Verdict
Stylish affordable headphones with good sound and a mostly effective noise-cancelling performance, the Soundcore Space One offer an effective all-round performance for less than £100/$100.
Pros
- Comfy to wear
- Stylish looks
- Effective (enough) ANC
- Good clarity and detail with music
- Affordable price
Cons
- EQ options are rubbish
- ANC can struggle in very noisy areas
- Call quality disappoints
Key Features
-
Battery life 40 hours with ANC, 55 without it
-
Wireless Hi-Res Audio Supports Sony's LDAC for higher quality sound
-
Hybrid ANC Customisable noise-cancelling performance
Introduction
Not everyone can afford the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, which is where budget over-ears like the Soundcore Space One appear on the scene.
These headphones, along with efforts from Sony, EarFun, Edifier, and Panasonic have pinched features normally seen on premium headphones such as LDAC wireless streaming, to Hybrid Adaptive Noise-Cancellation and longer battery life, and brought them down to a price that’s easier to live at £100 / $100.
While the spec looks good on paper, it’s with real-world testing where we’ll see if the Soundcore Space One can deliver on their promises
Design
- Lightweight design
- Physical controls
- Foldable
The first thing to notice about the Space One is how lightweight they are. A look online suggests they’re around 260g, which is heavier than the Bose QuietComfort Headphones.
The padding on the earpads and the underside of the headband is made from a soft material that provides a comfortable point of contact, and the clamping force isn’t too tight. There’s leeway to adjust the placement of the earcups, avoiding any uncomfortable pressure on the head.
The Space One is collapsible for folding away (there’s a pouch rather than case), and from a visual perspective, effort has been made to make these stand out with distinctive finishes (sky blue, latte cream, and jet black). Though the linkages and earcups are plastic, the build quality feels good enough for prolonged use.
The physical controls aren’t the easiest to locate. I’m often fumbling on the side of the earcup to find where the controls – which cover noise-cancelling, playback, volume (or track skipping), and power – are.
The 3.5mm jack offers wired listening and USB-C port for charging.
Features
- LDAC support
- Google Fast Pair
Wireless support is Bluetooth 5.3, and you can stream in SBC, AAC, and LDAC. The wireless connection is strong in AAC mode with only a few jitters walking through Waterloo station concourse.
When LDAC is engaged, there’s no Bluetooth multipoint, so you can’t connect to two devices simultaneously. Android users benefit from Google Fast Pair.
Call quality is the weakest part of the Soundcore Space One’s feature set. Testing before and after an update that aimed to improve call quality, the Space One muffles voices and it’s hard to hear the person on the other end when there’s lots of noise.
App Experience
- EQ customisation
- Personal sound profile
- Noise-cancellation modes
The Soundcore app offers plenty of ways to customise the headphones’ behaviour. It’s easy to use, instructive in its descriptions, and responsive. There’s not much to ask for aside from improving the EQ options – it’s disappointing in that there are so many, but the differences between them is minor.
You can assign the Bass Booster EQ (which slightly improves bass response) to the buttons, but that’s the only EQ option that can be added. You can also create a custom EQ but again, the differences aren’t too pronounced.
It’s the same with the HearID customisation. My EQ profile turned out to be almost no different to the Signature Soundcore EQ.
You can fine tune the noise-cancellation/transparency, toggle on Wind Noise Reduction, (slightly) customise the controls, limit the headphone’s volume level (to below 90dB), switch listening modes (LDAC or AAC), and enable wear detection which is a prompt for pausing and restarting music.
Battery life
- Claimed 40 hours
- Fast-charging support
Soundcore claims a battery life of 40 hours with ANC on, and 55 with it off. The tests I carried out indicated that the Soundcore actually has less than that, with around 30 hours in the headphone’s AAC mode.
That’s still long enough to hold water against premium options such as Sony WH-1000XM5 and better than the AirPods Max but compared against similarly priced efforts from Edifier and Sony it’s not as much, while it’s similar to the EarFun Wave Pro.
Of course there’s no wireless charging for a pair of over-ears, but the Space One do support fast charging with a five minute charge over a USB-C connection providing an extra four hours.
Noise-Cancellation
- Adaptive ANC
- Speak to Enable mode
The Soundcore Space One boasts Hybrid Adaptive Noise-Cancelling, which is not a feature often seen around this price. The noise-cancelling performance is decent but there are the usual caveats.
I would say the noise-cancelling hovers between ok and solid, depending on the environment. I’ve used the Space One on a plane and found them to be good at significantly reducing cabin noise on a plane.
It can be strong at suppressing voices, and it hollows out the sound of traffic as cars and buses. Both the design and the noise-cancelling combine well to silence any ambient noise, while the Wind Noise Reduction setting effectively minimises any windy disruption.
It’s in noisier areas where the Space One struggles. Though it’s come through use on the Victoria, Northern, and Jubilee lines in a mostly positive manner, there are times where the noise levels simply get too much for the headphones to cope with.
Like the Sennheiser Accentum Wireless, it also doesn’t take too kindly to the potholes of London’s roads when on a bus, and I’ve found there’s weird interference from time to time; an increasingly loud, high-pitched sound the headphones are prone to picking up.
The transparency mode is natural enough in capturing the ambient sounds without sounding noisy. Given Touch to Enable and Speak to Enable are mirror versions of Sony’s Quick Attention and Speak to Chat, my guess is that Soundcore uses Sony’s ANC tech.
Both features are integrated well, and they’re features that not even Sony’s own affordable CH-WH720N includes.
Sound Quality
- Clear, crisp midrange
- Tempered bass performance
- Fairly flat-sounding EQ
The Soundcore Space One’s emphasis on clarity and detail puts it ahead of most, though I wouldn’t describe the sound as particularly bass-oriented. Listening to Busta Rhymes’ Touch It and depth and extension are lacking – Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy sounds flatter than I expected too. Bass is on the more tempered side.
If you’re after power and energy, the Soundcore Space One’s sound is more balanced than forceful. In contrast, the Sony WH-CH720N offers more power in that area.
In terms of tuning, these headphones sound flat out of the box. Treble sounds natural enough with GoGo Penguin’s Erased By Sunlight; sharp, clear, although a little on the thin side. The midrange is crisp, and again there’s a slightly thin tone to midband frequencies that’s noticeable with singers’ voices. These headphones lack a little weight to their sound.
Pitted against the Final UX3000, the Soundcore bests that well-regarded model too. With both headphones in their respective ANC modes the Soundcore is the clearer, more detailed, and defined performer, especially in the midrange, while bass is punchier and weightier.
I don’t find it to be as enjoyable a listen as the Sony CH720N, but compared to the more recent Panasonic RB-M600B, the Soundcore model lacks that headphones’ sense of clarity and detail.
In fact, if it came down to sound alone, the Panasonic would get my vote but if you’re someone interested in customising the sound (and noise-cancelling) performance, the Soundcore offers plenty more ways of doing so.
Should you buy it?
Good sound and ANC at a low price
There are caveats, but for less than £100 / $100 the Space One are an effective noise-cancelling pair of over-ears.
You call people on the telephone
Budget headphones aren’t great for call quality, but the Sennheiser Accentum Wireless are a step up for more money.
Final Thoughts
If you’re not looking to spend much for a budget ANC pair of over-ears, the Soundcore Space One are one of the better options to consider. They’re not the best in any category but come with a breadth of features and customisation options that only a few headphones at this price can match.
They sound decent for the money, though the Sony WH-CH720N has more character and the Panasonic M600B sound clearer and more detailed. They’re comfortable to wear, and the noise-cancelling is decent for the money.
Call quality disappoints, the EQ options bring little to the table, while battery life is long but not as much as advertised.
Nonetheless, if you’re after a pair of headphones below £100 / $100 the Soundcore Space One should be on your shortlist. Check out our Best Cheap Headphones guide for even more options.
Trusted Score
How we test
The Soundcore Space One were tested over several weeks in a variety of environments, including public transport and on planes.
The wireless performance was tested during busy times at major train stations, while calls were made to test the headphones’ microphone quality. A battery drain was carried at with music streamed from Spotify at 50% volume.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy
- Tested with real world use
- Battery drain carried out
- Tested for several weeks
FAQs
There’s Bluetooth 5.3 onboard, with support for SBC, AAC, and LDAC streaming codecs. Bluetooth multipoint is supported for connecting to two devices at once, but it’s not available when LDAC is enabled.
Full Specs
| Soundcore Space One Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £89.99 |
| USA RRP | $99.99 |
| EU RRP | €99.99 |
| CA RRP | CA$129.99 |
| AUD RRP | Unavailable |
| Manufacturer | Anker |
| IP rating | No |
| Battery Hours | 40 |
| Fast Charging | Yes |
| Size (Dimensions) | x x INCHES |
| Weight | 260 G |
| ASIN | B0C6KKQ7ND |
| Release Date | 2023 |
| Model Number | A3035 |
| Audio Resolution | SBC, AAC, LDAC |
| Driver (s) | 40mm dynamic |
| Noise Cancellation? | Yes |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Colours | Blue, Black, White |
| Frequency Range | 20 40000 – Hz |
| Headphone Type | Over-ear |