Soundcore by Anker Life Q30 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling
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 Connectio
Active Noise Cancelling
Dual noise-detecting microphones pick up and filter out up to 95% of low-frequency sound.
Multi-Mode ANC: Transport
Up to 95% of engine noise is cancelled out, so you can sit back and relax during flights.
Multi-Mode ANC: Outdoor
The sound of traffic and wind noise are blocked out so you can focus on your music.
Multi-Mode ANC: Indoor
Indoor mode adjusts the noise cancelling to suit quieter locations while still blocking out noise.
Pressure-Free Comfort
Life Q30’s ultra-soft protein leather earcups with memory foam padding fit snugly over your ears, while the lightweight build ensures they sit comfortably in place for long listening sessions.
Transparency Mode
Let the sounds of the world into your personal space by pressing the right earcup for 1-2 seconds to activate Transparency mode. Ideal for when you need to speak to people or want to hear traffic.
Multi-Point Connection
Connect to two Bluetooth devices at the same time to switch between calls, video conferencing, music, and more without needing to reconnect.
Fast Pairing
Life Q30 active noise cancelling headphones are compatible with NFC Pairing, just tap your Android phone on the right earcup to connect.
Soundcore App
Select a noise cancellation mode, choose from 22 EQ presets or customize your own, and tailor your own white noise soundscape for when you need to rest.
Convenient Storage
Compare Soundcore Headphones
 Life Q30 |  Life Q20 |  Life Q20＋ |  Life Q35 | |
| Sound | Hi-Res, Customized EQ | Hi-Res, BassUp, Dual EQ modes | Hi-Res, Customized EQ | Hi-Res, Customized EQ, LDAC |
| Active Noise Cancellation | Hybrid ANC with multiple modes | Hybrid ANC | Hybrid ANC, Transparency | 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, NFC | Bluetooth 5, AUX | Bluetooth 5, AUX | Bluetooth 5, AUX with mic, NFC |
| Calls | 2 mics | Single mic | Single mic | 2 mics with AI algorithm |
| Charging Port | USB-C | Micro-USB | USB-C | USB-C |
| Soundcore App | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Recommended For | Travel, flight, train, commute | Travel, flight, train, commute | Travel, home office, study | Travel, flight, train, commute |
Key Features
Hi-Res Sound: Life Q30 active noise cancelling headphones have 40mm drivers that reproduce treble up to 40kHz for full-bodied sound with excellent clarity.
Multiple Noise Cancellation Modes: Choose from Transport, Indoor, or Outdoor modes to maximize the active noise cancellation’s effect depending on where you’re listening.
Calls with Excellent Clarity: Enhanced voice pick-up and noise reduction ensure you’re heard clearly while using Life Q30 active noise cancelling headphones for calls.
Lightweight Build: Life Q30 active noise cancelling headphones weigh just over 9oz (260g) and have memory foam earcups with a protein leather cover for all-day comfort.
Ergonomic Design: Life Q30’s earcups rotate by up to 15° to adjust to the shape of your head and its headband can also be adjusted for a more comfortable, secure fit.
| Dimensions: | 19.5 x 18 x 7.8 cm; 263.08 Grams |
| Model: | A3028031 |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium Polymer batteries required. |
| Manufacture: | Anker |
| Dimensions: | 19.5 x 18 x 7.8 cm; 263.08 Grams |
| Origin: | China |
Absolutely loving it. Brilliant sound quality elevated to another level by being able to adjust the sound to your liking via app equaliser. Absolute winner! Noise cancelling really good but I feel there’s room for improvement here. And finally battery life – just endless. I’ve had it for a week or so, using the headphones on a daily basis and battery status is still showing as high. For the price I struggle to find anything better. And why would you even consider Bose or Sony if for fraction of the price you can get comparable sound quality? If you’re still on the fence on which headphones to get – don’t hesitate any further and go for Soundcore q30. Happy days!
soo good for the price
I love these tbh. i’ve never had really expensive headphones so i can’t compare quality but these are so good. I charged them fully overnight then went on an 18h road trip and they were perfect the whole time. After that they had still used only half the battery. The volume isn’t extremely loud but they are loud enough for me . the quality is great and they fit well. they have an adjustable band as well. The noise cancelling is great, i travel on a school bus every day and it blocks everyone out pretty much completely. Love these definitely would recommend!!
While the noise cancellation could be slightly better, for the price, these are excellent headphones.
I will add that there is a label on the right headphone which looks like a peel-off “look at this feature” sort of label… Nope, it’s a proper sticky label and when I tried to remove it, it tore. It won’t be too tricky to sort out, but that’s really annoying. I don’t need a permanent sticker to tell me to touch here to enable transparency mode! That’s a minor gripe though.
Having come from a pair of Apple AirPod Max over-ear headphones at 549 that stopped working shortly after 12 months had passed and Apple wanted 279 to repair, these are a worthwhile replacement. Sure, they don’t have the same sound quality, but they will not cost a fortune to replace if they break.
I recommend them.
Brilliant value
I’m not looking for an audiophile experience. Just looking for something cheap with reasonable sound. I got this on offer so it was cheap and the sound is actually very good. Had to play with the eq but now getting crisp treble, nice vocals and (I turned the bass down) a deep satisfying bass.
The noise cancelling is good, can’t wait to try these in a plane.
So overall they sound way better than they have the right to at this price. I can’t see any reason not to buy them if you just want an everyday pair of cans.
Top of range Sony Vs Soundcore noise cancelling comparison...
I’m not sure how many people have heard of misonphonia, but my girlfriend would confirm that it is a very real aversion to common noises that most people would not even notice.
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.
Good value for money
Bought these for my husband during his recent hospital admission. Once he started to feel better he was unable to get any sleep due to the constant interruption for his medication, etc. and when not being treated the noise from other patients and the general ward noises. Once charged, they proved to be a good buy and worked very well. He could listen to the music on his phone, podcasts and even a football match clearly and without any external noise or interruptions and has continued to use them since coming home.
They are great value for money, as well as doing exactly what it says on the tin. I would recommend. Make a great inexpensive present.
Stunning 'Budget' ANC Headphones
I managed to snaffle a pair of these with a coupon for just over 60, and I have to say these are absolutely breathtaking for the price. The ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) and transparency modes perform perfectly adequately; however, it’s the sound quality that really shines.
I’ve been wearing headphones for most of my adult life, and these are by some distance the best sounding I’ve ever owned. If you can get past the basic look and build, you’ll be floored by the responsiveness of these. Out of the box they’re a little bottom-heavy (something I like), but this can be easily remedied via the app. The tops are bright without any mushiness, the mid-range is creamy.
Honestly stunned for this price and frankly, these compete with (and perhaps even beat) other headphones at or around the 300+ mark. If you’re in the market for an upgrade to those tired things you’ve been wearing for the last couple of years, these are the ones. Fantastic.
I said I don’t need to write a review because the review or 4.6 is no joke. I have used many headphones. The first generation Bose sound comfort II (which are probably the best I’ve ever tried), Ausdom, Tribet, Skullcandy, name all the budget headphones and of course beats.
The sound is ridiculous for the price. This isn’t low budget anymore tbh (imo anything over 50 isn’t).
The base, treble etc are so distinctively clear and balanced. You’ll literally hear every beat. Sounds like a car blasting loud music from Bose speakers but in your ears.
The build is very light weight, soft, and easy to wear, comfortable.
The app, noise cancelling and co vary, the normal gives a clearly/less muffled sound but all settings have ridiculously good outputs.
Battery life is A1 too.
If not because I hate spending 200 on headphones I’d get the Sony. But this is great. 4.6 stars sounds perfect. I still use my Tribit Quiet Plus 72 which I’ve had for almost 2 years but the soundcore beats it when it comes to output quality. If any negatives come up, I will write. Don’t think twice. Buy it.
Brilliant for high frequency hearing loss users
Having high-frequency hearing loss I was looking for a reasonably priced pair of headphones that had an app to adjust the sound frequency levels for use on TV, HiFi system ,Smartphone etc. Having read the reviews I decided on the Anker Q30 and they are brilliant. There are numerous preset equaliser settings plus the ability to customise which is something I have done for USA channels that I previously had difficulty hearing speech i.e Sky Atlantic. Only tinkered with the noise cancelling features as not something I really required but an added bonus is I can’t hear the wife when she is talking to me when wearing them. Highly recommended and a bargain at the at the price paid.
AMAZING!!
If you can find better headphones than these good luck to u as they are the best by far! the sound is amazing and bassy but u can also turn the bass down which helps, they are loud as hell trust me , and comfy as they should be unlike anyother head set that u can only wear for a short period these i wear all day and still not get sore ears or head. They are really worth the money like they say you pay less your going to get poor headphones but u pay extra and you get great headphones like these which are next level deffo buy if u want loud and not hear anything around u lol 😛
Good but transparency sucks
Overall nice product, feels comfortable and cups the ears nicely. Sound quality is good for the price with decent bass. Battery life is excellent too.
Using it on public transport with the ANC drowns out a lot of the background and works quite well. The only downside is the transparency mode. While it helps you to listen to conversations nearby, it seems to amplify a LOT of the background noise too making it nearly impossible to listen to music on this mode. It actually is worse than the normal mode in terms of listening to music.
However, aside from this particular mode, the product is very good for the price.
Great headphones!
A great pair of headphones. I wear hearing aids and the ear cups are big enough to fit over them and are really comfortable. The sound is superb, crisp and clear. And with the addition of the Soundcore app, the tone is very adjustable, with many presets for different listening options and music styles and also a custom equaliser for your own settings. But the sound straight out of the box, although a bit bassy, still sounds great to me! Clarity of sound is good and I hear musical details in some tracks that I couldn’t hear with my old Sony wired earphones.
Noise cancelling function is good so far, but haven’t been on a plane yet so that remains to be seen.
Overall I am very impressed with them.
Great value for money too. Amazon had a special offer 20% off, so bought two pairs, one for me and one for my wife.
She thinks they sound great as well!
It never runs out of battery
My Verdict/TLDR: Perfect for work
I use this for working from home. Due to my job nature, I do a minimum 15 of hours of Zoom calls every week. I also use it off work occasionally as well, maybe 1-2 hours per day. And the battery of this headphone is an absolute beast. I have used it for around 3 months. Usually, at the end of the week, I still have 50% of the battery left.
Its noise canceling and transparent mode is a bit meh when compared with AirPods pro gen 1. I think the sound quality is decent, but I also don’t have a great pair of ears. The mic quality seems alright as well.
I bought these for after recent piercings made my in-ear buds unsuitable during the healing process. I needed something comfortable that was suitable for home and work, and these fit the bill.
I have a large head and these fit wonderfully. The ear cups are extremely comfortable, and encompass my whole ear without painful twisting or pressing. I can, and have, worm these for hours.
Sound quality is excellent. Bass is satisfying and vocals are clear even at high volume.
The sound cancelling could be a little more robust, but for most people I imagine this is more than enough. I’ve worn these in an office environment, on the train, and as a passenger in a car and have had no issues.
The microphone seems fine, and I am able to be heard clearly. However, there is an issue with ambient noise. Any background noise will be picked up and this makes taking calls in a busy environment a bit difficult.
The multi-tethering works great, as I have these headphones connected to my phone for music and my work laptop for unexpected calls. Bear in mind some specialised software may be a bit finicky with this however, such as making it hard to seamlessly switch between inputs if it’s hogging the connection.
Battery life is absolutely amazing.
Noting that I use these headphones every single day for several hours, they last for around two weeks on a single charge. Three days of travelling with constant use with noise cancellation on dropped the battery by only 15%.
These are brilliant headphones for the price. Highly recommended.
So far, so good.
After trying a few different headphones, I thought I’d give this brand a go before spending a lot of money on a major brand. I have only had these for a very short period, so I cannot comment on the battery life at this time – but I can comment on my experience so far, which has been positive.
They do cancel external noise out well; I have used these in the gym and whilst outside my house when there has been building work going on – and they seem to cover the outside noise pretty well. The volume doesn’t go super loud, but it is sufficient and the base is pretty decent.
I have also downloaded the app ‘Soundcore’ – which allows you to change the sound and mode, as well as other features.
The headphones are comfortable to wear, they fold away and have a case – which is all very convenient.
At this point in time, I am pleased with my purchase. So far, so good.
Available for a fraction of the price anyone would expect to pay for a Sony or a Sennheiser device with similar sound quality and features. I paid 59.99 pounds for these headphones after a 20.00 pounds discount.
What a device!
Packaged very well, a foldable headphone that came with a shell carry case, a usb c charging cable and a 3mm cable to use when the battery runs out.
The build quality of the device is really, really good, firm arc, with soft padding to keep it comfortably secured and soft ear cups as well.
The right side of the device also serves as a touch panel for NFC pairing and also a shortcut to turn off the ANC. No need to fiddle with the buttons.
The device pairs with 2 hosts easily, paired with my mobile phone and chromebook with no issues and tested both with positive results.
For the price, the sound quality is much better that what you’d expect, really well distributed highs, mediums and very punchy base, as other reviews have rightly pointed out, you can customise your sound via the equaliser available in the free to download app.
If you are on the wall about choosing between this device and other big names, make no mistake this one is probably the best option.
Really impressed for a non-fasionable brand name
Bought these as an alternative to my galaxy buds+ for watching movies etc and for the kids to use in the car. Really pleased with the purchase. The design and comfort is great. Battery life is amazing, only charged once used multiple times including watching full movies and battery is still high. Sound quality is good. Being able to create custom setups in the app helps. Like my movies loud, can force the headphones loud, just be aware people will be able to hear what u r listening too. On normal Hugh volume they’re fine. Noise cancellation works well. Really pleased and good value
Grea
I bought these for my child with autism who struggles with noise, she is reluctant to wear specific ear defenders now that she’s bigger because she’s noticing her differences, and has been struggling.
These are great, she can sit in a cafe with noise cancellation on and she just looks like she is chilling to music.
The different types of noise cancellation controlled by an app are so clever.
The hand functions (not sure what to call it) are so good, when I need to talk, I just lean on my hand and she puts her hand on her headphones to talk. Amazing piece of technology.
The bad first
Took quite a bit of faffing about with the app for initial setup (needed for first use and updates)
When walking there is a slight rattle from both sides, it sounds like the driver isn’t fixed in place more like its floating in between two stops.
Good
There is a lot of adjustment to the eq through the app. Not sure if it stores the last setting when you change to another device?
The battery life is sensational, heavy use will easily last a few weeks for me. I have used this to listen to music through the day and then watch TV/films through the night.
When you turn the unit on a voice tells you the state of charge, handy when you hook up to something other than a phone or tablet that you can check the battery level with.
Now the BIGGEST bonus for me, it hooks up directly to my firestick 4k, no audio lag and easy to set up. I’ve found I prefer to watch films wearing these rather than listening through a Samsung/LG soundbar and sub. It just feels more immersive, good range of sound, pretty decent imaging and you can still cycle through the noise cancelling controls using the headphones.
The travel case is very good if a little bulky, I don’t think it could have been any smaller and to be expected with full size over ear headphones.
Finally
Charging, the will only charge at a maximum of 2.8w it does not matter what supply you have, PD, QC or a 3.1A that’s the most it will take so it can take a while to fully charge.
Good enough
Noise cancelling headphones are always less than perfect, and the lower the price, the less effective they’re likely to be. These over the ear headphones exceeded my expectations and are rather better than the much more expensive Sennheisers which they replaced. They have a USB-C charging socket which brings them into line with many other devices and reduces the number of charging cables we have lying around. The only criticism which I have is that their maximum volume is lower than I would like (I mostly listen to classical chamber music).
Forget Bluetooth.
Was trying to get some decent sound out of my old AT headset so bought the Fiio A3 which didn’t help too much so was going to return the Fiio and just buy a new headset. Well after these arrived I wasn’t impressed and was going to return and just keep the Fiio. Then I had the idea to pair these with the Fiio which didn’t seem an option as these are already preamped but so glad I did as the sound is ridiculous. The bass lit moves the ear pieces as it pumps the lows into the middle of your brain. Fiio A3 for 70 plus these will beat any headset for many times more.
Better than nuraphones and any Bose NC
Amazing Sound & controls, make sure you installa the app and adjust the EQ to your taste, I have a few Bose noise cancelling ,and the Nuraphones that until know I though they have the best sound quality despite they are bit uncomfortable to wear. My Gosh, these sound good, I have bough 4 pairs! one for each member of the family, at 59 pounds you can’t ask more. Great Anker. They also have transparency mode as the Apple, and also 3 different settings for noise cancelling, that in my view is the best I have ever experienced. Just buy them, you won’t regret.
A very good pair of headphones, especially for the price
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.
Excellent for the money.
Brought this product about year ago and will give a honest review after a year of wear.
The headphone have been used 10 to 20 hours a week for the last year the battery is outstanding still only charging one maybe twice a month.
The quality of the sound weather it’s music, films or calls has not dropped over the time at all.
The functions of the app make them brilliant as well, the noise cancelling when I’m deep in a movie is ace, but the transparency mode is ace being able to hear what people are saying while you are listening to music is great.
The case has not faulted once even though it’s been thrown in and out of bags and suitcases for the year.
These are excellent headphones for the price.
I was so impressed I brought there Soundcore mini 3 for the beach if they is a few of us.
Outstanding Value For Money
My wife needed some Bluetooth headphones, but as she can’t tell the difference between my studio headphones and a 25 pair from Asda, I didn’t want to waste money on a pair of Bose or Sony at the 3-400 mark, so figured these ‘would do’.
Although the noise cancellation isn’t anywhere near that of the Sony XM range (which it never claims to be), it’s significantly better than I expected and doe the job well. The pass-through feature to allow you to hear someone talking to you is a really useful feature and easily accessible.
The sound quality again exceeds my expectations, a little bias in the low end (but not overpowering), good mid range, but a little flat in the higher frequencies for me personally. However, as most off the shelf headphones employ a similar dynamic range, this will suit the overwhelming majority of the electronic generation.
They are comfortable to wear for long periods, with a good amount of clearance between the earlobe and the inner cover, whilst not getting too hot and sweaty, with the overall build quality being pretty good for a set in this price bracket (79.99 at the time of writing).
Overall, a solid product with some nice features that will provide a great listening experience without breaking the bank.
Excellent quality and value for money
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.
Not to bad for a cheap headphones
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
The Q30 is a nice headphone considering the price point. Sound quality listening to music over Bluetooth is very good – actually I am really impressed. Call quality using the built-in microphone is reported to be fine by the people I have spoken to. They are quite light and comfortable, even when wearing glasses. Unlike my much more expensive Sony headphones, they don’t make my ears too hot.
The noise cancellation is pretty good – not quite as effective as the Sonys but they cost four times as much. There are 3 modes for the noise cancellation which you can choose using the companion app, but I can’t hear a lot of difference between them. The sound quality suffers a bit when you turn noise cancellation turned on, but it’s by no means bad, just a bit compressed sounding.
Speaking of the app, the other thing it lets you do is change equalisation settings. There are lots of presets with names like “Bass Booster” and “Dance” but most of them sound terrible: best to choose the default “Soundcore Signature” setting or the “Flat” setting.
There are a few downsides and the most important one to highlight is that as soon as you plug the audio input cable in, the headphones turn off and revert to being plain ordinary un-amplified, non-noise-cancelling headphones. If you are using them primarily over Bluetooth this won’t be much of a concern but you should think of the audio jack mainly as a way to use them when their battery is flat, rather than as a primary connection method.
The other downsides are just the sort of things you would expect at the price point: slightly plasticky feel, and so forth. I haven’t run the battery down so can’t say whether the claimed run-time is accurate.
Wow, just Wow for £60!
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!
Update a few days later:
So disappointed…. I have just discovered that there is a major flaw with these! If you want to connect using the wired AUX port, then you will have terrible sound as you no longer have access to the equaliser! A flat horrid sound. Worse is that the ANC function also stops working when using the AUX wired connection, so these are going back!
It’s very disappointing that I only just found this out a week later when I went to use the AUX wired jack on my PC and then on my Soundbar. The sound was awful and then I realised through some online reviews that others also had this issue – without the equaliser the sound is like listening out of a tin can. So then I checked the ANC and sure enough the buttons change function from noise cancelling to pausing the music!
I’m pretty annoyed now, as had I not noticed this before, I could easily have been past the return window! Shame on Anker, whose products I usually like for not stating this in the product description. If you are going to disable 2 key and primary functions that a lot of people buy these headphones for, then you need to state that these functions will only work in Bluetooth connected mode!
These have now been returned to Amazon – whose returns process is brilliant!
I must also add that Soundcore Customer Service is brilliant and resolved the returns very quickly. I have added a star back on for the customer service and another star back because if you are not fussed at not being able to use the ANC or Equaliser with a wired AUX cable, then the quality of the headphones and the sound is amazing. In my case I needed Bluetooth and wired, so needed both functions to work in both modes.
Original Review
I am very impressed with these Q30 cans. Had them for about a week now and am totally made up with them.
I have to agree with others by saying it is important you download the App first of all and connect them – as there are masses of sound pre-sets available to select. If you don’t, you may just get a bog-standard flat profile. It only takes seconds to send your preferred profile to the connected headset. Or you can create your own of course.
I’ve been listening to FLAC files wirelessly from my iPhone for the last week and the sound is terrific.
Really nice crisp notes with a thumping bass – totally immersive.
I like the Active Noise Cancellation feature – activated by a button on the earphone or by touching the special ear phone ‘zone’. These work a treat – especially if you are in the lounge and you want to drown out the dross of the dreaded TV soaps that the others may be listening to.
I can now use my iPad and listen to my tunes without interference or interruption from others rabbiting in the background.
All round brillia
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.
Very impressed
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.
Just get a pair you won’t regret i
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
Everything you need
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.
My husband loves this
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.
Woow
I have been using them for 2 weeks and I am delighted. I already had a lot of headphones from different manufacturers. But the Anker Soundcore Q30 is something new for me. And let me tell you one thing: I was not disappointed!
It is important to download the app. Then the headphones come to life. You can use predefined sound settings or use an equalizer. The results are amazing. The app contains many settings and allows you to play soothing sounds when you want to calm down before going to bed. It also gives the possibility to control the ANC function (in 3 modes) and the TRANSPARENCY function – when we want to hear our surroundings.
I rate the sound quality 9 out of 10. For me it is sufficient. The power is high. Low tones are felt and calm but do not drown out the music scene. The treble is a bit quiet – but this can be fixed via the app.
The comfort of use is very high. The ear cushions are very soft and nothing hurts anywhere. The headphones are light and you don’t feel them on your head. They could just stick to the head a little more securely, but that’s okay anyway.
The quality of the Bluetooth 5 connection is amazing. The manufacturer informs about a 15-meter range – but I went much further and did not break the connection.
To sum up: in this price range, these headphones are second to none. With a clear conscience, I recommend them to anyone looking for headphones up to 100 with a really good and strong sound, great ANC and a very efficient battery.
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.
As good as they say they are,... Especially for the price.
I have had a few pairs of ANC headphones/earbuds in the past, including AirPods Pro and personally think that the ANC on these are at least 95% as good as the ANC on the AirPods Pro. As headphones, the sound is really balanced, but you can then tune the sound to your taste using the app. The multi-point connection (connect to two bluetooth devices simultaneously, switch between the two easily) is great, and the fit is really comfortable. I’d read reviews and watched many reviews on YouTube, all raving about these things before I bought them, now I understand why. I was lucky enough to grab these at their ‘Black Friday’ discounted price of 55, but honestly think they sound easily like a 100+ pair – and would pay that for a package this good. The battery life is astounding too! 40/60hrs between charges? Yes please! And they actually DO last that… Pretty much perfect.
Excellent headphones, needs the app howeve
I really like these headphones, the transparency mode is amazing – I use it when playing games with my fiancee that we can talk and game at the same time.
The noise cancellation mode is insane. It feels like all the sound is sucked out of the world outside. Just literally like suddenly having two plungers stuck to your head AND they play music.
The battery life is really good, the only thing is you can’t charge and use them at the same time BUT they charge very quickly so a half hour charging got them from low to high. That’s my personal experience so far.
I needed these because the family cat chewed through the cable of my previous headphones.
So far, so good.
The key selling point of these headphones is that they cost 70-80$, but pack features of 300-400$ headphones like BOSE, SONY, Bowers & Wilkins. I will try to compare them with Bowers & Wilkins PX model that I own since 2018 and very satisfied with.
Pros:
1) Lightweight on the head,
2) Comfortable fit – do not squeeze your head and do not fall from your head
3) Made of sturdy plastic
4) No adaptation period – they feature buttons placed in regular places like on all other headphones of that type
5) Single button to turn on/off headphones, the same for ANC, buttons to increase/decrease loudness, bluetooth button
6) Package includes very good hard shell case, USB type-C wire for charging and AUX cable – hardly met in any cheap headphones package
7) Works with “Soundcore” Android applications that controls all Anker products – another surprise for cheap segment
8) Through the application you can
– use EQ presets for different music genres,
– several custom EQ settings to get Hi-Res sound,
– 12-15 relaxing built-in tracks of wind, sea, water, fireplace etc which is a premium feature
– update firmware
9) Impressive battery life (Bowers & Wilkins PX promises only 20 hours)
– Almost 40 hours of music play on average loudness with ANC enabled
– Almost 60 hours of music playtime without ANC
10) I have attached several custom EQ settings that will make these 80$ headphones blow you away. I took them from few famous youtube audio vloggers. These custom EQ settings are a true game changer without any doubt.
11) Sound better than its successor – Soundcore Life Q35. You can research using youtube, I am just saving your time. Custom EQ did not help Q35 make any improvement over previuos model and actually they sound worse. Q35 cost 135$+, but surface worse sound quality and this particular model still dominates the market.
12) Crystal clear phone calls
13) You can use these headphones plugged into your PC or laptop via AUX cable and get the best out of them
14) This is a product from “smart” category where price and quality clash and and produce unique product
You may doubt about user experience and sound quality, but I would suggest you to try visiting any show room and set one of the the custom EQs for a test drive. You will immediately buy several of them for family and friends 😉
Cons:
1) Sound is not impressive when not using custom equalizer settings
2) Non-premium materials – Plastic materials and PU ear pads
3) Awkward folding procedure to fit headphones into case
4) ANC is not that great and affects quality of music that you are hearing; my recommendation would be to use it “Normal” mode without ANC
5) Music do not stop playing when you are removing them form head – no proximity sensors
I listed cons not because the product is not great, but to demonstrate how it competes against features met in expensive segment with metal materials, natural leather, ballistic nylon, proximity sensors, Hi-End sound tuning out of the box etc. And the difference is not that significant – Bose and SONY are plastic these days and sound worse that I expected for 300$+ price tag.
Summary: If I met this product in 2018, when I bought Bowers & Wilkins PX, I would buy Anker Soundcore Life Q30 without any doubt. No reason to pay 300$+ to get the same level of sound quality having other comparable features.
These are seriously good value for 60 quid!
Noise canceling seems pretty good and music sounds huge to me through them. I’m not an audiophile but I am a musician (if that doesn’t sound too pretentious) and I’d say they sound great for your general listening. I can’t really imagine anything sounding much better unless you had some seriously high end audiophile gear costing you in the thousands.
I think there is a little coloration of the sound in a musical way (they seem quite bassy , whilst still clear – things just sound absolutely huge and detailed through them )
This is compared to some other headphones I have that would use for mixing or recording where you have a flatter eq response. And even then , you can set your own eq through the app so if you’re really picky / know what you are doing you can likely make them sound however you like.
There is a really nice sturdy carry case thrown in with them as well which I was not expecting.
Also, I can wear them comfortably with my glasses.
Good value
These headphones are good, particularly so at the price.
I like to listen to Planet Rock in the gym where background music is often played too loud [in my opinion] and is rarely what I would choose to listen to anyway.
I’ve tried several earbuds but have been disappointed with the sound quality and noise isolation. Crawling around the floor looking for a bud that just popped out is not much fun either.
These headphones give good audio quality and, using the Soundcore app to change the settings to give reduced bass and indoor noise cancellation, the bass becomes more tuneful and defined with much less ‘bass boom’ plus the gym background music is tamed.
They’re also comfortable and even keep my specs in place when on the tread mill.
Have yet to find anything to significantly dislike
Recommended.
Padded headband & go totally over ears
Researched no end. These gave fully padded headband, not too sweaty, actually fit over ears fully, smallest setting fit my small female head. Comfortable, well made. Tbh it’s so difficult getting all these elements the sound almost becomes secondary. No point having fantastic sound quality if you can’t wear them is there! These are as near perfect as you can get. I chose these over mid point Jabra, Sennheiser and Beats. You can use with the app or without. They auto connect to same device when you put off and on again. Left hand has two buttons, one for hold to start and hold a bit longer to search for Bluetooth, the other to put noise cancelling on or off, so easy. The right hand has, volume up, down and pause/forward. You can answer phone calls as well but not tried to yet.
It’s all a bit of a gamble when you read the specs of what you get at what price point on a lot of these headphones. I’ve had other Anker products, the soundbuds slim and they were great. Imho the padded headband alone is worth it, Sony had a solid plastic headband that made me feel like my head was in a vice.
I’m no techie and listen to Rock music. All I know is I like a bit of normal bass and them not to sound tinny. I use the Rock EQ Profile on the app but you can customise. I also listen to YouTube spoken word videos. In both cases I get a feeling of being in the room and full deep surround sound.
If you’re not sure, go for it. These feel like good quality, and not stupid money. Most of all comfortable. Hope this helps.
I’ve had the SONY wh1000xm3 & Bose QuietComfort 35 II and these are pretty much 90% as good as those. The noise cancellation is in fact easier to activate on this and is just as effective. The only area that needs improvement compared to the SONY is the build quality but like at 1/3 the price of the SONY you can hardly complain.
If you get these(and you are not an audiophile) I don’t think you will be disappointed
RUNDOWN:
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!
Far, far better than expected !
Bought these to replace Bose noise cancelling headphones (which are outstanding) which I had occasional use of. As other people have commented, quality of sound is highly personal and subjective; we know when we hear good quality, but it might not be to someone else’s taste.
For the price, I hadn’t expected these to come close to Bose. In fact, for me, they’re every bit as good – and at one-fifth of the price I paid for the Bose headphones (Christmas present purchase).
I’ve only tried the “rock” equaliser setting on the Soundcore App because that’s exactly how I like the sound to be – I didn’t need to try out any of the other pre-sets or customise my own.
Battery life has been phenomenal so far. Noise cancellation (and the ease of bringing-in “transparency mode”) are also excellent.
A high quality carry case and 3.5mm jack cable to connect to non-Bluetooth equipment was a bonus.
I’m hard to impress when it comes to audio quality, but these headphones have hugely impressed me. It does make me wonder how manufacturers can charge so much more for “brand names” when there’s equipment like this available. Definitely recommend.
very comfortable impressive headohones
ok so i should point out these are my first wireless headphones and i can’t use ear type headphones
these are paired to my iphone, ipad and OLED TV, they will no pair to my PC or laptop for some reason
my main reason fir buying these was i’m having to undergo an operation and then many visits to hospital for treatment and i intend to use the headphones for music and watching films i’ve downloaded to my ipad.
firstly they feel very comfortable on my head and ears, the noise cancelling is very efficient for my purposes although i’ve never had any others to compare this to. the sound quality is very good for music and loud enough for me
the volumes for films on my ipad is also adequate, however on my TV the sound seems quieter and muffled which is confusing.
the app gives lots of different sound options for music but only spoken word for films. the app has no volume, treble or bass controls other than in the custom equaliser which i’d like to have had
so given the price for me i am very happy overall, i think the app could be improved but anyone doubting or worried about the quality of the headphones or the sound illuminating, don’t be !!!
Very nice pair of headphones. I purchased the Q30 set based on my previous experience with the Q20 set. They are ultra light and sound just as good but overall I would buy Q20 set is you want them to last longer than 6 months of regular use. The Q30 Ear and Head Pads are very poor in comparison to the Q20 and overall feel very fragile. I think the Q20 is much better value and same great sound, they take a knock and are alot more hard wearing. The Q20 is a heavier set but much better built. The Q30 is most comfortable for long periods of use. Consider the Q20 before buying. I have both.
Executive summary: I’m not any kind of music expert but these sound good – bass is nice, lyrics are clear. Very good when listening to relaxation/meditation tracks.
After one of the guys at work recommended the previous model, I used some birthday money to get these and very pleased with them. For once my timing was impeccable as a newer model had just been released, so there was a discount code that got applied at checkout, which was nice.
Noise cancelling is quite effective for noise repetitive mechanical noises e.g. engines and (bizarrely) dishwashers. The first time I used the headphones, I tried them without any music to see how well they cancelled noise. I walked into the kitchen and had a momentary ‘Oh no!’ moment when I thought the dishwasher had stopped working. I automatically removed the headphones (as you do, when you need to look at something closely …) and immediately heard the dishwasher whirring away as usual.
With music playing at a moderate level and noise cancelling on, I can’t hear family members sat opposite me shouting to get my attention. I swear this is not deliberate, especially when they are asking for more money, it is just a function of the noise cancelling. Honest.
In the garden, background noise (particularly distant traffic on the dual carriageway) is greatly muted even with no music playing.
There is a handy button on the left earpiece which cycles through ‘Noise Cancelling’, ‘Transparency’ (where background noise picked up in the microphones is passed through to the earpieces’) and ‘Normal’. Covering the right earpiece switches between ‘Normal’ and ‘Noise Cancelling’.
Bluetooth connection was easy and hassle free (Oneplus 8, laptop) and the SoundCore app works fine. The bluetooth range is much better than on my KitSound headphones and it work through obstacles that cause the KitSound to lose the signal.
I have never tried Bose, B&O or any other high-end headphones but these are a definite step-up from my KitSound Manhattan headphones (which I still like and still use when I am doing DIY jobs).
Sound – I never use them past the half way mark. THEY ARE LOUDDDDDD!!!! As you can see in the video u can hear how loud they are. They are loud loud!
Battery life – ten minutes of charger literally gives you at least two hours battery life if not more!!! when it’s fully chartered you can go abt three or four days without charging them which is perfect for forgetful people
Noise cancellation- first time I ever used them was in lidl during rush hour. I didn’t have an music playing but I was so confused as to why the shop was so quiet and then I realised it’s cos I had the headphones on!!! They are amazing for noisy place and especially if you just want to tune away from the rest of the world.
The only annoying thing I can say abt them is that sometimes when u first switch them on or go onto an app that has sound sometimes the volume automatically goes onto loud and it kills you ears!! But other than that! These are absolutely fantastic. Little kids love them especially when u put coco melons on and noise cancelling mode, omdsss they literally just zone out and are in their own little universe which is perfect for parents!
Save yourself £200 and buy these!
I was poised to spend several hundreds of pounds on some noise cancellation wireless headphones when I checked out a few reviews and thought I’d give these a try. After three weeks of using them I’m so glad I did. Noise cancellation and sound quality seems every bit as good as my wired Bose QCs and the battery life is superhuman. I like the facility to stop the noise cancellation by simply tapping the right ear can and the control buttons are intuitively positioned. As with other reviewers I was slightly unnerved by the charging lights not working as described but the headphones do charge despite my cynicism. Another positive is that when I contacted the customer service team by email about this I received a helpful response within a few hours. Build quality and the carry case are as good as any. Do not be put off by the low price.
I love these headphones so much. They were perfect in every way – sound, quality, ANC- it was a whole new world. I have tested them for over 3 months – these are my third pair. Every pair I’ve had lives up to the great sound, easy setup, amazing pairing, unyielding battery life but… They all had one flaw. The headband just snaps after a few weeks. It snaps on one side and then the other, sometimes while you’re wearing it so you think you’re under attack. After 3 pairs, I can’t continue this love affair. They are the best pair of headphones for the price, but for the price, they shouldn’t be consistently faulty.
Great for the price
I bought these to help with SPD. I’m sensitive to noise and wanted to try ANC to see if it would help. These certainly do the trick even if they make me look like Warren from There’s Something About Mary. The battery lasts ages which is great. There is a bit of a hiss when ANC is switched on but I find it soothing. Sound quality is best with ANC turned off. I’m not sure if these really are Hi-Res though. The sound is good and I’ve definitely heard better with my old wired Senheiser headphones but for the price I’m not complaining. It’s an added benefit of being able to make calls and video calls with them on too but I really do look dreadful with them on (or, as my sister described me on a video call, ‘hilarious’, to the point of laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe).
Completely new design is a huge bonus.
As the title says, loving the new design. This isn’t just from an aesthetics stand point but the “old” Q20 head band constantly broke where the band met the headphones. The Q20 design was so flimsy and fragile that the headband to headphone hinge thing broke in mere weeks.
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.
Let’s start with the most important thing. Download the Soundcore app and install the new firmware as soon as you take them out the box. Without the firmware update the microphone quality is poor, and the standard equaliser is not very good and the volume is low. But the firmware update fixes those issues perfectly. High five to Anker for recognising and fixing those problems. Onto the main review..
They sound great. The bass and treble are excellent, noise cancelling is superb and the transparency mode is a thing to behold. Sound wise they are comparable to my old Bose soundlinks. These are comfortable to wear for extended periods of time with no discomfort. The 5 minutes charge to get 5 hrs playtime is wonderful, and the battery lasted around 39hrs of their stated 40, which isn’t too shabby at all.
Bad points? They don’t look particularly great, you won’t look particularly great wearing them, they feel a bit cheaply made and the case they come with isn’t great. The buttons feel a bit tacky and the hand gesture over the right headphone to change mode is very hit and miss, mostly miss. But there is a button on the lead side to manually do that particular job.
Overall, these are priced superbly for what you get from them. The sound is brilliant and the battery is great. So I can forgive the clunky looks and plastic feel of them at this price. They focused on what mattered, rather than showing themselves off to others. A very strong choice of headphones at this price poi
Very good for the price
While these don’t produce the eerie silence you get with high-end noise cancelling headphones, they do manage to create a comfortable bubble of sound and make it possible to listen to music and podcasts easily even in a noisy environment. What sold me on them was trying my daughter’s Q20s when I was using the mower. Whereas I normally struggle to hear at anything less than full volume over the noise of the engine, I could suddenly listen to a quiet spoken word podcast at a much lower (and safer) volume.
In summary, you shouldn’t expect these to be a match for 250+ headphones, but they’re very good for the money.
There’s an app you can download to switch modes and apply EQ settings. There was also a quick firmware update when I first switched them on. Personally, I stick with the default EQ, which sounds fine to my ears.
Super comfy!
Spent ages looking through different headphones, as my ears are prone to hurting with overhead styles. The cups on this are super soft, and sit around my ears with low resistance clamping. I can wear these for hours and not feel any discomfort. Noise cancellation is surprisingly good, and I like the transparency feature allowing me to hear / talk to others around me without taking them off. Battery life is superb.. not sure how Anker manage that given that premium brands like Sony / Bose etc.. offer no more than 30hrs. Even the Apple Pro Max is 20hrs. The app is simple to use, has a host of preset sound EQ to suit all tastes and even allows the profile to be customised. The audio itself to me is immersive with good bass, mids and treble, not surprising as the specs indicate a very decent frequency range. Having said that I’m not an audiophile. The only reason for dropping a star is that I get intermittent cut outs on random occasions which I didn’t experience with my other headsets. It’s nothing major and happens infrequently for split seconds at a time.
Great headphones for a decent price with plenty of features and a good battery life
I’m glad I bought these. I did a considerable amount of research on different headphones from very expensive ones to budget generic sounding brands that I’d never heard of (with suspiciously high reviews). These have a great app, with a load of equaliser options as well as different noise cancelling options for inside/outside and transport and they work well. I had them on outside whilst walking one day and only noticed the man cutting the local village green areas in his sit on lawn mower when I saw him as the sound was completely cancelled out.
I particularly like the transparency feature which I find useful for calls or when using whilst keeping an ear out for things (it allows you to hear outside noises slightly louder than if you just have the headphones in over your ears). So I can continue a conversation without having to take them off.
There are plenty of relaxing white noises within the app which could be useful for relaxing, meditating or drifting off to sleep.
The battery holds its charge well and charging is quick. Noise cancelling uses more better, but that’s to be expected.
I’ve only had a few issues and they relate to a slight crackling occasionally in the right ear, however, following an off/on and reconnect this disappears.
All in all a great set of headphones for a decent price to keep boosting Ankers name in the market as bit just a cable/power brick maker (although their cables and bricks are great too).
I’ve used these nearly every day, all day for over a month connected to a Windows 10 PC and Android phone. I had some cheap Mixcder E9s and my daughters Sony MX1000XM4s which I will mention for comparison.
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.
Sounds good
Quick summary. Great headphones. Light and comfortable. Noise cancelling is strong. Some frequencies are not cancelled as well as others. Plenty of features and long battery life. Good value for money.
Bit more details. Unpacking is a treat. Strong box with a hardshell case inside. The headphones feel nice as you get them out. NFC pairing is a nice touch that works well.
Get the app and you get to mess with the sound profile. You also get yet another music player with the associated links to music services.
Using the headphones is easy and intuitive. Three cancelling options. On, off, and passthrough. The last can also be activated by touching the right ear piece. This allows you to hear ambient sounds using the external mic to pipe noise into your ear. At first this might seem a bit pointless but it is really useful.
Sound quality is good, not up to monitor standard but very good. EQ settings should be used with care, you really can ruin sound quality very easily!
Charged up on day one, still going strong a week later after 2 hours a day use. So no worries there.
Good alternative to other brands - The Prime Day price was a real bargain! Pity i missed that!
For the price excellent – Purchased as a gift from my ever loving wife so thank you dear 🙂
Comfortable fit and the noise cancelling allows you to drift off into the world of whatever music/audiobook/podcast or film it is that you are listening too/watching. Renders you oblivious to the rest of the world so cant say fairer than that.
My only point of “concern” but this would happen with any well padded headphones is that they may become a bot warm and uncomfortable in warm weather. Not too much of a problem in the UK, but well, we still have our moments of nice weather. Just thought that I’d mention that, but it is a small main compared to the quality of reproduction they offer.
Long battery life, good sound
I got these headphones as I needed a new pair and did not want to spend a lot on a “audiophile” pair.
I value good sound but not to the level of spending lots of money. I was initially looking for wired headphones as I do not really use bluetooth audio as mainly use for my computer attached to a mixing desk.
As these had a 3.5mm jack for wired use too I saw the price i was sceptical that the sound would be up to much, but I was impressed with the quality over the 3.5mm jack, the highs are good and the bass is well balanced but not overpowering and boomy.
The noise cancelling was a good bargain as I was not looking at noise cancelling at the price range I was looking in, but you have 3 modes to choose from (selectable with app) and can easy disable noise cancelling if someone talks to you by putting hand on the ear cup. The noise cancelling is remarkably effective against noise such as fans and general background noise. Remarkable ability for the price but obviously not as good as spending hundreds, but not too far off.
When I tried on Bluetooth the audio was good and clear and the battery life is awesome, I do not tend to use as much on Bluetooth as use earbuds for that mostly when listening to music away from my computer. The headphones do not have Apt-X low latency so only really suitable for music via Bluetooth rather than watching videos as a small amount of lip sync issue is present, its not bad as other Bluetooth devices I have used, but can be noticeable. If you are going to use them as all round computer headphones, use the supplied 3.5mm cable and you can still use the noise cancelling, if just for music definitely recommend Bluetooth too.
Great that is also uses USB-C for charging as lots of cheap headphones still use Micro USB which always seems to wear out on other devices I have used, USB-C seems far more robust and great to see.
The buttons control power, noise cancelling off/on/transparency mode, play, pause and track skip. The App adds more features such as EQ (both presets and custom EQ settings) noise cancelling mode, such as indoors, outdoors or transport (train/ plane etc.) the
The only gripe I possibly have as sometimes i have brushed the ear cup and turned off the noise cancelling and put them in to transparency mode which passes audio from the built in mics through to the headphones. I then have to cycle back to noice cancel mode using the button. The buttons are are also close together but I have got used to them quite easily.
Very comfortable to wear and definitely recommend over more expensive headphones I have tried out.
I was looking at the Q35 but felt that for the extra price of that model that the LDAC capability would be lost as I don’t know if it would be capable of making the most of the hi res sound from tidal and flac files, and having used the Q30’s for the last couple of weeks my doubts remain. The Q30’s can be made to sound quite nice if you use the app, I would like more clarity/separation and a tighter bass but still can be adjusted to a decent listening experience with the eq. I will wait for improved speaker design before I buy a LDAC or similar codec pair of headphones.
I found N/C ok for my needs, speaker phone ok, transparency mode not so good, buttons a bit fiddly, too long to turn on and off, Bluetooth switching temperamental. Battery great. Comfort quite good. Build seems good. Overall a nice unit for the price.
Excellent all rounder (from a Sennheiser lover)
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.
I did a lot of research into headphones before buying these and decided that before you start spending silly money on headphones these are about the best you are going to get. The noise cancellation is probably not as good as the 250 jobs but it’s a small price to pay. It certainly blocks out the air con fan noise I have at work though. Don’t block out Karen who works in sales but I bet there isn’t a pair in the world that would block her out. The sound quality etc is fab though. They are comfortable even with glasses on which is a huge plus for me. Can’t speak for battery life as I don’t go long periods without charging it anyway but I bet it’s good too. Definitely recommend them.
Shockingly good for the price!
As a big fan of ANC, seeing a pair of BT ANC cans from a well known company under 100 made me a little suspicious. Thankfully, I was surprised. Obviously these won’t blow you away in any sense, but the value here is unquestionable. To be clear, they don’t beat out my Sony WF-1000XM3’s, and in some ways, even the Bose QC25’s do better, but the price is the key point here
– The sound quality is okay, about what I’d expect from this product. You can get better sound quality but you’d sacrifice on other features
– The ANC works well enough, although noise is only really cancelled if you’re playing music on top. The fact it exists at this price point is already great however
– Bluetooth works well enough, range seems fine and dropouts are rare
– Build quality is okay, little bit creaky but no issue when on your head. Especially given they’re light
– Battery life is pretty decent too, don’t have precise numbers but lasts a good few days of medium usage
At 80, I doubt you can do better. Currently, they’re on offer for 60 which is incredible, makes me tempted to pick up a second pair!
Amazing headphones...
Best headphones I have had and they don’t break the bank. I recently upgraded from a pair of old wired beats headphones which cost more at the time and these. The q30’s are by far better in every way. They are also extremely comfortable to ware and are not super tite around the head but offer a good seel to block out any sounds and along with the noise cancelling feature get the job done well. Sound quality is also amazing, especially with the amount of customisations available within the sound core app. I have not owned a pair of headphones above 100 and I don’t see why I need to with these which tick every box. There are other alternatives out there from Bose and Sony at nearly 4 times the price but but from my point of view these are a bargain for the price and may give the others a run for there money.
Up there with some of the best for the price!
Bought these headphones on a bit of a whim as I’ve been fedup with the battery life of in-ear buds. I tend to use headphones for extended periods of time (car detailer) so I needed a pair that are comfortable, long battery life and have decent build quality.
I mean it when I say these headphones have totally exceeded my expectations. The sound is absolutely superb, very crisp vibrant treble, clean clear midrange and very deep taught bass. If I was being ultra critical, I would say the midrange is a tad set back, but this can be tuned with the Soundcore app. Also tunable is the noise cancelling, with outdoors mode being perfect for my use!
They are amazingly comfortable, as a glasses wearer I have no issues with them squashing my glasses arms into my head, or sound leaking out ruining the sound! They feel really well made and have already survived some knocks and scrapes.
They’re so good I use them around the house to as my main pair of headphones!
Top marks for an Anker product as always!
Great Headphones But SoundCore Customer Service Very Poor!
I had pre-orderd these direct with SoundCore as part of the promotion to ensure I would be one of the first to receive when launched. The launch came & went & despite paying immediately when required, I did not receive teh Headphones for weeks after – even regular customers on Amazon who had not been on the pre-order list were receiving theirs but not me.
It took many calls to SoundCore & I was given multiple excuses & untruths as to the reasons why most of which contradicted what they said in previous calls & SoundCore would not even offer any meaningful goodwill for the atrocious service & huge delay – except for a 15% off voucher if I buy ANOTHER SoundCore product at FULL PRICE. It really put me off dealing with them again. I get delays happen sometimes but being fobbed off week after week with untruths & lame excuses & then rubbing salt into the wounds by trying to profit from the customer in future in the guise of a voucher just did not sit right with me.
As for the headphones, they feel a bit plasticky & are bland & boring in design – fit could be better as they tend to slide around when worn but the SQ is very good for the price & the battery life is excellent which was one of my main considerations.
My advice is to but from Amazon & NOT SoundCore as their Customer Service left me never wanting to deal with them again if at all possible.
Quick brutal review, ok here we go a headphones for me have to have 9 things done right simple? i will compare these to the sony wh-1000xm4 and the Soundcore Anker Life q30 in a 0-10 scale 10 being tiptop and 0 being absolutely pants, i have all these except the bose what got sent back.
Bose 700
1. Excellent sound quality? – 5 Sound quality is a bit lifeless, a bit flat and not exciting enough.
2. Volume with headroom? – 3 these are absolutely useless if you want headroom too quiet.
3. Enough bass? – 3 struggle to get any bass out of these last place.
4. Active noise cancelling? 8 very good and in second place, quality active noise canceling
5. Good controls? 10 best of the bunch touch controls are easy to use and find, very responsive
6. build? 10 best of the bunch, rock solid quality feel. very confortable, best case of the bunch
7. Bluetooth? 4 Multipoint yes but disconnects randomly, call quality very good
8. App? 3 not good at all at this price
9. Price? 3 worst of the bunch at this price i would expect a lot more for the money.
wh-1000xm4
1. Excellent sound quality? 9 good lively sound rounded and just right.
2. Volume with headroom? 7 decent volume could be a bit more headroom tho.
3. Enough bass? 8 yep base is right there if you need more the app is excellent
4. Active noise cancelling? 9 the daddy is still on top, these will take some beating excellent
5. Good controls? 9 excellent responsive touch controls up there with the bose
6. Build? 7 not up to bose levels but good none the less very confortable. good case.
7. Bluetooth? 9 multipoint yes and a solid connection with fast switching, call quality good
8. App? 10 best of the bunch, superb app with lots of adjustments
9. Price? 7 expensive for what you get but an excellent all round headphone
Soundcore by Anker Life Q30
1. Excellent sound quality? 8 Good lively punchy sound best for music if you like to rock.
2. Volume with headroom? 10 Just WOW! sony and bose need to up their game, these are LOUD! great for movies and music, plenty of headroom so it gives you the choice to have whatever volume you like.
3. Enough bass? 10 Again WOW bass out of these is epic or you can adjust it up or down, gives you the choice to choose love that, well done Anker.
4. Active noise cancelling? 7 very good for the money but 3rd place
5. Good controls? 5 good controls but not touch, except for passthrough
6. Build? 6 decent solid build with a good case
7. Bluetooth? 7 multipoint yes, good soilid connection, muffled call quality tho.
8. App? 8 great app with plenty of adjustments
9. Price? 10 for what your getting these are a steal
Summary The Wh-1000xm4 are awesome i use them for movies and quiet easy listening music, active noise cancelling is perfect when im on the plane, and the call quality great, but when i want to rock out and have some fun? well my go to headphones are the Anker soundcore life q30s is where the 80s rock is at, the Bose i use to pack up and send back, sounds brutal but at this price not good enough Bose! only gripe is that i carry 2 sets of headphones because i need decent call quality of the sonys and the rocking volume of the Q30s.
Great bass for dance music
I had bought many different headphones in the past at varying prices, anything from 20 to 200+ and these are currently my favourite headphones, not so much for the noise cancellation but the sound.
I listen to a varied range of music from ambient to hard dance and wanted headphones that could handle the bass on the dance music as most left me wanting more bass.
I tried several pairs of beats studio and the sound range was good on the top end but was missing the bass and were never loud enough.
The Soundcore do deliver good bass without distortion and are really comfortable.
The noise cancellation is good but certainly doesn’t eliminate all noise but the transparency mode is really handy when at home.
All in all for the price, these are worth the price.
Sound quality, spot on. I have used Anker products before and was impressed and I am not disappointed with this. The noise cancelling does work but not to the degree I would have hoped. I had hoped to drown out unwanted noise from neighbours while being able to enjoy listening to what I fancied. It is 50% effective I would say. Battery life is superb. Really good at the price and blue tooth range Good too. I can listen to the news or music with my phone charging in the house while I am working in the garden or be upstairs while my phone is charging downstairs. Really well priced for what you get.
Good budget noise cancelling headphones
I listen to a lot of music and wanted a pair of cordless noise cancelling headphones as I find they can help me concentrate when in a busy environment whilst working, or just to relax without too much outside noise.
The sound quality of these is surprisingly good, especially given the financial outlay. Whilst it’s not going to compete with the Bose/Sennheiser/AKG/Sony offerings in this category, it is substantially cheaper than all of them and is still pleasant to listen to. The bass is fairly deep and crisp and there’s a decent app for your smartphone that can let you adjust the equalisation of the sound to get something that meets your specific taste.
I like the ability to touch the side of the headphones to enable a pass-through mode where you can have a conversation with someone and then re-enable the noise cancellation. The actual cancellation itself is reasonable and I have yet to test it on an aeroplane, but I think it does a pretty good job. Again, there are better performers in this area, made by the aforementioned suppliers, but I think for the cost, Anker have done another great job of a quality product with a good value price tag.
Finally, and for me, one of the most important features, these headphones are comfortable! I have worn them for extended periods of time and they aren’t too heavy or fatiguing to wear which for me is a big tick in the box. Even if a pair of headphones sounds amazing, it’s no good if you can’t stand wearing them.
Overall I’m really happy with them and at their price point there’s nothing much to grumble about!
FULL DISCLOSURE, I am not an audio producer or a tech expert or a music mogul. I have an audio sensitivity disorder and so use Active Noise Cancelling headphones to get through the day without wanting to tear my hair out and/or jump in the village pond. That is the angle this review will be coming from.
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.
Amazing in every way
Excellent. I don’t know why anyone would need to pay more? These are comfy, sound amazing. Has everything you can need. NFC, great Bluetooth, usb c, noise cancelling, hi Res, quick charge.. ect.
The transparency mode is spectacular, (if you don’t have the music too loud) when playing a game with these on, and I can still hear my wife moan (ok. Maybe one negative). It’s nice when walking to hear what’s around, cars when crossing a road and anything else you need to hear, whilst still drowning out the world with music.
As I said, well balanced sounds, nice bass, which can be changed thru the eq on the app.
Amazing it comes with a carry case which itself if decent quality.
Over all, very chuffed. I came from JBL 650 which are twice the price RRP and the soundore blows them out of the water, I’ve also had an expensive pair of Bose and would never consider them again knowing I can get these.
Wow. I was not expecting these to sound as good as they do. The standard setting out if the box is bassy (for the target EDM crowd I presume) but they’re very responsive to the eq setting in the app and I easily got a very agreeable and musical equalisation for more traditional genres.
The low mids around 800Hz can be a problem for a lot of cheap phones giving that cheap muddy sound but these have a lot of definition there. The very top end is there too, pin sharp and not splashy at all.
I’ve tried and returned the Sony WH-1000XM3 – they sounded terrible and no amount of EQ could fix the compromise made for the admittedly great NC.
The NC in these is adequate for my purposes but certainly not up to the Sonys. But headphones would sound good first right? Turning NC on in these didn’t affect the sound either.
Other reviewers have covered these extensively, so I will just summarise my points not covered elsewhere.
Pros
-These are quite good overall for 80
-The microphone seems to work fine for videocalls and people can hear me ok and clear enough (I think I still sound better with my wired headphones that have a proper external microphone)
-Noise cancellation is quite good when music is playing. You can barely hear the outside world (just enough to make sure you can hear if something else goes on in the house / outside)
-Transparent mode is quite good but sometimes it is sensitive e.g. it can pick up my PC’s fan and then it replays it on my headphones
-Bluetooth can connect to 2 devices at the same time, and it is smart enough to know to switch to the one that plays sound accordingly. Have not tried different scenarios yet but I can easily switch from my PC to my phone and vice versa
-the app is quite good for the phone
-pretty decent music sound
-battery life feels infinite
-there is a touch sensitive area on the right ear muff to quickly switch between noise cancellations mode – i thought that was quite useful for quickly listening to someone
Cons:
-The app is not built for the PC and you have to use an android emulator on your PC. but these emulators do not detect bluetooth.
-the bass default setting is at high to give the illusion of good music sound and it is awkward to tune it down (see below)
-Not very good for online gaming. it is very hard to hear other people when you play online games as speech is obscured by the bass of other sound effects in the game. Or you cannot easily listen to music while gaming if you want to hear your friends.
-the 3.5m audio cable is too short – it is fine for phone usage but not for PC
-sometimes I get headaches from wearing them too long. I have had to buy a 2 metre audio cable to connect to my PC tower for using over long hours as I don’t like the idea of bluetooth radiation next to my head all day.
-I have a thick neck so when I put them down to rest on my shoulders they are a bit tight and choke me mildly
After a bit of trial and error I figured out I can connect both the PC and my phone via bluetooth, and tweak the equalizer on my phone while it is playing music from my PC – somehow this works but it is too many extra steps for just reducing the bass a bit.
I bought the Q30s based on a recommendation from a friend and I’m incredibly glad I did.
Upon arrival they came in a surprisingly high quality case, 80% charged. Upon first impressions, they look great, the Soundcore logo looks very nice in person. But then, with a big pair of cans you probably aren’t that fussed about aesthetics so let’s move on to the fun stuff.
Plonk them on your head and they are immediately very comfortable – I’ve got quite a big head and they still don’t clamp too hard, and the padding is very soft. Power them up and on the stock settings they are bass heavy, but it’s clearly a good sound. The noise cancellation isn’t as good as the 300 mob, but it’s incredibly good regardless.
However, I would absolutely recommend finding Mr Cow’s video on youtube where he posts his EQ settings, they are night and day better than the stock settings, revealing a level of detail and clarity that isn’t present originally. With these settings they are incredible, especially given their price point.
Let’s talk features. The transparency mode works very well and the ability to turn it on and off by holding the right earcup is appreciated, the buttons are intuitive and feel okay, they’re clearly not premium but personally I’d rather that money went on the audio anyway, and they don’t rattle or anything when the bass gets heavy.
When it comes to bluetooth, the range is fantastic, I’ve not had a problem yet, and on recent mobile devices the experience is painless. Clearly the chip they’re using for this is a good one. However, this is where I come to one of my few criticisms of these – the way bluetooth switching is handled when using a PC is a bit clunky, you HAVE to stop audio on one device before you can switch to another, so if you’re in a game and you want to watch a video on your phone, you have to quit the game completely in order to switch devices. This could be remedied either by just automatically switching to a device when it starts playing audio, or simply implementing a manual switch mode by tapping the power button. I’ve spoken to Soundcore about this and they seem keen to sort it, so hopefully in an update at some point they will do so. Don’t let this put you off though, it’s a minor issue. Latency for gaming is… ehh, usual for cheaper headphones as there’s no APTX but it’s not a massive deal unless you’re flick reacting to someone’s gunshot. For my racing habits it’s fine.
Let’s finish on a high. The battery life is astounding. I’m not sure how they’ve managed to get so much longevity out of a 780mah battery but when I got these headphones they were at 80%. I listened to them at reasonable volume for an entire week, for at least 8 hours a day, and they only got to 50%. An hour later charging from a standard 5w apple charger, and they’re full again. Incredible battery life, very impressed.
In short these headphones are very good indeed. I know some have had issues with the noise cancellation hissing or poor sound, but give them a try anyway. If you’re one of a few that get a duff set, the customer service from Anker is legendary for being great, so you’ll get a refund/replacement no worries. The strong, strong likelihood though is that you’ll end up with a cracking pair of headphones for a very cheap price. Well recommended.
Starting with sound quality these extensively lauded headphones have adequate bass quantity and depth though with some coloration from the thin plastic ear cup resonances. Mids are in the main clear and natural and the treble energetic, detailed and non sibilant. They have a little less air than the very best ANC headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM3 but overall are say 75% there for 20% of the price.
There are some incredible value Bluetooth ANC headphones and the Q30 has certain features that if valuable to you make them worth their price however if you don’t need those particular features you can get the same or better sound quality for much less.
Recordings of how they sound against my other headphones are on my Amazon profile and to better convey their value I am comparing them to the slightly better sounding 30 Mpow H17 that I originally purchased for my mother.
Upsides of Soundcore Q30 over Mpow H17:
1) Multipoint pairing so you can be connected to 2 devices at the same time rather than having to unpair and pair when switching from one to the other.
2) Usb C v micro usb.
3) Better ANC than the H17 – both perform at a reasonable level though somewhat below the most expensive Sony and Bose offerings.
4) Touch sensitive ambient control though with headphones you can slip them off your ears on to your neck quickly .
5) Soundcore provides an app for changing equalisation and the default equalisation is ‘Soundcore signature’ however flat sounds more natural; there are other equalisers available some of which like Samsung Adapt Sound are built into your phone.
6) Goes louder though H17 goes loud enough for me.
7) ANC does not change the sound equalisation; the H17 ANC mildly boosts mids though sounds good with ANC off or on.
8) Slightly more even microphone frequency response than the H17.
9) Slightly larger earpads (this could be seen as a pro or con)
10) Comes with a padded case but will you ever use it and the H17 folds better and into a smaller space (and comes with a simple carrying bag).
11) One button turns off both the headphones and ANC whereas the H17 there has separate controls for power and ANC (this could be seen as a pro or con on the H17)
Downsides of Q30 against Mpow H17:
1) The cups are lighter plastic and you can hear plastic resonances colouring the sound more whereas the H17 has a more solid cup construction and much cleaner and tighter bass.
2) The Q30 cups and headphone as a whole looks cheaper and less durable than the H17.
3) The Q30 cups are more obviously branded with what looks like a knock off Beats logo whereas the H17 branding is more subtle.
4) The Q30 ear pads look less premium than the H17 which have nice stitching details and a more comfortable profile.
5) The Q30 cups are plain plastic while the H17 has a nicer feeling synthetic leather over the cups reminiscent of the Sony WF-1000.
6) The Q30 buttons are much thinner, less tactile and cheaper feeling than the H17.
7) The Q30 headband adjustment could potentially trap hair like the Koss Porta Pro though I’ve not experienced this.
8) The Q30 has a less compact design.
9) The Q30 advertises 40h v H17’s 45h playing time.
10) The Q30 is twice the price.
So in a nutshell arguably where it counts in sound, comfort, compactness, build and looks the much cheaper H17 wins however if you need multipoint, usb c or an extra few dB of ANC the Q30 is still a great choice, especially now it can be had near 60.
If you’re thinking of buying these headphones do not hesitate buy them NOW. I wanted good quality sound for a budget price and after spending hours researching, watching & reading reviews, I drew up a shortlist of 3 & purchased all of them. Whilst the others were good, the Anker Soundcore Q30 was in a different league in terms of sound quality which was my primary aim of purchasing. The equaliser in the downloaded app has taken my listening experience to another level. I’m hearing instruments in my music that I never knew were there and that BASS!!!…WOW!!!. definitely premium sound at a budget price. Keep it up Anker, you now have a customer for life & I will be looking our for other products in your range. BTW, one of the other 3 headphones was returned as it lacked a bit of ‘oomph’, I kept the OdioOne A30 as they sound brilliant and I only picked them up for 34.00 on ebay (brand new), but the Soundcore Q30’s are my favourite and they only come out when i’m sitting in my recliner and just want to lose myself in sheer musical bliss, or to just have a stonking raving lockdown party in my head with thumping bass.
I was slightly sceptical when buying these cans I have a couple of Anker products and are good and know they make decent products but was unsure about headphones . I own Sony,bluedio, and Panasonic cans all ok bluedio mega bass all round good for price anyhow back to Soundcore Q30 highly impressed crystal clear sound so easy for Bluetooth connectivity comfort all in all my favourite headphones I would love to have top end Bose ,Sony,Senheisser at hand to compare it would be interesting but truthfully for 70 these are worth every penny or pound I will post a new review in a month or so but initially as a audiophile very impressed
Pleasantly surprised!
I should start off by saying that I have mild hearing loss in the mid to high range and so was looking for something with a good EQ or hearing test built in to compensate for that. I also only use them for TV and Movie watching. As I am in a quiet environment I do not need noise cancellation, so this review is purely based on sound and I can’t comment on how good the NC is.
First I tried 5 other more expensive pairs first, including Sony ones at 240, and none of them had enough clarity for me even with EQ and hearing profiles and the EQ’s had too few bands you could alter. So I thought I would give these ago based on some great reviews. I am glad I did, as they are perfect for my ears! The EQ has enough bands in the mid to high range and they work well and gave me lots of clarity, especially on dialogue. On top of that, they retain a good amount of bass so that music sounds good and the sound effects have impact.
On top of this, I find them conformable to wear for long viewing periods, and the battery seems to last a long while.
So, for the price, I was certainly surprised at how good they are and am very happy to have saved money over the more expensive brands I tried.
I have an issue with spontaneous buying of headphones. And as such, I’ve tried a lot of them. XM4, Bose 700, XM3, and some of the other high end bowers and Wilkins stuff. I’d also like to note, I have a huge head, so much so that I had to return a few headphones, since they genuinely don’t accommodate the planet atop my shoulders. Since then I’ve always been weary about buying headphones.
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.
WOW! Had read the reviews which all sounded excellent. Had ordered different brand before but they continually lost connection every time you moved your head and sounded very muddy.
These Q30s, I can walk round the flat with no loss of signal. As for the sound quality, very crisp and clear, absolutely superb. Have gone through app presets to find the best and am well pleased.
ANC is not important for me but it seems to do as it claims.
Really cannot fault them. Well built, excellent sound.
Not had them long enough to comment on battery life, still on original charge.
Does make me wonder how some of the more expensive makes can justify the price.
Buy, you will not be disappointed.
They are very comfortable, EQ settings are amazing (I like acoustic setting due to the music I prefer. Don’t use ANC much, but when I do, it works well. Impressive mic quality, compared all the headphones and headsets I have, and only Plantronics did better than Anker, which is obvious.
However, if I want to listen to music and enjoy, I use either Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro or q70. Anker q30 would be great, but they don’t support high res codecs like APTX or LDAC. So, if you have an Android device, you won’t get any HiRes sound due to codecs limitations 🙁
I still use these for movies and videos, they are handy and comfortable.
Pros:
– comfy
– fantastic battery life
– good, rich equaliser app
– good sound quality
– good build quality
– good price
– good noise cancelation
Cons:
– can’t find
I have compared these to wife’s Bose QC35 II so 2 – 3 times more expensive set and was struggling to find a difference in sound quality. Build quality and comfort are on the same level, could not find much difference in noise cancelation either. Sound is perhaps a tiny little bit clearer and mature on the Bose but it was difficult to hear the difference to the point that it may be just a self suggestion caused by knowing the difference in price between the two sets.
If you love music but you are not a hardcore audiophile you will be pleased with these!
Comfortable, good sound, solid build and great ANC
I’m no audiophile, but to my ears these sound great with solid balanced sound, and an intuitive accompanying app which lets you play around with the settings. The build quality is solid for the price and they’re very comfortable. I don’t own high end headphones like the Sony XM3/XM4 or the Bose CQ35ii / 700 so I can’t compare the ANC, however those sets cost 200 to 350+, so I wouldn’t be a fair comparison anyway. What I can say is the ANC impressed me, it works really well hiding low hums from my loud extractor fan and washing machine, and even cancels out my TV at low volume and general household noise. Yes when the ANC is on it muffles the base a little, but I believe that’s common for all except the most expensive headphones and really doesn’t bother me. The battery lasts forever and has fast charging through usb c. All in all I really love these and suspect they can’t be beaten for the price (which also seems to be the consensus in reviews on YouTube).
Great quality at a great price
The sound quality of these is good considering the price and they are comfortable, the noise cancelling does work well too I wasn’t expecting much but it’s great at blocking low frequency noise like washing machines and neighbours TVs. This is easy to switch off by tapping the side of the headphones meaning you don’t have to even remember where the NC button is. Pause and skip buttons are also handy. The soundcore app is useful for firmware upgrades and changing the EQ – which you have to do to get decent quality sound. This seems to be remembered by the headphones as when I connected to a new phone it remembered my previous preference in the app. I often use the provided headphone jack, I don’t like using hands free for hours at a time due to unknown effects of Bluetooth long term (I feel I get earache with Bluetooth on? But this is not unique to these headphones) and the battery doesn’t drain this way. The case is big but feels sturdy enough and can store cables. The quality of these blew some Marshall units which are more expensive away, I can’t comment on Bose etc. but these should be good enough for 90% of people.
when you have a new set of headphones like this it really does make you realise what the likes of Sony are up to. I had my new xm3 on for 2 days and got a strange kind of burn on my neck near my ear that baffled the doctor, but he did say it probably was the headphones, and told me not to wear them again! and I don’t, and it never came back ( it was near the bt transmitter so was most definitely the headphones. I know it and the doctor knew it. I had antibiotics and it eventually cleared up in about 4 months! BUY THESE instead. All wireless headphones cost about 20 /30 to make. so go figure! well done anker. bye bye sony, and the rest of the crooks.
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
Excellent product with 25% off £50! Bargain.
I am moving from SkullCandy Hesh 2 40 headphones as I just find them too heavy and the sound volume too low.
I took a hunch on these and was not expecting to give such a good review after reading the bad reviews. They showed up with low battery and I have been sitting here listening to music for 4 hours and not even a warning yet.
Initial impressions are that these are well worth 50 but not worth the full price just due to the build quality which is a little too much plastic. I am only using them as headphones so cannot comment on the mics but connected to a PC through Bluetooth they are miles ahead of the SkullCandy. The bass is deep and the sound is strong. The three modes normal, transparent and ANC are a very nice touch depending on what you are doing with them and changeable on the headset at the touch of a button. Same goes for track changer and volume.
I am not in agreement about them being too heavy, try skullcandy they are too heavy these are just about right.
I am stuck at 4.5 but giving them 5 stars because of the discount. I would say get the voucher and don’t look back as they are excellent. Do not expect too much and you will not be disappointed but for anyone saying they are 1 star unless faulty sorry I think you have too high hopes these are not trying to be 200 studio phones.
Anker are quickly becoming a top rate seller in my opinion.
Update: One very important point to make you must get the Soundcore App and change the settings stored on the headphones. Switch ANC to indoor and EQ to Rock or your own preference. It improves them significantly.
I have spotted these before they came out and preordered them with 30% off and I am so glad I did. Even at the full price, these are exceptional value compared to the more established brands. The headphones feel very premium, the materials are nice and look expensive. The packaging is brilliant and they come with a handy travel case which has USB C and phono cables (you can use these as regular headphones with this cable) included.
They easily connected to my phone and was instantly blown away by how they sound. The default sound might not be to everyone’s taste as it is quite bass heavy but I went on to download the app where you have 30 presets and option to adjust it manually to your liking. It is easy to control the sound presets through the app and you get update facilities. I went on to pair them with my laptop as a second device and that was seamless too. It is super easy to switch between the two devices meaning I could be doing Zoom meeting and then answer my phone calls seamlessly. The microphones (4 microphones) work really well and people were telling me they can hear crystal clear at all times. The connection is rock solid and I can use them everywhere in my three bed house without any glitches.
They have very soft memory foam padding that feels very nice even when wearing them for long periods of time and you can wear these forever because battery life is just incredible. The battery will easily last me more than a week of what I would call moderate usage and it will still be around 50%. They charge super quickly as well so you never need to be not able to use them.
The active noise cancelling technology is stunning, they eliminate 95% of any surrounding sound. The other day I had these on whilst using the leaf blower and I could hear the music with all the detail still at normal level of volume. They work excellent in a car so I can see how these would be superb on a plane if you just wat to disconnect from the outside.
The sound coming from these is very detailed and I find it well balanced. With the help of the app everyone will find the sound they like.
They have a cracking customer support department which were able to answer my questions very quickly.
All in all, I was so impressed with them I got them for my wife and few people bought them through my recommendation. I also looked into their products and got Life Dots which are also superb bit of technology. At 1/3 pf the price of comparable products these headphones are a steal. Soundcore definitely coming up as a contender in Headphone market.
I bought these as a backup for my Sennheiser 4.50 ‘s but I think they will replace them as my primary Bluetooth headphones. I compared them against my SoundCore Liberty Pro 2 earbuds, Grado SR80’ s and the Sennheisers. The Grado’s are wired and were used to see how close Bluetooth sound quality is.
The Noise-Cancelling is better by a long way than the Sennheiser 4.50’s especially on the indoor mode. They suppress a wider frequency range, while not quite as good as Bose ones I have owned, they aren’t far off.
Sound quality is very good, I found the acoustic preset in the app to be best for the kind of music I listen to. I found they gave a more pleasing listening experience than the Grado’s.
They are comfortable to wear for extended periods and the battery life is very good. Bluetooth Range is at leat 10m in my home.
I chose these as a Christmas present for myself from the Mrs. I’m very fussy about sound quality so she agreed I could test them when they arrived.
I did, and after a couple of minutes arranged a return to Amazon. The sound was muddy and very quiet….. BUT:
When researching for a pair to replace them, I saw a comment on an article for a different brand that you really need the app to get the most out of them. I hadn’t shipped these back yet so thought I would install the app and try again. It was a WORLD of difference.
There was a firmware update (not sure if that helped), and I now could change the EQ etc. The volume was massively louder and the sound quality (when not using their default eq setting) was so much better. They really were like a different pair of headphones.
I cancelled the return and now can’t wait for Christmas so I can listen to these again.
So basically – when you first get these, install the app and adjust the settings to your taste, as they are a little rubbish straight out the box.
My sony wh1000xm3 became faulty with an annoying hising noise coming from right earcup so I decided to get soundcore q30 as a replacement so far I am very happy with these highly recommended.
For the price these are perfect. The ANC is very good, the sound is excellent and clear and the bass is good, making calls is also clear and crisp.
These are very confortable, I’ve worn this for hours and you just forget you are wearing these once you have them on that’s how confortable they are.
Battery life is insane, these last for ages on a single charge. They also connect very quickly when they are switched on.
Lastly these come with an app which allows you to further customize the headphone’s sound, anc levels, etc. For the price these cannot be beaten.
Overall they sound good, the Bass is great. Treble clear enough. Overall they can be made to sound very good using the EQ.
I like the build quality, battery life, case. All fine. Comfort is good.
I had a problem with the first set i received, the Bass disappearing when switching modes. They were replaced and they did a software upgrade and the problem was resolved. There is a slight hiss on noise reduction but nothing that interferes with music when it’s playing.
I purchased these after using a pair of Soundcore’s wonderful Liberty Pro 2, as I was so impressed by the sound but needed over ear headphones with NC for a noisy work project (sanding & grinding)
I love these because the sound is not as ‘coloured’ as most headphones seem to be – no banging bass or piercing treble, although you can still ‘tune these in’ via the wonderful Soundcore app. The result is a very ‘true’ sound that the musician actually intended you to hear. I am hearing more subtle detail in my old favourites than ever before.
They are very comfortable to wear for long periods and the noise cancellation is excellent, with a transparency mode if you still need to hear what is going on around you. Battery life is also excellent and a short charge will last all day.
Considering their budget price (less than 70 when I bought them) you will be hard pushed to find anything better unless you spend some serious money – these are worth every penny!
Noise cancellation is really good, and being over-ear, they’re comfortable and don’t hurt like the on-ear ones (I wear glasses so on-ear ones push against the plastic arm). Battery life is great, still on the first charge after around a week’s use… however… the microphone is bad. It’s just straight up not near the quality it should be. I work remotely so I switch between music and video calls a lot, and the video calls I need to either swap over to my AirPods, or change the mic I put to something else.
Other than that, they’re great to get some focused work done if you don’t need to talk to anyone.
UPDATE: Soundcore have released a firmware update (1.8) that fixes the microphone, and wow… it’s an incredible improvement.
I was fortunate enough to get a pre-order discount via Anker/Soundcore for the Life Q30’s, but I wouldn’t feel out of pocket if I’d paid full price.
From the moment I opened the box to find the smart and well-made storage case, to actually getting hold of the headphones themselves, it’s all been impressive.
The ‘phones are just the right weight, hold on to my head comfortably and they adjust with a firm but satisfying movement.
The headband is soft on my bald head and after wearing for 6-8 hours a day listening to Spotify and taking/making calls, the cups are still welcoming. Controls on the headphones take a couple of days to master, but they work as they’re designed to.
Battery life is right on the money too; I got about 42hrs out of them on their first full charge, a mix of music, calls and approx 8hrs with ANC on. If I only need to charge them on a weekend, then I’m very happy.
Connecting to my personal Android phone via NFC was as simple as a tap and to add the work phone via Bluetooth took very little effort – the supplied start-up guide covered what I needed.
Zero drop-outs on either connection and very clear on calls; my colleagues have commented about the recent improvement in call quality as I’ve switched from using the Soundcore Life P2 buds to these headphones.
Music is now a treat as the accompanying Soundcore app allows for many different EQs (personal favourites are Acoustic and Rock) which give a whole new life to songs. Treble is clear and not too high, bass can either be a boom or just the deeper rumblings that you didn’t realise make a song so good. The sometimes awkward middle of the soundscape gets picked up well – The Masterplan by Oasis has many levels of an orchestra and I’ve heard new little extras for the first time in 25 years thanks to the Life Q30’s.
The Active Noise Cancellation was the primary feature I was interested in and it doesn’t disappoint.
Working from home means that at 3.30pm when the kids get home, there’s more distractions. Not anymore. I switch on ANC and the background noise of screams and shouts from downstairs disappears.
I can’t comment on travel yet but I expect these should perform admirably.
Having tried on a few (very expensive) models from Beats, I can happily say I’m glad I didn’t commit to them and took a chance on these.
Well made, great sound, excellent features, another winner from the Anker/Soundcore range!
If, like me, you’re looking for a pair of high quality, Bluetooth headphones for all your lockdown Zoom meetings, the Soundcore Life Q30 certainly appear to fit the bill, especially at the launch price point. I was pretty exciting to receive them, so that I could ditch my company-provided Sennheiser wired headphones and untether myself from my laptop. First impressions were great – they’re beautifully made, hugely comfortable, and the sound quality is amazing for my working/focus music, especially with the really effective noise-cancelling switched on.
At the time, that’s where the good news ended. I tried to use them on my next Zoom call, and found that Zoom could barely detect any sound from the headphones’ microphones. Disaster! Anker customer support were incredible – very responsive, and tried to help me solve the problem, but nothing worked. They sent a replacement pair, but the problems persisted. I thought all hope was lost. Fortunately, the pace of Anker’s technical team is such that within a matter of a few weeks a firmware fix was released which was easy to install from the Soundcore app on my phone, and now I’m a very happy user! My faith in Anker has been fully restored, and I would recommend these to anyone who wants premium quality at a very reasonable price.