Anker Soundcore Life Q30 review: Is the ANC effective?
For a pair of budget headphones, the Life Q30 handle active noise-cancellation extremely well. There are three separate levels of ANC available and you can switch between them via the Anker Soundcore app. Transport mode focuses on cutting down low-end frequencies and is on par with, if not better than, some more expensive alternatives. Washing machine rumbling was reduced more effectively than the Urbanista Miami (£129) and nearly as well as the Lindy BNX-100XT (£100).
The Indoors and Outdoors modes both work well, too. Indoors mode seeks to dampen voices and mid-range frequencies, while Outdoors mode decreases ambient sounds and proved particularly effective at reducing wind noise. Decent ANC on budget headphones is a rarity, so having three modes tailored for different situations that all successfully put a dent in external noise is highly impressive.
The noise reduction can’t match that of the industry’s big hitters like the Apple AirPods Max, the Sony WH-1000XM4 or Bose’s NC700 but it’s a mighty fine attempt from a pair of headphones costing a fraction of the price. My one minor grumble is that you can only switch between the three modes via the app, but having to do so is certainly not a dealbreaker.
Anker Soundcore Life Q30 review: How do they sound?
The Life Q30’s default sound profile is referred to as “Soundcore Signature” and is V-shaped with bass frequencies particularly prominent. Too prominent, in fact, and that’s coming from someone with a penchant for low-end punch.
Bass dominated proceedings on pretty much everything I listened to and certain tracks, such as Floating Points’ sub-bass heavy “Karakul”, caused the earcups to vibrate noticeably around my ears. I don’t think Anker intended for the Life Q30 to generate a haptic feedback kind of experience but that’s exactly how it feels when the bass really gets big. Mid-range vocals and treble are actually delivered with decent clarity but it’s tricky to truly appreciate them when the bass is so overwhelming.
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This is where Anker’s comprehensive Soundcore companion app comes into play. Within the app you’ll find no fewer than 22 different EQ presets to select from. I won’t list them all, but they cover pretty much every genre of music, including pop, rock, R&B and classical, along with presets that boost or reduce bass and treble.
Should you wish to create your own preset, you can do so via an eight-band graphic equaliser. The equaliser ranges from 100Hz to 12.8kHz and lets you increase or decrease each band by up to 6dB. To counteract the over-egged bass I dropped down the 100 and 200Hz bands down a few decibels and the resulting audio experience was far more palatable. The bass still packed a satisfying oomph but didn’t tread on the toes of the mids and treble, making for a far better audio balance.
The app offers a couple of other neat features, too. You can discover new music and stream it in the app via Soundcore’s streaming partner LÜM. This is a platform developed for independent artists and is well worth exploring if you fancy broadening your musical horizons. There’s also a Sleep Mode option, which provides you with a selection of ambient sounds that can be blended together to create a soundscape to drift off to. The tech is fun to play around with but the Life Q30 aren’t headphones you’re going to want to fall asleep wearing so it’s unlikely to see much use.
Anker Soundcore Life Q30 review: What could be improved?
Given you can tweak the audio to your liking, it’s easy enough to let the exaggerated bass reproduction of the default sound profile slide. But there are a couple of simple ways the Life Q30 could be improved.
First and foremost I’d remove the words active noise cancellation from the headband – they’re garish and totally unnecessary. I’d also like to see the headband streamlined a little, as the side sections protrude out rather a long way, which does how they look on your head no favours.
Wear detection would be a welcome addition, too, as would the ability to switch ANC profiles without having to access the app but that’s probably asking a bit much of a pair of budget-friendly headphones.
