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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless vs Sony WH-CH520 Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.8
Updated May 28, 2025 01:49 PM
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Updated Jan 03, 2025 05:38 PM
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TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeOn-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Variants
- Soundcore Life Q30 (Black)
- Soundcore Life Q30 (Midnight Blue)
- Soundcore Life Q30 (Sakura Pink)
- WH-CH520 (Beige)
- WH-CH520 (Black)
- WH-CH520 (Blue)
- WH-CH520 (White)
Our Verdict
Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless
The Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless are better for most people than the Sony WH-CH520 Wireless, unless you care about virtual surround sound. The Anker headphones supply active noise cancelling (ANC) to effectively reduce environmental noise. They have a companion app with an equalizer to adjust their sound profile, although it's otherwise fairly simple. The on-ear-fitting Sony headphones have a better mic and longer battery life. They also have virtual surround sound. They're wireless-only and lack ANC, so you'll hear your environment much more.
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Black
Soundcore Life Q30
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WH-CH520
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Soundcore Life Q30
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WH-CH520
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Soundcore Life Q30
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WH-CH520
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WH-CH520
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Finding storeMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.0
7.4
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
6.9
8.8
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
7.5
9.1
Passive Soundstage
5.0
3.5
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
7.8
6.5
Imaging
6.1
8.3
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
On-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.58 lbs
0.32 lbs
Clamping Force
0.9 lbs
0.6 lbs
Controls
7.5
6.8
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Decent
Good
Feedback
Decent
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
On/Off
No
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Breathability
5.9
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
7.2 °C
Portability
6.2
6.4
Portability Picture
L
6.9" (17.5 cm)
7.1" (18.0 cm)
W
6.8" (17.3 cm)
6.7" (17.0 cm)
H
1.7" (4.3 cm)
1.6" (4.0 cm)
Volume
80.00 in³ (1,310.96 cm³)
70.23 in³ (1,150.80 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
7.5
0.0
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
No case
L
8.9" (22.6 cm)
N/A
W
7.4" (18.8 cm)
N/A
H
2.3" (5.8 cm)
N/A
Volume
152.00 in³ (2,490.82 cm³)
N/A
Build Quality
7.0
6.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
6.5
6.5
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
550 Hz
Bass Amount
6.6 dB
-0.53 dB
Treble Amount
0.8 dB
-2.53 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
6.9
7.2
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.65 dB
0.57 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
6.9
8.8
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
6.8 dB
1.52 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
31.29 Hz
Low Bass
6.68 dB
-2.02 dB
Mid Bass
7.97 dB
1.37 dB
High Bass
5.1 dB
1.01 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
7.5
9.1
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.39 dB
1.2 dB
Low Mid
2.36 dB
0.1 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.93 dB
0.3 dB
High Mid
-2.62 dB
-0.48 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
7.8
6.5
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.63 dB
5.16 dB
Low Treble
-0.34 dB
-1.69 dB
Mid Treble
2.4 dB
-3.57 dB
High Treble
1.06 dB
-6.97 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.3
7.7
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.45 dB
1.38 dB
Dips
2.18 dB
1.53 dB
Imaging
6.1
8.3
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.22
0.3
Weighted Phase Mismatch
58.08
6.4
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.47
0.47
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2.68
2.61
Passive Soundstage
5.0
3.5
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
2.54 dB
5.11 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
6.44 dB
1.46 dB
PRTF Distance
7.8 dB
-0.01 dB
Openness
1.2
7.0
Acoustic Space Excitation
4.4
3.2
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
4.1
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
On/Off
Speaker Modeling
No
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
No
360 Reality Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.8
6.4
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.211
0.961
WHD @ 100
0.133
0.337
Test Settings
Firmware
02.10
1.0.1
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.0
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 16-bit, 44.1kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Default
No EQ
ANC
Transport
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
8.8
3.3
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
Yes
No
Overall Attenuation
-23.36 dB
-9.24 dB
Isolation Audio
Bass
-21.30 dB
0.01 dB
Mid
-19.19 dB
-4.69 dB
Treble
-30.48 dB
-23.27 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
8.3
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-18.73 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-19.30 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-20.67 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
Leakage
6.2
7.2
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
43.98 dB
38.66 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.9
7.7
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
276.97 Hz
261.43 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.31 dB
2.43 dB
HFE
4,561.4 Hz
6,358.31 Hz
Weighted THD
2.173
0.119
Gain
5.52 dB
6 dB
Noise Handling
5.6
6.9
SpNR
12.36 dB
16.46 dB
Noise Gate
No
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
6.0
7.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
5.0
6.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
8.9
8.2
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
44.3 hrs
52.8 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
44.3 hrs
52.8 hrs
Charge Time
1.7 hrs
1.9 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
Standby mode
Audio While Charging
No
No
Passive Playback
Yes
No
Charging Port
USB-C
USB-C
App Support
8.0
7.5
App Picture
App Name
Anker Soundcore
Sony| Headphones Connect
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
Yes
macOS
No
No
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
Adjustable
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
Yes
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
No
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
7.8
0.0
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
No
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
Yes
No
Length
4.10 ft (1.25 m)
N/A
Connector
1/8" TRS
No Wired Option
Latency - Analog
10.0 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
8.3
8.3
Bluetooth Version
5.010
5.2
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
2 Devices
NFC Pairing
No
Quick Pair (Android)
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
Line Of Sight Range
335.00 ft (102.11 m)
334.65 ft (102.00 m)
Latency - SBC
233 ms
312 ms
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
AAC Support
Yes
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
137 ms
Android Latency
135 ms
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
No
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
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
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
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
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Black
Soundcore Life Q30
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WH-CH520
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Soundcore Life Q30
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WH-CH520
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Soundcore Life Q30
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WH-CH520
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WH-CH520
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Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless
Comments
Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless vs Sony WH-CH520 Wireless: Main Discussion
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