11 Best Aptx Low Latency Headphones (2023 Updated)

I’ve only used them for one month so it’s hard to determine the long term quality of these earphones. But so far? I like the color (purple, any color besides monochrome black is nice) and quality of the music.

Good value!.

Love the look, love the sound. Good comfort and decent touch controls. Foam tips are included which are a plus. No quality control on the leather case, as mine was pealing.

Pretty good TWS, even without active noise reduction, the sound insulation effect is good enough. Better sound quality than the tws I ever had, ACG is as good as always, the high frequency is excellent.

This headset has great sound. It is quick to charge. The charge last a long time. It sounds like you are in a movie theater. I really love this headset because of the stylish, modern look. I was really surprised that it came in a fancy box and a leather Pouch to hold it.

It really feels like an expensive pair of headphones.

Sound is my deciding factor. I can’t get enough of it. When ai want to zone out, it gives me the right loundness and a little bit more. Next is comfort. The reviews are accurate. Another happy camper here guys.

Try it and you’ll love it.

I am glad to experience the well made headphones that have a better than average sound quality and definitely for it’s price range beats out other brands, especially the anker soundcore products that are not that much better for double the price at which they sell.

The sound clarity, comfort, sizing are worth the 49. 99 discounted price.

They are a great pair of headphones and I loved them for the first week. I found they were easy to set up following your instructions and those on your website for connecting to the Amazon Firestick for a Bluetooth connection.

All was working great for the first week with the Firestick connection described on the website then they stopped working after the first week and I received the following message on the TV: “Stereo Bluetooth headsets may impact your 2.

4GHz WiFi and audio performance. To remove the impact connect your Amazon Fire TV to a 5 GHz wireless router. ” I have “no idea” what all that is about, and why did your Zvox wireless headphones work fine for the first week and hours of enjoyment and then just stop working wirelessly after that.

Now all I can do is use a wired connection using the supplied wired cable from my TV to the Zvox headphones, but I found that I have no way to control the volume using that method becasue the volume up & down buttons don’t work.

I just don’t understand why the Amazon Firestick connect worked for about a week with no problems, when suddenly it would not allow the headphone Bluetooth connection. For the last three years I have had an “AT&T Fiber” internet connection which has flawless in providing internet service with an AT&T BGW210 (router/modem?).

If you know of any way to correct this problem, please advise me. Don.

Positives – very easy to pair to my tablet; sound is great. Question/advice more so than critique. I just received this today (6/10/2022) and the main reason I bought this item was for the noise cancelling feature.

I read the instructions in the booklet, you just toggle the on/off ANC button on the left ear. Here is my issue. The green light is on and I still hear sounds. dogs barking, traffic going by my home, phone ringing.

I can say it is muffled somewhat but it doesn’t cancel out sound. I still hear, even with music playing I can hear my dog bark. I was under the impression from the host & representative that all noise was canceled out and you didn’t hear anything.

So. is my brand new just arrived today noise cancelling headphones defective? Anyone else have the same issue? Thanks. please don’t just say not satisfied return w/in 30 days, I want to know if the noise canceling feature is the real deal or not.

Behringer try and make EVERYTHING – and at a low price point. Some things they get really right – and for the price point these headphones are terrific. Bought for my 13 year old son for bluetooth phone.

I didn’t expect the sound quality to be as good as it is. Noise cancellation is moderate – good on low rumble frequencies but less effective on mid range and white noise type environments. i. e. cant compete with the likes of Bose.

but considering this is 80% cheaper than Bose you will be rather pleasantly surprised. I work professionally as a studio based composer so I was very impressed by the sound quality for $ value here. There are other budget headphones out there – and a few “brand” names as well, that have a far more coloured and flat two dimensional sound compared to these.

NO, its not a high quality AKG league of sound – but wow, its actually damn good for $100.

Audio whilst connected via Bluetooth Is average in a quiet without an eq. When in noisy areas the headphones to a great job at cancelling low rumbles to provide very acceptable audio listening. When connected via the AUX cable the sound quality seems to differ depending on what they are connected too.

Listening from laptop (Lenovo Ideapad 720s) the sound is great. From phone (Vivo Y12), not so much. Overall a great pair of headphones for the price.

Excellent headset! Very pleased with my purchase-does everything it says on the box.

Mh40 are the headphones that stand out in this world. All of the clones in the world of headphone don’t equal to the looks and feels of this product with its aluminumand lamb skin leather. It stands by itself with a level of detail never before seen in other brands.

And while it could have just stopped at that it didn’t. It added Aptx codecs for sound. This mixed with Master and Dynamics already amazing sound profile and absolutely incredible sound stage that touches your very soul.

Then because they know they are absolutely beautiful and sound amazing they know that you don’t want to be without them for long as they add 18 hours of battery life along with a quick charge feature that will give you 9 hours of play back in just 30 minutes of charge time.

Music, podcast, and even phone conversations all sound flat out 4D in your head. No, it doesn’t have noise canceling and frankly put, I’m fine with this as this has caused me a great many headaches in the past.

But I can’t speak for others so this may be the only con in my opinion for others, not me. For me I easily can say that after all the other earphones I have ever purchased. this is easily amongst the very best.

The build quality here is second to none. I have found these to be highly comfortable despite the weight (due to aluminium type construction). These are impressive in style also. The mute button I wasn’t sure about – but have used it numerous times already! The lambskin cups and leather headband are great (durable but soft and don’t pinch ears due to memory foam underneath).

I wear glasses and this hasn’t caused any issue for me either. The cables are well constructed and useful to have a longer cable for use in non-portable environments. I have been using these through a Denon system, MacBook Pro and iPad.

The sound is superb. I have found the bass to be strong, precise and not overpowering. The sound is overall ‘warm’, but the mids and treble do not suffer as a result. I find the word ‘dynamic’ comes to mind in terms of sound.

Listening via high quality sources (FLAC files, CD etc) to various types of music – it handles all well. I would say that electronic music seems to be its strongest point to my ears.

I bought these because I liked the cool retro looks and the impressive build quality, and the reviews of the sound had been largely positive. To me, the sound is muddy in the midbass and midrange, and distorted on peaks even at moderate levels with a good headphone amp.

They remind me of my Dad’s much hated Magnavox console “hifi” of the early 60s. The Sennheiser HD6XX and AKG K7XX are sonically far superior for a similar outlay. While the build of the M&Ds is better than either of those, the M&Ds are heavy and fit on the ear, rather than around the ear, unless you have tiny ears.

The Koss ESP95X is in a higher class altogether, at least for classical and jazz lovers who will use them only at home. Rockers would do better with the HD6XX or PSB MU4-2s. I’m waiting on a pair of HiFi Man HE 4XX with high hopes for an all around budget priced winner.

The headphones were simply packaged within the box and come with a charging lead, a quick guide and more detailed instructions. First thoughts on the headphones were they were compact and the headband was hard plastic with no cushioning (perhaps to be expected at this price point).

The earpieces themselves were well cushioned and when initially putting them on they seemed comfortable to wear. The headphones could be adjusted by on either slide by sliding down the headband. The quick start guide is one of these guides that is pictures only to avoid the multiple language issue.

The pictures were clear and well laid out. The first step was to charge the headphones using the charging lead. The lead Sony provides was only 22cm long which is well below the normal length you get.

This made it awkward to charge it. Once charged the next stage was to pair it to a device. On this occasion it was paired with a modern TV. The pairing worked first time without any problems. In terms of sound they were clear but don’t have the depth of sound you find with more expensive headphones which is understandable.

Using the controls on the headphones were slightly fiddly as they are very close to each other and therefore easy to press the wrong button. However having the raised profile on the plastic does help with this and the controls worked as they were intended.

Pairing was also tried with an iPhone with no problems and music was a reasonable balance of bass and treble. In conclusion, the headphones are fine for basic listening to either the TV or music and are a reasonable quality for this price point.

Nothing fancy, but it works for the price. The volume is not loud enough, and the bass is not deep enough. I don’t have the Sony app. Maybe that would make a difference. My $5 JBL earbuds I caught on clearance definitely sounds a whole lot better than these Sony WH-CH510 wireless Bluetooth headphones.

I paired them with my LG cell. ph. and Dell laptop with the volume turned up to 100% on both devices and on the headphones and the Sony WH-CH510 headphones are still not loud enough for me or have enough bass, and I have excellent hearing.

I just lived too far away to return them. However, it does have a very long battery life, as in I don’t have to charge it for several days with continuous use of about 4 hrs. per day. Even then, I really don’t have to charge it at that point, but I choose to.

The Sony WH-CH510 Wireless On-Ear Headphones does fit pretty comfortably on my medium sized head and the the headphones can be adjusted. I wear them sitting down to listen to music or YouTube videos up to 4 hrs.

at a time so I’m not disturbing others in the house, and for walking on the treadmill to keep me entertained. If you’re poor & on a budget like myself, these Sony WH-CH510 Wireless On-Ear Headphones will definitely get you by until you can do better.

No app is required to use them, another reason I like them. Fast and easy set up on your devices for even the least tech savvy individuals.

The wh150 are a solid pair of headphones. They are light and comfortable – wearing them for for several hours is no problem. The sound quality good for music and for podcasts and meetings. Whilst not noise cancelling the pads fit well – enough to cancel out the office levels of background noise without needing to ramp up the volume.

The battery life is amazing. the claimed 35 hours appears to be accurate. These really could be heavily used all week on a single charge. The Bluetooth connection has been solid and remains connected.

There is a small light which flashes when on and connected but luckily the battery life is so good it hardly matters if you remove them and forget to turn off. The buttons peform usual functions but in some ways are to similar feeling to remember which is which.

On the negative side there is no bag of any kind, which would be nice to protect the headphones when not in use. The microphone seems very sensitive to mouse and keyboard – picking up others typing across the room.

This can be distracting (or at least make you self conscious in a meeting). Given the price these are a great pair of Bluetooth headphone with excellent battery life and from a top brand.

I was looking to buy RS 175 for a long time- my old Sennheiser RS 105 were getting too old. RS 175 even on a Black Friday sale is about 3 times more expensive then RS 105 was. So, I was expecting something if not excellent but at least very good.

RANGE: I was aiming at RF headphones first of all because of range. My old ones reached easily 30-40m, not to mention inside the apartment. What a terrible surprise it was when RS 175 was losing signal when I was in the bedroom ( 2-3m away but behind a wall) or in the bathroom (5-6).

I used Jabra Elite 85 ( bluetooth) for comparison and it kept the signal much better. Bluetooth!!! What 100m? Well, “in the line of sight”, sure. Most likely it’s a switch from 900Mhz in the old models to 2.

4Ghz in the new ones. I thought, maybe I got a bad unit since there are so many excited reviews so I am still in doubt if I am missing something. SOUND: Sound is good, but not what I expected for the money.

What is really impressive it’s the bass. Sounds like home theater or the sound you get in the cinema. Again, I was comparing with Jabra Elite 85, which is in the same price category. Treble and mids in RS 175 were sort of dull comparatively to Elite 85, and the speech was better discernible on the latter.

SET UP: Very annoying, complex,tiring and unintuitive. Bluetooth headphones or airbuds connected in less than a minute. TV recognized them right away and you just follow instructions on the screen. RS 175.

OMG, it took me, like , forever and with the help of my cousin over the phone. This PCM mode, you need to find it. And, yes, you need to guess that you have to press and hold the power button on the transmitter to turn it on.

But if the range was as it was supposed to be I wouldn’t hold the grudge about setup since you do it just once. All in all, that’s a huge disappointment. I was craving to enjoy my new Sennheisers for a long time.

What is worse is that in RF “universe” there’s not much of a choice. Probably, will try RS 135 with optical-to-3. 5mm adapter. Or start looking at Bluetooth ones.

This product was referred to me by a friend. I was considering getting those “TV Ears”, and even invested in some Walker Game Ears, which amplifies sound, in order to sit and watch television with my wife, without having to ask “what’d he say?” every 10 minutes.

I have to say that I was a little skeptical; having been hard-of-hearing for several years now, I didn’t think that anything would help when watching the TV. But I was so wrong! The sound quality is great, and I can hear every word spoken in the tv programs.

Highly recommend this product. I wish I could get this kind of “surround sound” in my everyday life!.

I bought these headphones after casting about on the web for a replacement for wired ‘phones that I’ve been using for TV watching. I soon concluded that Richer Sounds was the place to be (don’t know why I bothered looking elsewhere tbh).

I knew I wanted Bluetooth connectivity as opposed to wired, but wasn’t sure how hi-tec to go. Anyway, after reading other reviewers it became clear that JBL were the brand I wanted and I settled on the 650s as a decent price level for what appeared to be great sounding headphones.

I’ve now used them for a few weeks for music and TV. Music comes over as a bit too bass-y for me, losing some vocal clarity, and I’ve had to adjust by using the equaliser options on my tablet. TV though is a great improvement, especially with NC switched off, giving better dialogue clarity.

I won’t be using them on public transport (I prefer to be aware of what’s going on around me) nor for phonecalls, so I’m paying simply for the improvement to my hearing whilst watching TV and the freedom to move around when listening to music or the radio.

Why only 4 stars then? Well, I find them a little tight at the moment (60cm head) but I’m hoping they’ll “relax” after a few more weeks’ use.

Cons: – Can’t charge and use at the same time. – Every single time I adjust the headphones it keeps saying an error message about connecting to Alexa (very frustrating!). Too much flash things that actually made it a worse product.

– Alexa function doesn’t even work properly when needed. For the price of the headphones, I should have just got the basic ones. – There is no “auto stop” functionality on the headphones when taking the headphones off (as mentioned in one of the feedback about the product – they just copy & pasted the wrong feedback on the wrong JBL product which created confusion).

– sometimes the JBL app doesn’t connect to my headphones, very frustrating Pros: – Very comfortable headphones. – Looks good in white/grey. – Great noise cancellation functionality. – Great battery life after a few minutes of quick charge – comes in a little JBL carry bag with the relevant cords – sexy as bass sound/quality when the JBL app is working.

10 hrs in. Good sound overall with clear vocals and base while listening to Tool Eniema. Better without the ANC on. Comfortable ear cups and I have a big head. I bet after a month of wear they will be perfect across the sound and comfort board.

Base is capped at a sound level for function but really any volume higher than a 3/4 bar with the equalizer on in small speakers or rock is too much anyway. Temperature was good. Did not find I was overheating wearing them on a plane for four hours.

Picked them up at a sale price in Canada for an unopened box for $129. Overall great. Don’t and did not Expect the same soundstage Of wearing an open back over ear But I chose these because of the long battery life good sound quality good bass good comfort and price.

I’m not gonna lye, for the money I expected pure garbage. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I still dont know what the manual looks like. They were easy to figure out. The noise canceling removed all unwanted noise but was barley useful as most all the noise was already removed just by the natural design of the headphones.

The sound quality was good but not excellent. With that said , they are the best sounding Bluetooth headphones for that little money I’ve EVER heard. Wow! When you hold these headphones they dont feel like they want to break just because you took them out of the box.

For the features and cost I have to give it to MPOW hands down, These headphones are not a toy. And for the cost it dont hurt to find out for yourself.

This is the second pair I have purchased. I bought a pair to go with my new phone and let my husband try them. He loved them, I love him, so I bought him his own pair. The headphones are comfortable and light.

They have a good range and the sound quality is amazing. They cut out background noise, so I cannot hear any other sound from Tv or even people speaking. They also do not emit sounds. Brilliant! The value is excellent, they were at a sale price when I bought mine.

I would only give one critique, and that is they only come in black. I had to use a marker on mine, so I would know which pair was which. I would really recommend these headphones. Thank you. My husband and myself, love them.

I was simply amazed at the sound quality and the perfect amount of Bass that these ear buds produce. I am a road cyclist and use these while riding my road bike, which is normally a “Major No No”! The reason being you can not normally hear the approaching cars especially from the rear.

With these you can hear the vehicles as they approach! It has to be something they have done to allow certain frequency thru. They also do not block the air and wind sounds but they do block human voices.

If you want to hear someone talking to you with these, you need to remove one of the ear buds. Just don’t put it in your jersey next to your sweating body as it will damage them.

If you’re a frequent traveler, someone who often works in noisy environments, or just in need of instant peace and quiet, noise cancelling headphones might be just the ticket. The past few years have seen an explosion of noise cancelling headphones and earphones at all price points, and popular cell phone accessory maker Anker has gotten in on the action with their Soundcore lineup.

The latest addition to their over-ear product lineup are the Space Q45s, which promise top of the line audio and noise cancelling performance at an accessible price point. Unboxing the Q45s is simple, with everything neatly packed in the included hard-sided travel case and a minimum of plastic wrap used.

The inclusion of a protective carry case is nice at any price, and Anker’s is a soft-touch, hard-sided model that looks good and should keep your Q45s from getting scratched or squished in your bag. The inside is a soft fabric, with room for the Q45s folded and flattened, as well as a bit of space for the included charging and 3.

5mm audio cables. The headphones themselves are, simply put, of fantastic quality for the price, with a look and feel competitive with headphones twice the price. The Q45s are all black, mostly matte soft-touch plastic with splashes of shinier plastic and even metal-like stainless on the headband.

Everything comes together in a classy, understated package that looks and feels premium without drawing much attention. Anker includes some branding, but it’s subtle, and adds to the premium feel rather than detracting from it.

The Q45s provide plenty of flexibility and adjustment to get a good fit without feeling flimsy, and they feature a fantastic amount of memory foam padding on both ear cups and the underside of the headband.

Anyone who’s used on-ear or over-ear headphones knows how important adequate padding is, especially when wearing glasses and headphones together, and Anker hasn’t skimped in this important area. I found the Q45s comfortable with and without glasses.

They exert enough pressure to stay firmly in place, but they didn’t give me a headache even after wearing for awhile, something I’ve experienced with over-ear headphones in the past. Even with a big head and big ears the Q45s should be more than comfortable during use.

Setup is simple with Anker’s Soudcore mobile app, a handy companion I highly recommend you download. Using the app and the quick start guide had the Q45s set up in no time, paired to my iPhone and with the latest firmware installed during setup.

The Q45s are as easy to use as any good bluetooth headset, connecting quickly when turned on and offering control of volume, play/pause, next/previous tracks and noise cancellation mode from buttons on the headphones themselves.

One place Anker differentiates the Q45s is with their excellent mobile app, which offers control beyond the basics above. The Soudcore app allows you to customize actions for some of the physical buttons, as well as adjust the level of noise cancelling and change audio equalizer settings for whatever you’re listening to.

The app is straightforward and responsive, and I have yet to encounter any issues during use. I really appreciate the level of control Anker includes, which should let you customize the Q45s to suit your personal preferences and listening style.

Noise cancellation performance is excellent, among the best I’ve experienced. The Q45s include Anker’s latest noise cancellation technology, operating with three stages to reduce noise up to a claimed 98 percent.

While I can’t test that figure exactly, I can tell you Anker isn’t kidding around with their ANC, as the Q45s do a fantastic job of blocking the rush and roar of wind and movement (like what you’d experience on an airplane) and the everyday background “hum” of life.

Even with no music playing I was impressed with how quiet things became; it’s truly like donning a cone of silence. Add in some music and you’re suddenly transported to your own little world, wherever you might be.

It’s almost disconcerting how quiet things become when you have audio playing, even at low volumes. As I write this, I’m watching folks talk a few yards away, and I can’t hear a word they’re saying. Noise cancellation tech is akin to magic, and Anker does a great job with it — especially considering the price.

Blocking noise is one thing, but how do they Q45s sound? I’m happy to say Anker didn’t skimp on sound quality. On their default settings the Q45s have a very balanced, satisfying sound, with a wide soundstage and plenty of detail.

Vocals come through clearly, with instrumentals wrapping around you, almost in a 3D/surround sound fashion. If you’re used to simple headphones or a single bluetooth audio speaker, having true stereo sound makes everything sound that much better, and adds a dimension to your audio that you might not have realized was missing.

I listen mostly to indie pop/folk and some light pop/electronic music, and I’ve been pleased with the Q45s no matter what I throw at them. Lows are always present, but never overwhelming, and highs are clear without being shrill.

I’ve been perfectly happy with Anker’s default sound profile, and haven’t felt the need to tinker with the equalizer, which is a testament to how well-tuned these ‘phones are. If you find yourself wanting to explore, the Soundcore app includes a dozen or so preprogrammed sound profiles, as well as a customizable 8-band equalizer, so you should be able to fine-tune things to your heart’s desire.

Overall, I’m very pleased with Anker’s Soundcore Space Q45 headphones. They punch far above their price tag, with noise cancelling and audio quality that competes favorably with the best and a price that undercuts them by half or more.

Build quality is top-notch, battery life is almost absurdly long, and Anker’s Soundcore mobile app gives you a wealth of options to personalize the Q45s. All this quality comes at a great price from a company with a solid track record, making the Q45s an easy win in my book.

I first tried Anker headphones about a year and half ago when their Lifetune XR model was released. I was very impressed with it and quickly grew to love it… and so did my teenage son who pretty much commandeered them at every opportunity.

I’ve been waffling between getting another XR for myself and holding out for something new. It took a little longer than I expected but the Anker Space Q45 came on the scene and I quickly snatched one up.

I’ve not been disappointed. The Q45 form factor is very similar to the XR save that the logos are black instead of silver. The cups look and feel like the same material which is very comfortable if ever so slightly warm at times.

Fortunately they’d warm up to a certain degree and would stabilize there, it was never uncomfortable unless maybe the environment itself was warm. I personally wouldn’t use or recommend these for “active” wear but they are great for home, school, travel, and office.

Like its predecessor, the Q45’s sound balanced, with impressive but not overbearing bass presence. One of the things that most impresses me about the Q45’s is the consistency of the sound across all modes – normal, transparency, and noise canceling.

On other headphones with similar modes I always clearly notice the audio quality itself changing from mode to mode, but the Q45’s pleasantly sound indistinguishably the same in all modes, it’s just a matter of how much ambient noise gets in, which to me is exactly the only difference there should be.

In Normal mode you still get fairly decent passive noise reduction just from the isolation that the cups provide. In Transparency mode the sound quality continues to be excellent yet I can hear and talk to those around me normally which is great for when I’m working in the living room – much of which entails watching geeky tech videos – but don’t want to feel completely isolated from my family around me.

And when it’s time to buckle down for isolation and focused study, the Noise Canceling mode does a great job cutting outside sounds to a minimum – I can only ever so slightly hear my family talking around me.

I haven’t had the opportunity to use these on a plane yet but my experience with the earlier XR model says the Q45’s will perform similarly. Battery life is similarly excellent, I had no problem using it for work / Teams calls, and the week I got the Q45’s happened to be a week that included several back-to-back days of all-day telecons.

It was grueling but the Q45’s powered through each day with no problem, I never had a low battery warning and still had power left for streaming TV and movies before the day was done and I plugged them in to charge.

Another pleasant feature that carried over from the XR is that even when you’re plugged into an aux cord the ANC and Transparency modes are still available. In every other combination headphone I’ve used, plugging in an aux cable kills any of the powered features like this so I’m glad this feature remains because it’s great for when I need to plug the Q45’s into a physical device that either doesn’t have Bluetooth, or for which I just don’t want to pair.

The one thing that you DO lose when you plug in an aux cable is the microphone. The microphone is a Bluetooth-only feature, so if you want to go wired and have a mic you’ll need to get a different aux cable that includes its own in-line mic.

I don’t need this often but sometimes having the ability go all-wired in a pinch is a nice option. These are a worthy successor to the XR.

I mostly listen to podcasts via ear buds or some of their newer, wireless equivalents. Even though those sometimes offer noise cancellation, I knew an over the ear set would be better for louder activities, like vacuuming and flying.

The price and form factor had always kept me from buying something with active and passive noise cancellation. I think a set like this one would meet the needs/wants of most people, especially for the value.

In terms of sound quality, these are on par with many of the other wireless over the ear sets I’ve tried. I couldn’t tell much of a difference between wired and wireless modes, which is an improvement over some sets where wirelessness can come with the tradeoff in sound quality.

High, low, and mid frequencies are well produced and can be adjusted with the source EQ settings rather easily. I liked that this unit came with a case, and the set easily folds/twists into something manageable to carry.

It’s not going to fit in your pocket, but larger purses and small backpacks (carryon/personal item) would do just fine. I also liked that just 5 minutes of charging can get you through half a workday.

Charging overnight (or full charge) provides well over a weekend’s worth of listening for most people. The passive noise cancelling is limited by the smaller form factor. I think most would prefer a lower profile set, like this one, over a bigger, bulky one that might only decrease the passive noise by a bit.

Switching on the active noise cancellation didn’t cause the ear pressure sensation that some in-ear units might in some people. I get the ear pressure thing with my in ear sets, so at least for me, I can say this unit didn’t cause that initial discomfort.

What activating it did provide was rather unexpected levels of noise reduction, especially with continuous sounds from my vacuum. I haven’t had a flight, so I haven’t tested there, but I would suspect the same would hold and this would minimize outside noises quite a bit.

Overall, I think this will be a great option for people who enjoy music in noisy settings to drown out the world without hurting your ears. Even at lower volumes, it was able to reduce external noises and you could hear better at lower volumes.

I think the form factor is just about perfect, including button placement, compactness, and comfortability. You can wear these for hours, and since they’re lightweight, the discomfort/strain, should be almost non-existent.

Everything also seemed durable and high-quality. I very much enjoy having this set.

First off, I’d like to note that I find the sound quality of these headphones very good. I’m not an audiophile but I think that all the customization features present within the app coupled with the ANC and transparency modes should leave the average user very happy and satisfied.

Yes, the ANC is not on the level of some other headphones that I’ve used but it’s definitely more than passable in every day situations, granted I haven’t tested it in the ideal environment to test ANC – on an airplane.

In terms of fit and comfort, I think these past muster as well. They came with the medium ‘wings’ already installed, but no gel tips installed. I went ahead and tried the smallest size gel tips (size 0 according to their scale) because those are the size that generally work best for my ears amongst all brands.

So, with the small gel tips and medium wings, I find these very comfortable and very stable. The wings are very soft and don’t bother the cartilaginous portions of my ears at all. Additionally, I’ve tried shaking my head and jumping up and down to try and dislodge these, but they don’t come loose.

I don’t even get the urge to try and push them back into my ears like I do with some other earbuds. So, I think Anker/Soundcore nailed it in these departments. So, then why only 4 stars? Well, I feel there are design and/or engineering issues that I just don’t understand how these issues could end up in the final, shipping product.

The case – I love that the method of opening the case is the slide back lid that Anker/Soundcore have used previously. However, I don’t love how slippery the case is. It’s a plastic, matte finish that just slides through your fingers.

I don’t know if this is to give the case a more ‘premium’ feel as compared to a possible future ‘sports’ version that may have a more rubbery case, but they should put function over form, not the other way around.

Next, the inside of the case is shiny molded plastic. The problem is that the shininess of the plastic makes it very difficult to tell in which direction to place the buds back in. Yes, you can see the charging leads as well as a little red ‘R’ to guide you, but even with those ‘hints’ I find it very difficult to figure out which way the buds are supposed to fit back in the case.

Now, taking the buds out of the case. Again, they seemed to have made this more difficult than it needed to be. The buds don’t have a good point of contact to grab onto, so they are very difficult to pull out of the case.

And, once I do finally pull them out, I end up dropping either one or both just trying to fiddle with them to get them in the correct orientation prior to putting them in my ears. That’s next – putting them in your ears.

I have a feeling Anker/Soundcore must have realized that these are confusing to get oriented correctly to put in your ears because they included a 4 or 5 step diagram the second you open the package trying to explain to you how they are supposed to not only fit into your ears, but how you’re supposed to hold them prior to putting them in your ears.

This should have been a red flag to either engineering or marketing that the design is confusing. Moreover, I think the diagram is incorrect! The way they want you to hold the buds prior to putting them in your ears doesn’t make sense – the picture shows that you have to hold them with the gel tips facing ‘up;’ however, it’s literally impossible to put them in your ears this way.

So, I actually think that’s a mistake in the quick start guide. Regardless, the good news is that once you do finally get them out of the case, oriented correctly in your hands and then into your ears, the sound is great and the fit is comfortable and secure.

Once you’re done listening though, good luck getting them back into the case in less than 10 seconds and with less than 2 slips out of your hands and less than 2 twirls of the buds to finally get them in the right orientation to snap into the case.