It’s hard to find quality noise canceling headphones for less than $100, but Anker’s Soundcore Life Q30 is an inexpensive set that’s well worth your time. We named them the best value for money choice in a recent guide to wireless noise canceling headphones at their regular $80 price tag, but today the Q30 is down to $60 as part of Amazon’s “Deal of the Day”promotion.
That’s technically $10 above the lowest price we’ve seen, but that cut lasted less than a day, and that price is in line with the best price we’ve seen outside of this sale. Since this is a Deal of the Day promotion, the offer will most likely only be available until Wednesday.
As for the headphones themselves, the Soundcore Life Q30s aren’t as effective at canceling out external sounds as our top picks like Sony’s WH-1000XM4 or Apple’s AirPods Max, but that’s to be expected. For significantly less money, we found the Q30s to be quite effective at eliminating low-frequency rumbles, such as aircraft and train engines, while also being able to provide at least some resistance to high-frequency sounds. They’re not the best in the world, but they’re reliable, which is more than we can say for most pairs of headphones we’ve used in this price range.
The Q30’s default “V-shaped”sound signature isn’t for everyone. Anker immediately prioritizes the highs and (especially) the lows, which gives the Q30 an excitable sound and massive bass, but leaves out midrange detail and clarity. Some may like this lively (if not particularly accurate) profile, but if you don’t like it, Anker’s companion app’s equalizer tool lets you choose from several other presets and customize the sound profile to your liking.
Like many other modern pairs, the Q30 also features a “transparency”mode that layers outside noise on top of your music for those times when you want to be more aware of your surroundings, but not completely pause a playlist or podcast. However, its implementation is not as smooth as that of more expensive competitors, and it has a more negative effect on sound quality in comparison. But it works, and at least it’s there if you need it.
While the Q30s are our top pick for over-the-ear ANC headphones under $100, Anker has been released by the Soundcore Life Q35 model since the Q30s launched. However, they are basically the same as this pair, with the main addition being a slightly improved microphone and support for the Sony LDAC Bluetooth codec for high-resolution audio. However, we think most people don’t need to pay extra for these features. If you’re willing to pay more for a better set, it might be worth considering the other options in our ANC headphones guide, but if you were hoping to pick up a good pair on the cheap for the holidays, the Q30 is your best bet. great quality for this bargain price.
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