Soundcore Space One Pro Review: I Wish the Noise Canceling Was More Powerful

Have you ever encountered a merchandise with truthful overmuch imaginable that a flimsy betterment successful a fewer areas would marque it perfect? Soundcore’s recently released Space One Pros, the successor to its Space One headphones, are that merchandise for me. Priced astatine $200, these over-ear headphones wholly nail astir each department: long-lasting artillery life, intuitively designed controls, and large sound. However, these headphones from Anker’s audio sub-brand bash autumn abbreviated successful delivering almighty sound cancellation and a snug fit.

It’s uncommon for over-ear headphones to beryllium escaped connected me. The accommodation set astir ever offers capable levels for 1 to beryllium comfy enough, truthful I was taken aback by however galore times I had to manually readjust the Space One Pros connected my noggin. The noise-cancelling wasn’t terrible, but it lacked the powerfulness and ratio to cancel intensely capable and transport maine to a vacuum.

Soundcore Space One Pro Review: Design and Fit

Soundcore’s flagship headphones athletics a beauteous humble plan that’s acold from flashy oregon ostentatious. You’re looking astatine a matte integrative assemblage with minimal institution branding connected the earcups’ exterior, heavy foam receptor cups, and a generously padded headband with leather coating. I don’t caput a humble assemblage arsenic agelong arsenic it’s well-built. The Space One Pros don’t consciousness flimsy; they’re rather sturdy and robust and bash justness to their midrange price. They’re besides afloat foldable, making them easy stowable successful my small tote bag.  

The Space One Pros diagnostic a acceptable truthful flexible that they transverse into loose. I utilized these arsenic my headphones for a fewer days, which progressive wearing them connected my mode to and from work. As I walked briskly done the chaotic Manhattan streets, the headphones would often commencement sliding backward until they’d beryllium sitting astir connected the backmost of my head, conscionable waiting to gaffe off. I had to manually set their acceptable by bringing them forward, which isn’t conscionable bothersome but besides ruins my hair. 

Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

The headphones’ accommodation set is besides looser than I’d like. It doesn’t diagnostic markings oregon a tactile interface that lets you spot the increments you’re adjusting. Just folding oregon unfolding the headphones would often determination the headband’s position. This didn’t impact maine excessively overmuch since I’d ever usage them connected their smallest setting, but it would beryllium reasonably irritating for idiosyncratic who likes to support their headphones astatine a precise circumstantial setting. 

The lone metallic lining is that the loose, casual acceptable does marque it casual to deterioration these for extended periods, though. If I could disregard them sliding disconnected my caput each 10 minutes, that would beryllium great. 

Soundcore Space One Pro Review: Controls

It took maine a portion to larn each button’s occupation connected these headphones, but erstwhile I had learned that, it was reasonably casual to navigate everything from playback and calls to measurement utilizing the onboard controls. I was precise blessed to spot the close earcup sports a measurement rocker. On over-ear headphones similar these with a batch of existent property to enactment with, I’m usually good with swiping up and down for measurement power (the Sony Ult Wear handles that perfectly). Still, the reliability and tactility of carnal buttons are unmatched. The aforesaid earcup besides offers a playback fastener that handles accepting, declining, and rejecting calls isolated from, of course, playing and pausing your content. The near earcup handles powering the headphones on/off and cycling betwixt noise-canceling and ambient mode. 

Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

That’s a batch of buttons, and it would person been acold much confusing if Soundcore hadn’t differentiated them with a antithetic consciousness and size. The measurement rocker is elongated and is casual to archer isolated from the playback fastener conscionable by rummaging your digit connected it. On the different earcup, the powerfulness fastener has been fixed a somewhat stubbier size, and it sports a bumped-out powerfulness icon truthful your fingers tin archer it isolated from the smoother ANC fastener connected the aforesaid cup. 

Pressing the buttons doesn’t supply dependable prompts but has dedicated tones for each enactment performed. It took maine conscionable astir 2 days to get utilized to the tones. 

Soundcore Space One Pro Review: Sound and ANC

The default dependable connected the Space One Pros sounded a small heavy for my taste, but it was thing that playing astir connected the companion app, Soundcore, couldn’t fix. I chose the Treble Boost preset, which added much brightness and airiness to the orchestra. Though the headphones are already rather low-end heavy, you tin property the ANC fastener doubly to boost the bass. It’s precisely similar the bass boost fastener connected the Sony Ult Wear, but it boosts it lone once. Pressing it again volition instrumentality you backmost to your default sound. But really, each this fastener did was adhd unnecessary thump to my euphony that started hurting my caput aft a while. It wasn’t done good capable to clasp the clarity and detail, making astir songs dependable muddy and overly thick. I tin ideate the mode moving for erstwhile you’re astatine the gym, and each you attraction astir is your stone playlist sounding arsenic punchy arsenic imaginable without worrying excessively overmuch astir audio quality.

Though determination is simply a agelong database of presets connected the Space One Pros, astir of them aren’t gimmicky. The podcast preset emphasized the midrange successful the opus I was listening to, and the Treble Reducer instantly took immoderate of the equilibrium that I managed to execute by tweaking the presets. This is simply a highly subjective area, truthful my penchant whitethorn not beryllium yours, but Classical was the preset I enjoyed the most. I felt it did the astir justness to the opus by staying existent to its intended sound.

The Space One Pros boast a unsocial four-stage sound canceling system. Stage 1 detects noise, Stage 2 provides a sound filter, Stage 3 cancels retired sound successful real-time, and Stage 4 amplifies the sound canceling. While the sound canceling wasn’t bad, it didn’t lucifer the bonzer claims made by the company. It was decent but not outstanding. The dependable of the Subway portion walking implicit its vents, which I person recovered 1 of the astir hard noises to cancel, was simply reduced, not canceled. I could perceive my caller conscionable a small better, but I wasn’t placed successful a vacuum acold distant from the sounds of the city. With sound that wasn’t arsenic harsh arsenic the Subway, specified arsenic passersby connected the street, my coworkers successful the office, and my flatmate cooking successful the room portion I was successful the country adjacent to it, were each canceled reasonably decent. 

Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

Soundcore Space One Pro: Battery and Other Features

Battery-wise, you’re looking astatine 40 hours with sound canceling connected and 60 hours without. Those are higher than modular figures connected astir over-ear headphones. Usually, headphones this size connection astir 30 to 40 hours. Quick charging connected the Space One Pros springiness you 8 hours of playback aft 5 minutes of charging. 

Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

The Space One Pros tin link to 2 devices astatine the aforesaid time, which is ever an appreciated diagnostic arsenic it saves you the clip and effort of manually switching betwixt your laptop and phone. An Easy Chat enactment automatically lowers your content’s measurement erstwhile it detects you’re successful a speech with someone. Apple calls this diagnostic Conversation Awareness, and we precocious saw it connected its latest AirPods 4. Make definite the Easy Chat toggle is enabled connected the companion app, though; it isn’t activated by default. It was a pleasant astonishment to spot a sidetone mode connected these headphones. When enabled connected the app, this mode allows you to perceive your ain dependable during a call. You mightiness privation to concisely alteration it to guarantee your dependable is coming done good during an important gathering oregon astatine the commencement of an aggravated gaming session.

Soundcore Space One Pro Review: Verdict

The ANC worked harder astatine reducing the sound than it did canceling it. I struggled to perceive to my calls adjacent erstwhile the mode was enabled. Fit-wise, the leatherette connected the headband was perpetually trying to descent disconnected my caput to the constituent wherever I would person to manually readjust it repeatedly.

I was a instrumentality of the agleam and airy dependable connected the Space One Pros, adjacent if that came aft a small tweaking connected the companion app. The default dependable was somewhat heavy for me, but it could beryllium however idiosyncratic likes their music. In fact, I wouldn’t caput that astatine the gym, too. Easy, intuitive controls are indispensable to the headphones experience, and the Space One Pros aced that. You’re fixed a dedicated carnal fastener for each action, and they’re each differentiated by either size, feel, oregon shape. Some bells and whistles, specified arsenic sidetone mode and casual chat, are besides offered connected these headphones. The Space One Pros decidedly diagnostic much affirmative aspects than flaws, but immoderate of its flaws are excessively important to ignore. I don’t spot myself utilizing these arsenic my mundane headphones due to the fact that I request the loud, chaotic sounds of New York City wholly silenced, not conscionable reduced.