Are Soundcore Headphones Any Good? Here's What Users Are Saying

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When we talk about major headphone brands, giants like Sony, Sennheiser, and Bose often top most lists. These brands have built legacies over several decades of producing high-end audio products that resonate well with consumers. That's not all, headphone manufacturers like Sony don't operate exclusively in the premium segment either. You have options available at nearly every price point and in different form factors.

When you're recommending someone a pair of Sony headphones, you're doing so with a sense of confidence that comes from the reputation that the brand has built over the years. That said, turning a blind eye to other alternatives isn't a good idea — especially when they claim to offer a better bang for the buck. Soundcore is one such brand that makes affordable headphones that offer high-end audio quality.

Soundcore is owned by Anker — a brand you may have heard of when shopping for chargers, power banks, or other smartphone accessories. The sub-brand's inception into the audio space was with the launch of the first Soundcore speaker in 2014. Over a decade later, Soundcore now has a healthy catalog of headphones, speakers, and earphones that come in at attractive prices — but how do they hold up in the real world? Based on customer feedback on Amazon and reviews from experts in the industry, Soundcore's headphones seem to be a safe recommendation to those who need a premium audio experience at a relatively affordable price point.

After having scoured through Amazon reviews, threads on Reddit, and reviews on YouTube, we found the consensus among users has been that Soundcore headphones surprisingly punch well above their price range. Soundcore's expertise seems to lie in providing premium-built headphones with respectable noise cancellation at price points that undercut the competition quite aggressively.

One user expressed how the Soundcore Q20i Active Noise Cancelling Headphones "would be worth it at 3X's the price." These retail at around $49.99 and offer features like Hi-Res audio, ANC, and a 40-hour battery life. Over at Reddit, where the crowd is usually difficult to please, most users agree that Soundcore's headphones deliver decent performance for the price.

We even took a detailed look at the Soundcore Motion X500, which is a Bluetooth speaker, and were thoroughly impressed by its loudness, premium build, long-lasting battery life — all for a price that's very competitive. The brand's earphones also sell well, with the Soundcore P30i Earbuds receiving mostly positive reviews with a 4.4-star rating on Amazon. One of the top reviews called these earbuds their "best discovery on Amazon," with several other customers praising their sound and comfort.

The Soundcore Space Q45, which are one of the company's pricier headphones, earned a 7.8/10 score in a comprehensive review carried out by RTINGS. While they score very well for noise isolation and everyday use, they are not ideal for wired gaming since the microphone becomes inaccessible over AUX.

The Soundcore Q45 headphones enjoy mostly positive reviews, but do have a set of common complaints raised by users. The low-end frequencies, specifically, have been reported as being the headphone's weakest aspect. Soundcore does have a companion app that lets you tweak the EQ and tune these headphones to your liking. However, if you're a fan of bass-heavy music, you might not be thoroughly impressed.

One user defined the low-end frequencies as being "muddy" after tweaking the EQ to output more bass. They ended up returning the pair after not being able to strike a good balance between clear vocals and strong bass. Build quality has also been mentioned as being poor, with a few instances of the hinge giving way or the material on the ear cushions falling apart.

While ANC happens to be one of Soundcore's stronger suits, there seem to be a couple of reviews mentioning slightly underwhelming noise cancellation performance on the Q45. It's worth noting that they do get compared to the AirPods Pro that we reviewed, which not only cost significantly more, but have been the industry leader in ANC for a while now. Customer complaints are similar for other Soundcore headphone models like the Q20, where ANC and battery life seem to be the areas where the product falls just short of user expectations.

Soundcore has a decent catalog of audio products. A quick search on Amazon fetches options like the Anker Liberty Buds, Soundcore Q45, and the Space One Pro headphones — all of which are rated quite highly by consumers. We used these metrics, alongside detailed customer reviews, as the foundation for this read.

We also scanned through a handful of forum posts on Reddit, where several users expressed their satisfaction and a few issues they've experienced with Soundcore headphones. Reviews from experts in the industry, like TechRadar and SoundGuys, have also rated the Soundcore Space One and Space One Pro headphones decently high, mentioning their impressive price-to-performance ratio.

Generally, shopping for cheap noise cancellng headphones warrants managed expectations, especially if you dip below the $30 price point. Soundcore's headphones start at a touch higher and seem to have found the sweet spot where ANC performance is actually good enough. Regardless of which model you're eyeing, it's always a good idea to scroll down and scour through reviews left by verified customers on Amazon.