Anker Soundcore Space Q45

The Soundcore Space Q45 is Anker’s latest over-ear flagship. As with its predecessors it provides a respectable feature set, but has moved up a tier in terms of pricing. Is it still able to hold up?

Over the past 2 years I have been using the Soundcore Life Q30 as my main daily driver. For below 100$ it served well but had a few shortcomings that reiterate the fact you get what you pay for.

Design 8.5/10​

I wasn't a big fan of the previous Q30/Q35 design aesthetic which felt like it was a clash between modern and retro design. Although the basic design is not that different on the Q45, it overall looks more aesthetically pleasing and fits its "Space" name. The build quality is very good even though most parts are plastic. There is little to no creaking of the headband or hinges which was one issue I have had with some other headphones at or beyond this price point. The main issue with the design is that the earcups protrude out a fair bit which makes them a tad unwieldy. These do fold flat and come with a hard carrying case. The case exterior is fine but the inner plastic frame is loose and cheap, leaving no good place to put your cables. I’d rather take it out and fold it in or better yet use a carrying pouch instead.

Comfort 7/10​

The earpads are memory foam and quite comfortable, but a tad lacking in breathability which contributes to the air pressure issue I will detail later. The headband under certain conditions does exert some pressure leading to a fatiguing “hot spot” on the forehead.

Controls/Connectivity 8.5/10​

In terms of headset controls you get the usual in the form of button controls. This feels old-school but at least the buttons are responsive and reliable. One feature sadly removed from the Q30/Q35 is quick attention mode which used a touch sensor to quickly open the transparency mode.

The Q45 has a robust set of customizability options using the Soundcore app. This includes changing the EQ settings and ANC settings. Personally, I set it to only cycle between transparency mode and ANC. Having previously used the Soundcore app for my Liberty 3 Pro, these work just as well.

These support multipoint and their implementation is improved over the Q30 in that they remember the 2 devices you have connected to. There is LDAC support but sadly not with multipoint. The Bluetooth connectivity is good but I would put it slightly behind the Q30. I have experienced occasional dropouts and audio pops/crackles especially when using multipoint. For my home usage, I have found that connectivity is actually more stable with LDAC turned on, probably because multipoint is disabled.

Active Noise Cancelling 8/10​

The ANC of these headphones is a substantial improvement from the Q30 which I was rather underwhelmed by. The Q45 does a good job removing mid to low frequencies, and the ANC level is adjustable from a scale of 1 to 5. It doesn’t do too much for higher frequencies though, and increasing the ANC to higher levels will increase the hiss at higher frequencies.

However, there is a major problem I have experienced using ANC or transparency of this headphone. When moving my head at a certain angle, the volume especially of the bass oscillates abruptly in response to the change in air pressure. Many ANC headphones I have tried have this similar issue, but it seems far more pronounced on the Q45 than other headphones I have tried. For comparison this issue exists in the Q30 but only happens when I shake my head vigorously. Soundcore support sent me a replacement unit and it still has the same problem, albeit slightly less severe. I usually don’t notice this phenomenon unless I am actively moving my head or during a bumpy commute, but on some bassier tracks and with the ANC setting at higher levels it becomes more noticeable.

Another issue I have noticed is an intermittent subtle popping sound coming form the left earcup when music isn't playing. I do wonder if this could be a defect with the internal amplifier but when wearing the opposite earcup I do not notice the issue so I suspect it has something to do with my hair and mic feedback.

Battery Life 9/10​

The battery life is a respectable 50 hours with ANC turned on. However, it does drain faster when using LDAC. I do find I have to charge these every week or so for relatively heavy usage using LDAC or multipoint, which translates to roughly 25-30 hours of battery.

Sound Quality 8.5/10​

The overall audio presentation of the Q45 is a W-shaped signature, with peaks in the bass, mids and treble. The frequency response measurements show several dramatic peaks, but although this looks unnatural the Q45 is quite versatile and respectable. The bass reaches fairly low but is a tad lacking in terms of thump, but overall well-controlled and not bloated. The midrange is mostly focused at the centre with a slight slant to the upper mids - vocals and drums both present nicely. The treble takes a slight backseat but has good sparkle and extension nonetheless. Overall, the default tuning works well for a wide variety of genres, and you have some flexibility adjusting it to your liking with the EQ.

In terms of imaging, the presentation is a tad distant, as if I am in the middle row of a concert rather than the front row. The bass takes a hit especially as while it is rather deep and punchy, I feel like the impact could be more visceral. That is not necessarily a bad thing as consequently the soundstage is quite wide with excellent detail retrieval and instrument separation.

With the default sound signature there is the option to boost the bass with a “bassup slider”. With the initial firmware this increased the midbass causing it to bleed into the mids, but since firmware 2.17 both the sub-bass and midbass are heavily boosted to be too overpowering and unnatural for my ears, so I currently do not recommend using this setting for most situations.

Conclusion​

Overall these are a great midrange ANC headphone with excellent sound quality, build quality and robust app support, but going up one budget tier leads to some reservations with the various issues I have mentioned. My main issue with these is the ear pressure issue which makes these a poor choice for bumpy commutes or usage with heavy movement, but I do not know if this issue affects all units the same way. Otherwise, these are well worth being a step above Soundcore's previous ANC headphones.

Overall Score - 8.5/10​

Comparisons​

vs Soundcore Life Q30
The Q30 is certainly still respectable if you can get it for a discounted price, but the Q45 is clearly a step-up addressing many of the issues I have had with the Q30, especially build quality, sound quality and ANC. Q30 does feel a tad more comfortable as although its earcups are shallower, its earpads seem a bit more breathable and the pressure issue I have experienced is almost absent on the Q30 (unless you shake your head vigorously or are on a very bumpy commute).

vs 1More Sonoflow
The Q45 has superior build quality with almost no creaking on the headband and hinges, two gripes I had with the SonoFlow. It also offers better ANC and transparency mode. The Q45 also has a more refined treble, but if you are after bass impact and a more intimate presentation, the SonoFlows have a tighter, harder-hitting bass. The SonoFlows also allow you to use LDAC with a multipoint connection, but the implementation of multipoint is cumbersome in that it only remembers and connects the most recently paired device, so you must always manually add the second device for multipoint.

vs Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro (sound comparison)
Both of these have a W-shape but are quite different. The Liberty 3 Pro puts much more emphasis on the treble and bass, with much more visceral impact and low end extension. The mids are more slanted towards the upper-mid/lower-treble which can sound a tad thin.

vs Soundcore Space A40
As the concurrently-released true wireless earbuds, the two complement each other nicely although their tunings are rather different. The A40 is relatively flat missing much bass impact and treble extension, but has an odd 7.5 kHz treble peak which adds a nice airiness in some tracks but other times sounds unnatural.