Intro
So these are the Soundcore Space Q45, they are a pair of entry level ANC headphones that defiantly try to punch way above their weigh class. Overall, they’re decent and they definitely get the job done, but I can’t help but feel that they are using last gen tech for headphones in 2023. Nonetheless, lets see what the Space Q45 are all about.
Price
Now when it comes to pricing, these headphones retail for $150. And given their feature set and the fact that they come included with a hardshell case… that is very impressive. Now overall, im fairly neutral on these headphones, I don’t hate them but I don’t love them, but I can still recommend them. So if you want to pick these headphones up they’ll be linked down below. And I think that it safe to assume that they will go on sale on a regular basis.
Case
Now first lets talk about the case. These headphones come included with a decently sized case. Its foot print isn’t huge like with the XM5’s case… but its also not as small as either the Bose QC45 case or Sony 1000XM4 case. But more importantly, the fact that these entry level ANC headphones come included with a hard shell case is very impressive. Cause with a lot of other entry level ANC headphones… either they don’t come included with a case, or they only come included with a carrying pouch.
Design
But now lets talk about the headphones themselves. The Q45’s have a mostly plastic body, and the majority of this plastic has a matte finish to it, which personally I do like. The ear cups themselves fully swivel and these headphones are also fully collapsable, which again, I like this. We’ve got an exposed stainless steel headband, which is very Sony 1000XM2 like, we’ve got padded leatherette underneath the headband… and overall the leatherette on the ear pads feels nice too. Its very soft, and it kind of feels like the leatherette on the XM5’s… as in there isn’t any grain to it. It kind of feels like soft touch silicon… except its not as smooth as the XM5’s. Overall, impressed by the build quality on these headphones.
However, when it comes to the looks of these headphones… they’re not my favorite. Looks wise these headphones are rather bulky because they have a fairly bulbous headband. But also, the design of the ear cups themselves is very wide, making your face look wide, you look like mega man, and you can actually see these ear cups in your perfifial vision as well. And this is something that was a lot more common in 2018. These days, headphones are trying to look as sleek and as low profile as possible.
Now when it comes to fit, these headphones fit well but they’re not my favorite. Now when it comes to clamping force, they have a neutral amount of clamping force. As in, they aren’t tight, but they also aren’t lose like with lets say the Bose QC45’s. Overall I will say that these headphones are big head approved and they will also fit very well with hats cause their headband expands a lot. However, when it comes to their weight, the Q45’s weigh in at 298 grams, which is average for a pair of premium ANC Headphones. However, when compared to lets say the Sony 1000XM4, these weigh in at 254 grams. The XB910N weigh in at 252 grams, the XM5’s weigh in at 250 grams, and the Bose QC45 which are currently my favorite headphones, these weigh in at 234 grams. So what im saying is, the Q45’s aren’t over weight like the AirPods Max which weighs in at a staggering 384 grams… but the Q45’s are noticeably heavier than the headphones that these headphones are actively trying to under cut. So when compared to all of these other headphones, the Q45’s are more noticeable when they're on your head. And yes, I have been spoiled by daily driving the Bose QC45’s, and after recently testing the Sony WH-CH720N’s, which weigh in at 192 grams… going back to the Q45’s which weigh in at 298 grams… im going to notice the difference. But also, I noticed that with the Q45’s, due to their very wide design… I think they have a wide center of gravity, cause whenever I turn my head with these headphones… their momentum is a lot more pronounced than other headphones who’s ear cups are a lot more low profile.
But then there’s the headband on these headphones… the padding on the headband is very soft… and I’ve noticed that at the 1 hour mark, this headband does create a hot spot on the top of your head, and that’s cause this super soft padding just gets super flat after awhile. So personally, I can only wear these headphones for one hour at a time before I need to take a break. And finally there are the ear pads on these headphones. Now these earpads are fairly spacious and they should have no problem fitting most ear types. However, they’re not as deep as the ear pads found on the Bose QC45’s, so if you have ears that stick out a lot… then these could still press down on your ears. But what I really don’t like about these earpads is that they have a lot of surface area coming in contact with your skin, and this padding collects a lot of heat, so these ears pads do like to heat up rather quickly. So overall fit wise, I will say that these headphones will get the job done… but personally they are not my favorite fitting headphones out there. The fit of these headphones feels a little last gen when compared to newer or more premium headphones.
Battery life
But now lets talk about tech specs, regarding battery life, this is actually very impressive and I think its part of the reason as to why the Q45 have their super wide design which personally, I don’t like too much. Now these headphones have an advertised battery life 50 hours with their active noise cancelation turned on… which is super impressive. And with their active noise cancellation turned off, they can go for as long as 65 hours. So these are amazing for traveling.
Now when it comes to charging these headphones, they charge via a USB C port as they should… and their fast charging is very impressive as well for a pair of entry level headphones… cause if you were to plug them in for 5 minutes from a dead battery, you’re going to get 4 hours of playback time.
Bluetooth
Now when it comes to Bluetooth connectivity, these headphones can be connected to two devices at the same which is good if you’re a power user cause you can use your headphones with your phone and computer at the same time, and they don’t have to be in the same eco system.
Regarding performance, these headphones have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device, and when it comes to audio codecs, these headphones have support for SBC, AAC, and Sony’s on LDAC which is Sony’s own in house high res audio codec.
Just keep in mind that if you do want to use LDAC you have to be an android user cause iPhone top out at AAC. Also if you use LDAC then these headphones will only be able to connect to one device at a time… and LDAC does take an additional toll on the battery life.
Sound
But now, lets talk about actually listening to music with these headphones. Now I feel that the Space Q45’s sound good enough to get the job done. But these headphones are defeneitly not going to be able to please people who like to actually feel the bass in their music. These headphones have very little physicality in their bass, and even if you were to go into their customizable EQ and raise their bass all the way up… you’re still not going to get much physicality out of them. Now, the Q45’s do have a bass up feature which is going to give these headphones a little more physicality in their bass, but if you use this feature, two things are going to happen. First off these headphones are going to sound very shallow and they’re going to sound like you’re listening to them through a cup a little bit, the low ends just become so over powering and muddy… but also, on rare occasions the bass is going to bottom out. Now when the bass bottoms out on these headphones, it is very slight and it can be a little hard to hear… its not as prominent as when the bass bottoms out on the Surface Headphones, but it is there.
So personally, I wouldn’t use the bass up feature on these headphones cause it makes them sound shallow and cause the bass can bottom out. But in general, these headphones do sound a little narrow and the instrumentals can get lost at little bit. These headphones are mostly bass and vocals, and the bass on these headphones is mostly on the audible side. So like I said, these headphones sound good enough to get the job, but if you’re someone that likes to feel the bass in your music, these aren’t going to be able to deliver as well, and if you like really good instrument separation, these are going to struggle in that area as well. These are right down the middle and strictly for super casual listeners.
But when it comes to controlling your music, these headphones are using physical buttons, and over all, I like these buttons. They’re very well placed, they are easy to tell apart and they have a satisfying click to them.
ANC
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now the ANC on the Q45’s is very impressive cause they are blocking out an above average amount of noise for a pair of entry level ANC headphones. The Q45’s block out noise more similar to a pair of really good mid tier ANC headphones. But so that you can see for yourself, we’re going to jump into the ANC test.
ANC Test
So like you may have just seen, the Space Q45’s do a really good job of keeping up with the likes of the Bose QC45’s and Sony 1000XM5’s which are some of the best preforming ANC headphones out there right now. The XM5’s are currently number one when it comes to blocking out noise, and the QC45’s aren’t far behind. However, I do feel that the ANC on the Q45’s is a little last gen cause these do have a noticeable amount of cabin pressure. However, if you were to go in and lower the ANC on these headphones to 3, then that cabin pressure is less noticeable, but they are going to block out less noise. But overall, the ANC on these headphones is very impressive and I honestly feel that that is their main selling point.
Ambient Mode
But next up is their ambient mode, these headphones have a decent enough sounding ambient mode. You can go in and adjust it to your liking, and the microphone array on these headphones does a really good job of blocking out wind noise when walking out doors. Or if you want to, you can set these headphones to talk mode, so that this way, if you press the ANC button on these headphones, they will automatically lower the volume of your music and pump in all of the ambient sound around you so that you can quickly talk to someone without having to take off your headphones like this.
Talk mode demo
But unfortunately, you can’t have both. You can either have transparency mode or talk mode, but not both. And personally I hate when companies do this cause you can fix this through a software update.
Q45 Quite
But finally here’s the microphone test, and overall I have to say that im rather impressed. Now while in a quite room this microphone can sound a little robotic, but it defnfeitly still gets the job done.
Q45 Road Noise
Now when it comes to blocking out noise pollution, this microphone is doing a decent job of blocking out this road noise… although there is some interference going on with my voice.
Chatter
But when it comes to blocking out chatter, this microphone is doing a good job as well. Now my voice can sound a little hollow, but you can defeneitly still understand me. So overall, I will say that the Soundcore Space Q45 has a decent enough sounding microphone for phone calls and you can get away with some noise pollution.
Verdict
So with all of that being said, the Soundcore Space Q45’s are a pair of entry level ANC Headphones who’s main value proposition is going to be their Active Noise cancelation and very impressive battery life. With the amount of noise that these headphones block out and their 50 hour battery life… these are a great choice for frequent flyers and commuters. However, I do have to caution that fit wise these aren’t my favorite. Their headband can create a hotspot on the top of your head due to their super soft padding. Their ear pads can get a little hot a little too quickly, and their very wide design just makes their momentum very noticeable when you move your head around. And then theres there sound, they sound good enough to get the job done, but if you're someone that likes bass or instrument separation, these aren’t going to be able to deliver.