Soundcore Space One Pro review: these $200 headphones with ANC are Anker’s best
The Soundcore Space One Pro headphones check almost every box you could have for headphones, all for half the price
I’ve tested a lot of headphones for review, but none have left an impression quite like the Soundcore Space One Pro. A sub-brand of Anker, Soundcore’s latest premium over-the-ear headphones offer a high-end listening experience for half the price of competitors.
Fun fact: I received my review sample at a rooftop bar in New York City, and after getting some shut-eye, I immediately set them up to see if I’d like them as much as my Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones, which remain my favorite headphones to date. After testing the Space One Pro for a few weeks, I’m convinced that I’d be just as happy using them. They’re some of the best $200 headphones I’ve used, and that’s saying a lot.
Pros
✅ One of the best values in the headphone market
✅ Comfortable over-the-ear headphones
✅ Solid sound quality with amazing ANC
✅ Long 40-hour battery life
✅ Cross-platform app support on iOS and Android
Cons
❌ Transparency mode is bad
❌ Mic quality is disappointing
❌ They’re kinda chunky
🏆 Review score: 4/5
Shortcut review
The Soundcore Space One Pros are some of the best headphones you can get for $200. At this price point, I was surprised by how good their sound quality is, how comfortable they are to wear, and how long the battery lasts on a full charge. I also got great noise cancellation and an easy-to-use companion app.
These headphones are not perfect, of course. The design is pretty chunky, the transparency mode is subpar, and you and the person you’re calling won’t enjoy the quality of the mics. But if you’ve set your budget to $200 and you want a pair of headphones that you can use for years down the line, these are a great pick-up. They offer more features than headphones in the same price bracket, like Sony’s WH-CH720N or the Beats Solo 4, and you’ll want to wear them all day thanks to their comfortable design.
Full review
😍 Hey, good lookin’. For $200, these are handsome headphones. Anker gave them a two-tone appearance with plastic that’s supposed to emulate aluminum, and it works well. I was given the Cream White color to test which I think is best, but there’s also a Jet Black if that’s more your style. The headband is made of metal which helps with durability over time, and the pads on the inside are comfortable and never seem to grow uncomfortable (even if you wear them for 8 hours a day, like I have).
🚛 A little bit chunky but still comfy. While the headphones do well in the looks department, there’s no question that they’re also pretty chunky. The Space One Pros feel a bit older than they are because of it. They aren’t as sleek as some higher-end headphones I’ve used, or even other $200 headphones like the Beats Solo 4. Granted, the ear cups are larger on the Space One Pros and help to cancel out more noise, but still – they’re on the bigger side. Fortunately, they’re comfortable enough that I’m willing to put up with it.
🤏 Shrinking is no issue. Anker uses its new “FlexiCurve Structure” that allows the headphones to swivel and fold to fit better in your bag, which is great. There’s a carrying pouch included in the box that you can put them in. If you’re like me and would prefer a case, Anker sells one separately for $30. It would’ve been nice to see this thrown in the box with the Space One Pros, but Anker prioritized the lower starting price, which makes sense.
🎧 Shockingly great sound. I was genuinely surprised by the sound quality of these headphones. Anker’s “triple-composite” 40mm drivers in the Space One Pros deliver rich, clear audio quality that’s as enjoyable to listen to as what you get from headphones that are twice the price. I listened to a lot of music with these puppies, from new titles like F-1 Trillion by Post Malone and Ultra 85 by Logic to classics like Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Frank Sinatra’s greatest hits.hese headphones delivered a solid performance throughout. Bass is deep and punchy, mids are clear and prominent, and higher volumes won’t cause higher frequencies to trip out.
🔈 Hi-Fi testing. You can technically steam hi-fi audio with these headphones, which I did a few times using Apple Music. While it’s nice you have the feature, it did not stand out to me, especially since it’s hard to tell the difference between normal quality and hi-fi over Bluetooth.
🆚 Versus pricier competition. Are they as good as my Sony XM5s? No. While the audio quality is great, the breadth of the soundstage isn’t as wide or deep as what you’d get from more premium headphones. But for the money, you won’t be disappointed.
🔇 Great noise cancellation, as long as you keep it cranked up. Active noise canceling is always a roll of the dice with any new pair of headphones, so I’m happy to report that ANC isn’t an issue with the Space One Pros. Between the big ear cups, secure fit on your head, and the noise canceling itself, you can barely hear anything when you put these headphones on. It feels like you’re wearing much higher-end headphones when using the feature.
🙅♂️ Adaptive noise canceling isn’t the ANC you want. You can adjust the level of noise canceling that’s applied in the Soundcore app, as well as use Adaptive Noise Canceling, which can dynamically adjust how much noise is let in based on your environment. I didn’t find the Adaptive mode to work that well since the performance was generally worse than just having ANC turned on all the time, so I stuck with the normal setting with cancellation cranked up to 5 (the highest setting available).
🌬️ Wind noise reduction tests. I tested wind noise reduction while walking the streets of New York City and the reliably-windy Ocean City, NJ boardwalk. However, like Adaptive Nosie Canceling, it didn’t work as well as just having ANC turned on.
🎤 Transparency mode and mic quality are disappointing. No pair of headphones can nail everything, and the Space One Pros fall apart when you use the transparency mode. It’s simply not good. Voices are muffled and sound a bit too wet to reliably decipher, and the actual amount of noise that’s let in isn’t loud enough to make it worth using over simply taking the headphones off. What’s more, your voice doesn’t sound good through the on-board mics; I did a few test calls and every person I spoke to said I didn’t sound clear at all. The mics are handy in a pinch, but they’re certainly not a strong suit of the headphones.
🤳 Handy smart features in a cross-platform app. Anker’s companion app for the Space One Pros is clean and straightforward, allowing you to adjust things like EQ, bass level, noise cancellation, and more. You also get a handful of smart features like Easy Chat, which automatically enables transparency mode when you start talking, as well as a volume limiter and customization options for the side buttons of the headphones. Multi-device connectivity is also supported; I’ve had them paired to my Pixel 9 Pro XL and MacBook, and they switch seamlessly between the sources without skipping a beat.
♊ Twinning among apps. The best part is the app is available on Android and iOS, and all the features are identical across platforms. That means you’ll have the same experience with whatever phone you have, which can’t be said for a fair amount of headphones on the market.
🔋 Reliable battery life. Anker says the Space One Pros can last up to 40 hours with ANC turned on and up to a whopping 60 hours with it off. In my testing, I found that mostly to be true. With ANC, the headphones could last around 35-40 hours before dying, and I noticed that it took way longer to drain them with the feature turned off (although I used ANC primarily during my testing because it’s how I prefer to listen to music).
The headphones have fast charging that can supply 8 hours of usage in as little as 5 minutes. This gets the headphones from 0% to the 20%t mark from zero, so it makes sense they last that long. You get a tiny USB-C to USB-A cable in the box to juice them up, but I just used my own chargers since, again, it’s tiny.
✖️ The Space One Pros miss out on some nice-to-have’s. There are some glaring omissions from these headphones like Google Assistant and Alexa support, Find My Device support, and any sort of spatial audio features. While I don’t think most people will miss these features, it’s worth pointing out nonetheless in case any of it is a dealbreaker for you specifically.
Should you buy the Soundcore Space One Pro?
✅ Yes, if…
You want over-the-ear headphones at the best possible price
You want great sound quality close to more expensive competitors
You require long battery life between charges
You need great ANC to drown out the outside noise
❌ No, if…
You rely on transparency mode a lot
You take a lot of phone calls and need better mics
You need spatial audio, which these don’t have
You want easy access to your phone’s voice assistant