Anker Soundcore Life Q20 vs Sony WH-CH520 Wireless

Which Headphones Are Better?

Products

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless

Tested using Methodology v1.6

Updated Sep 18, 2025 01:24 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated May 30, 2025 12:53 PM

SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
  1. Recommended in 1 article:
  2. Anker
  1. Recommended in 5 articles:
  2. Budget And Cheap
  3. Sony
  4. Budget Wireless
  5. 2

Our Verdict

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless

Sony WH-CH520 Wireless

If you're a basshead, the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless are better than the Sony WH-CH520 Wireless. They have a very bassy tuning whether you activate the 'BassUp' function or not. The headphones are more comfortable, and their active noise cancelling (ANC) makes them more commute-friendly, alongside their folding design. They can connect via analog or Bluetooth. The Sony cans offer the flexibility of their companion app's EQ settings, virtual surround sound, and multi-pairing. They work wirelessly only, and their battery lasts nearly twice as long. They fit on-ears instead of over-ears and do a poor job of blocking environmental noise. The Anker headphones are the better pick if you prioritize noise cancelling above EQ, multi-pairing, and battery life.

0 

Variants

  • Soundcore Life Q20 (Black)
  • Soundcore Life Q20 (Blue)
  • Soundcore Life Q20 (Pink)
  • Soundcore Life Q20 (Silver)
  • WH-CH520 (Beige)
  • WH-CH520 (Black)
  • WH-CH520 (Blue)
  • WH-CH520 (White)

Check Price

Black
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Black
WH-CH520
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Blue
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Blue
WH-CH520
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Pink
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Beige
WH-CH520
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Silver
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
WH-CH520
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Read more

Main Differences for
Neutral Sound

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

6.8
7.4

Bass Accuracy 
 

5.4
8.8

Passive Soundstage 
 

4.5
3.5

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.5
9.1

Treble Accuracy 
 

7.4
6.5

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Type  

Over-ear
On-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show Text 

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.0

Comfort Picture  

Weight  

0.57 lbs
0.32 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0.9 lbs
0.6 lbs
Show Text 

Controls 
 

7.1
6.8

Controls Picture  

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Decent
Good

Feedback  

Good
Good

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

On/Off
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

Bass Effect + Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Show Text 

Breathability 
 

Breathability After Picture  

Avg.Temp.Difference  

Portability 
 

6.1
6.4

Portability Picture  

 

5.5" (14.0 cm)
7.1" (18.0 cm)

 

5.6" (14.2 cm)
6.7" (17.0 cm)

 

3.0" (7.6 cm)
1.6" (4.0 cm)

Volume  

92.00 in³ (1,507.60 cm³)
70.23 in³ (1,150.80 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show Text 

Case 
 

5.5
0.0

Case Picture  

Type  

Pouch
No case

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

7.0
6.5

Build Quality Picture  

Show Text 

Stability 
 

7.0
6.5

Stability Picture  

Show Text 

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Side Picture  

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Rear Picture  

Top  

Top Picture  

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Show Text 
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details
See details

Bass Amount 
 

5.28 dB
-0.53 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-1.53 dB
-2.53 dB
Show Text 

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

6.8
7.2

Consistency L  

See details
See details

Consistency R  

See details
See details

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.66 dB
0.57 dB
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details
See details

Raw FR R  

See details
See details

Bass Accuracy 
 

5.4
8.8

Bass  

See details
See details

Std. Err. 
 

7.69 dB
1.52 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

10 Hz
31.29 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

8.89 dB
-2.02 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

10.36 dB
1.37 dB

High-Bass 
 

5.42 dB
1.01 dB
Show Text 

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.5
9.1

Mid  

See details
See details

Std. Err. 
 

1.97 dB
1.2 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0.86 dB
0.1 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

0.94 dB
0.3 dB

High-Mid 
 

1.98 dB
-0.48 dB
Show Text 

Treble Accuracy 
 

7.4
6.5

Treble  

See details
See details

Std. Err. 
 

3.94 dB
5.16 dB

Low-Treble 
 

2.71 dB
-1.69 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

2.94 dB
-3.57 dB

High-Treble 
 

-7.27 dB
-6.97 dB
Show Text 

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.1
7.7

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details
See details

Peaks 
 

1.96 dB
1.38 dB

Dips 
 

1.26 dB
1.53 dB
Show Text 

Imaging 
 

8.4
8.3

Group Delay  

See details
See details

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details
See details

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.3
0.3

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

6.7
6.4

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.63
0.47

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

2.03
2.61
Show Text 

Passive Soundstage 
 

4.5
3.5

PRTF  

See details
See details

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

3.53 dB
5.11 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

4.4 dB
1.46 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

7.4 dB
-0.01 dB

Openness 
 

2.4
7.0

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

2.6
3.2
Show Text 

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
4.1

Virtual Soundstage  

Head Modeling 
 

No
On/Off

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
On/Off

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App
360 Reality Audio
Show Text 

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.4
6.4

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details
See details

WHD @ 90 
 

0.287
0.961

WHD @ 100 
 

0.205
0.337
Show Text 

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

Unknown
1.0.1

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth 5.0

Codec 
 

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 16-bit, 44.1kHz

EQ 
 

Default
No EQ

ANC 
 

On
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Integrated
Show Text 
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

7.6
3.3

Noise Isolation  

See details
See details

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-20.77 dB
-9.24 dB

Noise Cancelling  

Yes
No

Bass 
 

-12.68 dB
0.01 dB

Mid 
 

-20.67 dB
-4.69 dB

Treble 
 

-29.76 dB
-23.27 dB
Show Text 

Leakage 
 

7.7
7.2

Leakage  

See details
See details

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

35.14 dB
38.66 dB
Show Text 
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Recording Quality 
 

7.3
7.7

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details
See details

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

243.22 Hz
261.43 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.36 dB
2.43 dB

HFE 
 

7,240.77 Hz
6,358.31 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.803
0.119

Gain 
 

-3.16 dB
6 dB
Show Text 

Noise Handling 
 

6.7
6.9

SpNR  

See details
See details

SpNR 
 

18.03 dB
16.46 dB

Noise Gate 
 

Always On
Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

6.5
7.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

7.0
6.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

7.7
8.2

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

32.3 hrs
52.8 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

32.3 hrs
52.8 hrs

Charge Time 
 

1.8 hrs
1.9 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
Standby mode

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Yes
No

Charging Port  

micro-USB
USB-C
Show Text 

App Support 
 

0.0
7.5

App Picture  

App Name  

No App
Sony| Headphones Connect

iOS  

No
Yes

Android  

No
Yes

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
Graphic + Presets

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
Yes

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired Connection 
 

9.9
0.0

Cable Picture  

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable 
 

Yes
No

Length 
 

4.10 ft (1.25 m)
N/A

Connector 
 

1/8" TRS
No Wired Option

Latency - Analog 
 

0.3 ms

Latency - USB 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Connection  

Analog
Show Text 

Bluetooth Connection 
 

7.1
8.3

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.010
5.2

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
2 Devices

NFC Pairing 
 

No

Quick Pair (Android) 
 

No

Quick Pair (iOS) 
 

No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

247.00 ft (75.29 m)
334.65 ft (102.00 m)

Latency - SBC 
 

250 ms
312 ms

Latency - aptX 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality) 
 

N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency) 
 

N/A

Latency - LDAC 
 

N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Codec  

SBC

AAC Support 
 

Yes

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A

iOS Latency 
 

137 ms

Android Latency 
 

135 ms
Show Text 

Wireless Connection (Dongle) 
 

0.0
0.0

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - Dongle 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

N/A

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only
No

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
Show Text 

Check Price

Black
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Black
WH-CH520
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Blue
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Blue
WH-CH520
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Pink
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Beige
WH-CH520
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Silver
Soundcore Life Q20
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
WH-CH520
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless

Sony WH-CH520 Wireless

Comments

  1. Comparison

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless vs Sony WH-CH520 Wireless: Main Discussion

What do you think of these products? Let us know below.


Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.

PreviewBack to editorFormat guide
No comments yet, refresh to see new ones