Notice: Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless vs Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.6
Updated Mar 14, 2024 07:40 PM
SEE PRICE
Walmart.comTested using Methodology v1.6
Updated Jun 09, 2025 09:10 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingYes
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingYes
MicYes
Variants
- WH-1000XM3 (Black)
- WH-1000XM3 (White)
- Soundcore Life Q20 (Black)
- Soundcore Life Q20 (Blue)
- Soundcore Life Q20 (Pink)
- Soundcore Life Q20 (Silver)
Our Verdict
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless
The Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless are better noise cancelling over-ears than the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless. The Sony are more comfortable, they isolate significantly more noise, and they feel a lot better-built. They're also compatible with an excellent companion app which gives you access to tons of sound customization features. There's a premium price to pay for the Sony, though. The Anker are a lot more affordable and still perform decently overall, so they may provide better value for some users.
Check Price
Black
WH-1000XM3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBlack
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comWhite
WH-1000XM3
SEE PRICE
Walmart.comBlue
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comPink
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comSilver
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.4
6.8
Bass Accuracy
7.2
5.4
Mid Accuracy
9.4
8.5
Passive Soundstage
3.7
4.5
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
8.0
7.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.6 lbs
0.57 lbs
Clamping Force
0.8 lbs
0.9 lbs
Controls
7.6
7.1
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Decent
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
On/Off
Talk-Through
On/Off
No
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Bass Effect + Voice Assistant
Breathability
6.5
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
5.8 °C
Portability
6.0
6.1
Portability Picture
L
5.6" (14.2 cm)
5.5" (14.0 cm)
W
6.0" (15.2 cm)
5.6" (14.2 cm)
H
3.2" (8.1 cm)
3.0" (7.6 cm)
Volume
108.00 in³ (1,769.80 cm³)
92.00 in³ (1,507.60 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.0
5.5
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Pouch
L
7.1" (18.0 cm)
N/A
W
8.1" (20.6 cm)
N/A
H
2.4" (6.1 cm)
N/A
Volume
136.00 in³ (2,228.63 cm³)
N/A
Build Quality
8.0
7.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.0
7.0
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
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
3.25 dB
5.28 dB
Treble Amount
-3.05 dB
-1.53 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
8.3
6.8
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.34 dB
0.66 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
7.2
5.4
Std. Err.
4.28 dB
7.69 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
10 Hz
Low-Bass
3.82 dB
8.89 dB
Mid-Bass
5.09 dB
10.36 dB
High-Bass
4.87 dB
5.42 dB
Mid Accuracy
9.4
8.5
Std. Err.
0.85 dB
1.97 dB
Low-Mid
0.4 dB
0.86 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.09 dB
0.94 dB
High-Mid
-0.01 dB
1.98 dB
Treble Accuracy
7.9
7.4
Std. Err.
3.25 dB
3.94 dB
Low-Treble
-1.83 dB
2.71 dB
Mid-Treble
0.21 dB
2.94 dB
High-Treble
-12.11 dB
-7.27 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.5
7.1
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.84 dB
1.96 dB
Dips
0.8 dB
1.26 dB
Imaging
7.8
8.4
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.23
0.3
Weighted Phase Mismatch
8.24
6.7
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.86
0.63
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.77
2.03
Passive Soundstage
3.7
4.5
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
2.68 dB
3.53 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
9.23 dB
4.4 dB
PRTF Distance
5.13 dB
7.4 dB
Openness
0.2
2.4
Acoustic Space Excitation
2.9
2.6
Virtual Soundstage
6.4
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
On/Off
No
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
No
Room Ambience
Presets
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
360 Reality Audio
No App
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.3
7.4
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.380
0.287
WHD @ 100
0.198
0.205
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Unknown
Power
On
On
Connection
Unknown
Bluetooth 4.2
Codec
aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
EQ
Off
Default
ANC
On
On
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation
9.8
7.6
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-29.9 dB
-20.77 dB
Noise Cancelling
Yes
Yes
Bass
-23.03 dB
-12.68 dB
Mid
-27.24 dB
-20.67 dB
Treble
-39.7 dB
-29.76 dB
Leakage
7.4
7.7
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
37.09 dB
35.14 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.3
7.3
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
226.27 Hz
243.22 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.65 dB
2.36 dB
HFE
3,044.37 Hz
7,240.77 Hz
Weighted THD
27.163
0.803
Gain
29.6 dB
-3.16 dB
Noise Handling
6.5
6.7
SpNR
19.65 dB
18.03 dB
Noise Gate
No
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
6.5
6.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
6.5
7.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
7.6
7.7
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
27 hrs
32.3 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
27 hrs
32.3 hrs
Charge Time
2.2 hrs
1.8 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
No
No
Audio While Charging
No
No
Passive Playback
Yes
Yes
Charging Port
USB-C
micro-USB
App Support
8.5
0.0
App Picture
App Name
Sony| Headphones Connect
No App
iOS
Yes
No
Android
Yes
No
macOS
No
No
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
No
ANC Control
On/Off
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
Yes
No
Playback Control
Yes
No
Button Mapping
Yes
No
Surround Support
Yes
No
Connectivity
Wired Connection
9.8
9.9
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
5.00 ft (1.52 m)
4.10 ft (1.25 m)
Connector
1/8" TRS
1/8" TRS
Latency - Analog
0.4 ms
0.3 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
7.1
7.1
Bluetooth Version
4.2
5.010
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
Quick Pair (Android)
Yes
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
185.00 ft (56.39 m)
247.00 ft (75.29 m)
Latency - SBC
225 ms
250 ms
Latency - aptX
201 ms
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
N/A
Latency - LDAC
232 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
SBC
AAC Support
Yes
Yes
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
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
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
Check Price
Black
WH-1000XM3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBlack
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comWhite
WH-1000XM3
SEE PRICE
Walmart.comBlue
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comPink
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comSilver
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless
Comments
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless vs Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless: Main Discussion
What do you think of these products? Let us know below.
Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.