Get Them Here:
Sony ULT Wear: https://amzn.to/4gqyozu
Soundcore Space One Pro: https://amzn.to/3XsrxNq
So the Soundcore Space One Pro are a great of pair of mid tier ANC headphones that block out a lot of noise, they have a super long battery life and they have a fun bass heavy sound signature. However, they aren’t as Pro as id expect cause they are missing some fairly common features for Mid tier ANC headphones in 2024. But today we’re going to see how the Soundcore Space One Pro stack up to the Sony ULT wear which are another great pair of mid tier ANC headphones.
Regarding pricing, both of these headphones retail for $200… but just knowing Soundcore and Sony, I expect both of these headphones to go on sale on a regular basis. Nonetheless, if you want to pick either of these two headphones up they’ll be linked down below, or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button.
So first there are the cases, now sadly the Space One Pro dont come with a hardshell case, instead they come with a carrying pouch. And this is one of the first things that dont make these headphones feel pro cause a lot of other mid tier ANC headphones out there like the Sony ULT wear come with a hardshell case. So if you plan on traveling a lot with your headphones you are going to want a hard case. Now the good thing about the Space One Pro is that they are fully collapsable so they should be able to fit into almost any third party case out there. But its just nicer that the Sony already just comes with a case.
But with the case out of the way lets talk about the headphones themselves… now both of these headphones are well built, but the Space One Pro feel more durable where as the ULT wear feel more premium, if that makes sense. The ULT wear feel more premium cause the tolerances are tighter, these headphones are lighter, the headband clicks into place and the leatherette on these headphones feels a lot better supple than the leatherette on the Space One Pro. The leatherette on the Space one Pro feels very synthetic and plastic. I also dont like how these headband arms just spring open and closed, and you can also feel a slight wobble when you’re handling these headphones. So overall, with just handling the ULT Wear, you can just feel that they’re more refined.
And then theres the fit of these headphones. Now both of these headphones are big head approved, but the Sony’s do have a loser and more natural fit compared to the Space One Pro. Now yes, the space one pro’s have a firmer fit to them, which could be good for working out, but their firmer fit doesn’t feel like they’re squeezing your head. But then theres the weight on these headphones. Now like I mentioned earlier, the ULT wear are lighter than the Space one Pro which weigh in at 283 grams, which isn’t bad, but they are a little above average for ANC headphones. Where as the ULT wear weigh in at 255 grams. So with the ULT wear, these are less noticeable when they’re on your head cause you dont feel them shifting around as much when you’re walking around with them on and they are easier to forget that you’re wearing them while you’re sitting at your desk or while in bed. And when it comes to the ear pads on these headphones, both of these ear pads have big diameters to them, however, the ULT wear’s ear pads are deeper than the ear pads on the Space One Pro. So if you have large ears then both of these headphones should have you covered, but if your ears stick out a lot, then you’ll might want to go with the ULT wear. But also, the ear pads on the ULT wear do a better job of staying cooler for longer cause they have less surface area coming in contact with your skin, and their padding collects less heat than the padding on the Space One Pro. So overall, from a design and fit standpoint, I feel the Sony ULT wear feel more premium cause they have higher tolerances, and their leatherette feels better. And I also feel that they fit better cause they have a loser fit, they’re lighter, their earpads are more spacious and their ear pads stay cooler for longer.
But when it comes to battery life, the ULT wear have an advertised battery life of 30 hours with their ANC turned on and with their ANC turned off they can go for as long as 50 hours… not bad at all and this is a little above average. But with the Space One Pro, these have and advertised battery life of 40 hours with their ANC turned on and with their ANC turned off they can go for as long as 60 hours.
And when it comes to charging these headphones, they both charge via a USB C port as they should. But these USB C port are strictly used for charnging and you cant use these USB C port as a wired connection. But both of these headphones do have a 3.5 millimeter audio jack and they come with an audio cable so you can use them with a wired connection that way… and you can use these headphones passively if you want.
But when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, both of these headphones can be connected to two devices at the same time regardless of eco system so you can easily hot swap from one device to another which is good if you have an iPhone and an android device.
And when it comes to overall performance, both of 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, both of these headphones have support for SBC AAC and LDAC which is Sony’s own in house high res audio codec. However if you want to use LDAC you do have to be an android user cause iPhones top out at AAC, and if you do decide to use LDAC, that is going to take an additional toll on the battery life.
But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. Now with both of these headphones, you can always go into their apps and either select from a few premade EQ’s or you can make your own. But from a performance standpoint, both of these headphones have a lot of resonance in their bass. But the bass on these headphones isn’t going rattle your head all that much. But more importantly, the bass on the ULT wear is much better controlled and it doesn’t muddy the rest of your music like with the Space One Pro. And in general, the ULT wear do a much better job of sounding more open cause these have better detail in the instrumentals, and they have a bigger emphasis on the vocals than the Space One Pro. So overall, both of these headphones are good options for people that like a lot of bass in their music, but the Sony ULT wear are more versatile than the Space One Pro cause their bass is cleaner and better controlled, but also they sound more open and have better instrument separation than the Space one pro. So if you prefer a more neutral or vocals focused sound signature, the ULT wear are going to do a better job of delivering you a better listening experience.
But when it comes to the media controls on these headphones, the ULT wear are using a touch pad, and this touchpad is very easy to to use and its very accurate. But if you dont want to have to deal with a touchpad, then the Space One Pro are using physical buttons and these buttons are easy to find and they have a very nice click to them.
But something the ULT wear have over the Space One Pro is that they have weaker sensors, so when you take these headphones off they’ll automatically pause your music and when you put them back on they’ll start playing your music again. Now personally I dont care for wear sensors on my headphones… but I do find it odd that the Space One Pro dont have wear sensors.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now both of these headphones block out an imrepssive amount of noise for a pair of mid tier ANC headphones, but the ANC on the ULT wear is a little more premium than the ANC on the Space One Pro. 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 Sony ULT wear are able to block a little more noise than the Space One Pro, but its not a huge difference. But the important thing here is, the ULT wear manage to block out a little more noise than the Space One pro while having less cabin pressure, and having less cabin pressure is just going to lead to better overall comfort. Now cabin pressure on the Space One Pro isn’t a problem, but if you can get something with less cabin pressure and block out a little more noise like with the ULT wear, then you’ll want to go with those.
And then theres the ambient mode on these headphones, both of these headphones have really natural sounding ambient mode and you can adjust how much noise these headphones let in and both of these microphone arrays do a great job of rejecting wind noise when walking out doors. However, the ambient mode on the ULT wear sounds more natural when walking out doors cause these dont sound muffled like the space one pro, cause the space one pro are trying to reduce noise unwanted noise pollution, but in the process, people’s voices get a little muffled.
Voice 16
But a major difference between these two headphones’s ambient mode is their easy chat and quick attention. Now easy chat on the Space One Pro work like this.
Easy chat demo
Now easy chat is very similar to speak to chat which is found on Sony’s more premium ANC headphones like the 1000XM4’s and 1000XM5’s… but not on the ULT wear. But personally I don’t use easy chat cause its very easy to accidetnly activate it and you cant manually deactivate it.
Peronsally i prefer quick attention on the ULT wear where if you fully cover the touch pad on these headphones they’re going to automatically lower the volume on your headphones and let in all of the ambient sound so that you can quickly talk to someone, and when you let go the headphones will go back to normal again.
And I prefer quick attention cause its a lot more intentional and this is a great feature to have when you’re flying. And like I said in the full review, I think its odd that the Space One Pro dont have this feature cause the base Space One’s do.
Mic ULT wear Quite
But finally heres the microphone test, and I feel that both of these headphones have decent sounding microphones on them to take phone calls with while in a quite room.
Mic Space Pro Quite
But while in a quiet room, I feel that the Sony ULT wear has a little bit better clarity, but the Space one focuses on your voice a little more.
Mic Space Road noise
But when it comes to blocking out noise pollution, these headphones are very different. The Space One pro do a decent job of reducing all of this road noise, cause for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clearly hear all of this road noise, but if we were to switch back over to the Space One Pro, it is severely reduced.
ULT Road Noise
Where as with the Sony ULT wear, these are really struggling here to reduce all of this road noise.
ULT Chatter
And the ULT wear really struggle to reduce this chatter as well.
Space Pro Chatter
Where as with the Soundcore Space One Pro, these are also struggling to block out this chatter, but not as much as the Sony ULT wear. So overall, I feel that both of these headphones have good microphones on them to take phonecalls with while in a quiet room, but the Space One Pro do a slightly better job of dealing with noise pollution, specifically road noise.
But with all of that being said, The Soundcore Space One Pro are a decent pair of mid tier ANC headphones that give you a big bang for your buck… however I cant help but feel that these aren’t as pro as id expect them to be. They’re missing a case, their instrument separation could be better, they dont have wear sensors, they’re a little heavier than average mid tier ANC headphones and their leatherette feels very plastic. Personally, I prefer the Sony ULT wear here cause they come with a case, they’re lighter, they’re more comfortable, they block out a little more noise with less cabin pressure, they have their quick attention feature, and they sound better cause their bass is cleaner, and they sound more open.