Soundcore Space 2 headphones review: Proof that budget is better

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Don’t you love it when the universe seems to be listening?

For example, my colleague Samantha Mangino just wrote about how great the Soundcore Space One headphones are on a budget, too burnSoundcore’s new Space 2 headphones are officially available on Amazon and Soundcore’s website starting April 20.

Naturally, I couldn’t be one to close my ears to what the universe had to offer, so I got my hands on the Soundcore Space 2 headphones ahead of their launch, and tested them out over the past two weeks. (As a headphone reviewer, I think this is also my technical responsibility, but still.)

Knowing that the Space Ones are good, I’ve had my eye on the second-generation headphones since they were announced at Mobile World Congress in March – I’m happy to report that these headphones do not disappoint. For the price point away more affordable than premium flagship releases these days, I’ve found these headphones to be the best choice for most people, especially if you don’t need the most high-end features.

Of course, budget products always come with a few trade-offs, and the Space 2s is no exception. Let’s get into it.

Soundcore Space 2: Price and Specifications

At a time when the price of headphones is increasing, it’s nice to see a brand introducing a round headphone that doesn’t cost several hundred dollars. It’s great to see headphones that cost just $129.99, as the Soundcore Space 2 is. While this is $30 more than the $99.99 Space One, it’s still an incredibly competitive price point. Here’s what you’ll get with the headphones:

• Battery life: 50 hours ANC is on, 70 hours ANC is off

• Fast charging: Five minutes of charging four hours of play

• Ways to listen: Noise cancellation, normal, transparent

• Drivers: 40mm dual layer diaphragm drivers

• Multi-point connection: Yes, up to two devices

• Estimator: Eight-band custom equalizer, with 22 equalizer presets

• Space sound: Yes

• Supported audio codecs: SBC, AAC, and LDAC

• A little play: Yes

• In-ear controls: A volume cancel button, a multifunction button, a power/Bluetooth button, and volume controls

• Colors: Seafoam green, white, black

The Soundcore Space 2 headphones sound great

Out of the box, the Space 2 headphones sound balanced, clear, and generally pretty good. But you don’t have to stop there.

With the accompanying app, the Space 2 headphones allow for a lot of customization. There’s an eight-band custom equalizer, a HearID test that helps you find your sonic preferences, and 3D Sound (Soundcore’s name for spatial sound). And, as with other Soundcore audio devices, you have your pick from 22 preset calibration options, too. (I’m always partial to Treble Booster).

I put these headphones to the test with many variations, including “No One Knows” by Queens of the Stone Age, “Aerodynamic” by Daft Punk, “Hooligan” by BTS, and “Here is Someone” by Japanese Breakfast. Whether it’s the rock-heavy punches from Queens of the Stone Age, the bass-forward mix of a BTS song, or the shrill vocals and soft strings of “Here’s Someone,” the Space 2 headphones masterfully handle the soundscape. I even listened to an episode of the podcast I edited (so, it was a lot I’m used to it) – Soundcore headphones sound great.

As a self-proclaimed surround sound skeptic, I was also pleasantly surprised by the 3D sound feature. In general, I find the surround sound to sound very empty and thin in a way that doesn’t really immerse me. And while the Soundcore version doesn’t work in unison across genres, in some songs (again, like “No One Knows”) it adds a more focused feel, without losing the sense of fullness of the song.

Finally, their sound is turned off. I don’t have much to say here – it’s nothing amazing, but it certainly gets the job done, especially for low-pitched hums. That said, if your main reason for getting noise-cancelling headphones is to block out too much talking, you may find that these aren’t the best fit for your needs. Soundcore recommends this for airplane rides in particular. Although I didn’t get a chance to go on the go during my test, I can attest that they are great headphones and perfect for busy families. Living with my eight family members in Southern California, I’m very used to the sounds of other people playing music, TV shows, cooking, or local sounds, like farmers blowing leaves or cars driving – these headphones handle all of the above with ease.

Better looks and wear than a budget

In my experience, budget headphones tend to reflect their price in their design. Perhaps they are stiff, oddly colored, or tend to pinch the head.

That wasn’t the case with the Space 2 headphones. Memory foam ear cushions and a padded headband make hours of wear possible and comfortable – even with my hats or glasses on. The buttons on the earcups were intuitively placed, two on each side (and other customizations are available through the app), which made pausing music and switching to the next song completely possible without reaching for my devices.

Soundcore headphones look better than your average pair of budget headphones.
Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable

In the same way, the discovery of the dress worked well the majority of time. In particular, it decreases when the sensor is blocked (one time when I put my headphones on my lap, and another time when I remove one ear cup from my ear). Still, for $130, I’m not complaining.

Finally, Soundcore offers three color options for these headphones, all of which are beautiful and in line with more expensive headphones, such as the Bose QuietComforts.

Black and white are the other two colors available for the Space 2 headphones.
Credit: Soundcore

Credit: Soundcore

One of the best battery life available

This isn’t going to be a very long section because it’s straightforward, but the battery life on these headphones is worth mentioning. With noise canceling, you can get 50 hours of playback. Noise cancellation and wearable detection reduce it to 45 hours, while no noise cancellation hides up to 70 hours. Long story short, it will take a minute to start battery life.

In my two weeks of testing, they finally ran out on the last day I used them — and even then, a quick five-minute charge got me 20 percent of the battery life back. In comparison, more expensive headphones like the Bose QC Ultra 2 and Sony XM6 headphones can work for 30 hours with ANC. Only a few options fall into the highest battery range, such as the Sennheiser Momentum 4 and Marshall Monitor III headphones, which offer 60 and 70 hours with ANC, respectively.

If a $130 or less pair of headphones nails the sound and design and has decent battery life, I usually don’t expect much more from them. Well, this is Soundcore.

That said, these headphones come with a few interesting features. One piqued my interest more than the other, but I appreciate the inclusion of both. Let’s start with the sleep mode feature, which lets you set white noise and a snooze timer. It’s not the most surprising feature, considering that Soundcore makes some of the best earbuds on the market, but I’m not sure that over-ear headphones are the most conducive to sleep. Still, I think it’s good that the option exists.

Most interesting was the live translation feature. I’ve encountered it before on Soundcore earbuds and found them to be very reliable. I also tested it by having my friend speak to me in Korean and my mother speak to me in Spanish — in both languages, the translation was about 80 to 90 percent accurate, and it worked quickly. The only area that didn’t work was the automatic language detection — the app kept crashing. However, putting the language to be translated first worked with great results.

What the Soundcore app shows while using the live translation feature. A friend of mine considered this “incredibly accurate.”
Credit: Screenshot / Soundcore

Budget pitfalls

I had a really hard time coming up with the features of these headphones which I found to be quite poor. While I don’t think any of these features hurt the experience, it’s worth noting before you buy.

• A little creaking: Although this wasn’t too noticeable, sometimes I could hear a little noise coming from the headphones when I moved my head – especially when I didn’t stream the sound. It wasn’t as bad as I’ve seen from JLab JBuds Lux ANC headphones, but it was more noticeable than from more expensive headphones, like the Bose QuietComforts.

• The app is not the best to access all the features: These headphones are feature-rich, but the app can be a little confusing to navigate, with too many menus hiding all the customization options.

• Noise cancellation allows for high tones: Noise cancellation for low tones is good – for high tones such as speech, these headphones tend to show their value more. That’s not to say it doesn’t work well – it does – but you shouldn’t expect Sony’s performance here.

Are the Soundcore Space 2 headphones worth it?

In short, yes. In two words, absolutely yes.

Soundcore has made a name for itself in creating great budget products, and they carry that name with the Space 2 headphones. I can’t think of another pair that offers the same balance of functionality, design, and performance, making this a great buy for everyone, from students to people on a budget looking for a pair of everyday headphones.