Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless Headphones Review

The Anker Q30 look very similar to the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless. They have a simple design with a black satin finish. With this generation, a small logo in gold is found on both ear cups, making it look a little more refined. They also come in 'Midnight Blue' and 'Sakura Pink' if you prefer a more colorful look.

They're comfortable headphones. Like the Wyze Noise-Cancelling Headphones Wireless, they feel lightweight and don't clamp too tightly on the head. The headband padding feels thin and can become uncomfortable when worn for long listening sessions.

These headphones have a good control scheme that's easy to use. Only the right ear cup has a touch-sensitive surface, but most of the controls are physical buttons located on the bottom of both ear cups. While the buttons are clicky and there are voice prompts for the different ANC settings, there aren't beeps for most of the other commands.

On the left ear cup:

Power button:

• Press and hold: Turns headphones on or off. Holding this button beyond turning the headphones on enters Bluetooth pairing mode.

NC button:

• Single press: Cycles through three noise cancelling settings: 'ANC', 'Transparency', which allows you to listen to audio while staying aware of what's going on around you, and 'Normal', which is its off mode.

On the right ear cup:

Play/Pause button:

• Single press: Plays and pauses audio. Also answers and ends calls.
• Press and hold: Activates voice assistant.

Volume rocker:

• Single press (on the '+'): Raises the volume.
• Single press (on the '-'): Lowers the volume.
• Double press (on the '+'): Skips to the next track.
• Double press (on the '-'): Skips to the previous track.

Touch-sensitive surface:

• Touch and hold: Activates transparency mode, which allows you to hear your surroundings without pausing your audio.

These over-ears aren't very breathable, but that's on par for their design as they cover the entire ear. As a result, they trap heat, which makes your ears feel warm over time. You can also sweat more if you're wearing them for long periods or during physical exercise.

Over-ears like these headphones aren't very portable. They're bulky, and while the ear cups can swivel to lay flat and come with a hard case to help protect them, they still take up some room in a bag or backpack.

Unlike the Anker Soundcore Space One Wireless, these over-ears have a good hard case. It has a zipper so that it fully closes, and there's a small section inside so that you can store its cables. It'll protect your headphones from minor water exposure and accidental drops.

The Anker Q30 have a decent build quality. They're mostly made of plastic and silicone-like materials, which makes them feel sturdy. There's also faux-leather padding on the headband and cups and a metal plate in the headband. They feel dense enough to survive a few accidental drops without getting damaged. However, some users have reported that their units' headbands cracked or broke over time, which points to issues with the build quality's durability. We haven't noticed this issue with our unit, though. Some of our team also use these headphones as their daily drivers, and they haven't encountered this either, so your experience may vary. However, if you have experienced this problem, please let us know in the forums. If you're looking for better-built Anker headphones, try the Anker Soundcore Space Q45 Wireless instead.

These over-ears have a fairly stable fit. While they won't move if you're working at your desk, they can fall off your head with more intense head movements. On the upside, their wireless design eliminates the risk of a cable snagging on something and pulling the headphones off your head.

• Anker Soundcore Life Q30 headphones
• 1/8" TRS audio cable
• USB-C charging cable
• Hard case
• Manuals

The Anker Q30 have an excited, V-shaped sound profile. The bass delivers intense thump and rumble, while the treble adds sparkle and brightness to your mix. This sound is well-suited for genres like rock and pop, which benefit from added bass and treble to make tracks sound exciting and dynamic. While some users may find this sound profile overtly bass-heavy, their companion app offers a graphic EQ and presets to help tweak their sound. Here are some measurements of a few EQ presets. 

There is a noticeable difference in sound profile when using the ANC on and off. Although we tested these headphones with their ANC on, if you turn the ANC off, the bass becomes boomier and the mid-range more hollow-sounding. However, it doesn't sound as bad as the Anker Soundcore Life Q35 Wireless when the ANC is off.

These over-ears have an alright frequency response consistency. Their treble delivery varies depending on fit, positioning, and seal, so it's important to take the time to adjust their fit on your head to get the same listening experience each time you use them.

Their bass compliance is okay. It's overemphasized across the whole range, so tracks with a strong bassline, like Satisfaction by Benni Benassi, have heavy thump, rumble, and boom. But, depending on your taste, you might find that all of this extra bass can also make mixes sound boomy and muddy. 

These over-ears have good mid-range target compliance. There's a bit of over-emphasis coming from the bass range into the low-mid, which results in vocals sounding a touch muddy. The rest of the range is a touch recessed relative to our target, so lead instruments sound a bit distant. 

The Anker Life Q30 have very good treble compliance. The low-treble is well-balanced, if a touch inconsistent, so voices sound clear without being harsh. On the other hand, the mid-treble is over-emphasized, which makes S and T sounds piercing. That said, treble delivery can vary depending on fit, positioning, and seal.

The peaks and dips performance is satisfactory. The headphones control their own sound profile well through the bass and mid-range but struggle to do so in the treble range, where there's also a bit of a mismatch between the left and right drivers. This inconsistency in the low- and mid-treble means voices can sound harsh, dull, or piercing depending on their pitch.

We've tested several products from Anker and encountered some imaging issues, which can indicate the brand's overall quality control and ergonomics. Imaging can vary across units, though. Our unit's L/R drivers have high phase mismatch, causing inaccuracies in the stereo image. There's also a slight frequency mismatch, which can result in holes in the stereo image. That said, the L/R drivers are well-matched in group delay, ensuring tight bass and transparent imaging, as well as in amplitude, helping to balance the stereo image.

The Anker Q30 have a poor passive soundstage. While it's perceived as wide and natural, audio still sounds like it's coming from inside your head rather than from out in front of you. Also, due to their closed-back design, they sound less spacious than open-back headphones.

The weighted harmonic distortion performance is good. All ranges fall within good limits, producing clean and pure audio at moderate volumes. At max volume, there's some distortion present in the right driver's bass range, and it's more noticeable when the ANC is on than off. However, we don't expect most users to encounter this issue, as listening to audio at such a high volume is very uncommon. It's also worth noting that most headphones have some distortion at max volume; we don't recommend using any headphones at max volume either, as it can negatively impact your hearing over time.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when listening using these settings.

The Anker Life Q30 have excellent noise isolation. With their active noise (ANC) feature set to the 'Transport' mode setting, they perform better than the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless. They can reduce a significant amount of bass-range noise like bus or plane engines. They also cut down a lot of mid-range noise, like office chatter, as well as higher-pitched sounds, like the hum of an AC unit. These headphones also offer two other kinds of ANC. 'Outdoor' mode aims to cut down traffic and wind noise, while 'Indoor' mode focuses on reducing mid and treble-range noise like office chatter and the hum of fans.

Note: Some users have reported that the ANC system doesn't work when the headphones are wired due to a firmware update or the feature being removed in a newer batch of headphones. Using firmware 02.10, our unit's ANC is usable while wired, so long as the unit has remaining battery life. However, you may be unable to do the same with your unit. We don't know how to differentiate batches for these headphones, but you can see our model's serial number here.

The Anker Soundcore Life Q30 have an impressive performance when it comes to attenuating against commons scenarios. They do a great job of isolating you against the low rumble of plane engines and fare even better when you use them in environments like a noisy office or bus street.

Wind noise differs from other sounds as it interacts directly with the ANC microphones. This leads to a loud and annoying tone as the ANC system attempts to cancel a sound that isn't reaching your ear. Unfortunately, the Anker Soundcore Q30 struggle with wind noise. They also lack a wind reduction feature to help reduce this, so you'll want to avoid windy environments where possible.

Their leakage performance is mediocre. Their leakage is concentrated in the mid-range, so it sounds somewhat full. If you're listening to your audio at a high volume, people at the office may be able to hear it.

The Anker Soundcore Q30's integrated mic's recording quality is fair. It sounds thin and a bit dull, but your voice still sounds clear and easy to understand.

The integrated microphone's noise handling performance is just mediocre. It struggles to separate your voice from moderate background noise and is best suited for calls taken from a more quiet environment.

The battery performance is excellent. They have over 44 hours of continuous playback time with their ANC on. If you need even more playback time, the manufacturer advertises them as lasting up to 60 hours with their ANC off. Thanks to their TRS audio cable, you can use them passively, but you can't use them while they're charging. Depending on your unit's batch, you may be unable to use the ANC system while wired. While they have an auto-off timer, it only turns off the headphones if they're not connected to a Bluetooth source. They won't power off if you're still connected to your Bluetooth device, even if you're not listening to anything.

The Anker Soundcore app is great. You can adjust the sound of these headphones using their graphic EQ or presets. You can also adjust their ANC with three different levels: 'Transport' mode, 'Outdoor' mode, and 'Indoor' mode. There are also sleep features available. You can make a mix of calming ambient sounds like birds tweeting or chimes and also set a timer for them.

These over-ears come with a 1/8" TRS cable that you can use to passively listen to audio. However, you can't use their mic while wired. They also come with a USB-C to USB-A charging cable. Using firmware 02.10, our unit's ANC can be used via analog, so long as battery life remains. However, this may be unique to our unit's batch, and you may not be able to use this feature wired. We don't know how to differentiate batches, but you can see our unit's serial number here.

These over-ears have great Bluetooth connectivity. Unlike the Skullcandy Hesh Evo Wireless, you can pair them with up to two devices simultaneously and support NFC pairing, simplifying the pairing process. However, they have high latency on PCs vis SBC codec, so you'll encounter lip-sync issues if you're streaming video. Some devices and apps compensate for latency differently, though. If you're looking for similar Anker headphones supporting the LDAC codec, try the Anker Soundcore Life Q35 Wireless.

These headphones can connect to Bluetooth-enabled PCs with full audio and mic compatibility. If you're using their analog cable, you'll only be able to hear audio.

You can connect these headphones to PlayStation consoles by plugging their analog cable into your controller's AUX port. However, you'll only be able to receive audio.

The Anker Q30 are only compatible with the Xbox One when you plug their 1/8" TRS cable into the AUX port of a controller. You can only receive audio as they don't have mic support.