Watch Before You Buy! ⚠️ Soundcore Life Q35
Summary
TLDRIn this review, Jeff offers an in-depth look at the Soundcore Life Q35 headphones, highlighting their features, comfort, and sound quality. With Bluetooth 5.0, LDAC codec support, and multipoint connectivity, these headphones promise high-quality audio. Jeff discusses the battery life, noise cancellation, and call quality improvements, but expresses disappointment with the EQ shift issues in ANC and transparency modes. He concludes that while the Q35 has potential, it's not a must-upgrade from the Q30, especially considering the higher price.
Takeaways
- 🎧 The Soundcore Life Q35 are active noise-canceling headphones with a host of features, but they have their pros and cons.
- 📦 In the box, you get the headphones, a case with a velvety feel, a 3.5mm aux cable, and a USB-C to USB-A charging cable.
- 🔗 The Q35 supports Bluetooth 5.0, AAC, SBC, and the new LDAC codec for high-res audio, making them compatible with various devices.
- 📲 Pairing is easy with Bluetooth or NFC, and the range is approximately 37 feet or 11.2 meters.
- 🎬 There is minimal lag for video streaming, but some latency is noticeable in gaming, particularly with first-person shooter games.
- 🎧 Multi-point connectivity allows the headphones to be connected to two devices simultaneously.
- 🔋 Battery life is impressive, with 30 hours and 17 minutes with ANC on and 60 hours and 36 minutes with ANC off. A quick 5-minute charge provides 4 additional hours.
- 👂 Comfort has been improved with thicker and more cushioned ear pads, addressing issues from the previous model.
- 🔧 The headphones have tactile button controls and a touch control for quick attention mode, as well as wear detection that can be turned off.
- 📱 The Soundcore app offers firmware updates, EQ adjustments, listening mode controls, and sleep mode settings with white noise options.
- 🛡️ ANC performance is strong and competitive with high-end models, though not quite as effective as the Sony XM4 or XM3.
- 🔊 Sound quality in normal mode is criticized for being overly bassy, and there is a significant EQ shift when ANC or transparency mode is activated, requiring user adjustments for optimal listening.
Q & A
What are the Soundcore Life Q35 headphones?
-The Soundcore Life Q35 are the latest active noise-canceling headphones from Soundcore, featuring a long list of features and improvements over the previous model, the Q30.
What is included in the box with the Soundcore Life Q35 headphones?
-The box includes the headphones, an instruction manual, a case with a velvety feel, a 3.5 millimeter aux cable, and a USB-C to USB-A charging cable.
What Bluetooth technology and codecs does the Soundcore Life Q35 support?
-The Soundcore Life Q35 supports Bluetooth 5.0, AAC, SBC codecs, and includes the addition of the LDAC codec for high-resolution audio transmission.
How easy is it to pair the Soundcore Life Q35 with devices?
-Pairing the headphones is very easy, either through Bluetooth or NFC if you have a compatible device.
What is the range of the Bluetooth connection for the Soundcore Life Q35?
-The Bluetooth range for the Soundcore Life Q35 is approximately 37 feet or 11.2 meters.
Does the Soundcore Life Q35 have any issues with video lag or latency?
-There is little to no lag when watching videos on platforms like Hulu, Netflix, and Disney+. However, there is some lag in gaming, especially in first-person shooter games.
What is the battery life of the Soundcore Life Q35 with noise cancellation on and off?
-With noise cancellation turned on, the battery life is around 30 hours and 17 minutes, and with noise cancellation turned off, it lasts for 60 hours and 36 minutes.
What improvements have been made to the ear pads of the Soundcore Life Q35 compared to the Q30?
-The ear pads on the Q35 are thicker, more cushioned, and have more depth, addressing the issue of comfort for people with larger ears or ears that stick out.
How does the Soundcore app enhance the user experience with the Life Q35 headphones?
-The Soundcore app provides access to firmware updates, wear detection toggles, EQ adjustments with 22 presets and a customizable EQ, listening mode controls, and sleep mode settings with various white noise sounds.
What are the main issues with the active noise cancellation and sound quality on the Soundcore Life Q35?
-While the active noise cancellation is strong, there is a significant EQ shift when it is activated, which results in a loss of bass and low mids, making the sound quality less desirable.
Would the reviewer recommend upgrading from the Soundcore Life Q30 to the Q35?
-No, the reviewer would not recommend upgrading from the Q30 to the Q35 unless the user is willing to make EQ adjustments, as the Q30 offers similar features at a lower price.
Outlines
🎧 Unboxing and Features Overview
The script introduces the Soundcore Life Q35 headphones, highlighting their active noise-canceling capabilities and comparing them to the previous Q30 model. Jeff, the reviewer, promises to cover both the pros and cons of the headphones. He also mentions that he will include a full disclosure in the video description for transparency about his review process. The unboxing reveals the headphones, a case with a velvety feel, two cables (a 3.5mm aux and a USB-C to USB-A charging cable), and the instruction manuals. The summary also touches on the Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, compatibility with Android and iOS, and the inclusion of the LDAC codec for high-res audio.
🔌 Connectivity, Range, and Battery Life
This paragraph delves into the connectivity options of the Life Q35, including Bluetooth 5.0, AAC, SBC, and the new LDAC codec. It discusses the ease of pairing via Bluetooth or NFC and the impressive range of approximately 37 feet or 11.2 meters. The script addresses the low latency experienced while watching videos on various streaming platforms but notes a slight lag in gaming, particularly with first-person shooter games like Call of Duty. The multipoint connectivity feature is highlighted, allowing the headphones to connect to two devices simultaneously. The battery life section details Soundcore's claims versus the reviewer's testing results, with a significant battery life and a fast-charging feature that provides four hours of playback with a five-minute charge.
👂 Comfort, Build Quality, and Controls
The reviewer discusses the comfort and build quality of the Life Q35, noting improvements in the ear pads' depth and cushioning over the Q30 model, which enhances comfort for users with larger ears or ears that stick out. The build quality is praised as strong, and the headphones are said to be compatible with larger head sizes. The controls are described as tactile and easy to learn, with features including play/pause, track skip, power, volume, ANC modes, and a touch control for quick attention mode. Wear detection is also mentioned, allowing the headphones to automatically play and pause based on whether they are worn.
📱 Soundcore App and Active Noise Cancellation
The Soundcore app is introduced, offering a range of features such as firmware updates, wear detection toggles, EQ adjustments with presets and customizable settings, listening mode controls, and sleep mode settings with various white noise options. The app is described as well-designed yet simple to use. The paragraph then moves on to discuss the active noise cancellation (ANC) performance of the headphones, comparing it to the Q30 and stating that it is one of the strongest ANCs under $200. The ANC modes—transport, indoor, and outdoor—are explained, with transport being the strongest. However, the script notes issues with the ANC affecting sound quality, which will be elaborated on later.
🎵 Sound Quality and EQ Shift Issues
The script addresses the sound quality of the Life Q35 in different modes. In normal mode, the bass is criticized for being too strong, overpowering the mids and creating a muddy sound. The potential for improving sound quality through EQ adjustments in the app is acknowledged, but the need for such adjustments is seen as a drawback. The ANC and transparency modes are said to have a significant EQ shift, resulting in a less bassy, almost anemic sound that also requires EQ adjustments. The paragraph concludes with the reviewer's disappointment in the lack of improvement in the EQ shift issue from the Q30 to the Q35, despite providing feedback to Soundcore.
📞 Call Quality and Recommendation
The final paragraph discusses the improvements in call quality for the Life Q35, both indoors and outdoors, and invites the audience to judge the call quality themselves. The reviewer then addresses whether to upgrade from the Q30 to the Q35, recommending against it unless the user is willing to adjust the EQ settings. For those without either model, the Q30 is suggested as a better buy due to its lower price and similar features. The script ends with a teaser for other video reviews and a sign-off from the reviewer.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Soundcore Life Q35
💡Active Noise-Canceling
💡Bluetooth 5.0
💡LDAC codec
💡Multipoint Connectivity
💡Battery Life
💡Comfort
💡Sound Quality
💡Transparency Mode
💡EQ Adjustments
💡Call Quality
Highlights
Soundcore Life Q35 are the latest active noise-canceling headphones with a long list of features.
Includes a nice case with a velvety feel and two cables - 3.5mm aux and USB-C to USB-A charging cable.
Features Bluetooth 5.0, AAC, SBC codecs, and new LDAC codec for high-res audio.
Easy pairing with Bluetooth or NFC, good 37ft range with minimal lag for video streaming.
Some lag in gaming, especially first-person shooter games like Call of Duty.
Supports multipoint connectivity to connect to two devices simultaneously.
Claimed 40 hours battery life with ANC on, 60 hours with ANC off. Actual test got 30h17m and 60h36m respectively.
5-minute charge provides 4 additional hours of use.
Upgraded ear pads for increased comfort compared to Life Q30.
Strong build quality and compatibility for larger heads.
Tactile button controls for play/pause, track skip, power, volume, ANC modes.
Touch control on right ear cup activates quick attention/microphone/transparency mode.
Wear detection feature automatically plays/pauses when putting on or removing headphones.
Soundcore app provides firmware updates, EQ adjustments, listening mode controls, and sleep mode settings.
Strong ANC performance, comparable to top industry headphones, with 3 modes - transport, indoor, outdoor.
Transparency mode has improved over Life Q30, with quick attention mode accessible by covering right ear cup.
Volume gets an 8.5-9/10, with comfortable listening around 60-75%.
Normal mode has too much bass, pushing through mids and muddling sound.
ANC mode has a huge EQ shift, losing bass and low mids, requiring EQ adjustments for balanced sound.
Disappointment in lack of improvement in EQ shift from Life Q30 to Q35 despite feedback.
Call quality has improved both indoors and outdoors.
Recommendation against upgrading from Q30 to Q35 unless willing to adjust EQ settings.
Life Q30 still the better buy for its price and features compared to Q35.
Transcripts
- The Soundcore Life Q35 are the latest
active noise-canceling headphones coming from Soundcore.
Much like the Q30 before them,
these are packing a long list of features,
but as good as these headphones sound on paper,
they are not perfect,
and I'm here to give you both the good and the bad
so you know exactly what you're going to get
for your hard-earned money.
Now, my name is Jeff,
and if you have any questions or concerns
about the way that I receive or review
any of the products on this channel,
including these headphones,
please refer to the full disclosure
in the description box right down below.
So now, let's not waste any more time.
So first up, what's included in the box?
So, obviously they're gonna give you
the instruction manuals and all of that regular stuff.
Now they're also going to include a case
for these headphones and it's pretty nice,
I expected no less from Soundcore,
and it has a nice, velvety feel to it.
Inside that, you're also going to find two cables.
One of them is going to be a 3.5 millimeter aux cable,
and you're also going to have a USB-C
to USB-A charging cable.
So you've got both of those right there.
As far as what's in the box, that is pretty much it.
So now, let's move over to the connection.
So first up, these are featuring Bluetooth 5.0,
along with AAC and SBC as the connection codecs,
making them compatible with both Android and iOS.
Now, one of the brand new features in these headphones
is the addition of the LDAC codec.
Now, if you're unfamiliar with LDAC,
this is a high-res audio codec
that allows your phone to transmit more data
to the headphones,
and theoretically giving you better sound quality.
If you want to find out more information
about LDAC versus aptX and the other codecs,
my buddy Juan Bagnell did an awesome video on that,
and I will leave a link to that
in the description box down below.
Now, as far as pairing these headphones,
you can obviously pair them with Bluetooth,
or you can use NFC if you have a compatible device.
Both of them work very well.
Pairing happens just like that, so super, super easy to do.
As far as range with these headphones,
I managed to get right around 37 feet or about 11.2 meters.
So overall, pretty good range.
Now, when it comes to lag or latency when watching videos,
Hulu, Netflix, Disney+, things of that nature,
there was little to no lag on any of my devices.
Now, as far as gaming goes,
there is a little bit of lag or latency
when you're playing first-person shooter games
like Call of Duty.
I did notice it a couple times,
but at other points in the game,
I really couldn't tell at all,
and I was having a great time.
So overall, the latency is really not that bad,
especially if you're a casual gamer.
Maybe if you're more of a hardcore first-person shooter guy,
then it could be an issue,
and you might have to look elsewhere.
Now last but not least,
these headphones also feature multipoint connectivity.
That means that you can actually connect these headphones
to two devices at the same time,
so if you're one of those people
that like to have your phone connected,
but also connected to your laptop,
or maybe to your tablet and also to your phone,
they've got you covered.
Now, let's go ahead and move over to the battery life.
So Soundcore was claiming 40 hours
with noise cancellation turned on,
and 60 hours with noise cancellation turned off.
In my actual testing,
I managed to get 30 hours and 17 minutes
with noise cancellation turned on,
and then 60 hours and 36 minutes
with noise cancellation turned off.
So, very good as far as that battery life is concerned.
Now, if you do manage to actually drain the battery out
completely from these headphones,
you can charge them for five minutes
and that's gonna give you
an additional four hours worth of charge.
So that fast charge feature really does come into play
if you ever need it.
And then as far as charging the headphones themselves,
they do have a USB type C port.
And as I said before,
that USB-C cable is included in the case.
Now that's going to bring us over to the comfort,
the build, and the controls.
Now the Life Q35 are 99% identical to the Life Q30.
The only difference physically that I have found
is in the actual ear pads themselves.
So one of my gripes that I had with the original Q30
was that the pads were just too shallow
for somebody with large ears like mine.
Or if you have ears that stick out,
it could be a bit uncomfortable.
Well, they address this directly by giving us thicker
and more cushioned ear pads with more depth.
So the Life Q35 are easily more comfortable
than the Life Q30.
So that is something that I immediately noticed.
The build quality is still the same,
nice, strong build quality.
The upgraded ear pads definitely make a difference.
And as before, these are still compatible
with a massive head like my own.
So unless you have some sort of gigantic pumpkin head,
then, you know, you might have an issue at that point.
But, if you're like me with just a big-headed dude,
it's not going to be a problem.
Now, as far as the controls go,
these are using mostly button controls,
very tactile, they're very easy to learn.
You're gonna get your play/pause,
skip track, power, volume, active noise cancellation modes,
so they've got you covered.
Now they do have one touch control,
and that's when you touch the right ear cup,
that's gonna activate the quick attention mode.
And that basically turns on the microphones
or transparency mode,
and this way you can have a conversation
with somebody if they walk up to you and ask you a question.
Then last but not least, they also feature wear detection,
and this is where they will automatically play and pause
as you put them on your head or remove them.
Now, this is a function that you can turn off
if you're somebody who doesn't like that feature,
but I'll talk a little bit more
about that later on in this video.
Now, before we move further,
I'm gonna give you a quick sound leakage test.
Now this is something I normally don't do in my videos,
but people have been asking for it.
So, I'm a man of the people,
let me give you that quick sound leakage test.
(music faintly playing)
Now that's gonna bring us over to the Soundcore app.
So the app overall is very well fleshed out,
but it is simple.
So first and foremost,
you're gonna get access to firmware updates,
toggles to turn off that wear detection,
you're also going to get all of the EQ adjustments,
22 presets, along with your own customizable EQ.
You're also gonna get control over the listening modes,
so you're gonna have your normal,
you're gonna have your transparency mode,
and your three active noise cancellation modes.
And then last but not least, on the last panel,
is gonna be the different sleep mode settings,
and that's when you can add a bunch
of different white noise sounds, you know,
water, drops, wind chimes, thunderstorm,
you can mix and match them.
So they've got all of that in the app,
so make sure you download that app
for both Android or iOS
and kind of get in there and play around with it,
see what you can find.
Now, this is going to bring us
over to the performance of these headphones.
So first, let's start with the active noise cancellation.
So the ANC on these headphones is still very strong.
Much like the Life Q30,
these are easily one of the strongest noise cancellation
that you can get for under $200.
So very strong,
and easily can compete with the top dogs in the industry.
Now, is it going to be better
or beating the Sony XM4 or XM3?
No, but it's going to give you 90 to 95%
of that noise cancellation.
I literally pitted them against each other
here in my studio to see which one was better,
and the difference, it's really not that massive.
So that's pretty impressive, if you ask me,
from a quote-unquote "budget headphone".
Now active noise cancellation
in these headphones has three modes.
You've got your transport, you've got your indoors,
and you've got your outdoors.
The transport is gonna be the strongest one,
and in my testing,
it blocked out more ambient sound than anything else.
The indoor mode is slightly less strong,
and then your outdoor mode is the weakest of the three.
As far as noise cancellation,
like I said before, it is on par,
if not maybe slightly better than the Q30.
Now, unfortunately there are some issues
with the active noise cancellation
when sound quality comes into the equation.
I'll elaborate on that a little bit later in this video.
So that's gonna bring us over to the transparency mode,
and it's actually pretty good.
There is a slight improvement over the Life Q30 here.
It could be attributed to different microphones,
to the different software going on with the Life Q35,
but there is a slight noticeable improvement here.
So overall, very good.
And once again, you do have the quick attention mode,
so put your hand over the right ear cup,
and that will activate the transparency mode just like that.
Next up, let's get into the volume.
So as far as volume,
these are gonna get an 8.5 to a 9 out of 10
on my volume scale, so very loud,
and more than loud enough for me.
Overall, comfortable listening for me comes in
right around 60 to 75% volume.
I rarely go above that.
Maybe if I'm listening to an audiobook
when audio gets a little quiet
or the dialogue gets a little quiet,
then maybe I'll turn it up,
but for the most part, never go over 75% volume with these.
So now let's move over to the sound quality.
Now we're going to kind of get into this here.
So first up let's talk about normal mode.
So in normal mode, that's no ANC, no transparency,
just straight up normal mode,
too much bass.
Straight up, just too much bass.
I mean, if you're a bass head,
then that's probably going to be okay,
but for a headphone that's supposed to be high-res,
LDAC, that whole thing,
this ain't it chief.
Like, the bass is too strong,
it pushes straight through the mids,
and it muddies up the sound.
I'm the kind of person that wants a bit more vocal clarity.
I wanna hear the instruments, I wanna hear the musicians,
I wanna hear the singers both male and female,
and with all of that bass coming through
it does not sound good in that signature mode.
Now these do still have potential,
because if you go into the EQ app,
you can EQ them and make them sound really, really good,
like exceptionally good,
but you really got to get in there
and really mess with those settings
to get it to sound right.
Now secondly,
moving over to the active noise cancellation mode
or transparency mode.
When you activate that, the shift in the EQ is huge.
And it goes from this overly bassy,
boomy kind of sound where you're like,
"Oh man I got to make some adjustments here,"
it totally drops all of that out,
and you lose a good majority of the bass and the low mids.
It almost makes it sound anemic to where now,
you gotta go back into the EQ
to sort of start making more adjustments
to sort of balance out that sound once again.
This is a big wide EQ shift that I'm just not feeling.
Like, I'm not feeling this.
In both modes with a lot of EQ work,
these can sound amazing.
These have so much potential,
but they're being bogged down
by this Soundcore signature sound that just isn't working
in both of these modes, it's just not.
Now, let's talk about some of the gripes that I have,
and in my previous video for the Soundcore Life Q30,
I had four main gripes.
First was the comfort because of the shallow ear pads.
They took care of that.
They improved the ear pads so,
kudos to them because they did make that happen,
got to give credit where credit is due.
Also the poor call quality.
They improved that as well.
So we got to give them credit for that as well.
They did improve the latency.
They didn't give us a gaming mode,
but the latency has improved,
so we got to give them kudos for that as well.
But my biggest gripe with the Life Q30 was that EQ shift.
And I said it specifically in that video
directly to Soundcore about that EQ shift.
And then we get the Life Q35,
which I'm hoping is gonna be that improvement,
and it's actually worse.
It's actually worse than the Life Q30, like what?
How is this possible, man?
So more than anything, I'm just disappointed.
Like, it's just disappointing
because it feels like me giving them this feedback
in that video, me giving them feedback via email,
it's just like falling on deaf ears.
Now I'm not taking shots at my two contacts at Soundcore,
when I send messages like this,
they receive them, they acknowledge it,
they pass it on to who they're going to pass it on to,
but somewhere along the line, it's just not getting through.
And that's what really disappoints me,
because these headphones have so much potential.
They can sound amazing, but this huge EQ shift issue,
I can't let it slide,
that's not something
where I can feel comfortable recommending them to you,
when I'm hearing something like this happening.
This shouldn't be happening,
especially on a headphone coming in
at a more expensive price than the previous model.
Now, once again, I hope that this is something
that they can address with a firmware update,
but considering that this is how they came out of the box,
I don't know, I just don't know.
Considering the higher price tag,
we shouldn't be forced to have to EQ them
to make them sound good.
They should sound good out of the box.
And then if we want to make adjustments,
we have the option, but we shouldn't be forced to do so
to get rid of that muddiness in normal mode
or to bring some of that bass back
in noise cancellation mode.
Does that make sense to you?
Let me know in the comment section.
Do you agree with me? Do you disagree with me?
Let me know down in the comments.
With that said, do I recommend you upgrading?
If you have the Q30 right now,
should you upgrade to the Q35?
No, no.
Unless you're okay with making all of those EQ adjustments,
then hey man, your money.
But right now, I would say no.
And if you're somebody who doesn't have
either of these headphones,
and you're trying to figure out which one you want to get.
Honestly, right now the better buy
is still going to be the Life Q30.
Being that it comes in around $70 to $80,
you're going to get 99% of the features of the Q35,
that's really going to be the no-brainer here.
Unless you are okay with doing all that EQ adjusting,
then once again, feel free, knock yourself out.
It's your money, you make it happen.
Now, before we move on,
let me play you some call quality clips.
I want you to hear the improvements in the call quality,
both indoors and outdoors, for yourself.
Alright, so here we have the call quality test outdoors
for the Soundcore Life Q35.
So testing, testing one, two, three,
as you can see, it's a bit windy, bit breezy out here,
so it should make for a good test.
Testing, testing one, two, three.
Alright, so here we have the call quality test
for the Soundcore Life Q35 indoors.
So testing, testing one, two, three.
This is what you can expect
from the Soundcore Life Q35 indoors.
As always, you gotta be the judge of the call quality
down in the comments section.
So with all of that out of the way,
if you're interested in checking out
maybe my review of the Life Q30,
or even some of my top five true wireless earbuds
that are hitting the market right now
for under a hundred bucks,
check out the videos that I'm gonna leave
right up here on the screen.
With all of that said, I'm out of here. Peace!
Ver Más Videos Relacionados
CLIP Style Buds? SoundCore C30i vs Bose Ultra Open vs Huawei FreeClip
Baseus Bowie H1 vs Baseus Bowie H1i | detailed comparison!
Sony 2024 Headphone Line Up Explained - Sony ULT Wear Vs Sony 1000XM5 Vs Sony 1000XM4 Vs WH-CH720N
AUDIO ENGINEER REVIEWS The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro (3 Month Review)
Headphone ANC 400 Ribuan yang "Underrated" - Rexus Daxa Svara Review !
NEW Bose Quietcomfort VS Quietcomfort 45 | The ONE Reason To Upgrade!
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)