Soundcore by Anker, Space One, Active Noise Cancelling Headphones, 2X Stronger Voice Reduction, 40H ANC Playtime, App Control, LDAC Hi-Res Wireless Audio, Comfortable Fit, Clear Calls, Bluetooth 5.3TCO CertifiedTCO CertifiedTCO CertifiedTCO Certified

My review is specifically comparing the Space One vs Space One Pro. I am posting the same review on both.Short version: I returned the Space One Pro and I am keeping the Space One.Space One Pro advantages:+ folds (slightly) smaller. The difference in folded size between the two was much less than I expected. See photo for a comparison of folded sizes.+ better seal around earcups resulting in mildly but noticeably better noise canceling. ANC itself seems similar on both, maybe somewhat better on the pro’s but it seems like much of the improvement actually comes from the tighter earcup seal and not ANC.Space One Advantages:+ Feel sturdier+ Higher quality carrying bag+ Holds onto my head better, the Pro’s would slide off the back of my head anytime I was laying down, even when mostly still (ie while benching at the gym)+ Half the price+ Has Auto Play / Pause when removing from your head (I was surprised to discover that the Pro’s are not equipped with this!)Unfortunately I recently had my AirPods Max stolen, I had them for years and LOVED them. I’m not currently in the financial position to replace those so in the meantime after some research I settled on buying some Anker headphones. I ordered both during prime day, with the intention to test each and pick one. I was expecting to be debating if doubling the price was justified for the Pro’s, but I was surprised to find that in a few key areas I actually prefer the regular space one.Let’s start with audio quality: both are good but not amazing. They both have a lot of bass, if you’ve ever used old beats headphones they’re similar to that. Which for my needs is good. I actually think the non-pro’s have somewhat better sound, it just seems clearer and more detailed. The pro’s are excessively bass heavy, to the point of sounding muddy and annoying. And I’m usually a “bass boost” EQ type of guy but not on those, on the pro’s I found “treble boost” to be the best as it helped make the bass “cleaner”.As far as ANC, these are no AirPods Max, but I expected that. They’re both decent, they’re good at canceling airplane noise which is the main thing I need ANC for. I had a pair of flagship Sony’s 5-6 years ago and they’re about equivalent to that, although the Sony’s would always give me a headache from the ANC after a while and I haven’t noticed that on these. The pros do seem to block out more noise but it’s not a double the price difference.Fit & finish is, well, cheap AF on both. Honestly, at either of these price points, and ESPECIALLY for the pros, the public-library-headphones quality isn’t ideal. It’s all cheap feeling plastic and sticky sweaty pleather. They could’ve at least tried a little harder to make the fake metal look more metal-like. This cheap feeling is exaggerated on the pro’s because of the folding mechanism, since the earcups can swing around freely in so many directions it just adds to the flimsy feeling. At the $200 price point of the pro’s there really should be some metal involved somewhere. Anker take note: I would happily pay $10-$15 more for these exact same headphones made with some sturdy metal parts, a much higher quality appearance and some nice AirPods Max style fabric earcups.Both are comfortable, I found the pro’s to get sweaty faster around the earcups, I’m thinking this is because they seem to seal a bit better. My main problem with the pro’s was how loosely they hold onto your head, I think it must be related to the folding mechanism but I found them annoyingly and frequently sliding off at the gym. The non-pros are better but still not all that great, I wouldn’t take either headphones running but for my needs (strength training, around the office, while traveling) they’re good enough. Of course they’re nowhere near the comfort of my old AirPods Max but I suppose anyone reading this review isn’t in AirPods Max budget like myself, but if you are, go buy those.Other things: the pro’s do not have a sensor to detect if you have removed them from your ears. The non-pro’s do have this and they stop and start playing reasonably well in my experience. They both come with a little carrying bag, the non-pro’s bag is made from a quality feeling canvas type fabric while the pro’s come with a cheaper feeling pleather bag. Battery life and charging speed on both is excellent to the point that it’s not even worth comparing, I was always surprised that they still had so much charge left. Overall I think the Space One non-pro is a great value, especially at the prime day price I paid. The pro’s baffled me as in many ways they’re worse, and actually even if these were both exactly the same price the poor fit and lack of wear detection sensor would still push me to go with the non-pros.

These have been coming in handy when gaming on the go as well as doing chores around the house. The dual connection Bluetooth is often seamless and easy to manage. There has only been one time that I had to going into my settings to connect my phone while I was connected to my Legion Go. The noise cancellation is alright nothing to be blown away by but for the price it works for me. The mic quality is also decent nothing amazing of course. I have not had an issue with the time it takes to charge. I do like whenever you turn it on the voice tells you where your charge level is at. The cord is fine but I am not using these with a cord very often. The durability seems alright but it is plastic I have seen other reviews mention the longevity of the band. I do really like the head band padding though probably one of the more comfortable ones I have. What I do not like is the ear pads they are plush and comfortable but the material has me sweating specifically where the pads are. The pads are connected in a way that it looks like it might be a challenge to remove them for a replacement.

This review compares the Anker Soundcore Space One ($99) with the Sony WH1000XM4 ($228). They’re both good noise cancelling headphones with high scores on Amazon. Which one is better for you depends on who you are and where you’re using them. I’m not an audiophile but my hearing is average. I watch Youtube videos mainly, and listen to YouTube Music, but most significantly, I listen to NOTHING. Silence and an environment to concentrate is important to me. ANC is my primary requirement, to insulate me from a noisy environment of nearby street traffic, airplanes overhead, and to insulate me from the loud rumbling sound inside the cabin of jet airliners.In terms of “sound quality,” I can’t distinguish much of a difference between these two headphones. Each is fine. The Sony pair has lots of super-high tech that adjusts sound to compensate for barometric pressure changes, altitude of listening position, whether you’re wearing glasses, are stationary or in a moving vehicle, etc. For me, these are all solutions looking for a problem, meaningless for any practical purpose because I can’t hear the difference.They both have comparable tactile control buttons, and the active noise cancellation is comparable when listening to music. They are equal in terms of comfort and passive sound isolation. The owners’ manual (if any?) and online support (YouTube) are comparable. Both have “wear detection” that pauses the program temporarily when you remove the headphones courteously to speak with someone, then the program automatically resumes when you put the headphones back on. The Sony wear detection operates faster and more reliably than the Anker in my experience, which is an issue. The Anker wear detection malfunctions more often than it works, despite several recalibrations. It doesn’t work at all if you’ve been sweating. This deficiency easily cost Anker a star.I dislike that Sony asks to collect too much personal data before you can use their software to reconfigure the earphones. Their privacy policy is frightening if you read it, but there is an opt-out if you can find it among the legaleze. Anker’s software doesn’t ask for that much, and I find it easier to use overall.The deal breaker for me with the Sony earphones is the “hiss” when using the ANC without music, to just get total sound isolation to concentrate on work. Total silence is a priority for me. Once you hear the Sony hiss, it’s hard to forget because it’s always there at full noise cancelling, less so if you’ve adjusted the ANC to let some ambient sound through. If you always listen to music and don’t care about the quality of silence, then it’s not noticeable and not a problem.The Sony has a nice travel case, the Anker has soft cloth sack. I’d never use the case in any event, so the case isn’t important to me. I kept both pairs, the Sony for the plane, the Anker for the shop, but overall I prefer the Anker Space One. It cost half what the Sony did, but I must admit, the price difference wasn’t important to me either, but if price was important, I’d choose the Anker.