Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a review comparing these headphones to the Bose Quietcomfort 35 II, and the Sony WH-1000XM4. Now I know what your thinking - how could you ever compare a cheapo $50 pair of headphones to the $300+ big boys in the noise cancelling world like Bose and Sony? Well these headphones are wireless, bluetooth, active noise cancelling, and promote themselves as comfortable with balanced sound, so in my book all three of these headphones are in the same league. The criteria is simple - I don't use lab equipment to measure, I'm not concerned about exact numbers, and I don't like falling for overblown hype or marketing nonsense. I use my own experience and non-technical knowledge to decide what I like best. The Soundcore Headphones: These headphones are comfortable. Maybe it's because of the 'cheaper' materials, or they are just genuinely made with comfort more in mind, but I can wear these all day with little discomfort. I wear glasses so a little annoyance is unavoidable, but these do a bang up job of not squishing my head, while still making a good seal around my ears to keep sound quality and noise cancelling from bleeding out. I have heard some having issues with durability, but my bose quietcomfort headphones wore out and cracked over time too. Replacements are plentiful and cheap, so it's a non issue for me. Comparability and Software: These are what headphones are meant to be. Simple buttons, simple pairing, no proprietary software that I have to download, no nonsense. Just pair and play. They also have a wired mode if I'm editing video or need them to not have any delay. Bluetooth will always have a bit of a delay, but it's nothing deal breaking, a few milliseconds at most. They do not have multidevice pairing, or absolutely massive bluetooth range (it still works perfectly for me going around my whole house no problem), and there is no EQ balancing, other than the Bass Boost. Overall Sound I'm not a pro audio engineer or audiophile. If it sounds good, it's good to me. I like these headphones in normal mode just fine. While the overall sound stage is fairly tight, and it can sometimes feel cramped with complex or intricate songs, I don't feel overwhelmed in any one way or another. The negative I have here is with their 'bass boost's mode. It's fair to say it does boost the bass, at the cost of literally everything else. It almost makes it sound like every other frequency is underwater when it's turned on. I keep it off 100% of the time - it's bad. Noise Cancelling: Here is the meat and potatoes of the review. I bought these for noise cancelling and noise cancelling alone. I was surprised - they are pretty good. My air conditioner dissolves away. Car noises and wind fade to imperceptible levels, and airplane sounds go completely away. The area it falls short in is human speech. I can still hear people without much difference. Not a killer for me, but slightly lacking in that regard. They also do not give me the headache compression feeling that some other noise cancelling can give me. Comparisons: Comfort - These surprisingly win. The Bose Quietcomforts are very close, but the headpeice is slightly tighter, leading to overall head pressure discomfort over time. The Sonys are even worse, with their high weight and size they can feel heavy over time, and make my ears warm after about 1 hour. Compatibility and Software - These are also the winners! Sony and Bose just cannot help themselves when it comes to collecting data and making their customers sign up for BS accounts. I'm not a super privacy nerd either, but when I have to take a photo of my ears (looking at you Sony!) Just to listen to music, I draw the line. The Quietcomforts are better, but the Bose app is just another step in between me and my music. Bose at least keeps the physical buttons, which I enjoy because touch controls are still a bit picky in 2020. Sony knows this well, as I fumbled and accidentally turned off my music or changed the volume or song accidentally about a dozen times on their headphones. Physical buttons are arguably uglier, but I value practicality over style in this regard. The Sonys also have multidevice pairing, and their bluetooth range is just stupid far, but I don't usually run a whole football field away from my phone at a time. Overall Sound - Sony comes first, followed by Bose, and then the Soundcores. The Sony headphones are very crisp, with a wide sense of space. I genuinely couldnt stop myself from smiling when I first put them on. They induce a sense of awe, and I loved their sound immensely. The Bose was slightly worse, and only a touch better than the Soundcores. Bose has cleaner bass, and a better sense of staging, especially with singing and high hat sounds. If I were to number them by sound the Sonys get a 96, the Bose a 85, and the Soundcores a 82. Noise Cancelling - Sony once again wins, but this time the Bose and Soundcores are tied. I genuinely could not tell the difference between the Bose and Soundcores when my eyes were closed as far as noise cancelling was concered. The Sonys I could though. They do a significant better job with human voices, especially crowds like in restaurants or outside. They are still audible, but pass the point where I cannot understand what people are saying - the Bose and Soundcores fail this test. The Overall: Comparing these headphones is an excercise in diminishing returns. For $50 the Soundcores cover about 90% of what the $300 Bose Quietcomforts offer, and about 85% of what the $350 Sony WH-1000XM4 offer. To me, that remaining 10% and 15% does not justify the additional $250 and $300 price tag. Now maybe you're the kind of person who absolutely has to have the best noise cancelling, or can't live without the absolute cream of the crop perfect soundscape - and in those instances the features may justify the cost. But chances are if you're debating on these headphones you are just the average Joe consumer like me, in which case these headphones will cover everything you need without bogging you down in unnecessary features or quality thay will go unnoticed in 99% of the population. I genuinely like these headphones, and will continue to lovingly give them daily abuse until they fail me. After all, I could buy and break FIVE of these before I reached the price of one pair of Sonys. TL:DR Give them a chance, you'll more than likely find their value apparent.