Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless Review (2024)

Type Over-ear

Enclosure Closed-Back

Wireless Yes

Transducer Dynamic

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.

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Weight 0.57 lbs

Clamping Force

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.

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OS Compatibility

Ease Of Use Decent

Feedback Good

Call/Music Control Yes

Volume Control Yes

Microphone Control No

Channel Mixing

Noise Cancelling Control On/Off

Talk-Through

Additional Controls Bass Effect + Voice Assistant

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.

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L 5.5" (14.0 cm)

W 5.6" (14.2 cm)

H 3.0" (7.6 cm)

Volume 92.00 in³ (1,507.60 cm³)

Transmitter Required No

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.

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Type Pouch

L N/A

W N/A

H N/A

Volume N/A

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.

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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.

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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.

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Bass Amount

Treble Amount

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.

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Avg. Std. Deviation

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.

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Std. Err.

Low-Frequency Extension

Low-Bass

Mid-Bass

High-Bass

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.

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Std. Err.

Low-Mid

Mid-Mid

High-Mid

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.

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Std. Err.

Low-Treble

Mid-Treble

High-Treble

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.

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Peaks

Dips

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.

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Weighted Group Delay

Weighted Phase Mismatch

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

Weighted Frequency Mismatch

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.

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PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)

PRTF Size (Avg.)

PRTF Distance

Openness

Acoustic Space Excitation

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.

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Head Modeling

Speaker Modeling

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

Virtual Surround

These headphones don't have a virtual soundstage feature.

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WHD @ 90

WHD @ 100

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.

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Firmware

Power

Connection

Codec

EQ

ANC

Tip/Pad

Microphone

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.

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Overall Attenuation

Noise Cancelling Yes

Bass

Mid

Treble

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.

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Overall Leakage @ 1ft

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.

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Integrated

In-Line

Boom

Detachable Boom

Mic Yes

These headphones have an integrated microphone.

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LFE

FR Std. Dev.

HFE

Weighted THD

Gain

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.

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SpNR

Noise Gate

Speech + Pink Noise Handling

Speech + Subway Noise Handling

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.

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Battery Type

Continuous Battery Life

Additional Charges

Total Battery Life

Charge Time

Power-Saving Feature

Audio While Charging

Passive Playback

Charging Port micro-USB

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.

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App Name No App

iOS No

Android No

macOS No

Windows No

Equalizer

ANC Control

Mic Control No

Room Effects

Playback Control

Button Mapping No

Surround Support

These headphones don't have a companion app.

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Bluetooth Version

Multi-Device Pairing

NFC Pairing

Line Of Sight Range

PC Latency (SBC)

PC Latency (aptX)

PC Latency (aptX HD)

PC Latency (aptX-LL)

iOS Latency

Android Latency

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.

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Non-BT Line Of Sight Range

Non-BT Latency

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Analog Audio

USB Audio

Detachable Yes

Length 4.10 ft (1.25 m)

Connection

Analog/USB Audio Latency

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.

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Analog

Wired USB

Non-BT Wireless

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.

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PS4 Analog

PS4 Wired USB

PS4 Non-BT Wireless

PS5 Analog

PS5 Wired USB

PS5 Non-BT Wireless

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.

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Xbox One Analog

Xbox One Wired USB

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Xbox Series X|S Analog

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless

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.

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Type

USB Input

Line In

Line Out

Optical Input

RCA Input

Dock Charging

Power Supply

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

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