Anker Soundcore: High-end headphones without the hefty price tag

The Anker Soundcore Life Q35s have capabilities seen in headphones costing three times as much

Thu, 27 May, 2021 - 14:27

Noel Campion

There are lots of fantastic options for those willing to spend €300 plus on good wireless ANC headphones but choices are less when you don’t want to spend under €150. I've been using Anker's Soundcore Life Q35 headsets, which have many of the capabilities seen in headphones costing three times as much.

Design

The Live Q35s have a luxury look and feel with plush faux leather under the metal headband and on the ear cups. The rest of the headphones have a two-tone soft matt finish in a polycarbonate material with a dark blue colour.

Fit and comfort

There's lots of room in each earcup to fit my medium-sized ears comfortably and the padding is soft and compresses easily for a tight seal.

The headband has a good amount of pressure but not too much that I felt any pain from the clamping force over long listening sessions. There's a large range of extension which will suit small to large head sizes too and I never felt like they'd easily fall off my head if doing something active like running.

Controls and features

There seems to be a trend in recent headphone releases to omit a 3.5mm headphone jack. Thankfully, the Q35 has one on the right ear cup along with buttons for volume up, down and play/pause. A 3.5mm audio cable comes in the box as well as a USB-C charging cable and an aeroplane audio adaptor. On the left are buttons for power, NC (noise control) and a USB-C port for charging.

I’m a big fan of physical control buttons but the Q35 also feature a quick method to switch between ANC and transparency mode. Simply cup the right earcup for a second with your hand and it will toggle between the two modes.

Bluetooth 5 provided a stable and quick connection to all of the devices I paired the Life Q35s with during my testing. Simultaneous connections to two devices are also supported, which is always a plus but isn't usually a given in less expensive headphones.

As well as the base compatibility with SBC and AAC audio codecs the Q35 also support LDAC for hi-res audio on Android devices that support it — again, something you generally only see on more expensive headphones.

Thanks to the built-in proximity sensors, playback will pause when you take the headphones off and play again when you put them back on your head. It’s nice to see that you have the option to turn this wear detection off in the Soundcore app if you don’t like the feature.

Sound quality and ANC

The call quality of the microphones is excellent with no complaints from the callers on the other end. I like to use transparency mode during calls because I find it weird if I can’t hear my own voice. This works well enough but isn’t as natural-sounding are the likes of the AirPod Max.

ANC has three modes — Transport, Indoor and Outdoor. Transport does the best at reducing noise and although the ANC isn’t class-leading, it’s incredibly effective considering the price of these headphones. It did a great job of reducing fan noises in my office PC with no music playing and at reducing the sound of voices.

The sound quality is good and I don’t think you’ll do much better at this price point unless you’re willing to pay at least double the retail price. Again, it isn’t class-leading but offers good detail in the mids and highs with powerful bass. However, at higher and lower volumes I found clarity between the tones got a little muddy.

The sound was also a little distorted at the max volume, which is too loud for my comfort anyway. These are minor criticism and far from dealbreakers. Overall, I enjoyed the listening experience while listening to everything from classical to rock music.

The real icing on the cake is the inclusion of LDAC for those who have hi-res files or subscribe to a streaming service like Qobus or Tidal. I did notice a slight improvement in audio quality while listening to tracks on Qobus Studio but I don’t think these are the headphones for audiophiles.

One note I would add to the sound quality is how much ANC changes the sound when enabled. Some may not notice this but I did. The bass in particular sounded better with it on rather than off. It’s just as well then that the Q35s offer up to an incredible 40 hours of battery life with ANC on and up to 60 hours with it off.

Finally, the sound can be tweaked to your liking via the Soundcore apps eight-band equaliser.

Verdict

The Soundcore Life Q35 are one of the easiest headphones I’ve tested to recommend. They’re jam-packed with high-end features, offer excellent comfort in a premium design and they come with a hard case and all the accessories you’d need for travel.

Available now €130 EU Soundcore

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