Soundcore by Anker Life Q35 Wireless Headphones review: a solid choice for crisp, clear, uninterrupted sound
NEVER have our eardrums been more spoiled; an ever-growing range of impressive noise-cancelling, wireless headphones have hit the shops in recent years, with Bose, Sony and Apple leading the way.
But can a sub-£150 pair of wireless headphones deliver decent sound quality at a fraction of the price? We reviewed the Soundcore by Anker Life Q35 Wireless Headphones to find out exactly that...
Pros
- Great sound quality
- Long battery life
- Comfortable
- Sound is customisable using the app
- Good noise cancelling
Cons
- Bass can be heavy
- Slightly bulky look
- Matte blue finish can mark
Soundcore by Anker Life Q35 Wireless Headphones: quick summary
- Soundcore by Anker Life Q35 Wireless Headphones, £129.99 from Soundcore -
The Soundcore by Anker Life Q35 Wireless Headphones are a stellar piece of tech that deeply immerse you in your favourite tunes – the sound quality is on point and they do a fine job of blocking outside distractions with their noise-cancelling technology.
Replacing Soundcore's previous , the Q35s are the brand's newest star player with a whole host of excellent features that generally surpass its good value price tag of £129.99.
The matte blue finish has a premium vibe and the bouncy-soft memory foam ear cushions enveloped our ears snugly making them a joy to wear.
The headphones have an excellent 60-hour battery life if noise-cancelling is turned off, or a very good 40 hours if it's on, plus a whole host of additional luxe features to make sure they tick a lot of boxes.
A customisable sound profile within the accompanying app is another nifty function that's a bit of a game changer.
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LDAC is a new feature for the Life Q35s, an upgrade the Q30s didn't have. It allows your phone to transmit more data to the headphones, giving you better sound quality in the process – a function that's usually reserved for the upper echelons of music tech.
Unfortunately LDAC codec is not supported by all Apple devices which means it will fall back to Advanced Audio Coding (or AAC). This is the case with any LDAC-enabled wireless headphones, so if you do have an iPhone, it's worth shopping around for the best compatible pair.
Despite its many wins, there are tweaks to be made to the Life Q35s – while comfy to wear, they're slightly bulky, we found the sleek navy finish marks and the sound is a smidge heavy on the bass. But these downsides are outweighed by the amount of bang for your buck you get here, making them a rock solid, competitively-priced choice.
- Soundcore by Anker Life Q35 Wireless Headphones, £129.99 from Soundcore -
First impressions
The arrival of the Life Q35 headphones on our doormat was an exciting one; they're packaged well and cushioned in a zipped oval case that's soft to the touch, giving the instant impression our ears are in for a treat.
Inside are the headphones and a pouch with the cables you'll need, including an airplane adapter, which is a smart touch.
The headphones themselves are lightweight and come in a matte navy, which gives them a premium feel. After a week's non-stop use this material did mark somewhat, which was disappointing, but the small scratches were almost imperceptible and did not ruin the overall look.
They're bulkier than other over-ear headphones we've used before, and bigger than other luxe options on the market from the likes of Sony and Bose, but the overall vibe of them is still streamlined and refined.
Pairing them to our devices was a dream – our nan could do it. In seconds we were ready to listen to our favourite tunes.
Actually using the headphones was a cinch too; many of the features you'll need instantly are situated at the touch of the button at the base of the headphones themselves. Noise cancelling can be switched on from here, you can turn music up and down, and pause, play and skip tracks.
Are they comfortable to wear?
It might be overstating it to say it felt like our ears were wrapped in a warm hug, but you get our point: the fit was comfortably snug (definitely not tight), and we felt nicely cocooned by the soft, deep padding of the Soundcore Life Q35s.
This only added to the immersive experience of wearing them; the headphones wrapped around our ears nicely and the top bar is padded, which held them in place well and added to the comfort factor.
We wore them for a couple of hours and barely noticed them, which ultimately is the biggest compliment.
Sound quality
Within the category of competitively-priced headphones, the audio experience doesn't come much better than in the Life Q35s.
Sound reaches whole new heights – it's rich, clear and immersive. Some reviewers note audio can be heavy on the bass, but this isn't something we noticed significantly and you can customise the sound to your preferences using the app.
There are 21 sound presets on the app that are also worth experimenting with depending on what you're listening to – including a podcast profile, classic, dance, deep and rock offerings.
We tried all of them and enjoyed the crisp quality and varied modes, but for day to day listening, the Soundcore Signature profile offers audio that's quality, full and far-reaching.
In addition, the app has a range of white noise tracks that you can mix together to either help you sleep or just unwind; sounds include relaxing rain, birdsong and a babbling river, which is a nice extra.
While they're no match for the expansive audio powerhouse of very high-end, high-priced headphones at the top of the market, they are a respectable opponent and within the budget to mid-range category, the Life Q35's offer some of the best sound quality you can get.
What is the noise cancelling function like?
The Life Q35 headphones drown out distracting sounds excellently and using the accompanying app you can switch between three modes: transport mode, which targets low-end frequencies like engine noises, indoor mode, which eliminates voices and mid-frequency sounds in coffee shops and finally outdoor mode, which reduces ambient noise for uninterrupted walks in the city.
All modes worked well for us, but transport mode offered the most notable change in surrounding noise.
We wore these headphones while out walking and on public transport and the blocking of ambient noise was very effective – the two microphones in each ear cup filtered out traffic, voices and atmospheric noise seamlessly and adeptly isolated what we were listening to.
It's worth noting the sound quality is impacted by switching on the noise-cancelling function. While it's not dramatic, we tested switching the mode on and off while listening to a song and there was a small difference between the two; the audio experience is much improved with noise cancelling and we generally always use it when we're wearing them.
Transparency mode is another option, which turns off the noise cancelling mode and allows you to carry on listening to your music or podcast while making sure you don't miss the train announcements. You can switch this mode on easily by holding down the right ear cup for one second, which we found was a really useful way to quickly allow background noise to filter in.
Battery life
The brand boasts 40 hours of battery life if noise-cancelling is turned on and a giant 60 hours if it's off, which is no mean feat.
After cracking them out of the case initially, we charged the headphones for around two hours and since then we haven't needed to plug them in, and that was over a week ago. Take it from us, these aren't the type of headphones to cut out on your commute.
And if they are running low on battery, but you're in a hurry, five minutes of charging will keep them going for four hours of playtime, a pretty standard but very useful feature when you're heading out the door.
What other features do the Soundcore by Anker Life Q35 headphones have?
The two internal microphones in each ear cup do their job masterfully when on the phone – we had a call while out on a walk and the sound was crystal clear through the headphones. Our voice on the other end of the line also reportedly came through loud and clear.
The range is also good on these headphones. I walked to the back of the garden, around 35 feet away, while listening to music and there was no breaks.
Smart Wear Detect - where the headphones stop playing when you remove them - is an expected feature at this level and price, but the function itself is flawless.
Soundcore by Anker Life Q35: the verdict
If you like headphones and you love a bargain, the Anker Life Q35 Headphones are tough to beat. With a long list of features, great sound quality and noise-cancelling abilities that surpass headphones twice the price, the Q35s will always be a good idea.
The design is very comfy but slightly chunky, and there's a lot to love about their usability at a super competitive price, especially when they do such justice to your Spotify playlists and favourite podcasts.
- Soundcore by Anker Life Q35 Wireless Headphones, £129.99 from Soundcore -
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