The mid-range over-ear headphone market is immensely crowded, and it takes a lot to stand out—particularly as a lot of formerly high-tech features have become standard at lower price points. They’re also essentially a fashion statement in some quarters, so they’ll have to look good.

Anker’s audio subsidiary Soundcore seems to have tried to tick all of these boxes with its latest release. The Soundcore Space One headphones lay a solid foundation by getting a lot right and then building on that with more premium features. After spending a few weeks with a pair, here’s a summary of the ups and downs I experienced.

Soundcore Space One

A comfortable, tech-packed pair of over-ear headphones that punches well above its weight when it comes to features and quality.

Brand

Soundcore

Battery Life

55 Hours (40 hours ANC)

Bluetooth

Yes

Noise Cancellation

Yes

Microphones

3 mics with AI algorithm

Audio codecs

Hi-Res Wireless, LDAC, HearID

Multipoint

Yes

Battery charge time

4 hours in 5 minutes

Price

$99.99

Pros

• Adaptive ANC works well
• Comfortable to wear
• Multi-point Bluetooth and Aux connectivity
• Sounds great

Cons

• Auto pause can be temperemental

Connecting Is Simple

There are a couple of ways of connecting the Space One headphones to a phone, PC, or anything else you want to play audio through. The most basic is obviously Bluetooth and connects in seconds. You’ll want to set the headphones up through the Soundcore App—as this enables a lot of the audio device’s better features. These features include equalizer settings, a scan of your ear for tailored audio, and auto-pause.

A Multipoint Bluetooth connection is also an option. So you can have the headphones linked with a laptop and phone at the same time, with the connection just hopping to whatever decided to play audio last.

Then there’s the AUX cable, which is still a solid option. It allows you to jack into plenty of devices that aren’t a modern flagship mobile phone. The included cable is a bit cheap-feeling, but it works. With that said, you can get a good quality AUX cable for very little money, and the 3.5mm port itself is the actual important aspect here.

The Sound Is Crystal Clear

Everything else mentioned in this review is nice to have and can make a good pair of headphones great. But the audio quality itself is make or break. You can have the most comfortable, stylish, connectable set of headphones in the world, but no one will want them if they make your music sound like trash cans rumbling around on garbage collection day.

Souncore hasn’t messed this one up, the audio is about as clear as you’ll get with a mid-range product. There are a couple of nice ways the headphones keep it crisp, including a part of the app that scans your ear so it can tailor the sound to you.

LDAC support gets a lot out of a Bluetooth signal, and generously sized 40mm drivers pipe that signal right into your ears. The industry on the whole has come a long way over the last few years, and you rarely see (or hear) badly done mid-range headphones. But Soundcore seems to be trying to push to another level with this.

The headphones are very comfortable too. The padding is plush, covering both ear cups and the headband. The plastic is light, so you won’t feel the set pressing into your scalp and ears after an hour.

High-quality ANC Really Makes a Difference

At the $99 price point and higher, active noise canceling (ANC) is to be expected. However, not all noise-canceling headphones are created equal. Under the hood, there’s a set of microphones and an algorithm picking up ambient noise from outside, quickly working out how to counter that noise, and then piping the results through the speakers. I found Soundcore’s hardware and software to be pretty spot on. The manufacturer claims up to 98% of background noise is cut out by the feature, and I’m inclined to believe them.

During the testing period, I traveled a fair amount and the ANC did its job exceptionally well. Airport noise, train sounds, screeching children, and even the roar of a jet engine fade into nothingness when ANC is enabled. Obviously, there’s a small amount of old-school noise banishment in the form of the plush, ear-surrounding cushions on the headphones themselves. But that doesn’t make a ton of difference.

To double-check, I briefly turned the ANC off during the above scenarios and was treated to unpleasant, loud, chaos. I’d suggest you do this at some point too. ANC isn’t some space-age high-end, feature anymore—so it tends to get taken for granted.

If it all gets a bit too quiet in there, the level of ANC can be adjusted. There are five pre-set levels to choose from, allowing you to get pretty much the exact level of background noise you desire.

The downside is, ANC does require a good bit of processing power. As a result, it reduces the maximum battery life. According to Anker, going sans ANC will give you 55 hours of battery life as opposed to 40. So enabling it costs you around 27% of your single charge playtime. But even with ANC enabled, the battery life is longer than you’ll likely need.

Auto-Pause Is Handy, but Temperamental

Auto-pause is a handy feature but is still something you’re more likely to spot on a pair of mid-range to high-end earbuds than over-ear headphones. Soundcore aren’t the only headphones with this feature, but they’re one of the few if not only sets in the lower-to-mid range to include it.

The concept is simple. There’s a sensor in the left earcup that spots when you take off your headphones. It then pauses whatever is playing. The audio will resume once you put the headphones back on. It’s handy, and saves you rummaging for a pause button—but it isn’t perfect.

This seems to be a known issue, and Soundcore has a dedicated page on its website to help you troubleshoot it. While auto-pause did let me down a couple of times, it was always due to one of the problems listed. Like the initial failure being down to me skirting its app and just connecting the headphones directly to a phone via Bluetooth. Auto pause needs to be enabled via the Soundcore app first, hence the confusion.

Other problems may be down to something like dirt or debris on the sensor, or the user manually pausing the music before taking off the headphones. Connecting via AUX cable also disables the feature. Still, it’s one of those things you get used to, and while it could be better, it’s still nice to have.

Should You Buy the Soundcore Space One Headphones?

With an MSRP under $100, the wireless Soundcore Space One headphones really bring a lot to the table. In terms of audio quality, they punch a little above their weight, the comfort level is superb, especially if you’re wearing these for an extended period, and the ANC does a fantastic job of blotting out unwanted background noise.

There’s a good color selection. You have pastel-ish blue and pink if you haven’t had your dreams crushed by life yet, or black if you’re a regular member of society. So, something for everyone.

Battery life is superb too. You get 40 hours with ANC enabled, which is enough to make disabling ANC pretty pointless—provided you remember to charge the headphones every other trip. Charging is relatively quick and only involves jamming a USB-C cable into a port under the left cup.

In short, this is a pair of headphones at a lower-to-mid-range price point that has a few higher-end features. They’re worth it at the MSRP, and if you can snag a pair on sale (as often happens with Soundcore products) then you have an absolute bargain.

Soundcore Space One

A comfortable, tech-packed pair of over-ear headphones that punches well above its weight when it comes to features and quality.