The highest compliment I can give to the Space One Pro, the new flagship noise-cancelling headphones from Soundcore, is that the design feels as clever when you’re wearing them as it does when you’re not wearing them.
This is an essential point that too many headphone manufacturers miss when creating a pair of headphones for travel. Ultimately, no matter how good they sound, if your headphones don’t fold to a small size and fit into a compact case, you won’t be able to put them in your backpack, and they won’t come with you on the trip. Full stop. And that’s especially true now that the best wireless earbuds offer noise-cancelling and comfort to rival the best over-ear headphones.
The Space One Pro deliver the neatest folding design I’ve seen in a pair of headphones and they’re great at cancelling out noise too. The case situation is unusual and they only come with a drawstring pouch for travel, but after over a week of testing, I’ve never struggled to fit these into my bag even when it’s full. Read on for my review of the new Soundcore Space One Pro headphones.
Soundcore Space One Pro: At a glance
Pros
- Great folding design
- Excellent noise-cancelling and transparency
- Multipoint connectivity
- Comfortable to wear for a long time
Cons
- No hard travel case
- No wear sensor
- Sound won’t suit everyone
Key specifications
| Noise cancellation | Yes |
|---|---|
| Battery life | Up to 40 hours with ANC on |
| Charging | USB-C |
| Weight | 272.1g |
Soundcore Space One Pro: Design, comfort and convenience
Two things are very apparent as soon as you unbox the Space One Pro. The first is that they’re very well-cushioned with loads of padding around the headband and ear cups, and the second is that these fold down far smaller than any other rival pair I’ve seen, even crossing over and folding each ear cup against themselves.
Once this is done, they’re in a highly portable shape (shown below) that fits in the included drawstring pouch. It’s worth mentioning that I would prefer these came with a hard travel case as I’ve found those are far better for protecting headphones and extending their lifespan. Soundcore will sell a small case that fits the headphones, but it isn’t a design that offers full coverage.
They weigh around 272g, making them reasonably lightweight, and they compare well to more expensive options like the Bose QuietComfort Headphones and QuietComfort Ultra, as well as Sony’s WH-1000XM5 which is 250g. They’re far lighter than premium options like the Dyson OnTrac, Apple AirPods Max and Sonos Ace headphones. They also have excellent clicky metal buttons for playback, volume, power and noise-cancelling, which makes them easy to control.
When it comes to overall comfort and convenience, these cans are a good option. I’ve worn them for full days at the office without getting tired of them. It's worth knowing that they come in just two colours: black or white. They, surprisingly, lack the wear detection sensor that’s included on the more affordable Soundcore Space One, but they still have reliable multipoint connectivity that can keep you connected to two devices at once and useful app control for altering the sound and delivering updates to the headphones.
Soundcore Space One Pro: Noise-cancelling and sound quality
One area where I’ve consistently been impressed by Soundcore is with noise-cancelling that’s much more advanced than you’d expect for the price. That trend continues in the Space One Pro, which has high-quality modes for dampening the background noise whether you’re in a busy office, a loud train on your commute, or at a bustling coffee shop.
Because they’ve got a great passive seal with the cushioned ear cups, you won’t find a lot of that background noise gets through by default. Once you turn on the active noise-cancelling (ANC), they cut out most of what you’d hear very capably. Want the opposite effect? The transparency mode is also effective, raising the volume of external sounds enough for you to have a conversation with someone nearby.
With ANC on, though, the Space One deal with low rumbles just as well as they do higher frequency sounds like people talking, and I find that only very loud or unpredictable sounds get past this ANC system. Overall, these will be a fantastic pair for frequent flyers or office workers needing some peace.
What about the performance when you listen to music or podcasts over the headphones? I like the sound signature overall – it’s great for pop playlists, energetic music, movies and podcasts, but it is worth noting that it isn’t a balanced audio reproduction. It’s more of a bass-heavy approach which you could accurately describe as “V-shaped”, meaning the low-end and treble are enhanced to give them quite an energetic sound.
Audiophiles seeking a neutral sound might not love these, but they’re decent for most of us. And, to my ears at least, they sound much better after I’ve done the “HearID” personalised listening test in Soundcore’s companion app. This customises the sound for your unique ears and the frequencies you’re best able to hear, making them feel a bit more balanced.
Soundcore Space One Pro: Battery life
Soundcore is a division of Anker, the company responsible for several of our favourite power banks, so we’re unsurprised to see these headphones come with a competitive battery life. If you use them with the ANC and transparency modes turned off, they’ll last for 60 hours of uninterrupted music listening.
I’d expect most of us to use them with noise-cancelling all the time. In that mode, you’ll get 40 hours of listening time, which is much more than you would on comparable Bose, Sony and Apple models.
However, it is still a lower battery life than the latest Dyson headphones, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 or the mid-range Sennheiser Accentum Plus. One area where the Space One Pro impresses is with its fast recharge time – a quick five-minute charge delivers eight hours of playback, so they get back in action quickly if they run out.
Soundcore Space One Pro: Price
You might expect to spend between £200 to £300 on flagship models from several other leading brands, so it’s a major selling point that these aren’t overly pricey at an affordable £149.99.
Of course, some of those rivals have more features, but I think that this is a great value price for this package overall, especially as Soundcore headphones tend to go on sale during events like Prime Day or Black Friday.
Good Housekeeping’s verdict on the Soundcore Space One Pro headphones
Soundcore’s Space One Pro headphones aren’t without their downsides. They don’t have a wear sensor, they only come with a soft drawstring pouch that isn’t very protective and they’re not a great option if you use your headphones for calls.
However, if your focus is on using these over-ear headphones for their noise-cancelling abilities, listening to music and wearing them for a long time, they’re some of the most comfortable and convenient cans I’ve come across.
They fold down to an impressively small size that’ll slip into any bag, and the ANC performance rivals what you’d expect from headphones that cost twice as much. For performance and value, these are fantastic headphones for travellers and office workers.
Soundcore Space One Pro: Other pairs to consider
In this price range, the alternative I’d recommend to most people looking for a high-quality pair of headphones is the Sennheiser Accentum Plus. They sound terrific, cancel noise well, have a huge battery life, come in a protective case, and fold to a slim size that should fit into most bags. They’re meant to cost £199, but can be found for £159. At that price, they’re the better buy if you’ve got the budget for them.
If you’re looking to spend a lot less, the Soundcore Life Q20i do a decent job with noise-cancelling and comfort for under £50, but they feel a lot cheaper and aren't as comfortable. Or, if you can spend up to £200, it’s worth remembering that the Sony WH-1000XM4 are now often available for around £195 from Amazon, and those popular headphones have powerful noise-cancelling, great app control and a folding design to fit in a compact travel case.
Simon Cocks is Good Housekeeping UK’s Technology Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy for the title. He previously also worked across other titles including Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.
Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, e-book readers and smartphones. He's reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.
A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.
He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and money-saving advice guides and edited thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.
He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.
You can follow Simon on Instagram, on Bluesky, on LinkedIn and on Threads.
