The Soundcore Life Q30 Headset is now available for purchase at an affordable price. We didn’t necessarily have great expectations this time around, as our Life Q20 review makes apparent. However, a few things soon turned this couple of cans into a serious contender for being an African penguin. Additionally, you can check our article on the Anker Soundcore Life Q30 review.
Design
The Life Q30 is a more upscale model than the Life Q20. This is due to the use of stronger plastic, leather, and steel throughout the entire construction, which makes the headphones feel sturdy and durable.
The Life Q30 headphones are designed with a sleek, shiny matte finish in mind, and they come in black. However, Anker is only offering them in black at launch. Just a few thoughts, Anker: Here’s hoping Anker will heed my requests because a silver version of the Life Q20 did release several months after the original model hit store shelves.
These headphones are really big, measuring 7.8 x 7.09 x 3.07 inches and weighing 9 ounces. When passing through the living room, all of our in-law siblings gave us “damn, those are some big a** headphones” looks. When worn for extended periods, you will notice the added weight on top of your head or in your shoulders. The headband’s clamp force is likewise extremely strong, which prevents slippage but also causes soreness to the skull after an hour.
Anker Soundcore Life Q30 review: Comfort
The Life Q30s are quite comfortable in large part due to the high-quality materials utilized for the earcups. The smooth faux leather that covers the ear pads and the headband pad is delicate and breathable; I’ll talk a little more about the material quality in the next section. Although there is plenty of soft memory foam inside these pads to make them comfy, there isn’t nearly enough of it to create the ideal seal around your head.
The Beats by Dr. Dre Solo2 headphones come with a few features that set them apart from other headphones on the market. For one, the pads tend to flatten out more than those of other high-end headphones because there isn’t as much padding. Although it’s not the worst scenario, it is something you notice after using the headphones for a while. The weight is another element that affects comfort. These headphones aren’t the lightest ones available, weighing in at around 9 ounces, and after a few hours of use, you do notice them on your head. The majority of users will find these to be fairly comfortable, so none of this should be a deal-breaker, but if you’re a power user or plan to wear headphones for extended periods of time, be prepared for them to show their weight. ..
Noise cancelling
Anker’s new Soundcore Life Q30 noise cancelling headphones are excellent for ANC performance. They are not as good as Sony or Bose, but they are better than most other noise cancelling headphones. We barely noticed the ambient mayhem on Halloween, which ranged from obnoxious trick-or-treaters ringing the doorbell to our brother-in-law indulging in a Halloween marathon during AMC’s FearFest, because we were wearing the headphones around the house.
The ANC modes on the Anker Soundcore are great for people who want to be able to hear what’s going on around them without being distracted. The three modes are Transport, Indoor, and Outdoor, and each one is designed to “address and filter out sounds prevalent in diverse situations.”
The ANC feature on some headphones can make it difficult to differentiate between left and right channels, because the sound becomes higher in the left channel than in the right. It is also challenging to distinguish between ANC and normal mode because the cans already effectively isolate noise. Get a feel for the bass levels if you forget what mode you’re in because they become more pronounced when you activate ANC.
Anker Soundcore Life Q30 review: Connectivity
The Life Q30 headphones are very stable when used with all of your Bluetooth devices. They have a 15 metre range, which proved sufficient for getting through walls and around corners. There won’t be many connection glitches because the most recent Bluetooth protocol is used here.
NFC is embedded into the earphones, so compatible Android phones can be quickly linked by tapping them against the right earcup. You can also use a headphone jack to connect the headphones to an audio source, but you’ll lose some volume and fullness. ..
Call performance
The Life Q30 headphones have good call quality, but they’re not ideal for making or receiving calls outside. Our editor thought we came across clearly during our Google Hangouts conversation, but she noticed that we were wearing headphones and that it wasn’t as direct as if we were speaking through the computer speakers. The member of our family who called us was unimpressed because she heard some of the argument in the backyard. The mic performance declined and ANC technology had trouble blocking out background noise. ..
Audio performance
The headphones come with a 3.5mm jack, which is great for connecting to your audio equipment. However, you may find that the sound quality is not as good as you would like it to be when using them with other devices. Additionally, the ear cups are not very comfortable and can cause some discomfort if you are wearing them for a long period of time.
This EQ profile sounds muddy and overblown on budget-friendly headphones like these. In actuality, we believe the basic sound spectrum sounds very bossy—something that is very similar to the Beats by Dre sound quality. When listening to spoken words, such as those on radio programmes or podcasts, the bossiness was more noticeable. The Anker Soundcore app does offer a tone of equalization options, but we’ll talk about that in more detail later.
The headphones have an impedance of 16 ohms, which is relatively low. They provide good volume and fullness with the EQ adjusted, and they have active noise cancellation. There are various levels of noise cancellation, from more intense to a lighter touch for your day at work. Additionally, there is a transparency mode to allow some background noise so that when using the headphones in public, you are more aware of your surroundings. ..
Anker Soundcore Life Q30 review: Battery and charging
Anker claims that the battery may last up to 60 hours with ANC off and 40 hours with it on. You should have four hours of playback after a five minute charge from the flat. We did discover really decent battery life. We’ve experienced many days of quite heavy use without having to fill them off, using them primarily with ANC on and at over 75% playback level. These headphones have the advantage of not having an ANC switch, which is all too easy to leave on with the Taotronics and Tribits. Additionally, because they shut down automatically when not in use, they typically still have battery life when we need to use them. ..
Price and Availability
The Anker Soundcore Life Q30 headphones are a great option for those looking for a budget-friendly pair of headphones. They come in black only, but include everything you need to get started, including an aux cable, a USB-C charging case, and a travel case with storage. We highly recommend these headphones if you’re on a budget and are looking for something that will last. ..
Conclusion
The Anker Soundcore Life Q30 are excellent headphones for commuting and travelling. They include a fantastic noise-canceling feature that lessens the roar of nearby bus or aero plane engines, 44 hours of continuous battery life, and comfy and relatively well-built construction. They’re a little heavy, though, which makes them more difficult to carry around. There are occasionally headphones that have a great price/performance ratio and are truly deserving of all the attention. One of those pairs of headphones is the Anker Soundcore Life Q30.
