UPDATE, 2/29/20: Anker Customer Service has provided me an updated pair of the headphones for reevaluation. I have not experienced the popping issue at all with the new pair, so I am updating my rating to 4 stars. I still really enjoy the sound from these while ANC is on; strong, fun bass, and not at the expense of the mids and treble. Also, customer service also sent me replacement earpads in the event that they fail over time.

Once again, I cannot say enough about how amazing Anker’s customer service is. Many companies out there could learn a lot from how much they want their customers to be satisfied!

UPDATE, 1/31/20: Unfortunately these are being returned, for 2 reasons:

1) I’m getting the popping noise whenever I take off the headphones while playing in ANC mode (which is always). This simply cannot happen for headphones at any price point, much less $60.

2) I can see already that the earpad leatherette covering is beginning to pull away from the housing. Since receiving the headphones, I have treated them with kid gloves, so in less than 2 weeks time I’m already beginning to see potential for long term build quality issues.

So, as with other reviewers, bummed that these just don’t live up to Anker quality. Leaving them at 2 stars as they are serviceable, but not a long term gamble I’m willing to take.

ORIGINAL REVIEW, 1/25/20:

We live in a world of excess. Headphones are a prime example of this. Not only are there many “name brand” manufacturers of headphones out there (Sony, Bose, Beats. et. al.), there are now endless “no-name” brands peddling junk. There are a handful of companies trying to find some middle ground, TaoTronics, Mpow, and, of course, Anker Soundcore. When it comes to headphones, at least for me, is value for price paid. Without a doubt, the more expensive headphones by Sony & Bose offer the best quality across the board, but they’re not such a great value, at least for my needs. And to go super cheap with no name brands is a waste of time, as you’ll make major sacrifices. Anker is trying to establish itself as the sweet spot for solid value without making too many sacrifices.

Like other reviewers, I have used other Anker products, some good, some not so good. Their charging products are nothing short of spectacular. Their audio products, on the other hand, have always been hit or miss. I decided to take a chance on the Q20 headphones because A) they are a few generations in, so hopefully Anker has made improvements over time, and; B) they sit at a great price point (between $40-60 depending on timing). Not cheap, but not astronomical either.

So after using them for a week, and making the decision not to return them (I have returned countless headphones), I wanted to share my first impressions. Maybe these will change over time as the build quality ages, or sound quality evolves with burn-in, but I wanted to try and help those on the fence with some honesty rather than the endless one line five star reviews.

PROS

Comfort. While these are in no way portable, they are fairly light and not overly bulky. Most of the cheaper over-ears are simply too much like earmuffs in an attempt to maximize comfort and/or improve sound quality.

Sound Quality. This one is both a pro and a con, so I will come back to this below. For the most part, I enjoy the sound quality on these. Admittedly, I like extra oomph in the bass, and these are definitely bass headphones.

Battery Life. Gave them a full charge when I received them, and probably won’t need to charge them again for likely…weeks. Since I only use them at work and occasionally around the house, I expect the battery to last quite a while.

Value. So far, I feel like I am getting every cent out of my investment in these. Sure, they are not perfect (as you will see below), but for the price paid, they are meeting my expectations.

CONS

Noise Canceling. Yeah, Anker threw in noise canceling as that feature is hot right now. It’s there, but it’s mediocre. Would I trust it if I was a frequent traveler? No. That would be worth an investment in Bose or Sony. But at work and around the house, it’s fine. I haven’t encountered the popping issues other reviewers have experienced, so I will have to wait and see on that.

Build Quality. This is where Anker was able to keep the price point low. These aren’t the most solidly built, but they are passable so long as they are handled decently. A case would have mitigated this, but again, cost. The buttons are not the best, and over time I can tell that these will likely be the first things to fail.

Sound Quality. Here is where I will contradict myself. There is a discernible difference in the bass level between noise canceling being off vs. on. When off, the cans really thump with bass, which is great when listening to pop, hip hop, or EDM. It’s too overpowering for most rock songs, as it drowns out pretty much everything else. It’s still listenable, but gets exhausting after awhile. With noise canceling on, it’s better, but it seems like the sound quality degrades somewhat with the added layer of processing. Not a steep decline, but it does mean that I leave the noise cancellation on all the time, which will result in the battery dying quicker. Not a deal breaker.

TL;DR: So overall, I recommend these headphones if you are looking for a solid pair of cans at a reasonable price, KNOWING WHAT YOU ARE BUYING. These are not going to give you superior performance on any feature, except for battery life. They are definitely acceptable for what you’re paying for, and so long as the build quality holds up, should meet your needs for a couple of years. And if not, Anker has an 18-month warranty on defects, and their customer service is A+.

I share a wall with my next door neighbor. Luckily, there is no one on the other side of me. There has never been an issue with the tenants in this unit making any kind of noise, and I have lived in my apartment since 2016. If you were in my apartment, you wouldn’t even know anyone lived next door. Everything had been nice and tranquil as far as that apartment was concerned, for years. That is, until recently.

Ever experienced the joys of getting unwillingly serenaded by someone’s throbbing subwoofer? The thing about being subjected to a stereo with a subwoofer going, is that the music might be barely audible, but you can *feel* the bass notes physically, especially if the stereo and subwoofer are physically nearby. And that is what is happening to me, right now. There are constant bass throbbings coming through the wall, coming from the apartment that had for so long been perfectly quiet. The music itself really isn’t loud enough to be a nuisance. But the low frequency pulsations of the bass certainly *are* a nuisance. Apparently, the woman who owns that apartment has turned it over to her kids for who knows how long. Her kids are in their early 20s. Their stereo is never off, so their subwoofer is never off.

I tried asking them to please realize they have neighbors, and their subwoofer is bothering their neighbors, and could they *please* limit the hours when they play their stereo. They just snarled something, and slammed the door in my face. They then started playing their stereo louder- not a lot louder, but noticeably louder. I next requested that the building Super speak to them. He did. They turned their stereo off for a few moments, after he spoke with them. I then heard the sound of something heavy being hurled against our mutual wall. Then, the stereo started up again. It was playing at a slightly lower volume. But the bass was still vibrating the wall.

There had been an issue, several years ago, with problem tenants right above me, who REALLY blasted their stereo with their powerful subwoofer at all hours. They were also selling drugs, and a stream of “America’s Most Wanted” types were coming and going also at all hours. They used the back parking lot as a stolen car storage lot. Their “guests” started fires in the garbage cans in the lobby, after nodding out and dropping lit cigarettes into them, as they sat in the chairs out there. You don’t want to know what they were doing in the laundry room. The list of their unpleasantness goes on and on. This went on for seven years.

The HOA here did nothing about them. Nothing. None of the HOA members lived in this state, so all they did was collect our money, and ignore our phone calls and emails about these nuisance, and dangerous, tenants. During this time, I developed PTSD, which was diagnosed by a psychiatrist, along with anxiety disorder and chronic depression. I rarely slept, and could barely function at my jobs. Finally, after seven years, there was a change in HOA personnel. Eventually, the problem tenants were evicted. I could hardly believe how peaceful it then became here.

Thinking they would have my back, I emailed the current HOA regarding the current situation with the eternally pulsating stereo. I had recently noticed some “please be courteous to other tenants, and keep your noise down between 10pm and 8am” hand written notices posted around the lobby and in the hallways. I don’t know if they are aimed at these particular tenants, but it seems as if this building again has some residents who are inspiring complaints.

The HOA told me, basically, that I was on my own. The HOA just told me to keep “negotiating” with the neighbors, who had already demonstrated they could care less if they are bothering me. I will be checking on legal representation this following week, as I am disabled, and my disability was caused in part by the constant unpleasant behavior I was subjected to by the tenants upstairs when the HOA did nothing years ago for so long, though I emailed and called them about their activities, which clearly were in violation of the HOA bylaws, over and over again. It looks like I have another situation like that on my hands again.

However! I thought- what can I do that can help me right now? I typed “sound canceling wireless headphones” into the Amazon search bar, and found a lot of choices. Most of the results were far beyond my means, as I am on a fixed income, and it is also the end of the month. But the constant throbbing of the bass right into my physical form through my bedroom wall was starting to literally make me sick. Google the effects that constant low frequency sounds- even when these sounds are not audible- have on the human body. These kind of sound waves are not good for human health, especially in the long term. Needless to say, I felt very vindicated after reading the findings of these scientific studies.

The reviews for the Soundcore Anker Life Q20 headphones were predominantly positive. The review that really encouraged me to go for it was the one mentioning the work colleagues who seemed to possess no indoor voices, and who constantly and loudly discussed basketball results et al at the top of their lungs without a care as to who they might be bothering with the volume of their voices. I could totally relate to that story. I used to work in a call center, where you made your living by being on the phone, so you needed to be heard by clients, and you needed to hear who you were talking to. This call center had an open floor plan, so we were in low-walled cubicles, but if someone stood up and shouted, even if they were on the other side of the room, you would hear them clearly from where you were. I found that I was surrounded by the kind of people who thought that yelling across the work floor to a distant friend about the softball game their kid had played the previous evening, while they were standing basically right next to me while I was on a call, was perfectly ok. These people weren’t adults. They were like giant toddlers, with no filter. Many of them were in their late forties and early fifties. When I later would ask them- politely- to be more cognizant of their volume level of their voice, as I was attempting to do my job, they became outraged. The nerve of me, to attempt to request they be considerate of their co-workers! Lol. So reading that these headphones had helped in that situation (I wish I had had them when I had been working at the call center) right then and there I thought that’s it- I am ordering these headphones, and right now.

And I am so glad I did! I was happily surprised, as they are not expensive headphones, at their ability to block out ambient sound. I usually run a white noise soundtrack in the background when I am home. I had turned it on automatically this morning, and started answering my emails. I hadn’t realized I had boosted the volume on the white noise a bit too much, as I had put on and fired up my new Anker headphones before switching on the receiver. I took the headphones off for a moment to adjust my hair at one point, and was amazed, as the white noise was playing far too loudly- far louder than I would ever play it. Had I been using my regular J Lab wireless earbuds, I would have heard that it had been turned up too much right away. I actually dashed into my bedroom to turn down the receiver, as I felt bad for MY neighbors!

As far as the subwoofer- so far, I (knock wood) haven’t been able to hear it. At all. I have had the headphones and the white noise going in my bedroom, and I took a break from my work (I work from home) after lunch to read ,and hang out with the kitties. I didn’t hear any boom boom boom at all. I had heard them playing the stereo earlier, when I had been wearing my regular earbuds, so I am happy to report that these Anker headphones really appear to be helping.

The headphones were delivered this morning, so I can’t attest as to their long-term performance, or their performance under various conditions (if they turned up their stereo up extra loud, my wearing the headphones without the white noise running, etc.) but so far, I am VERY satisfied with their performance. I was shocked at how fast they charged, and I have been wearing them for hours, yet they are still showing a full charge. They are comfortable to wear. I have a regular sized head, and I am picky about over the ear headphones. A lot of them give me a headache: these, so far, have not. They are nice and snug, so they keep the ambient noise out, but are not excessively tight. I actually fell asleep during my after lunch break hanging out with the cats, which is unusual for me to do with over the ear headphones.

Cons: the instructions for the controls for the headphones are rendered in a “cartoon” style, so that was a bit odd, but not too difficult to figure out. The max volume is pretty good, and I like my headphones to get loud. I don’t usually listen to music on headphones. There is a “bass boost” feature (a hard to understand voice sort of croaks “bass up” when you push the button with the triangle on it between the up/down volume buttons, and “normal”- I think that’s what it says- when you turn the extra bass off) but this feature doesn’t seen to make a huge difference. It does make voices sound richer and fuller. –Ok- I just tested the headphones with music. I chose to play “Wardance” by Killing Joke, as I know that song well, and yes, the “bass up” feature does make a noticeable difference. But as far as music goes- these headphones, for an old punk like me, would need to get a LOT louder, when playing music, for my taste. But that is a subjective thing, and I really didn’t buy them to play music, but to listen to podcasts and to watch movies and YouTube stuff, and of course to block out that *&^%$!! subwoofer.

I’ve only had one phone call while wearing the headphones. I wasn’t crazy about how the other person sounded- they sounded kind of “tinny,” and distant- but according to them, they could hear me clearly. So I guess they work fine there, too. —EDIT: I have taken other phone calls with these headphones on after that one initial call. The voice on the the other end at the beginning of the call was a bit crackly, but this happens often with my carrier. After a few moments on the call, I could hear the caller perfectly. I make and receive calls with these Anker headphones all the time now. I always begin the call by saying “I’m wearing a new headset- I just want to make sure- can you hear me ok?” I am always assured that I can be heard just fine. A friend of mine, who is used to my cheaper earbuds on our calls, has told me repeatedly that my voice sounds much clearer on our calls with these headphones.

PROS: these headphones are the fastest charging electrical anything I have ever owned- period. It’s actually kind of freaky how fast these things charge. It’s great. They also hold a charge the longest amount of time of any electrical thing I’ve ever owned. I wore them all night to block out the thump thump of the subwoofer and, after six or seven hours of sleeping, I checked their charge level on my iPhone. Their battery level was still showing as a solid green circle meaning- they were still at, or nearly at, 100% charge. That’s impressive.

One of the reviews mentioned these headphones don’t come with an ON/OFF switch. They do. Left and Right headphone ear cup side orientations are marked inside the ear cups with an “L” and an “R.” The power switch is on the Left side cup, right above the “NC” (noise canceling) switch, which I always leave switched on. Volume Up and Down, and the triangle-marked button, the Bass up or down switch, are located on the Right side cup.

Their Noise Canceling capability is VERY impressive, given their low price point. There are times when I can *just barely* hear the bass from next door. But really- it’s negligible, compared to what it was. I’m also going to take some other steps to help deal with this situation, but until then, these headphones have given me back the ability to have some nice, unbroken sleep, which is worth its weight in gold.

I will update my review if something drastically changes regarding the performance these headphones. But right now- I am really happy I ordered these. I placed my order around midnight, and Amazon got them to me at around noon the next day. I’m really glad of this, as not having to endure that subwoofer- let’s just say these headphones arrived just in time to save my last nerve.

I am happy with the purchase of these headphones, and highly recommend them. Thank you.