The Soundcore Space 2 headphones prove why Soundcore is the budget brand to beat
Have you ever felt like everything just perfectly aligns, almost as if the universe is granting your wishes? It’s a wonderful feeling, isn't it? Recently, that's precisely how I felt in the world of audio technology.
Just when my colleague, Samantha Mangino, had published a glowing review about how impressively effective and affordable the Soundcore Space One headphones were, a new development emerged. As if on cue, Soundcore officially released their updated Space 2 headphones. They became available on April 20th through major retailers like Amazon and directly from Soundcore's official website. This timing felt almost too perfect, reinforcing Soundcore's reputation for delivering quality audio at accessible prices.
As a dedicated headphones reviewer, it felt like a professional duty – and a personal pleasure – to dive into what these new headphones had to offer. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a pair of the Soundcore Space 2 headphones before their official release. For two weeks, I put them through their paces, testing every feature and nuance to see if they lived up to the anticipation.
Having been impressed by the original Space One model, the announcement of the second-generation headphones at Mobile World Congress back in March had certainly caught my attention. I'm thrilled to confirm that these headphones truly do not disappoint. In an audio market where premium flagship headphones often come with hefty price tags, the Soundcore Space 2 emerge with a price point that is significantly more affordable. This makes them a fantastic choice for the majority of people, especially if you're seeking excellent performance without needing every single cutting-edge, top-tier feature that drives up costs.
Of course, it’s a universal truth in consumer electronics that budget-friendly products often involve some compromises. The Space 2 headphones are no exception to this rule. While they excel in many areas, there are a few minor trade-offs to consider. Let's delve deeper into the specifics, examining what these headphones offer and where they might fall a little short.
Soundcore Space 2: Price and Key Features
In today's fast-evolving world of headphones, one trend seems to be a constant: rising prices. It's refreshing and reassuring to see a brand like Soundcore launch a set of well-rounded, high-performing headphones that don't demand hundreds of dollars from your wallet. The Soundcore Space 2 headphones are priced at an incredibly attractive $129.99. While this is a modest increase of $30 compared to the Space One's $99.99, it still represents an outstanding value and a highly competitive position in the market. For this price, here’s a detailed look at the impressive features you'll be getting:
Exceptional Battery Life: These headphones boast an incredible battery life, offering up to 50 hours of continuous playback even with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) turned on. If you switch ANC off, this extends even further to a massive 70 hours. This means you can enjoy your music, podcasts, or calls for days on a single charge, making them ideal for long trips, extended study sessions, or just busy weeks without constantly needing to recharge.
Rapid Quick Charge: Running low on battery and need your music fast? The Space 2 features a convenient quick charge function. Just five minutes of charging can provide you with four hours of listening time, ensuring you're never left without your audio for long. This is perfect for those unexpected moments when you need a quick boost before heading out.
Versatile Listening Modes: Adapt your audio experience to any environment with three distinct listening modes:
- Noise Cancellation (ANC): Actively blocks out distracting sounds from your surroundings, allowing you to focus on your audio.
- Normal Mode: Provides standard audio playback without any active noise processing, ideal for quiet environments.
- Transparency Mode: Allows ambient sounds to pass through, keeping you aware of your surroundings, which is great for walking in busy areas or needing to hear announcements.
Dynamic Drivers: The Soundcore Space 2 are equipped with double-layer 40mm diaphragm drivers. These large, high-quality drivers are responsible for delivering rich, clear, and powerful sound across all frequencies, from deep bass to crisp highs, ensuring a dynamic and immersive audio experience.
Seamless Multipoint Connection: Stay connected to two devices simultaneously with multipoint connection. This feature lets you effortlessly switch between, for example, your laptop for a video call and your phone for music, without the hassle of manually disconnecting and reconnecting. It’s a huge convenience for multitasking.
Extensive Equalizer Customization: Tailor your sound exactly how you like it. The companion app offers an eight-band custom equalizer, giving you precise control over various audio frequencies. If you prefer a simpler approach, you can choose from 22 pre-set equalizer options, designed to optimize sound for different genres or listening preferences.
Immersive Spatial Audio: Experience audio that feels like it’s coming from all around you with the Spatial Audio feature (which Soundcore calls 3D Sound). This technology creates a more immersive, three-dimensional soundstage, making movies and certain music tracks feel more engaging and lifelike.
Broad Audio Codec Support: The headphones support key audio codecs including SBC, AAC, and LDAC. LDAC, in particular, is a high-resolution audio codec developed by Sony, allowing for the transmission of approximately three times more data than standard Bluetooth, resulting in significantly higher sound quality for compatible devices.
Passive Playback: Even if your battery runs out, you can still enjoy your music. The Space 2 headphones support passive playback via a wired connection, so you can simply plug in an audio cable and keep listening without needing power.
Intuitive On-Ear Controls: Manage your audio and calls effortlessly with physical buttons located on the earcups. These controls include a dedicated noise cancellation button to toggle modes, a multifunction button for playback and calls, a power/Bluetooth button, and easily accessible volume controls, ensuring you can adjust settings without reaching for your device.
Stylish Color Options: Express your personal style with three attractive color choices: a vibrant Seafoam Green, a classic White, and a sleek Black. Each color is designed to complement the modern, minimalist aesthetic of the headphones.
Outstanding Sound Performance from the Soundcore Space 2
Right out of the box, the Soundcore Space 2 headphones deliver an impressive audio experience. The sound profile is wonderfully balanced, clear, and generally just fantastic. You’ll immediately notice a rich fullness in the audio, with distinct separation between instruments and vocals. But the beauty of these headphones is that this excellent default sound is just the beginning.
Soundcore provides a powerful companion app that unlocks a world of audio customization. This is where the Space 2 truly shines, allowing you to tailor the listening experience to your exact preferences. The star of the show for audiophiles is the eight-band custom equalizer, which grants you granular control over different frequency ranges. Want more bass for hip-hop? Boost the low end. Prefer crisper vocals for podcasts? Adjust the mids and highs. This level of control is often reserved for much more expensive headphones.
Beyond manual adjustments, the app includes Soundcore's innovative HearID test. This personalized audio profiling system conducts a quick hearing test to map out your unique hearing sensitivity across various frequencies. Based on your results, it then creates a custom sound profile specifically optimized for your ears, ensuring that every note is heard as it was intended. It’s a subtle but profoundly impactful feature for a truly personalized listening experience.
The headphones also feature 3D Sound, Soundcore’s take on spatial audio. While I've often been skeptical of spatial audio implementations on other devices – frequently finding them to sound hollow or artificial, which detracts from immersion rather than enhancing it – the 3D Sound on the Space 2 genuinely surprised me. It's not a feature that works perfectly across all music genres, but for certain tracks, it adds a remarkable sense of depth and spaciousness. It creates an auditory environment where instruments and vocals seem to occupy distinct positions around you, without sacrificing the overall richness and fullness of the sound.
If deep customization isn't your preference, the app also offers a selection of 22 preset equalizer options. These presets are expertly tuned for various music genres, movie watching, or even podcast listening, providing an instant improvement tailored to specific content. For my personal taste, I consistently found myself returning to the "Treble Booster" preset, which enhanced vocal clarity and the sparkle of higher frequencies without becoming harsh.
To rigorously test the Soundcore Space 2, I subjected them to a diverse range of musical genres and audio content. I started with the raw, driving energy of "No One Knows" by Queens of the Stone Age, where the headphones deftly handled the powerful guitar riffs and intricate drum work, delivering each punch with clarity and impact. Next, I moved to the electronic intricacies of "Aerodynamic" by Daft Punk, appreciating how the Space 2 reproduced the layered synths and driving rhythm with precision. The bass-heavy mix of "Hooligan" by BTS truly showcased the headphones' ability to deliver deep, resonant bass without muddying the mid-range.
Finally, I immersed myself in the delicate, lilting vocals and soft strings of "Here is Someone" by Japanese Breakfast. Here, the Space 2 headphones truly excelled, revealing the nuanced textures and emotional depth of the track. The subtle strumming of guitars, the gentle swell of violins, and the ethereal quality of the vocals were all rendered with remarkable fidelity. Beyond music, I even listened to a podcast episode that I had personally edited, a piece of audio I was intimately familiar with. The Soundcore headphones reproduced the spoken word clearly and naturally, demonstrating their versatility across different audio formats.
And then there's the noise cancellation. While not groundbreaking, it is certainly effective for its price point. It manages to adequately quiet the world around you, especially excelling at muffling consistent, lower-pitched hums and drones. This means if you're primarily looking to block out the rumble of an airplane engine, the hum of an air conditioner, or the distant traffic noise, these headphones will serve you well. Soundcore specifically recommends them for plane rides, and I can see why.
However, it's important to set realistic expectations. If your main goal is to silence a lot of nearby conversations or high-frequency sounds, you might find that these headphones, while still good, don't perform at the same ultra-premium level as much more expensive options from brands like Sony or Bose. They do a respectable job, but some higher-pitched chatter might still seep through. While I didn't have the opportunity to test them on a plane during my review period, I can certainly vouch for their effectiveness in a busy household. Living with eight family members in Southern California means I'm constantly surrounded by various sounds: other people's music, TV shows, the clatter of cooking, or the distinct outdoor sounds of leaf blowers and passing cars. The Space 2 headphones handled all these distractions with impressive ease, providing a peaceful escape whenever I needed it.
A Look and Feel That Exceeds Their Price Tag
One of the most common indicators of a "budget" headphone, in my experience, is often found in its design and build quality. Budget models frequently suffer from a clunky appearance, unusual color choices, or a fit that squeezes the head uncomfortably, making long listening sessions a chore. Thankfully, the Soundcore Space 2 headphones defy these expectations, offering a design and comfort level that punch well above their price point.
From the moment you put them on, the comfort is immediately noticeable. The ear cushions are generously padded with soft memory foam, gently molding to the contours of your ears. The headband also features ample padding, distributing pressure evenly across your head. This thoughtful design means that hours of continuous wear are not only possible but genuinely comfortable. Even when I wore glasses or a hat, which can often cause discomfort with over-ear headphones, the Space 2 remained remarkably pleasant to wear, avoiding any painful pressure points.
The on-ear controls are another testament to thoughtful design. Soundcore has strategically placed two buttons on each earcup, making them incredibly intuitive to use without needing to look or fumble. This layout allowed me to effortlessly pause or play music, skip to the next track, adjust volume, and toggle noise cancellation modes without ever needing to pull out my connected device. The tactile feedback of the buttons is also satisfying, preventing accidental presses. Furthermore, some of these buttons offer customization options through the companion app, allowing you to reassign functions to better suit your workflow.
The wear detection feature, which automatically pauses music when you remove the headphones and resumes when you put them back on, worked reliably most of the time. There were only a couple of instances where it faltered; once when I simply rested the headphones on my lap, and another when I only pulled one ear cup off my ear. In these specific scenarios, the sensor seemed to be momentarily confused or obstructed. However, for a pair of headphones priced at just $130, this minor inconsistency is hardly a complaint and certainly doesn't detract from the overall excellent user experience.
Finally, the aesthetic appeal of the Space 2 headphones is noteworthy. Soundcore offers them in three stylish colorways: Seafoam Green, White, and Black. All three options are tastefully chosen and present a sophisticated, modern look that easily rivals the aesthetics of much more expensive headphones, such as the sleek Bose QuietComforts. The materials feel premium to the touch, and the overall construction exudes durability, further enhancing their value proposition.
Industry-Leading Battery Life
While this section won't be overly long, the battery life of the Soundcore Space 2 headphones absolutely demands special recognition. In a market where many premium headphones offer 20-30 hours of playback, the Space 2 truly stands out, setting a new benchmark for endurance, especially in its price category. This is one of their most compelling features and a significant advantage for users who prioritize uninterrupted listening.
With Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) engaged, you can expect an astounding 50 hours of playback. This figure alone is remarkable, allowing for multiple full days of listening, or even several long-haul flights, before needing a recharge. If you opt to use ANC and wear detection together, the battery life remains highly impressive at 45 hours. And for those times when you don't need noise cancellation, perhaps in a quiet office or at home, disabling ANC extends the battery life to an incredible 70 hours. To put it simply: you’ll be hard-pressed to run these headphones down. This longevity means less time worrying about charging and more time enjoying your audio, whether you're commuting, studying, working, or simply relaxing.
During my two weeks of extensive testing, I can personally attest to this exceptional endurance. The headphones finally gave out on the very last day of my review period, after consistent daily use across various activities. Even then, Soundcore's quick charge feature came to the rescue: a mere five-minute charge provided a substantial 20 percent of the battery life back, equating to several hours of playback. This is incredibly practical for those moments when you realize you're almost out of power but need to head out the door immediately.
To provide some context, consider some of the significantly more expensive competitors on the market. Flagship models like the Bose QC Ultra 2 and Sony XM6 headphones typically offer around 30 hours of battery life with ANC enabled. While still good, the Soundcore Space 2 significantly surpasses this. Only a select few high-end options manage to compete in the higher battery life range, such as the Sennheiser Momentum 4 and Marshall Monitor III headphones, which offer 60 and 70 hours with ANC, respectively. The fact that the Space 2 achieves such comparable, and in some cases, superior battery life at a fraction of the cost, truly highlights its incredible value and positions it as a market leader in this crucial aspect.
Surprising and Useful Extras
When evaluating a pair of headphones priced at $130 or less, my expectations are typically modest. If they deliver solid sound, a comfortable design, and decent battery life, I consider them a success. Yet, with Soundcore, you often get more than you bargain for, and the Space 2 headphones are a perfect example of this philosophy. They come packed with a couple of interesting additional features that truly enhance their overall appeal, demonstrating Soundcore's commitment to innovation even in their budget-friendly offerings.
One feature that caught my attention was the "nap mode." This unique function, accessible via the Soundcore app, allows you to set a timer for a short nap and choose from a selection of white noise soundscapes. While it’s not the most surprising inclusion, given that Soundcore also produces some of the best sleep earbuds on the market, the idea of using over-ear headphones for napping might seem a little unconventional. Over-ear headphones, by their nature, can be somewhat bulky for comfortable side-sleeping. However, for those who prefer napping in an upright position or simply want to block out distractions with white noise while resting, the option is certainly there and appreciated. It’s a thoughtful extra that speaks to Soundcore's broader focus on relaxation and well-being through audio.
Much more intriguing, and genuinely useful, was the live translation feature. I had previously encountered this technology on Soundcore's open earbuds and found it to be surprisingly reliable. Eager to test its capabilities on the Space 2, I put it through a real-world trial. My friend spoke to me in Korean, and my mom conversed with me in Spanish, both foreign languages to me. With both languages, the translation accuracy hovered impressively around 80 to 90 percent. More importantly, the translation was relatively fast, allowing for a fairly fluid exchange of conversation, albeit with a slight delay. This feature uses the headphone's microphones to pick up speech, sends it to the app for translation, and then plays the translated audio back to you. The experience was genuinely impressive, making communication across language barriers much more accessible.
There was only one minor hiccup I encountered: the automatic language detection feature within the app tended to crash. However, this was easily circumvented. By manually inputting the language that was being spoken (e.g., selecting "Korean to English" or "Spanish to English"), the feature worked seamlessly and delivered consistently great results. This live translation capability is a standout, transforming the headphones into a practical tool for travelers, language learners, or anyone needing to bridge communication gaps in real time. It's an innovative addition that adds significant value beyond mere audio playback.
Minor Drawbacks to Consider
It was genuinely challenging to identify significant flaws or less-than-ideal features in the Soundcore Space 2 headphones, which is a testament to their overall quality and value. While I don't believe any of these minor points are "deal-breakers" or will ruin your listening experience, it's always good to be fully informed before making a purchase. Being aware of these small trade-offs allows you to manage your expectations and determine if they align with your specific needs.
Subtle Creaking Sounds: Occasionally, particularly when moving my head around or adjusting the headphones, I noticed a very slight creaking sound. This was more perceptible when no audio was streaming, allowing me to focus on external sounds. It's important to clarify that this creaking was nowhere near as pronounced or bothersome as what I've experienced on some other budget headphones, such as the JLab JBuds Lux ANC headphones, where it could be quite distracting. On the Space 2, it's a minor, intermittent issue, but it is slightly more noticeable than on truly premium headphones like the Bose QuietComforts, which exhibit almost no mechanical noise.
App Navigation Can Be Busy: The Soundcore app itself, while feature-rich and offering extensive customization for the Space 2 headphones, can feel a little overwhelming at times. There are numerous menus and sub-menus that can make navigating to specific settings or features less straightforward than it could be. It might take a bit of exploration to find all the customization options available, as they are not always presented in the most intuitive or streamlined manner. While the functionality is there, the user interface could benefit from some simplification to make all those excellent features more immediately accessible.
Noise Cancellation for Higher Tones: As mentioned previously, the active noise cancellation (ANC) on the Soundcore Space 2 is highly effective for blocking out low-frequency sounds like engine hums, fan noise, or general ambient background rumble. This is where it truly performs admirably for its price. However, when it comes to higher-pitched sounds, particularly human voices or sharp, sudden noises, the headphones tend to show their budget price point more distinctly. While the ANC still works to reduce these sounds, it won't create the near-silent bubble that ultra-premium noise-cancelling headphones from brands like Sony or Bose might achieve. You shouldn't expect the absolute top-tier performance for completely isolating yourself from conversations, but for constant, low-frequency distractions, it remains very competent.
Are the Soundcore Space 2 Headphones a Worthwhile Investment?
In short: yes. And to be even more emphatic: absolutely, unequivocally yes.
Soundcore has long built its reputation on creating exceptional budget-friendly audio products, consistently delivering far more value than their price tags suggest. With the Space 2 headphones, they have not only upheld this reputation but have arguably elevated it further. These headphones strike a near-perfect balance of impressive audio performance, a comfortable and stylish design, and robust functionality that is rarely found in this price bracket.
When you consider the combination of their dynamic sound quality, extensive customization options through the app (including HearID and spatial audio), incredibly long battery life (up to 70 hours!), effective noise cancellation for common low-frequency sounds, and genuinely useful unexpected extras like live translation, the Soundcore Space 2 represent an outstanding package. The minor drawbacks—a subtle creak, a busy app, and ANC that's less perfect with high-pitched voices—are easily overshadowed by the sheer volume of positives and the overall high-quality experience they provide.
I honestly struggle to think of another pair of headphones currently on the market that offers the same compelling blend of features, build quality, and audio prowess at such an accessible price. For anyone seeking a reliable, high-performing pair of everyday headphones, whether you're a student on a tight budget, a busy commuter, or simply someone looking for premium features without the premium cost, the Soundcore Space 2 are an excellent choice. They are a smart investment that delivers a rich audio experience and practical features that will enhance your daily life. Soundcore has truly knocked it out of the park, making these a phenomenal buy for virtually everyone.
from Mashable
-via DynaSage
