms of being louder, music has more definition & bass for a fraction of the price.
Great value-for-money
I thought I’d have to spend a lot more than this but these headphones are great value-for-money.
I wear them for large portions of my working day both working from home and in a busy office. The noise cancellation is good, the battery length and the bluetooth range are amazing. Every few days I charge them over lunch if they announce “battery low” upon switching on that morning. The bluetooth worked from tens of metres away and only started dropping out when I went to another floor!
Without an arm for the mic, I was worried about the sound quality but colleagues have all said my voice is clear and background noise is less noticeable.
Really pleased with the purchase.
Wow! These blow the Sony XM series out of the park
I bought a set of Sony 1000 XM4s after reading a lot of reviews, but I really wasn’t that impressed. Yes the noise cancellation is good, but the sound is pretty awful: over-boosted bass and very muddy mid range. I bought these on a whim to do a side-by-side test and they are just so much better. The sound quality straight out of the box is fantastic. The bass is just right and very punchy – a buff rather than the phuff I got from the Sony’s. On top of that, the noise cancellation is excellent. Oh, and they are less than a quarter of the price.
You don’t get the app etc that the Sony’s have, but since all the buttons you really need are on the headset, for me, that’s a bonus. They are comfortable too. Definitely recommend these. I sent the Sony’s back..
Just buy them!
I have never heard about this brand before. Bought purely because I didn’t had much money to spend on expensive ones. They over acceded all my expectations. They are sooooo gooood. I was literally shocked. When I put them on for the first time all I said is wow wow wow. Definitely get them! There is only one disadvantage but nothing to do with the quality. I wanted to used them for gym and my runs. If you do dynamic workouts they will fall off. They are ok for weight lifting but if you do something very active they a bit too bulky. But as I mean roomed before the quality is so incredibly brilliant that I would highly recommend.
battery life and pairing excellent, just a charging flaw
Review below is my initial review as 5 stars but altered as they turn on but fail to charge any more at 3.5 months after purchase with light use so were totally broken. I contacted Anker and had a free replacement on warranty through their website.
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Anker products seem well designed with good quality control. These don’t fall off while running even if they get a bit hot. Noise cancelling is good in aircraft and in reducing road noise as a passenger. You still hear muffled sounds of other noises that are less constant, maybe the headphone can’t react quickly enough to these. These are well priced though and noise cancelling is good enough. Sound quality is good, I wish the volume went slightly higher but they’re not quiet. easy to turn on/off, adjust volume from headset, battery life is excellent, easy to charge.
How are these headphones this price?
Seriously, sub 40 for these is amazing.
I bought them to listen to varying different music. My daughters have the TV on constantly and really loud. These drown their TV right out to almost nothing.
I have used them on and off for around 3 weeks now. Battery lasts a really long time. Noise Cancelling is amazing (these are my first NC Headphones). Price is amazing. They actually fit my head and ears really well.
Fully recommend them.
**UPDATE**
I bought a Avantree DG45 to pair the Headphones to my Desktop PC using Windows 11 and they work a treat. Find the Bluetooth product on Amazon for around 12 I think. *Note* follow the driver installation instructions precisely on Avantree’s website.
I needed sound cancelling headphones as I suffer with Misophonia, becoming worse over the last 6 months. I wanted something that is of decent quality and inexpensive, so immediately thought of Anker having previously purchased other products of theirs in the past.
They reduce environmental sound quite well and very comfortable to wear. My dogs unbearable persistant slopping and licking noise is muted out completely and other irritating annoying frustrating sounds of people eating and slurping are gone! Not to mention the flipping noise coming from the frigging neighbours! It doesnt mute out completely, but does take that nerve twitching edge off whilst being very comfortable to wear and soft on the ole ears.
Being one that isnt up on modern tech, I found these easy as anything to connect to Bluetooth. The sound from my phone playing music from Youtube is exceptional! I never knew the quality could be this great from my phone, but the Q20s bring it all to life with amazing full sound. As they did connecting to my smart tv as well with no interference noise or anything other than pure sound whilst watching tv without worrying if im waking up anyone else in the house during the middle of the night.
I cannot recommend these high enough if you are looking for a cheaper but still effective set of headphones for noise cancelling and general enjoyment of audio. The Anker Soundcore Q20s really hit the spot without crippling your bank balance and helping with those unbearable noises attacking your eardrums every minute of every day!
I bought these for my teenage son, and for about 4 months he was very happy with them.
But then one arm started developing a crack, and eventually broke – I am confident he did nothing unusual to cause this crack.
Looking at any possible return process via Amazon or Anker didn’t look promising.
In frustration I left a one-star review here – see original review below.
But a little while after leaving that review Anker contacted me via Amazon messaging, saying that this problem is not normal, and offering a replacement set.
The replacement set has now arrived, and my son has tried them and is happy with them again.
Hopefully the original problem was just a rare occurrence, and the new set will not suffer the same problem.
I am changing my review from one-star to four-star, as I am much happier now, though the situation isn’t quite as good as if the problem had never happened.
I am much more likely to order again from Anker in the future, given how they have handled this problem.
N.B. Anker did not make any request that I change my review, this is just something I have decided to do myself, as I think it is good to encourage companies to resolve customer issues. It’s a pity it took a bad review to get resolution, rather than a more standard returns process, but I am still grateful.
——–Original one-star review below———-
One side of these started cracking after my teenage son had used them for about 4 months.
I have tried using superglue and tape to repair, but they don’t look great now.
In theory they come with an 18 month warranty, but I can’t see any way to do this via Amazon, and the anker website isn’t very helpful either, and I suspect they would claim misuse, which isn’t the case.
Searching online it seems other people have had similar issues with one arm cracking after a small amount of use.
I think Anker should have made the arms stronger.
Will buy another brand next time.
Excellent value
These headphones sit at the top end of the budget price range and they are better quality than most at this budget level. The build quality is good, the connectivity is simple (I have connected them to an iPad and a MacBook) and the sound quality is decent.
The battery lasts a long time between charges (the spoken voice will give you an indication when you connect) with the claimed 60 hours seems plausible to me although it’s probably less with noise cancelling on. The noise cancelling is effective and I have used these headphones in a busy office to good effect.
Noise cancelling is on by default when you connect which at first I didn’t like (I prefer it to be off until I specifically want to use it) but this bothers me much less these days and I tend to just keep it on. The headphones are also pretty comfortable and easy to collapse for transportation.
Overall it’s hard to fault these headphones at the price and if you can grab them at around the 40 price point they are a steal.
Great noise cancellation, good build quality, sound hampered by too much bass
I bought these to replace Tribit’s Xfree Go headphones (model IC-BTH70) which sounded fantastic but the build quality was terrible – the headband formed hairline cracks to the point where it fractured completely rendering them unusable after just 2 years. I couldn’t justify replacing them with a new pair of Tribit after contacting the company and them telling me the build of the new versions was the same.
These were well reviewed. They don’t sound as good as the Tribits – way too bassy – but they are built to last with a reinforced headband that doesn’t look likely to snap. Not too bad though. What surprised me was the noise cancelling. I was completely unaware that while I was listening with them my neighbour was playing bass heavy music that was reverberating through my walls until I took them off. Impressed.
So good headphones if you want something that might last longer than a couple of years of regular use and has good noise cancelling. Not the best sound for the price point, for me that goes to the Tribit Xfree Go, but be warned – the Tribits won’t last long if you use them often.
The reviews are full of people with unrealistic expectations for a 50 (or often cheaper through sale) pair of over ear bluetooth headphones. Some people seem to be expecting top quality audio with the bells and whistles for 50, it isn’t going to happen people.
Now for my own review, I personally love these headphones.
The Noise cancelling is actually fantastic, I didn’t realise how good it was until I was in the office at work recently after a long spell away, it’s a general office with lots of ambient noise and chit chat, as soon as i put these on and started playing my audiobook the external noise just wasn’t there.
The headphones are comfortable with a good range of adjustment for head size and fold well and are easy to stow and transport. I do have to mention that the plastic casing on mine on either side above the ‘L’ and ‘R’ letters has cracked, though I think this is superficial and hasn’t caused any issues yet, though it must have happened pretty easily.
Holds charge for a good amount of time and I’ve found that it charges up in very good time.
The sound quality is where you feel the price point. It isn’t bad by any stretch but if you’re experiencing the rich sound of a 200+ set of headphones then you’re being unrealistic and you won’t find it here. I’ve used them for audiobooks and podcasts mostly but do also use them for music sometimes at the gym. Depending on the song it can sound a bit washed out and it’s more noticeable if you listen to a song on these headphones then listen to it on a home set up. For the purpose though and the price the sound is perfectly acceptable.
Anker has hit really good notes for me with these headphones, they’re very cheap (especially for over ear wireless headphones) but aren’t devoid of quality. For me they’re everything I wanted and have served me really well thus far.
UPDATE JUNE 2022 – Unfortunately I have to downgrade the rating of these headphones to a 2 star as the crack that emerged on the casing turned into a much bigger problem and one of the ears of the headphones became complete detached with no way to repair it. Ordered these November 2021 so they lasted 7 months which isn’t acceptable even for a cheap pair of headphones.
It’s a real shame as they seemed very solid but unfortunately it seems the build quality is very poor.
FURTHER UPDATE JUNE 2022 – These headphones come with an 18 month guarantee and as such I went through Anker’s RMA process to look into obtaining a replacement or refund. The experience doing this was very straight forward and the customer support I received was fantastic.
After logging a ticket and submitting pictures of damage I was informed a replacement would be sent and this arrived promptly. Replacement item wasn’t damaged and I now have a new pair to replace my defective ones.
Back to a 4 star review as build quality is suspect but overall very happy.
Very good headphones with few issues.
I have used these headphones non-stop for over a month and here’s what I’ve noticed:
The headphones best features are how fast it charges and the noise suppression. It normally takes 1 hour of charge and I’m set for the next 3 or so days. The noise suppression feature is really good, however, when gaming I prefer to use a wire to remove any audio delay (which these headphones do have a small amount of) and if using a wire with noise suppression there’s an irritating static noise sometimes. Also when noise suppression is off I can hear my voice really loud and it’s awful making me wonder why there is a button for turning it off.
The bass boost feature is very good and I rarely have it off, I listen to an eclectic range of music and I almost always have bass boost on.
When on a call there is no issues.
The range of these headphones are very good although will likely differ depending on the Bluetooth receiver.
Due to these the price is reasonable and I would say worth it.
I have dropped them a few times (onto carpet) and there hasn’t been any damages so far so seems reasonable durability.
Overall if you want a good pair of wireless headphones these are good for journeys, have a long battery, great for music, aren’t great but work for gaming and have a reasonable price and all-round good features then these headphones will do well.
Ordered twice and returned twice, updated on this review, issue has been sort it out. Satisfied.
Update on previous review:
Iam really impressed by customer service and care in this company, never expected to be contacted and asked about the reason of my old review and what has gone wrong with the product. Company clearly care about their reputation and customers. Company decided to send me new headphone to make sure Iam satisfied with their product and overcome the previous issues:
My review as overall experience with this company:
-Customer Care: 10/10.
-Sound Quality: is great, tested with 80% volume and really nice, 10/10.
-Noise Cancelling: works perfectly in this new headphone, you will never get this feature with this price so comfortably I would say: 10/10.
-Padding: This time is perfectly padded, even better in term of padding than other famous brands (photo of the headphones padding attached).
As conclusion, decent budget headphone with so many features, really nice design and value for the money.
That is my overall experience with this product and company if you wish to read.
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Old Review:
First time, I ordered the headphones, everything was fine apart of the padding which was irregular and looked poor, but sound quality and noise cancelling were good for the price, so return it and reordered hopping in the second time things will look better. In the second time, padding and sound quality were okie, but noise cancellation button does not work properly so always in the noise cancellation mode.
That is my review.
20 months in and the protein pad is disintegrating
I tried several ANC over ears at the time of purchase looking for best and most comfortable fit, these were very comfortable, the padding was soft and overall quite light on the head.
I used these 4 days a week for 10 hours at a time for the 20 months without complaint then the pads began to disintegrate.
I asked Anker if there was anything they could do, but I was over the 18 months that they’d usually do something about, and they have no replacements to sell me despite the UK’s Right To Repair laws.
I was going to look for third party replacements from China, but I think the noise generated from the ANC has gotten louder over time, causing my ears to ring after a day’s use, so it’s time to get new ones.
So, perfectly fine, if not good, for 20 months of heavy use, but that was the extent of the unit’s lifetime for me.
Great value, good sound quality.
I have used these Q20s both wired and Bluetooth, with NC on and off listening to several sources and compared them to Sony WH1000xm3 a cheap pair of Skullcandy Uproar Wireless (20-30) and old Sennheiser HD518s (were about 150 when new).
Sound quality is good overall (NC is essential or they sound very anaemic). Instruments are not as well separated as the Sonys, bass is not as convincing as the Senns and the soundstage is not as convincing as either. The least impressive part is the upper mid – there is a forwardness and slight hardness to the sound that becomes a little relentless over time. Better in all areas than the Skullcandy and in the context of their price, a good result.
Comfort – very good, reasonably light, fit well and make a good audio seal. I have used them when cycling on a turbo trainer and the noise cancellation means I can listen to music at low volume when cycling hard – very impressive. They also stay rooted to my head.
Battery life/connectivity – superb battery life, hardly ever need recharging. Very easy to pair and adjust volume/skip tracks. They don’t have the Sony’s bells and whistles (touch controls, individual automatic parameter adjustment for each wearer) but they are less than 1/3 of the price.
Conclusion – for around 50 they provide good sound and noise cancellation for the price. Hard to beat for value.
Noise cancellation not very good in windy environments
Very happy with the sound quality, noise isolation & battery life of these headphones.
Headline says it all about the only negative – if you are wearing them with active noise cancellation on a windy street, you will get amplified wind noises – best to turn it off then.
Call quality – Reports from call recipients state that they could hear me very well with no issues at all, so all good on that score.
The isolation + cancellation technology is most excellent at removing ambient noise:
* On the bus or subway? You are in your own little bubble of [podcast/calm/music].
* In the supermarket? No more are you assaulted with cheesy xmas music or dreary elevator music!
* Sat at home? You can’t hear the your partner shouting for a cuppa!
* Crossing the road? You can’t hear the oncoming traffic!!!
Yeah, to be honest, wearing them on the street does require you to pay more visual attention to your surroundings when traversing roads, etc. as you really are isolated from your immediate environment, but they really are very good headphones!
Also: Tested with bluetooth dongle on Linux Mint. You will have problems with calls etc, as you will have to switch between high-quality protocol for the headphones (music, etc), and low-quality for the calls, etc. Easier to use a USB headset for calls in this context, and keep these for music.
Can not deal with wind! the ANC literally amplifies it!
These are comfortable, however the clamping force should be a little stronger IMHO to make a better seal on the ear cups. The biggest letdown for these pretty decent (at the price point) ANC headphones is their inability to deal with wind, the ANC is useless in a slightly windy environment it amplifies it!
I have never experienced this before, even on cheaper headsets is it a software bug I have no idea, sadly with no soundcore app integration if it is there will be no firmware fix for it.
If you want a cheap, no frills ANC headset for use indoors, you will not be disappointed!
However! Do not listen to the reviews saying the ANC is on par with Bose and Sony, either the people making these reviews have never actually used either or there is seriously something wrong with their hearing! The ANC is not even close, but it is usable!
Ok, so, got 4 different in ear ‘phone bud sets. My Bose have the best sound, but the fit is rubbish. Recently, all 4 sets have been causing a reaction to my skin in my ear that itches really annoyingly.
So, I’ve been looking for a half decent set of on ear, noise cancelling, Bluetooth headphones. I bought a set for 22 they were atrociousI mean, the sound offended my ears. Bought a pair of on-ear sport ‘phones, lightweight with a rear neck bar. They sounded alright, but they kept sliding off my ears.
I sent both sets back to Amazon, got my credit, and then did a bit of comparison reading, and expert reviews from independent websites.
This pair rated excellent value with great features.
I’ve used them all day. No sweaty ears , the pads are like magic foam, fit very neatly, and even the headband is cushioned.
The noise cancelling feature is , frankly, incredible. It doesn’t allo anything but the very loudest noises through. The bass is robust and wraparound strong without crushing or battering your eardrums.
The mid range is like ice cool watercrystal and refreshing. The high range is like ringing a bell the resonance is tingling.
From London Calling, to adagio for strings, Pink floyd to Japan and Slipknot I tested it all.
Are you still here?
Why aren’t you paying for your own pair?
Trust me, you’ll love them.
Typically Anke
I love Anker products so couldn’t resist buying these during Prime Day, for 35.
The sound is crisp and clear for the most part (only problem is very occasional crackle in Bluetooth mode, but it’s very rare), and the battery is immense! I can’t remember the claims of battery life on the advert exactly, but it exceeds it by quite a margin.
The bass, like all Anker products now, is hardcore. I’ve noticed a lot of reviews saying it’s too much, but personally I feel it’s just right, as I love bass. However, I do believe the bass overshadows other frequencies a little. Again, personally that doesn’t bother me too much, but if you’ve got a better ear for these things or you’re using it in a more professional setting, then it might be a deal breaker.
Whilst we’re on the subject, the bass boosting function (activated by a button on the headphones) isn’t as impressive as I had hoped for. There is a slight difference, but no where near enough for a boost function, in my opinion.
Noise cancellation works and is quite impressive. It doesn’t completely get rid of outside noise, but seems to get rid of most. I’ve also had the opportunity to test the noise leakage and considering these headphones are louder than most over-ear headphones, there isn’t much noise leakage even at full volume. Still, wouldn’t be listening on full volume on public transport, for example.
The overall feel of them is quite nice. When I first took them out of the box, I thought, ‘these feel cheap’. They do, but only because of how lightweight they are, which can only be a good thing as it means they’re not uncomfortable to wear. That being said, wearing them for 3+ hours does start to be a little hot and uncomfortable, but nothing that can’t be handled.
Overall, they’re very well made and I’d recommend them. Perhaps if I bought them at full price, I wouldn’t have been so happy, as for 50 I’d expect a little more (not too much more though), but for the reduced price, I’m very pleased I snapped them up.
A Musical Journey of delight and enjoyme
Great headphones good sound detail and seems to be well made .As I write this review Iam listening with above item. .
They go adequately loud and well balanced sound.The Bluetooth seems ok no problems to report so far.Controls ar on these phones easy to use .A nice touch when you are looking for left/ right on headphones it’s clearly marked on inside of ear cup in large written letters .
Sound quality is good ok you can do better but you will pay several hundred pounds more .The sound core Q20 do the job and are comfortable.They are a bargain at price of 50.Listening with a Sony NW A105 personal Hi Res player Sony’s Walkman .
The two devices gel nicely and have no cause for complaint ! Ok Instructions could be better but that’s the standard now you have to go online etc .
The headphones are not to big and keep things in retrospective of not being to vulgar in size .I would say medium to large for to size it up.At moment these cans have be run in so should sound even better eventually . Summary on a tight budget hears your answer the Q20 will puts it marquee in the limelight. One to consider.
For budget headphones, these are very good. The bass is punchy with the mids and top ends more than acceptable. The noise cancellation is good but I could detect a fluttering sound at lower volumes. It has bass up technology but it’s pointless. There’s more than enough bass as it is. Turning on the ‘bass up’ makes it sound ridiculous, way too much bass. The Bluetooth connectivity is more than adequate and the microphones are very clear when using the phone.
First up: I bought these whilst they were on special offer, at about 35, so I’m reviewing them on that basis. I also haven’t had them that long so can’t comment on their longevity.
I had a pair of Sony WH1000XM4s for a while before these, but sold them because I just wasn’t using them enough to justify the cost of them. It did mean my expectations where set pretty high for these though!
Overall, I’m really happy with the Ankers. Sure, they’re short of the Sonys in pretty much every way, but the Sonys cost very nearly ten times as much, and they definitely aren’t ten times as good!
I use them exclusively with my phone. When I first got them I was a bit disappointed with the sound quality – it seemed rather lacking in the mid range. But I got a different music player app with a better equaliser, and it was easily fixed.
Noise cancellation is pretty good – definitely not as good as the Sonys, with more noticable white noise (although still not much) and slightly more noise coming through. However, I always found the Sony’s NC cause a weird feeling of “pressure” in my ears (hard to describe) that these don’t – perhaps because the NC effect is less pronounced.
Build quality seems decent – again definitely not as good, but you would expect that. Crucially I find them really comfortable. The pads are soft and fit well around the ear and I can wear them for a couple of hours, no problem. They don’t look as flash as the Sonys of course, but they are good enough to not look really cheap.
Battery life seems good – I only charge them every couple of weeks. I’d guess I must get at least 20 hours out of each charge, probably more.
Overall, as long as they last a couple of years, I’m really happy with them.
TLDR; Unless you are an audiophile (a person who is especially interested in high-fidelity sound reproduction) buy these!
I’m no audiophile, but I was pleasantly surprised by the clarity of these headphones. The treble, the mids and the bass are all very balanced. Speech sounds great, music is fantastic and for gaming these headphones are more than adequate. They have an exceptional range (compared to BT 4.0 ones).
With BT 4.0 headphones if I walked much more than about 6 ft (2m) away from my PC with a wall in between, the sound would drop out and skip.
On the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 BT 5.0 headphones I can quite easily go downstairs, in fact anywhere within my terraced house (town house for the US people) and there is absolutely no drop out whatsoever!
They are reasonably comfortable on the ears. Long time wearers mileage may vary.
You can use these with the headphone lead provided and you do not need to have them turned on, but there is no ANC. My personal experience was that the volume went louder this way, but as there was no ANC using this method of connection so if that is critical to your use you will need to use them wirelessly, thus using the battery.
The noise cancellation works extremely well in a home environment. It dulls most low level continuous sounds, but will not hide loud human voices or intermittent higher pitched harsh sounds (like machinery, sirens, car horns)
Pros:
Inexpensive
* Bluetooth 5.0 means great range (assuming you have a BT 5.0 transmitter)
* Sound clarity is very good, in fact exceptional for the price. (Not BOSE or B&O quality, but worthy of headphones 3+ times the price)
* Headphone lead provided and charge cable
* Active noise cancelling works very well
* Battery life seems good, as does charging time.
* You don’t need to power them on in wired mode, saving battery
* Inconspicuous logos and look much more expensive.
* Top volume setting is reasonable without blasting your eardrums out, but still sufficient to work as extra noise isolation! (It goes slightly higher with ANC turned off and even higher when in wired mode)
* They do hinge and fold flat-ish (as can be seen in the photo on the Accessories part of the manufacturers product description)
* All in all, the best set of headphones I’ve ever owned AND they’re without wires!
Cons:
* ANC is not activated in wired mode – but you are not using power. (I haven’t tried powering them up wired)
* To get the best out of these headphones, you need a Bluetooth 5.x capable transmitter/dongle (most sold on Amazon are BT 4.x). However they are relatively inexpensive to buy (less than 10) and quite easy to find.
* ANC is enabled by default (this may be a Pro for some, but does mean if you don’t want it you have to turn it off with the button).
* Volume may not be as high as some would like (if you are one of those people that doesn’t care if people around you to are able to hear what you are listening too!) It is restricted by the manufacturer to around 95dB as it states at the bottom of the manufacturers product description.
Overall:
Would I recommend them? Absolutely
Would I buy them again? Absolutely yes.
Would I recommend other Anker products? Yes. Purchased before, never had a problem.
Should you buy these headphones? That’s your choice. Read a few more reviews and then decide.
Update 10/APR/21 – Make sure to have the correct device selected if you use these with Windows 10 – Headphones (Soundcore Life Q20 Stereo), NOT Headset (Soundcore Life Q20 Hands-free AG Audio)
The Headphones one is the what you want.
Would I change my original review?: No
What rating would it be now?: Still a 5
Would you still recommend buying them?: Yes. Great over ear headphones for a reasonable price with really good ANC and decent sound quality.
Bought these so I don’t have to hear the kids fighting over the Xbox anymore! And they do work, to a degree. Noise cancelling seems to block a lot of the deep, bassy background sounds out from the outside world but voices and similar sounds can still be heard but at a much reduced level.
The headphones are big and so is my head! They’re the first pair I’ve ever had that I can use without adjusting. Build quality is plastic but of a high quality and they seem sturdy enough. The ear holes in the cups seem just big enough for me. They can make my left ear ache if I don’t position the cups properly, though.
I keep them in the supplied pouch which will keep them clean but I wouldn’t throw them in my bag without a hard case for more protection.
All in all another quality pair of headphones from Anker!
Good sound, good anc, bad audio latency
This is my 2nd pair of bluetooth headphones, 1st one were some mpow ones which were a little small so I returned them. I got these during prime day for 36, I now realised they may have been discounted as it’s replacement, the Q30’s has just come out. However I don’t intend on paying twice it’s amount for the next model and I’m reasonably happy with these. The sound quality is an improvement over the mpow ones, bass is more obvious, and the noise cancellation is good. I use these for my projector with a firestick, as the title states you will notice an audio lag with this setup, possibly 0.5 secs which is not great, however I can no longer hear the constant whirling of the projector fan which is a plus. I think I’ll stick with these as I enjoy the sound and the anc which I believe is very good for this price.
Something to note is that I don’t take these outdoors so I have yet to have the anc crackling issue which these phones ar notorious for.
Very nice phones, excellent value.
Connections to my devices (android, iOS, windows, linux) are all solid even at distance, but with a caveat. When connected to two devices, if i wander out of range of one, it sometimes de-activates the one I’m actually using (eg listening to music on phone, connected to laptop for online meetings, wander away from laptop, laptop disconnects and phone de-activates).
AAC makes much more of a (positive) difference than i expected and the NC mostly works very well (some artifacts during percussive external noises). All in all the sound is great. Don’t use the extra bass, imho; not required and muddies the sound.
The ‘phones are very comfortable and i can happily wear them for the majority of an office day.
Battery life is as-claimed, meaning recharging twice a week, for me, rather than every day.
Controls are simple. I occasionally hit a volume key when stopping or starting media, but not too often.
Haven’t tried wired, but the advice seems to be to use NC, since the sound deteriorates if the DSP isn’t active.
Undoubtedly happy with my purchase – especially on offer, they are excellent value.
I love it…. I had a decent budget of 100 for headphones. Bought the Aria pro to begin with at 90 but the quality was not up to the mark, it creaks, the sound leakage was bad with others in the room complaining and the sound was just ok, as soon as I heard them i felt like it was lacking in bass especially low end bass. So decided to return it and took a chance on the q20 as it was no 2 or no 3 on amazons top selling and I alo thought to try the tribit tune as they’re similarly priced and come highly recommended for sound quality.
The build quality on this is great no creaks, the sound is marvelous! The bass goes real low, mids are rich especially lower mids, highs are well rolled off making listening for long periods comfortable. The Tribit on the other hand has highs that can be a bit tiring and the bass on the tribit doesnt go as low. I find the bass in the q20 much richer. The tribits are louder though and the tribits sound clearer with a slightly larger soundstage. Overall if bass is important to you, you will love these over the tribits. If highs are more import to you then the tribits are better. The Aria pro I cant recommend to anyone for sound quality. The fit was a bit too tight initially but now after 2 days I guess they’ve ‘broken in’ and are comfortable, i find them more comfortable than the tribit but less so than the Aria pro but theyre not bad. The noise isolation (not noice cancellation) from the foam cups is excellent! I find it better than the tribit the tribit is already good but this takes it up a notch and is sometimes better than using ANC as the noise isolation is good sound leakage is minimal. The Aria pro was the worst in this regard.
ANC is good on these and i couldn’t hear the tap running while doing the dishes or even the vaccum cleaner. But using ANC results in a degradation in sound quality on these. Also if you’re in a silent room and you switch ANC on you will hear white noise more like wind/flowing water and i recommend keeping ANC off when listening in a quiet room. With ANC off the mids are richer and overall sound is fuller. For me sound quality is more important than ANC and these just do it right when it comes to sound. Probably drivers that are capable of a wider frequency range make these richer sounding than other budget options that I have tried. The Bass up implementation is absolute rubbish and it severely degrades sound quality it would be better if the low end rumbled or went deeper with this switched on but instead mid bass is boosted and you lose clarity in the mids and highs basically bass is now everywhere in every frequency and voices become recessed and move to the back.
Haven’t owned it long enough to comment on the battery but it was 60% when i got them. I spent 2 – 3 hours listening and it was still 60% so overall battery must be good.
Another minor niggle with these is when the volume is full and you try to raise it further it interrupts your music and beeps to let you know that volume is full. Just a small beep without the interruption would do.
So of the 3 I bought I will be returning the Aria Pros (the most expensive) will definitely be keeping these and still thinking about the tribits might test them a bit more before deciding on whether i keep them or return them. They do have a slightly different sound signature and it could be worth owning both. If you like your bass to go low and want good sound quality on a budget i would recommend these. Under 100 id be surprised if it gets better than these.
Update1: I returned the tribit tune as they were too uncomfortable to wear for more than an hour, guess I have big ears. Also the sound quality was not as good as these to me so didn’t make sense keeping them. Id rather save that money and put it towards buying a sony xm3/xm4 in future. For now these have satisfied my needs and I will be sticking with them for the near future.
Update2: So I couldn’t resist and had to know what the fuss was about and got myself a pair of sony XM3s the “ultimate headphones”. Trust me guys the difference in sound quality is negligible. The sonys are definitely better when it comes to noice cancelling, premium look and feel and overall design because of its slimmer profile. But when it comes to pure sound quality with the nc off the soundcore is nearly as good. The sound is rich, the bass goes quite low and lots of detial is present. Highs and mids are well rounded. With the sonys on the other hand the higs and mids sound a clearer but a bit sharper/shrill at higher volumes. The low end bass is less audible but bass overall is really tight and punchy.. rather than be audible it creates these waves you can feel on your ears like a rumble..where as on the soundcore the low end bass is more audible but it doesn’t create this rumble its the best way i can describe it. Overall when i put on the soundcore i never feel like i miss the sonys these are a perfectly satisfying pair. They’ve even gotten more comfortable over time. In fact the sound leakage is better on the soundcore and i can use it when people are sleeping around me without disturbing them. Also thr plastic on the soundcore feels thicker and will gather less scratches and fingerprints makes it great for a beat around pair. For 40 bucks they’re a steal. If like me you want a good pair of headphones but are wondering if the sonys are worth it… Well they do offer a lot of good things but if sound quality is your only criteria and you like a warm but detailed sound signature then the soundcore will certainly satisfy your needs but only with the nc off. With nc on the sound quality does deteriorate. But overall i would highly recommend the soundcore to anyone.
I bought these to replace my Bluedio T6s. To be clear, I’ve worked in studios etc, and have been a musician for years, so I am aware of what audiophile equipment is like. This is for on the go, and will be reviewed as such.
These headphones have a beautiful sound signature. I haven’t heard anything as good as this for less than 200. The bass is strong, but not overpowering. The highs are still preserved, and the mids aren’t muddy at all.
When I bought the Bluedios, I was told that they were the best of the low end. They are without doubt nowhere near as good as these.
The noise cancelling on the Soundcores is epic (compared to the non existent levels I was used to). I sometimes play games on my laptop while my partner watches TV (quite loud). The tv goes from a dull roar to a quiet whisper, and that’s before my music kicks in.
The battery is a beast, even with very regular use for gaming, phone calls (the microphone is acceptable for phone calls), and listening to music, the battery lasts me personally for 2 weeks. Sure, the fact that it’s micro USB is awful in this day and age, but when you rarely have to use it, it does help things a lot.
They’re a very comfortable headphone, they feel more premium than they really should, they sound incredible for their price bracket, and it’s a battery champ. There’s no point in considering anything else at this price point, these are perfect.
My mate recommended these to me. I was dubious due to the low price but was I proven wrong. These are excellent. Sound quality is brilliant, has a base boost on the headphones which is superb and doesn’t become distorted when you turn it on. The noise cancelling is good. I bought them as I fly quite a lot and sometimes on noisy aircraft so I wanted something to help cancel out the engines yet still hear what I am watching. I haven’t tried them out like that yet but I am confident they will do the job. I had a set of beats wireless over ear nc headphones and I would say these are as good as, if not better. The beats used to hurt my ears after about an hour but so far these are still as comfy as when I first put them on. Excellent headphones at a great price, so glad I bought them and my mate recommended them.
After breaking my AKG headphones, I tried my colleagues’ holy grail Sony and Bose noise cancelling sets so I knew what the best possible performance was, and set out hunting for a set that would do almost as well for a fraction of the price. These are them! I rave about these headphones. They’re ‘my skin is glowing my crops are flourishing my life is vastly improved, thank you Anker’ level great.
SOUND. Like everything Anker make, the sound quality is really good. No, it’s not quite as full or rich as it is on the Sonys that will set you back 300+, but for a set of headphones I got for 40 it’s unbelievable. The noise cancelling works well to cancel out high frequency sounds (beeping, voices), though it will still let in lower pitches. It can be turned off easily if you don’t need it. It’s a godsend in the morning to block out the squealing tube rails and phone alert beeps for a calmer commute.
BASS BOOST. The bass boost is a fun but probably unnecessary feature. I use it occasionally to make acoustic or electronica tracks sound a bit ‘fuller’.
CONNECTIVITY. They connected easily to my phone and laptop on first try (my old headphones refused to connect to my macbook) and continue to do so automatically now when I turn them on.
BUILD QUALITY. They feel less sturdy than really expensive sets, of course. But they’re not flimsy, the plastic feels good, and the overall build quality is pretty good. The buttons have a satisfying click and aren’t going to get clogged if you leave the headphones sitting in the gunk at the bottom of your bag.
BATTERY LIFE. Aside from the price, another key selling point for these compared to pretty much all other headphones is the battery. The battery life is frankly wizardry. These last so long I can’t remember when I last charged them and I use them every day. The claim that you can charge them for five minutes to get four hours of use is completely true –amazing when they’re dead and you have to leave for work in ten.
COMFORT. I’m a petite person with a small head, and most headphone manufacturers appear to think that everyone has the same size head as a 6’2″ man. My last pair of higher price-point headphones were somehow simultaneously too loose that they’d fall off, and sat such that they were really sore. I desperately wanted a pair that I could put on and almost forget I was wearing. These have completely fit the bill. They’re totally over-ear, the cushions are so soft, I don’t find they get too hot, they don’t make my glasses dig into my head, and even after 6 hours of wear I can barely feel them.
TLDR. These have turned me into an Anker evangelist. You’re not going to find more comfortable, better built, better sounding headphones with a longer battery life than these for less than 180, let alone for the minuscule price point these retail at.
Amazing … I’ve avoided over ear / on ear headphones as I thought they would be to much hassle , size , controls … Pfft.
I was finding in ear uncomfortable so investigated replacements …reviews for these were good and I like the Anker brand so thought I’d give these a go … So glad I did .
Sound is amazing , noise cancelling does what it promises … Super comfortable (I have even fallen asleep with them on … Don’t judge me … And I the music was still playing when I awoke …)
The buttons on the side are intuitive , this was a big worry for me but I can find the right button first time every time due to their layout and the raising of certain buttons .
I have yet to take a call on these so I can’t comment on that side of things … also I don’t use them for super long periods so can’t comment on the battery life (although given how awesome they are I may use them more and more )
Overall I am over impressed by these … I thought they were too cheap to deliver what I wanted … Nope I got a bargain , I can’t imagine what extra I could get from a pair of headphones
Good overall quality and connectivity.
Now I am only giving these stars based on the quality these kick out in comparison to a set of Bose. I picked these up for only 38 on a black Friday deal, so for the price, certainly do deserve a five star. These aren’t Bose but don’t pretend to be. They are a good quality headphone, comfortable to wear for hours and have good Bluetooth connectivity. The midrange and treble are clear and bass of proportionate quantity. Again, for the orice- certainly not something to complain about.
Negative-
Would be the volume capability and noise cancelling. I am of poorer hearing (but not enough to warrant aids) than average. I have these on maximum volume, which is sufficient but, when a corker song comes on-would like to crank it up a bit more. As for the noise cancelling , very poor. I cannot tell it is switched on or off and certainly can still hear background noise (even with my ears). This could indicate these are either faulty, or just a poor attempt at this feature. Does this bother me for the orice- not at all. Nor did I feel the urge to return them because of these minor discrepancies. If you are a proper quality audiophile, spend that bit more. However, I am more than happy with my purchase.
The sound quality on these is simply amazing. I read several reviews before ordering these, and got them in a sale anyway, so got them for about 45. Lots of reviews will use the phrase “for the price, these are great” indicating they’re okay but not great. Let me clarify: These are great headphones. The sound quality is fantastic. It can reproduce very quiet music and loud tracks equally well. There is a bass boost mode but I hardly ever need it. The sound quality is great without it.
The thing about noise cancellation is that it is not supposed to be as quiet as a monastery and remove all external noise. The point is to reduce the external noise so you can listen to music comfortably without having to ram the volume all the way up. That’s what these do. When I first put them on in my office I was amazed at the reduction in background noise even without music playing. It cancels something like 90% of the chatter and bustle from the office. As a result, I was able to listen at a volume that left all the music crystal clear without being too loud for comfort. I’ve tested this with very quiet subtle music and music (mostly soundtracks) that have quiet and loud sections, where normally I would need to adjust the volume while playing on any other set. Here I can hear the music perfectly all the time.
There are some drawbacks. Wind noise is often incorrectly cancelled, leading to (oddly) a wind whistle in the headset. However I believe this is an issue with several brands. There’s not much in feedback to the phone. The headset does speak the power level on power up. Additionally in the Bluetooth settings it reports the battery level to the nearest 20% (rounded down). Seems to be Androin only though. iPhone does not seem to do this. Does mean fully charged it will briefly display 100% then change to 80%. However the battery life is really impressive, and the set comes with a passive 3.5mm jack cable so even dead the headphones can still work if plugged into a source. Also initially I found some of the taps, double taps, and long taps a little confusing. I would recommend a decent carrying case too. The bag it comes with isn’t the best, although it is better than nothing and has a handy internal pouch for the cables. Also oddly the Q10 model used USB-C but this is micro-USB. Not a huge problem, just odd.
Update after 9 months of use:
Still very happy and have recommenced these to several friends looking for good over ear ANC headphones at a budget. No bluetooth signal loss, no signs of wear at all (but I do look after my gadgets) and ANC is decent enough blocking I’d say 80% of noise. Bose QC35 block probably 90%, Sony XM3 I’d say 95% but you do have to spend around 200 more to get that extra 10-15% – you have to decide for yourself if it’s worth it. But having had the Bose they weren’t comfortable for me, the Soundcore were better. I had to bent them out a bit to have less clamping force but after that I wore them on several 6hr+ flights and had no fatigue. As far as improvements go, I wish they were less bulky and that Soundocore provided a hard shell carry case (Taotronics do).
Original review:
This is my second go at reviewing these headphones.
Initially I bought several headphones to compare and decide on my new pair of ANC headphones, having lost my original Taotronics Bh22 at the airport. I wanted a step up in terms of ANC quality and comfort. I got these Ankers and the 2019 version of BH22 at the same time. Whilst the Ankers were better than the TT, I found that the ANC was a bit too sensitive leading to wind noise and internal sound pick up issues. I ended up returning them both and decided to spend much more money on Bose QC35 – had them for about a week but wasn’t that impressed with them at all especially for the money, and the cabin pressure sensation I got from them made me return them too. But that experience also made me think again about the Ankers. In the meantime Anker customer service got in touch and I ended up giving them another chance.
I found that the ANC on the Ankers is actually not that far behind the Bose (and definitely better than TT). Obviously it depends how you use it, but I found that in my commute on London Underground, both the Bose and the Ankers let it some of the high pitched sounds. The Bose probably a bit better and removes a bit more of low humming noises, but the Ankers are pretty impressive especially as they are nearly 200 cheaper! Neither removed 100% of the noise so you still hear maybe l5-10%. The hybrid noise cancellation on these with external and internal mics (a major difference vs most other cheap ANC headphones) works well in my opinion. Plus if you have a larger head, a lot of the cheaper headphones in the 50 ish price range are just far too small. With the Ankers I have room to spare and I can bend the headband to fit me even better so they are not too tight. I found the pads actually more comfortable than the Bose, very similar to Sony 1000xm3.
The initial complaint I had about wind noise pickup, I also experienced with the Bose. The difference with the Bose is that you have an app with the option to turn ANC down. But with the Ankers you can simply switch the ANC off with a button, which is much easier than the app, and even with ANC off the passive isolation of the ear cups works very well to remove a lot of the annoying sounds.
Turning the ANC off also removes the problem I had with feedback from the cups when running / walking fast. The ANC is simply very sensitive – so keep that in mind. But it’s not a big issue for me.
The battery life is great too. Also I like that Anker have come up with an original design and colour which is very dark matt grey as opposed to a lot of other models on Amazon that all look the same cheap glossy black.
My only real gripes are that I wish they were less bulky, and that the sound is too focused on mids and lows – if you like base you will like these, but I wouldn’t use them for critical listening at home (which is fine, I have my Grados for that).
But the comfort, ANC and general quality can’t be beat for this price in my opinion. Plus, Anker customer service is outstanding. I am happy to recommend them.
For the price I paid for these (eith a voucher, 35 quid) I am more than happy with them. They’re even probably worth the full ticket price. They aren’t on a par with Bose or Sony NC headphones but they work okay and sound decent.
+ Great comfort, they have nice big cushy earcups that seal well even over my big ears.
+ The buttons are decent and easy to locate
+ Bluetooth pairing worked without many issues
+ 3.5mm cable and jack so you can use them wired if you need to (will probably still need charge?)
+ came with a vinyl carry bag
– USB micro-B charging connector
– Kinda chunky design that doesn’t fold up that small
– Noise Cancelling has a slight background hiss during silence, I have no idea if this is expected as these are my first NC headphones
– if I move around a lot (i.e. walk around my flat) with the NC on it sometimes makes some weird chirping noises when there’s no music/sound on. Not hugely noticeable but a bit weird.
They are my first pair of noise cancelling headphones and I’m pretty pleased overall but…
1) The buttons all feel pretty much the same so it’s extremely hard to remember or work out which buttons are which just by touch, so I keep pressing the wrong ones by mistake and have to keep taking them on and off to find and press the right ones.
2) The noise cancellation usually works wonders (I use them on my daily commute) but they can add noise if you’re already in a quiet environment so you may need to toggle noise cancellation on and off depending on the situation
3) The sound is a little flat and doesn’t have very wide stereo separation
So there’s plenty of room for improvement!
NOTE: I previously complained about low volume and have since received a replacement pair from Anker with identical model number/details/etc but they’re much louder so I’m now much happier and have revised my review accordingly, including adding a star.
Initially disappointingly; 2nd pair just fine and great customer service
******Just want to add an update******
So, several months into enjoyable ownership of these headphones I started to experience some recharging issues. I contacted Anker/ Soundcore’s Customer Services and they were simply fantastic. They asked me to return the affected headphones, but once received a new pair were issued and my cost of postage refunded. All very fast and communication was excellent. I’ve purchased a number of Anker products now and will continue to do so.
I’ve purchased a number of Anker products and they’ve always been of a decent quality. I was intrigued by the good reviews for these headphones, unfortunately they are very average performance for both sound quality and volume. Well packed, and seemingly not too different to Bose for build quality, i.e. all decent plastics used, but just don’t sound very good at all – shame.
UPDATE (3-Oct-2019)….. I’m delighted to say that following my review, and return of these headphones to Amazon, Anker took the proactive action of contacting me and asking if I’d like to receive and review the updated version of this model. I have now had these for approx. a week. The volume issue is definitely fixed, and whilst these will never be too loud, there’s certainly an improvement. However, there is still an odd characteristic with the audio performance. Whilst the quality is perfectly acceptable for the price; there’s a very ‘bass forward’ element to the presentation, to a point it ‘fades back’ the treble and mid-range – this happens irrespective of ANC and/ or the Bass+ features being activated/ deactivated. Noise cancelling in its own right is again quite acceptable for their price. Overall, these are very good for their price point, it would be incorrect to compare them with either Bose or Sony’s offerings….. Thank you Anker…
Got these with a 20% discount (link to Amazon) from an Anker email – so its worth signing up with them to see if you can get the discount before buying. First of all, they sound good and the NC seems effective. I did a side-by-side test vs a pair of Sony wh-1000xm3 (which are the regular best-buys/award winners and cost 270). The Anker/Soundcore Q20 stack up well. The Sonys have a bit more depth/fuller sound and are louder, but they are 7x the price. So far in the house these are perfectly respectable and if you can get them for 40, brilliant. Nice fit, controls are easy, and there’s a base-boost mode. Negatives – could be louder, and the pouch is obviously no protection if you’re travelling so you may need to budget for a hard-shell as well. Battery seems ok so far. Will also test the NC on a plane and update! NOTE – photo is them in the hard case I bought for 6, it is NOT provided in the pack. NB case now returned as it was terrible quality! Don’t buy ‘Secret Rain’ case!!
UPDATED I used these on a couple of 2.5hr flights and the NC was effective (maybe not quite as good as the Sonys but not side by side so can’t be sure). The sound level was fine for watching downloaded tv even when taking off and engines at full throttle! Comfortable to wear as well and possibly breath a bit better than the Sonys. Also used on an intercity train and they were very good. Its a shame that Anker do not provide a hard-shell case as they did with the previous model, as the pouch provided is pretty pointless and offers no protection. I contacted Anker to see if they did the case as an accessory and No….Not helpful!
So, May 2020 update. These are still rocking with great battery life and very solid Bluetooth connection. For music, in the house, side by side then the Sonys win hands down, a different league. But for tv/movie and travelling for 40 these are astonishing value.
Just received mine today and the first impression is the headphones are really comfy! The pads are super soft and they don’t put too much force on your head and ears. The build quality is also great and steady.
The sound quality is a bit difficult to justify at the moment as the pair of headphones that I have received seems to have problem with the volume. Usually when I listen to music on headphones via my iPhone I only need to set the volume to around 50%~60%. However, on the Soundcore Q20 I have to set the volume to 100% in order to get the same amount of sound output. I’ve tried to connect to my laptop and the same problem persists. I’ve also tried to rest the headphones but it doesn’t resolve the problem.
Hope Anker will read this comment and provide advice on this problem.
2 Stars for now as I won’t be able to listen to them without setting the volume to 100%.
——Update on 2019-08-22——
I’ve done the sound test via 3.5mm aux & Bluetooth connection and the Soundcore Q20 sounds brilliant for its price. The NC is also very decent and it only creates minimal “pressure” when it is on. I have had a few other headphones that are at similar price and Overall the Soundcore Q20 is the best sounding and most comfortable headphones.
Anker is providing excellent support on the volume issue. Brilliant customer service.
I bought these headphones as a replacement for the Soundcore space NC which I broke only 3 months after purchase. I must say I much prefer them. The sound quality is just as great (I’m not an expert on that but to me they sound excellent to me), they are more comfortable (ie very comfortable to wear you tend to forget that you wearing them ), the noise cancelling technology is good (I use them in buses and in libraries and barely hear anything that is happening around me) and they are easy to pair with my iPhone (near instant pairing). New the battery easily lasts a full day.
All in all an excellent purchase at an excellent price point with all the bells and whistles that you can find in more expensive headphones. Anker did it again!