The Anker Soundcore Space One active noise cancelling headphones certainly does what it says on the box. But the more time you spend with it, the more they impress. Here is a rundown of the top five features of the Soundcore Space One. 

1. Comfort

First and foremost, the Soundcore Space One headphones are really comfy, being well cushioned with the ear cups able to rotate up or down as well as sideways. Not only do they have sufficient space around the ears – really important when you are wearing these for extended periods of time – but the legs can extend far enough to accommodate those with large craniums. This means if you have big ears and a big head, you’re safe with the Soundcore Space One.

2. Personlised equaliser

When it comes to sound, there’s a highly appreciated feature activated via the dedicated Soundcore app – HearID Sound. This provides a few hearing tests to work your way through, playing different sounds through the Space One for you to select those you hear best. It then adjusts the equaliser to provide a tailored sound profile for your hearing.

This worked really well, but if you are still not satisfied, Anker provides a number of presets, including for different music styles, bass boost and reduction, or treble boost and reduction. Finally, you can customise the equaliser if you are still not happy.

3. Active Noise Cancellation

Although active noise cancellation (ANC) has become more common in earbuds and earphones, these differ in the quality provided. The Soundcore Space One’s ANC is great, with two options available.  Custom noise cancellation offers five different strengths, ranging from low to maximum, selected through the app. Adaptive Noice Cancelling “reads” outside noise through the microphone and adjusts automatically to the most effective standard. To me, I was quite happy to stick with custom noise cancelling set to the maximum, sometimes finding the adjustment of the Adaptive Noise Cancellation a bit bothersome in places where noise levels fluctuate.   

If a crowded coffee shop is your preferred remote working location, then the Space One is a must-have, also performing well on airplanes or public transport. However, if your problem is low frequency/ bass driven noise, then more expensive ANC headphone options would be more suitable. Users will also notice that the pressure around the ears associated with ANC is not really present here – for some a big benefit.

4. LDAC support

The Space One supports the more recent LDAC hi-res wireless audio, which transmits up to three times more data (990kbps) through Bluetooth (in this case Bluetooth 5.3) for better detailed sound. This option is selected through the app and required a firmware update. To note is that by using LDAC you consume more battery, which by the way stands at a basic work week – a solid 40 hours with ANC on, and excellent 55 hours without.

5. Easy Chat feature

While wearing noise cancelling headphones in a busy work environment can do wonders for productivity, interaction with those around you is a problem, especially if someone wants to have a quick chat. The Soundcore Space One has a novel solution for this – place your hand on the left headphone and it cuts the music and turns on transparency mode, so there’s no need to take these off during quick conversations. (There is a Speak to Enable beta option that does so automatically when you speak, but I found it also sometimes picks up hard exhales and cuts the music).

Moreover, there is Wearing Detection present that pauses your music when you take the headphones off and plays again when putting it back on – another sensible feature.

To buy or not?

For approx. R1 800, Anker’s Soundcore Space One provides a number of strong features that gets better the more time you spend with it. Not only is sound quality impressive, especially thanks to a personalised equaliser and LDAC support, but the active (and adaptive) noise cancellation is solid. The Space One is comfortable around the ears for an extended period of time, while the number of extras you can manage through the app helps to complete a highly notable user experience.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Anker’s Soundcore Space One headphones were received from the local distributors as a seeding unit and not returned.