Listen up: Soundcore Space One Headphones review

There are countless brilliant headphones out there, and Soundcore's Space One headphones might just have what it takes to ranks among the best. Soundcore is no stranger to making quality headphones and earbuds, but the Space One stand out with a padded design and incredible active noise cancellation.

The Space One aims to be a pair of reasonably affordable headphones that still provide quality audio thanks to its custom drivers. Beyond the brand's focus on sound quality, the battery life is large enough to ensure you're never without music while out and about.

As for the design of the Space One, they're a sturdy pair of over-ear headphones. This further helps the noise cancellation and minimises the amount of sound that escapes. They are also well-padded, both on the cups and the headband, so as to be as comfortable as possible when wearing them for hours a a time.

In order to evaluate whether the Space One headphones are worth your time and money, resident tech expert Kyle Purves has been extensively testing them. They've been keeping an eye out for every strength and weakness that appears, paying extra attention to the audio performance and comfort of the build. As part of this, and to test the noise cancellation thoroughly, they used the Space One while travelling (especially on crowded trains). Read on to see the detailed full review.

Performance

I've been impressed with the noise cancellation of previous Soundcore products, and I thought I had seen the best that they could be; and yet, the Space One has exceeded my expectations. The noise cancellation is staggeringly effective, able to silence even the most obstructive background sounds. Frankly, it's hard to even hear myself speak when wearing them. Of course, the adaptive nature of the feature means it will tone down the muffling so that you can hold a small conversation with them, or at least enough to hear traffic when crossing the road.

If you're struggling to listen to a podcast at night due to someone snoring, or can't get into your music at work thanks to construction outside, these are a total blessing. I've taken them on a handful of exceedingly busy trains during the Edinburgh Fringe, and while I might have felt physically squished, my audio experience wasn't lessened whatsoever. In fact, the only background noise I could hear was the tiniest rattle of the train; I was otherwise free from any disruptions.

Sure, great noise cancellation is a quality I always love to see in a pair of headphones, but how does the audio perform? I'm pleased to say, very well. Thanks to some experimenting with the Soundcore companion app, I was able to push the bass to the extreme, and the Space One was consistently great at every level. It's not just good for bass, as it sounds great with a variety of sounds and noise.

When it came to music, I gave a wide selection of genres a go, from jazz to musicals, rock, metal, and beyond. Regardless of what I threw at it, the Space One delivered, letting me easily discern each note of a song. While I do think you could find more specialist headphones for specifically strong genre perfromances, considering the affordable price tag of the Space One, I feel confident calling it a jack-of-all-trades, master of many.

As for videos and podcasts, spoken dialogue also comes across as crisp and clear. I've got zero critiques to make here, and would instead like to point to the quality of the noise cancellation again. If you like to listen to podcasts as you travel, I implore you to consider the Space One headphones. They'll definitely be my go-to pick in future.

The last note for performance is the ever-important battery life. Wireless headphones and earbuds ride and die by their total playtime and ease of charging, and thankfully the Space One keeps the consistency up. With the active noise-cancellation enabled (which will be most of the time), you can get about 40 hours out of a single charge. That's a very impressive total, definitely enough to last the best part of a week. You'll only really need to keep it topped up, so running out of charge should be a rarity. In such a case, I found the charging speed to be plenty swift. One thing I would like to note as more of an oddity than a complaint would be the battery level notifications; "battery high" seems to exist for a very short time before being in "battery medium" for ages.

Build

Before jumping into the build in general, I want to note something the Space One does better than most other over-ear headphones, and I'm delighted to see it; glasses are not an issue. I often find that over-ear and on-ear headphones can make wearing glasses uncomfortable, but the gentle padding of this model keeps the legs from digging in and adding excess pressure. So, if you've been waiting for a pair of over-ear headphones that work with glasses, absolutely go with the Space One.

Speaking of padding, these are a seriously comfortable pair of headphones. The outer section is a hard shell, but the cups and headband are both padded, meaning you get the best combination of a secure fit and a durable make. One of the reasons I prefer over-ear headphones to on-ear models is I like not having the pressure on my ears, but some over-ear pairs will just have rigid cups that put the same pressure around the ear. That's not the case here, as the padding gives way just enough to prioritise being comfortable while still staying secure.

As I mentioned, the outer section is a hard shell, which is where you can find the buttons. They are easy to tell apart from just a touch once you use them enough, and I always appreciate being able to adjust the volume without taking the headphones off. I do find that the power button needs to be firmly pressed for a few seconds to turn it on and off, which is fine, but I would prefer a quicker response.

The Space One headphones manage to be a pretty good pair for travel thanks to a foldable design that keeps them compact enough to be portable. They are fairly big and bulky, which is hardly a surprise for an over-ear set, but being able to fold them down a bit goes a long way to helping to pack them in a backpack.

Downsides

There's only really one major downside I have with the Space One headphones; everything else is relatively minor. That said, it is quite inconvenient that these are far from ideal for voice calls. This is due to two factors.

Firstly, the design of the noise cancellation, even when turned off, made it feel strange to speak with. I would often struggle to find my right volume or stop mid-sentence in a similar way one might when thinking they're talking over someone. I imagine this is something I could get used to eventually, but it's not preferable.

The second problem is the microphone itself - it's pretty mediocre. The audio quality is lacking, especially with the placement not being especially close to your mouth. In fact, from testing it across several voice calls, people preferred my laptop's in-built mic, which is a pretty damning situation.

Of course, falling short in one category isn't the worst thing for headphones. I see the mic here as a handy addition, something to fall back on in case of an unexpected call. It's not like it's a major selling point from Soundcore.

Beyond all that, the only other grievance of note is something all over-ear headphones tend to suffer from; stuffiness. While I much prefer the comfort of these instead of on-ear models, heat tends to gather in the cups, leaving me with sweaty ears if I wear them for too long at a time.

Verdict

It should come as no surprise that I'm happy to recommend the Soundcore Space One Headphones. Aside from the small blunder that is the microphone, this is a fantastic pair of noise-cancelling over-ear headphones at a price-to-quality combination you rarely see. They fit comfortably on your head even with glasses, the battery life is absolutely fantastic, and the noise cancellation is some of the strongest I've experienced, combined with consistently solid sound quality. It's a slam dunk all around.

The microphone quality does keep the Space One from a perfect score, but I simply cannot recommend these enough for anyone who struggles to listen to podcasts when travelling. The battery life is large enough that I can focus on the audio without stressing over how much charge is remaining, and if I ever need to extend it further, I can turn off the active noise cancellation when in a quieter area.

Soundcore's Space One Headphones are an affordable set that I wholeheartedly recommend, especially as I continue to make great use of the ANC whenever I travel.

What else to consider?

Who tested it?

Kyle Purves is one of our commercial content writers. Rarely seen without some type of earbuds or headphones on, they appreciate good audio quality, comfortable padding, and anything with extra noise-cancellation. They're always listening to something, whether it's a movie podcast or a new favourite music genre for the week.

How we tested it?

I tested out the Space One headphones for several weeks, trying them out in various scenarios and settings. I made sure to test out the obvious uses, such as listening to music and videos, both on a phone and on a laptop, as well as see how comfortable the over-ear design remains when used extensively. To make sure the noise cancellation was of top quality, I didn't just test it out at home; I wore these outdoors, near noisy roads, and on public transport, in order to find out how effective they are at blocking out common annoying noises. I also trialled the headphones out during a handful of voice calls, to see if they are suitable for all purposes.

It wasn't just the practical performance that I focused on, as I also paid attention to the build of the Space One headphones. This involved experimenting with the battery life, as well as how convenient and foldable they are for taking on the go.

Kyle Purves is a Commercial Content Writer for What’s The Best, with an avid interest in all things gaming and tech.

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