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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless vs Sony WH-CH520 Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated May 28, 2025 03:09 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 03, 2025 05:38 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Picture

Variants

  • Soundcore Life Q20 (Black)
  • Soundcore Life Q20 (Blue)
  • Soundcore Life Q20 (Pink)
  • Soundcore Life Q20 (Silver)
  • WH-CH520 (Beige)
  • WH-CH520 (Black)
  • WH-CH520 (Blue)
  • WH-CH520 (White)

Our Verdict

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless

Sony WH-CH520 Wireless

If you're a basshead, the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless are better than the Sony WH-CH520 Wireless. They have a very bassy tuning whether you activate the 'BassUp' function or not. The headphones are more comfortable, and their active noise cancelling (ANC) makes them more commute-friendly, alongside their folding design. They can connect via analog or Bluetooth. The Sony cans offer the flexibility of their companion app's EQ settings, virtual surround sound, and multi-pairing. They work wirelessly only, and their battery lasts nearly twice as long. They fit on-ears instead of over-ears and do a poor job of blocking environmental noise. The Anker headphones are the better pick if you prioritize noise cancelling above EQ, multi-pairing, and battery life.

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Black
Soundcore Life Q20
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Blue
Soundcore Life Q20
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Pink
Soundcore Life Q20
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Silver
Soundcore Life Q20
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Main Differences for
Neutral Sound

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

6.8
7.4

Bass Accuracy 
 

5.4
8.8

Passive Soundstage 
 

4.5
3.5

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.5
9.1

Treble Accuracy 
 

7.4
6.5

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Design Picture 2
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
On-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show Text 

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.0

Comfort Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Comfort Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.57 lbs
0.32 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0.9 lbs
0.6 lbs
Show Text 

Controls 
 

7.1
6.8

Controls Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Controls Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Decent
Good

Feedback  

Good
Good

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

On/Off
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

Bass Effect + Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Show Text 

Breathability 
 

Breathability After Picture  

Avg.Temp.Difference  

Portability 
 

6.1
6.4

Portability Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Portability Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Portability Picture

 

5.5" (14.0 cm)
7.1" (18.0 cm)

 

5.6" (14.2 cm)
6.7" (17.0 cm)

 

3.0" (7.6 cm)
1.6" (4.0 cm)

Volume  

92.00 in³ (1,507.60 cm³)
70.23 in³ (1,150.80 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show Text 

Case 
 

5.5
0.0

Case Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Case Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Case Picture

Type  

Pouch
No case

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

7.0
6.5

Build Quality Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Build Quality Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Build Quality Picture
Show Text 

Stability 
 

7.0
6.5

Stability Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Stability Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Stability Picture
Show Text 

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Angled Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Side Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Front Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Rear Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Top Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless In The Box Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless In The Box Picture
Show Text 
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

5.28 dB
-0.53 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-1.53 dB
-2.53 dB
Show Text 

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

6.8
7.2

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.66 dB
0.57 dB
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

5.4
8.8

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

7.69 dB
1.52 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

10 Hz
31.29 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

8.89 dB
-2.02 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

10.36 dB
1.37 dB

High-Bass 
 

5.42 dB
1.01 dB
Show Text 

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.5
9.1

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.97 dB
1.2 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0.86 dB
0.1 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

0.94 dB
0.3 dB

High-Mid 
 

1.98 dB
-0.48 dB
Show Text 

Treble Accuracy 
 

7.4
6.5

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.94 dB
5.16 dB

Low-Treble 
 

2.71 dB
-1.69 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

2.94 dB
-3.57 dB

High-Treble 
 

-7.27 dB
-6.97 dB
Show Text 

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.1
7.7

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.96 dB
1.38 dB

Dips 
 

1.26 dB
1.53 dB
Show Text 

Imaging 
 

8.4
8.3

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.3
0.3

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

6.7
6.4

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.63
0.47

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

2.03
2.61
Show Text 

Passive Soundstage 
 

4.5
3.5

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

3.53 dB
5.11 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

4.4 dB
1.46 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

7.4 dB
-0.01 dB

Openness 
 

2.4
7.0

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

2.6
3.2
Show Text 

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
4.1

Virtual Soundstage  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Virtual Soundstage
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
On/Off

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
On/Off

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App
360 Reality Audio
Show Text 

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.4
6.4

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.287
0.961

WHD @ 100 
 

0.205
0.337
Show Text 

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

Unknown
1.0.1

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth 5.0

Codec 
 

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 16-bit, 44.1kHz

EQ 
 

Default
No EQ

ANC 
 

On
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Integrated
Show Text 
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

7.6
3.3

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-20.77 dB
-9.24 dB

Noise Cancelling  

Yes
No

Bass 
 

-12.68 dB
0.01 dB

Mid 
 

-20.67 dB
-4.69 dB

Treble 
 

-29.76 dB
-23.27 dB
Show Text 

Leakage 
 

7.7
7.2

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

35.14 dB
38.66 dB
Show Text 
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Recording Quality 
 

7.3
7.7

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

243.22 Hz
261.43 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.36 dB
2.43 dB

HFE 
 

7,240.77 Hz
6,358.31 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.803
0.119

Gain 
 

-3.16 dB
6 dB
Show Text 

Noise Handling 
 

6.7
6.9

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

18.03 dB
16.46 dB

Noise Gate 
 

Always On
Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

6.5
7.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

7.0
6.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

7.7
8.2

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

32.3 hrs
52.8 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

32.3 hrs
52.8 hrs

Charge Time 
 

1.8 hrs
1.9 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
Standby mode

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Yes
No

Charging Port  

micro-USB
USB-C
Show Text 

App Support 
 

0.0
7.5

App Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless App Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless App Picture

App Name  

No App
Sony| Headphones Connect

iOS  

No
Yes

Android  

No
Yes

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
Graphic + Presets

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
Yes

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

7.0
8.3

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.0
5.2

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
2 Devices

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

247.00 ft (75.29 m)
334.65 ft (102.00 m)

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

362 ms
312 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

93 ms
137 ms

Android Latency 
 

69 ms
135 ms
Show Text 

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Wired 
 

9.5
0.0

Cable Picture  

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Cable Picture
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

Yes
No

Length  

4.10 ft (1.25 m)
N/A

Connection 
 

1/8" TRS
No Wired Option

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
N/A
Show Text 

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
Show Text 

Check Price

Black
Soundcore Life Q20
Searching
Finding store
Blue
Soundcore Life Q20
Searching
Finding store
Pink
Soundcore Life Q20
Searching
Finding store
Silver
Soundcore Life Q20
Searching
Finding store

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless

Sony WH-CH520 Wireless

Comments

  1. Comparison

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless vs Sony WH-CH520 Wireless: Main Discussion

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