Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Headphones Review

These headphones look practically identical to the Anker SoundCore Life 2 Wireless. They have the same straightforward design that looks decent for a pair of budget-oriented headphones. The only noticeable difference between these and the older version is that the logo is now printed on the ear cup instead of being etched into the plastic. While our unit is all black, they're also available in silver or blue variants.

These headphones are comfortable. While their ear cups have slightly less padding than the previous model, it's not noticeable while wearing them, and they feel just as good on your head. They're quite lightweight, and thankfully, their headband is a bit smaller than that of the Anker SoundCore Life 2 Wireless, so they're a better fit for people with smaller heads.

The controls are decently easy to use. The physical buttons are clicky and provide good feedback, though there's no way of knowing which bass setting you're on. Overall, it's the same scheme as what you get with the previous version, and they include a play/pause button, call controls, track skipping, and volume controls. They also still have a dedicated ANC button and the ability to trigger bass boost via the middle button.

These headphones are basically the same size as the previous version, so they aren't the easiest to carry around. Luckily, their ear cups swivel to lay flat, and they come with a basic carrying pouch to help protect them while on the go.

These headphones come with a very basic pouch that isn't nearly as good as the hard case that comes with the previous version. The pouch has a cinch tie to close it, and its material can protect the headphones from slight splashes, though it won't do much to protect them from drops or bumps.

The build quality is decent. Like the Anker SoundCore Life 2 Wireless, they are mainly plastic but are reinforced by a thin metal sheet in the headband. The hinges are likely their weakest point, as they feel hollow and plasticky, but overall, the headphones feel dense and solid enough to survive a few accidental drops or bumps without sustaining too much damage.

The stability is decent. Their clamping force is good, so they stay in place during jogs or light runs unless you have a very small head. Their slightly smaller design over the previous version means they feel slightly more stable for most people, too. However, they can fall off your head during more intense exercises.

• Anker Soundcore Life Q20 headphones
• 1/8" TRRS audio cable
• Micro-USB charging cable
• Carrying pouch
• Manuals

These headphones have an excited sound profile. Even with the BassUp feature turned off, their bass range is over-emphasized, resulting in extra thump and kick in the mix. This will likely please fans of bass-heavy genres like EDM or hip-hop, while their over-emphasized treble range is good for genres like pop and rock. Turning BassUp on adds even more boom to the mix, though this isn't ideal for fans of a more neutral sound. Still, these headphones offer a balanced mid-range, so vocals and lead instruments reproduce with clarity and accuracy.

The frequency response consistency is quite decent. These headphones are more accurate in the bass range than the previous version, so you get a similar bass response every time you wear them. You may notice some inconsistencies with the treble range, so you may need to adjust them on your head slightly to get the same listening experience every time.

The bass accuracy is poor. While the range is fairly even, it's also very over-emphasized. This results in bass with a lot of thump and punch, especially with bass-heavy tracks like Starboy by the Weeknd.

The mid accuracy is excellent. Almost the entire range is flat, with only a small bump in high-mids that emphasizes lead instruments and vocals in the mix. Overall, however, leads and vocals sound quite well-balanced and present.

The treble accuracy is decent. Almost the entire range is slightly over-emphasized, which causes higher-pitched instruments like cymbals to sound somewhat harsh or piercing.

The Anker Life Q20's peaks and dips performance is decent. There aren't many deviations in the sound profile, meaning that the headphones can control the sound profile quite well. The peak in mid-bass makes most bass frequencies sound full and thumpy, while the peaks in the mid and treble ranges cause some higher-pitched instruments to sound harsh and piercing.

While Anker's had a few hits and misses in imaging over the years, the imaging for the Anker Q20 is great. Our unit's L/R drivers are well-matched in all aspects, ensuring a tight bass, transparent treble reproduction, and a stable stereo image. Sound objects like footsteps and instruments are accurately placed and localized within the image. Overall, imaging is an indicator of ergonomics and quality control. It's worth mentioning that these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

The Anker Q20's passive soundstage is poor, though this is fairly standard for closed-back over-ear headphones. Overall, the sound produced by these headphones is small and is perceived to be inside the listener's head rather than all around them.

These headphones don't have a virtual soundstage feature.

The weighted harmonic distortion is decent. Audio sounds clear and pure at louder volumes, though at lower volumes, there may be some minor artifacts. Overall, however, this isn't too noticeable with real-life content unless you're a very astute audiophile.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. We also tested them with the 'BassUp' feature off. Our results are only valid when listening using these settings.

The Anker Q20 have a slightly improved ANC feature over the previous version. The ANC on these headphones does better against the low rumble of bus or plane engines, though they still don't do nearly as good in this range as some more expensive options, like the Anker SoundCore Space Q45 Wireless. On the bright side, these headphones do an excellent job of blocking out background speech, making them a good option for blocking out chatty coworkers in the office. The next generations of these headphones, the Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless and the Anker Soundcore Life Q35 Wireless, have even better ANC performances.

The leakage performance is very good. While they leak a bit of sound at very loud volumes, it sounds very thin and won't bother people around you.

These headphones have an integrated microphone.

The microphone's recording quality is decent and a fair improvement over the previous version. Like most Bluetooth headphones, your voice sounds quite thin but fairly clear and easy to understand.

The integrated microphone's noise handling is mediocre. While the person you're speaking to has no problems hearing you in quiet environments, they won't be the best option for even moderately noisy situations.

The battery performance is very good. While they don't last the full 40 hours that Anker advertises, they still last slightly longer than the 28-hour battery life of the previous model and charge in less time, which is excellent. Unfortunately, they lack any power-saving features, so their battery will drain if you forget to turn them off.

These headphones don't have a companion app.

These headphones have only decent Bluetooth connectivity. Unlike later generations like the Anker Soundcore Space Q45 Wireless, they don't support multi-device or NFC pairing. They also have quite high latency on PCs. Luckily, their latency is quite a bit lower on both iOS and Android, so you can watch videos without too much of a noticeable delay, though they still may not be the best for mobile gaming. If you want a pair of similarly performing headphones that support aptX-LL for a lower-latency connection, check out the TREBLAB Z2 Wireless.

While the Anker Q20 use Bluetooth for a wireless connection, you can also connect them via a standard 1/8" TRS cable for passive playback, which is great. Unfortunately, you can't use the mic while wired.

You can connect these headphones to a PC using the included standard 1/8" TRS cable or via Bluetooth. However, you can only listen to audio and can't use their microphone.

These headphones connect to your PlayStation over a wired connection, but you can only receive audio, so you can't use their microphone for multi-player games.

The Anker Q20 will only work with the Xbox One while plugged into the controller, though you'll only get audio and no microphone support. Check out our recommendations for the best Xbox One gaming headsets if you want something for gaming on an Xbox One.

These headphones don't come with a base or a dock.