Soundcore Space One Pro: Powerful bass attack on the high end

Anker brand Soundcore is really for affordable audio products. But with the Space One Pro over-ear headphones introduced at IFA, Anker wants to compete with premium manufacturers. We tried to find out if the 200 euro headphones live up to Anker’s claims.

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The headphones are made of plastic, metal and foam covered with synthetic leather. For transport, the Space One Pro can be folded very small for over-ear headphones, as the ear cups can be folded and screwed on. A transport bag is included. The headphones with large and fairly deep ear pads are comfortable to wear even after listening to music for a long time.

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It’s a matter of taste whether you want to wear the Space One Pro for long periods of time, because out of the box it plays the bass range extremely powerfully. The higher the frequency, the less space the Anker headphones give. Bass fans get their money’s worth, because the Space One Pro plays the low frequency range extremely powerfully up to the sub-bass range. However, if you listen to podcasts for a long time, tuning can be difficult. You also have to teach yourself headphone etiquette by using an app to consciously listen to music in many genres other than electro. The “Bass Reducer” preset makes the Space One Pro sound significantly more balanced. You can also do the fine tuning yourself using the equalizer. The good thing is that the adjustments in the app actually have a significant effect on the sound. But if you value clear-as-a-bell treble reproduction, you won’t be happy with the Soundcore headphones, even with the help of the app.

Effective ANC

Active noise cancellation copes effectively with ambient noise, especially when it is coherent. Train, air and car traffic is very quiet, and when combined with quiet music you can completely block out such disruptive noises. On the other hand, voices can still be heard – sometimes even more clearly, for example when they are no longer hidden by the driving noise in the train blocked by the ANC. The Anker headphones are not the only headphones that have this problem. The Sony WH-1000XM4 used for comparison, which is now also available for around 200 euros, take a little more away from the voices, so that they penetrate more closely through the ANC curtain and the additional music played covers them better. We also like the implemented transparency mode, which blends ambient noise with the music. If you pause the music, you can even have short conversations with the headphones on your ears.

In phone calls, the headphones transmit your voice clearly, but a little thin, which is due to Bluetooth transmission. The Anker headphones effectively combat ambient noise and barely transmit it to the other person.

The headphones connect to playback devices via Bluetooth 5.3 and use codecs AAC, SBC and LDAC. It also maintains contact with two playback devices at the same time via multipoint Bluetooth. Anker puts battery life at 40 hours with ANC and 60 hours without ANC. The headphones can also be powered using the included jack cable. ANC and transparency modes still work, but the microphone does not pass. The USB-C port is used exclusively for charging.

conclusion

The Soundcore Space Pro One is well built, can be folded small for travel and scores with effective ANC, pleasant transparency mode and multipoint Bluetooth. Whether you spend 200 euros on it or not, you should first decide on its specific sound. Bass lovers will get their money’s worth; those who prefer a more neutral sound with plenty of details will probably be happier with (more expensive) options like the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2.

(RBR)