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soundcore by Anker Life Q35 Multi Mode Active Noise Cancelling Headphones, Bluetooth Headphones with LDAC for Hi Res Wireless Audio, 40H Playtime, Comfortable Fit, Clear Calls,…
£114.00
- Gold Standard of Sound: Custom silk-diaphragm drivers accurately reproduce music across a wider frequency range and cut out distortion to deliver sound that’s both Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless certified.
- LDAC Technology: 3 times more data is transmitted to Life Q35 active noise cancelling headphones than via standard Bluetooth codecs. This lossless transfer ensures you hear every tiny detail in the music.
- Multi-Mode Noise Cancelling: 2 microphones on each earcup detect and filter out distracting noises in your vicinity. Switch between Transport, Outdoor, and Indoor modes for a tailored noise cancelling experience.
- Comfortable and Convenient: Life Q35 active noise cancelling headphones can be worn all day thanks to their lightweight build and memory foam padded earcups and headband. A built-in sensor detects when they’re removed from your ears and instantly pauses the audio.
- AI-Enhanced Calls: The beamforming microphones on Life Q35 active noise cancelling headphones pick up your voice with incredible accuracy by using an AI algorithm that’s been tested thousands of times. Calls sound crisp, clear, and free of unwanted noise.
by AH
After using these for a few days now it can be safe to say I am very impressed with these headphones from Anker. As all other reviewers state you will need to adjust the EQ settings to get the most out of them but I feel Anker understands this. Not everyone is the same when it comes to audio tastes. Adjusting the EQ is very straight forward in the app and it is important to note that it will memorise the EQ profile you set for future uses. Something I was not clear on before buying. While I have given the product 5 stars I feel it is best to breakdown the aspects to explain why these headphones are such a good buy.
SOUND – 9/10
I find it strange that so many manufacturers focus on upping the bass on their headphones by default. The Soundcore q35s are no different in this respect but the bass is clear and not muddy like other often cheaper headsets. To resolve the bass heavy default setting it is easy to change the EQ in the app which, by the way, is very well laid out. I get plenty of volume with headphones. The highs, mids and lows are clear and crisp. I do, however, mainly use the the headphones with the noise cancelling turned off. There is a noticeable drop in sound quality when noise cancelling is enabled. In AUX mode it could be argued that sound quality is even better. I did not experience any stuttering with this as another reviewer mentioned.
COMFORT – 10/10
Comfort will be subjective as everyone has different sized and shaped heads and ears but for me these are the most comfortable headphones I have ever worn. The fit is perfect without any adjustments and the clamping force is not overly tight. While they may not be the best for heavy exercise I favour comport over tightness. The ear cups are plenty big enough for the ears without being goofily oversized. They are fairly lightweight too. I could wear these all day.
BATTERY LIFE – 10/10
Anker has had some experience in this department and it shows in these headphones. The battery life lives up to promises and the quick charge is fantastic. Time will tell how the battery performs over the months / years but at least there is an Aux port should the battery ever give up in the future.
DESIGN & BUILD QUALITY – 8/10
Overall the headphones are nice to the touch and are not cheap and creaky like headphones half the price. They are mostly constructed of plastic with a matt / satin finish which feels and looks premium. Though the look is subjective there are sleeker headphones on the market, for me these headphones look pretty good. The buttons are OK but could bet better. Fortunately I tend to use my device controls over the headphones ones. I do feel, also, that turning the headphones on should be a little quicker as they take a long press to turn on / off.
NOISE CANCELLING – 7/10
The noise cancelling for me is a ‘nice to have’ feature so I do not use it on a frequent basis. It is important to note that audio quality is slightly reduced when the noise cancelling is enabled. While the noise cancelling is not regarded the best in the world it is good at reducing low humming noises like road or airplane noise. The headphone cups themselves do a good job too at reducing outside noises too.
FEATURES 9/10
The Q35 has the option to pause your music when you take them off. This works most of the time but can cause random pauses even if I don’t take them off. The feature can be enabled or disabled in the app so that is good. Again I use my device controls. USB-C charging is ideal so when I travel I only need to 1 cable along with my other devices and charging time is brilliant. The firmware can be updated too so I’m sure minor tweaks can be made as time goes by. The multi device bluetooth is great. If you connect to 2 devices you can easily switch between one and the other (like a laptop and a phone). Note you cannot stream two audio feeds at the same time but not sure why you would want to. The included case is well constructed and perfect for travelling.
VERDICT
Overall Soundcore produces headphones that have great bang for your buck. While they are not perfect they perform exceedingly well in the 3 major areas I consider important. Those areas for me are sound, comfort and battery Life. I can’t complain about any of those areas.
If you don’t want the small extra features in the Q35s then the Q30s could be a good choice as I would say they are even better value. As there was a deal on the Q35s I considered them the better option.
by David Stirling
The hype surrounding the Soundcore Life Q35 is real for the most part. Having owned the Sony WH-1000XM3 previously I’m really impressed by what Anker have achieved at this price point.
NOISE CANCELLATION
The Q35 come at noise cancellation a bit differently from other brands and appear to be tackling the frequencies a different way. Contrary to what you might have read these do not compete with the Sony XM3 when it comes to noise cancellation but they do provide a nice level of external noise reduction. While working from home it easily removes the loud PC fan and outside passing traffic and people noises. You will still hear the occasional sound getting through that would have been blocked by other anc headphones but overall the effect is pretty decent. You get 3 noise cancelling profiles to choose from as well to help out in different types of environments which is handy.
SOUND QUALITY
Out of the box the Q35 sound rough! There is so much bass. Impressively too much bass and I love a booming bass. Fortunately the accompanying app has an excellent built in EQ with a raft of preset options and multiple custom EQ slots available. To pull back the clarity and a good starting point is oddly the piano EQ option then customise it to pull back in that glorious bass sound. You will find that the sound changes quite a bit between ANC on and off but having multiple custom EQ slots lets you quickly get around this, just set up an EQ profile for ANC on and ANC off.
After a bit of tweaking and saving your EQ profile the Q35 sound amazing with plenty of detail and lots of deep bass.
COMFORT
The Q35 are compact, super light and incredibly comfortable to wear. I’ve been wearing them all day (thanks to the fantastic battery life) with no discomfort, pressure points or felling the headband digging in to the top of head. A joy to use. And the design is pretty minimal and sleek as well.
BATTERY
I dont doubt the quoted 40 hours playback. I can charge these and use them all week, with ANC on, without them running out. The fast charge feature to get 4 hours play from a 5 minute charge is also a really nice touch.
DUAL PAIRING
This is one feature I was slightly disappointed by. It works but not the way I expected it to having used this feature on other headphones. You can connect to 2 devices at the same time but you can only hear audio playing from one at a time. So if I’m playing content on my PC I wont hear any audio from my phone, including text alerts etc. You have to stop the audio on one device and then start playing audio on the other device. So it does work but only single source and there is a 2 second delay before the switched audio kicks in. One other quirk is that when you power the headphones on they appear to only remember the last used device as a live connection. You have to quickly jump into setting and hit connect again on the other device to wake that connection up. After that it works fine.
CONTROLS
The main controls are all carried out by buttons and to be honest the buttons are a little but on the cheap side. The wiggle in the seating and are a bit fiddly to use initially. Once you get used to the placement everything is fine and it all feels intuitive.
A really nice touch is the quick ambient mode. It work in a similar was to the Sony in that you cup the right ear to activate the ambiance, but unlike the Sony you dont have to hold you hand there to keep it on. Cup once to turn on and cup again to turn off. Its a much better solution.
MICROPHONES
The mics are great for calls and Teams meeting. You come through clear and loud. I’ve been told the mics on the Q35 actually sound a lot clearer than the Sony XM3.
I actually prefer the Q35 to my Sony XM3. The have a lot more going for them and after playing around with the EQ I prefer the Q35 sound. All at a vastly reduced price (especially when the Q35 frequently drop to the £100 mark).
… EDIT / FORGET TO MENTION
Another great feature is the smart wearing detection which pauses your music or video when you take the headphones off and resumes it when you put them back on. Love this. I read elsewhere that some people were have issues with the detection triggering while they were wearing the headphones but this feature has worked flawlessly for me. It even works when taking the headphones off and propping on your head or wearing around your neck.