Anker Soundcore Space One Headphones Review

What the Soundcore Space One actually is

This is Anker's value play in the crowded budget ANC space. Plush over-ear cans, active noise cancelling, and a 40-hour battery rating, all for roughly $80 to $100 on Amazon. The pitch is simple. Pay a third of what a Sony WH-1000XM5 or Bose QuietComfort costs and get a surprising amount of the experience.

It is not trying to beat the flagships outright. It is trying to make you ask why you'd spend three times more. For a lot of people, that's a fair question.

How they perform day to day

The noise cancelling is the headline, and it's genuinely good for the money. It kills the low droning stuff well. Plane engines, bus rumble, the hum of an office HVAC. It won't fully erase sharp human voices the way the best Sony and Bose models do, but in real listening with music playing, the gap shrinks a lot.

Sound is warm and bass-forward out of the box, tuned to please rather than to impress audiophiles. That's the right call at this price. The Soundcore app lets you reshape it with EQ if you find the low end heavy, which it can be on bass-driven tracks. Battery is the quiet superpower here. Forty hours with ANC on, around 55 with it off, means you charge these maybe once a week and forget about it. A short charge buys you hours.

Comfort holds up for long sessions thanks to the deep, soft earpads, and the clamp is moderate rather than vice-like. Bluetooth multipoint lets you stay connected to a laptop and phone at once, which is the kind of feature that used to live only on pricier gear.

The honest downsides

Call quality is the weak spot. The mics are fine in a quiet room and noticeably worse with any wind or background noise, so these aren't your first pick for a day of calls. The build is mostly plastic and feels like an $80 product when you hold it, even if it doesn't creak.

There's no wear detection to auto-pause when you take them off, and the transparency mode is usable but not natural-sounding. Treble detail and soundstage also fall short of the flagships if you're the type who notices. Most people won't be.

Who should buy it, who should skip

Buy it if you want effective travel and commute ANC, long battery, and comfortable headphones without spending flagship money. Students, commuters, and anyone furnishing a second pair will be happy. It's also a smart gift because it overdelivers for the price tag.

Skip it if you take calls all day, want the absolute best noise cancelling on the market, or you're an audiophile chasing detail. In those cases the Sony WH-1000XM5 or a Bose QuietComfort Ultra earns the upcharge. Also worth eyeing Anker's own pricier Space Q45 if you want a step up while staying in the family.

The verdict

The Space One is one of the easiest budget headphone recommendations going. It gets the important things right, charges rarely, and only stumbles on calls and high-end polish. For the money it's a strong buy and an obvious one for anyone who refuses to spend $300 on headphones.

Frequently asked questions

Is the noise cancelling on the Soundcore Space One any good?

Yes, especially for the price. It handles steady low-frequency noise like planes and traffic well. It can't fully silence nearby voices the way Sony's and Bose's flagships can, but with music playing the difference is small.

How long does the battery last?

Anker rates it at about 40 hours with ANC on and roughly 55 with it off. In practice you'll charge it about once a week, and a quick top-up gets you several more hours.

Are these good for phone calls and video meetings?

They're fine for occasional calls in a quiet space, but call mic quality is the weakest part of the package. If you're on calls all day or often somewhere noisy, look at a model with better microphones.