Soundcore Anker Life Q20 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones, Wireless Over Ear Bluetooth Headphones, 60H Playtime, Hi-Res Audio, Deep Bass, Memory Foam Ear Cups, for Travel, Home Office

THIS REVIEW IS SOLELY BASED ON USING THE HEADPHONES IN THE GYM:

Pros:
– Sound quality is good. Wish the bass was more aggressive but that isn’t a deal breaker for me.
– Noise canceling function is good. You can definitely “hear” the difference if turned off/turned on.
– The buttons work.
– Ear cushions are comfortable, but there is a con to them (see below)
– Durable. See below for more
– Battery life is good. I need a full charge maybe every 3 weeks. I only use it in the gym…5 days a week, 2-3 hours.

Cons:
– If you aren’t used to softer ear cushions, it will be slightly uncomfortable due to sweat.
– The headphones fit ok. But they aren’t the most snug. I powerlift and every rep of heavy deadlifts or setting up for bench these headphones fall off.
– The charging cord is absolute garbage. You need to angle it a certain way to keep the charge on the headphone because the cable is blocky and doesn’t fit snug.

I would definitely recommend these headphones for gym goers that want affordable and DURABLE headphones. I’ve used UA Headphones in the past but had to get it exchanged THREE times in a year due to the product malfunctioning. And every malfunction was the same; buttons stop working, one side of the headphone stops working.

I’ve dropped these headphones plenty of times during lifting and it still holds up. Really happy with this product

UPDATE: Added the 5th star. Read the review with edits at the end.

Wow. I am rarely this blown away by consumer-grade peripherals, but I feel very compelled to write a glowing review of these headphones.

I do a lot of audio work, and cans are ubiquitous. I have some wired Sennies that I love behind the mixer, a couple wired Audio Technicas that have stood the test of time in the broadcast studio, and a pair of nice Sony BT cans with ANC, so I will be comparing these Ankers to the Sony model WH-1000MX3.

Without question, Anker has come further, faster, than a lot of peripheral manufacturers. The attention to detail in their products is exceptional, and downright attractive. The build quality is great, the packaging is great, the functionality is great, the ergonomics are great. My experience with their hubs is what leaned me toward their headphones.

After a bad experience with in-ear phones on an airplane, I decided I really needed some over-the-ear headphones for flying, but I didn’t want to carry around a $300 pair of cans that I only use a couple dozen times a year. I looked on Amazon, saw the reviews, read the single-star complaints, and plunked down a whopping $60 (SIXTY BUCKS?!?! Are you kidding?) figuring they couldn’t sound that awful and would be perfect for the task.

Let me assure you: these are the perfect headphones for flying.

I like the idea that if they get lost or stolen, they’re easily replaceable. I love how well they fit (with a caveat, below), and they look great. MOST of all, holy cow do they sound great!

Pairing the first time was a little bit of a process, but that’s to be expected the first time you play with a new toy. After that, I put on my go-to sound check song (“Sacrilege,” by Mentallo and the Fixer), cranked the volume way up, and listened.

I have no idea what the THD or frequency range on these are, but I don’t think I care. The “silent note” at the 1:00 mark of that song came through so clearly, without even the slightest hiss or noise, that I was madly in love with them immediately. The dynamic range is exceptional, there was no need for me to play with the super-duper-bass-button-doodad, I just let it play.

The highs are crisp without tinny tones, the lows are deep without rattling the 40mm drivers (I’d love a set like this with 50mm drivers), just a very clean, direct, simple, uncomplicated sound quality that rivals the AT 500’s I have and is absolutely on-par with the Sonys.

So I tested the ANR. I turned on the A/C in my office, reset Sacrilege, and played the beginning again. The A/C, as expected, kinda dampened the experience, but not any worse than the Sonys. I reset the song again, with the A/C on, and activated ANR (it’s called ANC on the Sonys). THIS is where the two headphones differ dramatically.

With Noise Cancellation on, the Ankers outperform the Sonys. Period. It’s a night and day difference, so if this is why you’re considering these headphones, waste no more time and go get yourself a pair.

In terms of tonal quality, I put these at the top of the list of any wireless earphones anywhere. I mean it. They’re better than ANY earbud type I’ve listened with, they’re better than every other OTE without ANR/ANC, and they’re as good as the Sonys, but with better ANR. They’re better than any WIRED earbud, too, including the Sony IEMs I used to use back when everything had an 1/8″ jack.

Sound is, as you would expect, not ‘quite’ as good as the higher-end wired ATs and Sennies. I don’t think Anker would mind me saying that, because they’re a completely different application. If you play MP3s and don’t think they sound worse than lossless files, you wouldn’t appreciate the higher-end phones, so go buy these right away. If you can’t hear compression noise in your satellite radio, then you won’t appreciate the compression of BlueTooth and you should go buy these right away.

That’s quite a lot of good stuff to say about a pair of headphones that cost less than a decent dinner.

There are 3 reasons for the 4 star review.

1. The ear pads are uncomfortable for my ears. Not VERY uncomfortable, but enough that I have to adjust the phones several times during a 3 hour flight. It might be that they’re new and I just need to break them in. If that turns out to be true, I’ll adjust the review up a star.

2. The battery life isn’t that great. To be fair, I only need about 12 hours of battery life and I’ll just recharge them. However, the advertised battery life is estimated at 40 hours with ANR and 60 hours without. My experience is that with ANR I get about 22-24 hours, and without I get about 48. Now, I have not had these very long, so I’ve only timed my first recharges, so if it turns out the battery life goes up with proper use, I’ll add the 5th star.

3. They don’t fold up as small as the Sonys or even my ATs. This one alone is not worth docking a whole star, but it’s the only other complaint I have. Carry-on space is so limited, and there’s a pocket in my bag that the Sonys fit in, and these don’t (not by much though).

Hope that helps you make a decision. I’m very happy with these, and I just might give them some airtime at sea level just for giggles.

UPDATE January 2023: After using these headphones for a reasonable amount of time, I’m adding the 5th star. The earphone cushions did “break in,” which I’m not crazy about (if it breaks in, it will break out), but they did become more comfortable. Ordinary movement is sufficient to avoid the urge to move the head phones. On a 3 hour flight, they’re perfectly fine. When they are new, the cushions are a bit stiff and I should have realized that, because my AT’s needed their cushions replaced after umpteen years.

Battery-wise, I am getting pretty close to advertised spec, but I have noticed that if you crank up the volume on your phone or player, then crank up the volume on the headphones, the battery life suffers dramatically. Play with it a bit, adjusting device volume and then headphone volume until you get good sound without noise.

Finally, I’ll tell you that I like these so much that I bought a BT card for my PC. These are pretty good for videoconferences, and they’re nice to have while you run a buzzsaw or have screaming children next door and you just want to not be distracted. I’ll still prefer my Sennies for mixing, and I still prefer my AT’s for ordinary focused PC work, but these cans are exceptionally good. I cannot get over how good they are, affordable or not.

Five stars. When they wear out, or break, or otherwise stop making me smile, I’ll just go buy another set.

First off, this is not a comparison between the Anker Soundcore Q20s and any product from Bose or Sony.. That is an unfair comparison as they are not even in the same ball park.. I know that most people want to get an understanding of how comparable they are to those but if you aren’t willing to spend the money on those, you aren’t going to get near what they offer..

That being said, for this price range these are the best hands down.. One hit KO.. I’ll list all the features separately so they are easy to find and read about.

Active Noise Cancellation:
Let me get some things out of the way, I work at a gas plant in a landfill as IT and Data Reporting.. My job is noisy sometimes.. I hear a constant hum from the motors in the plant right outside my door all day long.. I also travel a lot from the various plants we run.. While ANC is on these headphones won’t block out immediate talking next to me or sudden loud noises, but they do block out the noise from the plant.. That is without the music.. I do need to point out that the talking is trying to talk over motors so it’s louder than your average office space. When the music is on and running, it adds a whole separate layer to the cancellation as I can no longer hear anything else..

Sound:
I don’t typically have music up loud, most I’ve turned them up to is 50% because I’ve been rough on my ear drums since I was a kid playing drums at a young age.. As I’ve gotten older I’ve been more prone to try and protect my ears.. That being said, the sound quality is very nice with or without ANC engaged.. I find it’s way more enjoyable with ANC on due to everything else being tuned out.. Some headphones will warp the sound when ANC is turned on, these do not.. The sound is as impressive with the feature on as it is off.. This is incredible.. I listen to a range of music from Rap and Hip-Hop to Metal and Hard Rock and they all sound clear and precise in these headphones..

They do have a bass-up feature that increases the bass a little more.. This works well without muddying the sound quality too much.. I imagine if you increase the volume too much it might diminish but from my listening around the 50% max it’s been outstanding.. Bass gains can be a real hit and miss for me as some lose sound quality.. With these that’s not the case..

Quality:
The headphones feel amazing.. They have a nice weight to them (which is not for everyone). I personally like a little weight to my equipment.. It is sturdy and feels solid.. I was afraid of it feeling a little too plastic like but they really don’t.. Now they aren’t as nice as your $200-$300 headphone, but again, their price range they are amazing quality.. The ear cups are very comfortable and soft memory foam.. I was actually surprised that my ears don’t get as hot as normal.. They will overtime due to the design.. It’s impossible to get around since it traps heat, but these seem like they don’t get as warm as fast.. Also the ear cups feel amazing.. I’ve literally worn them all day yesterday and felt no ear fatigue or strain.. This is a solid!

Functionality:
A feature that isn’t talked about a lot with these is the awesome ability to connect to not just one but two devices simultaneously.. Now a note on that: You cannot listen to two devices at the same time.. What is going on is I’m able to connect to my computer and listen to music on it while being connect to my phone at the same time.. When someone calls me and I answer, it swaps input to my iPhone and stops playing the music in my ears.. Once the call is finished, it swaps back to my computer and I resume listening.. This is an amazing feature that I use daily!

Battery:
The battery is very nice.. When I received my unit the first thing I did was pair it to my devices (of course) and started checking it out.. I received them with 60% battery.. I used them the rest of that day at work for a couple of hours.. then when I left, used them a little more at the house and watched half of a movie on them before going to bed.. They were still at 60%.. The box says that they last 40 hours and that is accurate.. If you don’t use the Bass-Up technology you can squeeze even more.. and to not use the ANC it goes up higher.. 40 hours for battery life though is incredible for this price range.. I cannot complain!

Packaging:
The packaging was very nice and well put together.. It came with a charge cable and 3.5mm aux cable (which is great for my Nintendo Switch when I fly).. While I would have loved to seen a USB-C type adapter (as would many others) that is still an expensive change to make and would probably bump the price up out of the $60 range.. I understand from a manufacturing point the reasoning to possibly go with a micro-USB.. It would be nice for C, but it is what it is.. That doesn’t change how well this thing is made and works.. The only gripe I have and it’s a minor thing is the case they come with.. Well, you can’t call it a case cause it’s just a bag.. Now, it’s a very nice bag, but I throws these buys in a backpack with a laptop and iPad and Switch (in a hardcase) and so a bag doesn’t really protect your headphones.. Luckily I had a nice hard case from a cheap pair of headphone I received a few years ago (the case was the nicest part) and they fit perfectly.. So if you don’t have one buy a hard case for them..

Overall:
Overall, for the price these are the best hands down.. You really cannot beat their ANC and sound quality for this price.. I will definitely buy these again and probably buy my wife some so she’ll stop stealing mine.. If it was out of 10, I’d give this product a 9/10 simply due to no hard shell case..

I ordered these to help me in moments of sensory overload as a new mom who is on the autism spectrum so I can be more attentive to my baby’s needs even if he’s in the middle of a screeching cry. Their affordability, noise canceling feature, and positive reviews were driving factors behind picking this pair, and while they may not be perfect, I’m happy with my purchase. I’ll get into the specifics below.

NC Feature: First and foremost, these are certainly more of noise reducing headphones than they are noise canceling. This isn’t too much of an issue since the reduction is enough to take the edge off of noise in my surroundings, but I’m demoting a single star because of it.
Sound Quality: I was very pleasantly surprised by how nice my music sounded on these for just $60. I expected them to be tinny, but they rose above, and the added bass is rich without being overwhelming or stuffy sounding too.
Charging: These arrived fully charged which was another nice surprise, last a long time as advertised, recharge efficiently, and include a standard USB to Micro USB cable. No complaints there.
Adjustability: These offer the standard “click” type expandable headband to accommodate various head shapes and sizes, but if you have long hair like me, you may find yourself needing to be careful removing the headphones since hairs like to get tangled in the adjustable area of the headband.
They’re comfortable regardless though, so complaints here either.
Appearance/Material Quality: Another nice feature. I ordered the black pair to match my belongings better and they certainly don’t LOOK as inexpensive as they are. They’re pretty sleek with no gaudy branding or logos to distract the eye, and the feature buttons are subtle yet easy to find with your hands without looking.
Packaging: Sturdy box and molded plastic shell inside. Included was a water resistant drawstring pouch to carry the headphones when not in use (a pleasant surprise that I now use often to transport them), a user manual, a 3.5mm aux cable, and the previously mentioned USB to Micro USB charging cable.

Anyway, that’s all I can think of to speak on for now. Will update if anything changes, but for now I definitely recommend these headphones.

Overall they are a decent head phone not wow like bose or higher quality but they do the trick for a cheap pair of head phones. They’ll work until the holiday sales start.

Pro’s

Bluetooth or aux cord. Most devices are going away from aux cord but they know a lot of people have older devices and can not financially update and this allows both.

Decent sound for a cheapo pair of head phones. I wouldn’t rave it great but it gets the job done. I compared them to my older head phones from 10 yrs ago and was a bit impressed but def NOT wow they’re great. No where near bose but it does the job. It does some sounds decently but is not so great at other sounds. If you like surround sound I would not rate these great for that. I love good sounding music and these don’t cut it for me but will do until the holiday sales kick in. I live in my head phones so I will get high quality ones these ain’t it.

Won’t break the bank. For a cheap head phone these are actually pretty decent. I’ve had my fair share of cheap not so great head phones. If you are not hard on your head phones you could easily get a couple yrs out of these. I have a lot of aux cord devices and this will probably end up being a back up pair for those. In the long run I may eventually take out the battery and keep them as a aux cord headphone.

Great noise cancelation up to about 90 dec. That’s pretty much most back ground noise. Works great as I’m a light sleeper. This is a standard feature with most head phones these days.

Con’s

Short battery life. I mean 40 hrs isn’t that long. I know other head phones that can last up to 3 days with a full charge. I mean that’s every other day you’re charging them for 2 hrs.

Short axu cord. Sorry but 1.5 ft is very short and you need at least a 3 ft cord to be comfortable with it. You can easily buy a longer aux cord on amazon if this one be too short for you. Yes the aux cord can affect the sound quality. You be best to buy a more decent one than the cheapo one that came in the box.

Charging cord is very short 0.5ft. Designed to charge device off to the side not while using it. I am glad I bought a universal head charger as this won’t cut it for me. Am I the only one who finds the tedious charging of head phones annoying?

Environment affects battery life. This head phone is designed for the ideal temps of 40-90f. Anything outside of this range can heavily affect them. If you read the manual this is in there.

Volume controls are a bit difficult to access. You have to tuck under the ear piece and feel for them instead of blindly taping the ear piece for it. This is a bit frustrating.

Not the best sound. Great for a chep pair but I wouldn’t go raving about the sound quality. I am use to high quality sound such as bose or better.

Can’t hear anything in a noisy environment above 90 decimals unless the volume is over 30%. Sorry but my old beats could easily blast through that and I could hear my beats as low as 5% volume in noisy environments. I had a fan running in the back ground and had to have them 40% or higher to hear them.

App that comes with the head phones will steal the data on your phone. So many people fall for this and you can run the device fine without it. Please read the i agree clause and you will save your self from this fate. You do NOT need the app and they work just fine as a stand alone device.

Unable to disable the voice notifications. I use my head phones a lot and find it annoying when your device randomly says “battery low” or gives an odd command out of the blue. Zero way to disable this.

A bit tight for me. These are pretty tight on my head and I do not find them the slightest bit comfortable. The ear pieces are huge for me and it would be nice to have them a couple inches smaller.