Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST Anker Soundcore Space Q45 review for those who are wondering whether they are WORTH IT in 2026. I’ll also be comparing the Anker Soundcore Space Q45 vs Space One, Space 2, Space One Pro, Q30, Bose QuietComfort, Sennheiser Accentum, Sony WH-CH720N, Sony ULT Wear, and more!
I’m going to do my best to share whether these headphones are worth it, and ideally who these headphones are for. I’ve owned these headphones for a while now and have quite a few thoughts.
I’ll be sharing my critical opinion with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, audio engineer, and tech journalist.
Let’s dive right in!
Anker Soundcore Space Q45 Headphones Review in Short
The Anker Soundcore Space Q45 is one of the best all-arounders under $150 due to its comfort, build quality, battery life, and noise cancelling performance. Due to current pricing, I do slightly lean towards the newer Soundcore Space 2 or Soundcore Space One Pro, which I find both to have better sound quality and noise cancelling performance. Competes with Soundcore Space One, Anker Soundcore Life Q30, Anker Soundcore Q20i, JBL Live 770NC, Sony WH-CH720N, Sony ULT Wear, Sennheiser Accentum, and Sennheiser Accentum Plus.
Watch this Full Review on YouTube!
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Pros and Cons
- Best build quality under $150
- 65 hour battery life
- Great value
- Comfy
- Sound quality is just fine
- Slightly heavy
- Space 2 and Space One Pro are better
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Anker Soundcore Space Q45 Sound Quality
My first impression of the Anker Soundcore Space Q45 is that it’s perfectly… fine.
There’s nothing too offensive about them, but after having reviewed almost every premium wireless ANC headphone under $1,000 – it’s just nothing special at this point.
And that includes against similarly-priced budget contenders like the Sony WH-CH720N, JBL Tune 770NC, Sony ULT Wear, and Sennheiser Accentum.
Against all of those budget headphones mentioned above, the Q45 competes, but it simply doesn’t stand out at all.
To quickly point out some of its flaws: the bass is overly boomy and uncontrolled, vocal and instrument timbre is very artificial and unrealistic, weak separation and layering, mediocre dynamics, and the vocals tend to be more in the background and can be either muffled or lack body.
Now that sounds quite nitpicky, I know, but after you’ve heard dozens of these headphones, I’m simply putting the Q45 in its place on the totem pole.
Now on the GOOD side, the Q45 should be enjoyable enough to listen to for the casual listener.
And compared to the lower-priced Anker Soundcore Life Q30, I much prefer listening to the Q45.
I might even prefer the Q45 over the higher-end Soundcore Space One, due to simply a more pleasing sound profile than the Space One (and for some reason the Space One sound quality degrades with ANC on for my pair).
It excels the most for Rock and Metal genres of music, and most of my nitpicks are for pretty much any other genre.
I actually do enjoy listening to these for Rock and Metal, but am less enthused by Pop, Hip Hop, EDM, Classical, Jazz, and pretty much everything else.
There’s just more exciting and engaging options, even at this price range.
Although the bass is a bit loose, it is decently fun, but could use a little more slam.
There is decent amounts of detail, but I would like some more body in the vocals to make them sound fuller.
Also, the vocals tend to get drowned out a bit at times, which is the opposite of what I look for in a headphone when listening to music.
If you’re not too picky about audio, then I think the Q45 suffices.
Especially for people who primarily (or exclusively) listen to Rock and Metal.
Sound Quality Comparisons
vs Soundcore Space One
Surprisingly, I much prefer the sound quality and tuning of the Q45 over the Space One.
For some reason, the Space One I tested has a noticeable drop in sound quality when ANC is turned on.
Even with it off, however, the Q45 has the more balanced tonality and better details and resolution overall.
vs Soundcore Space 2
The newer Space 2 is much-improved in sound quality over the original Space One, and I actually prefer the sound on the Space 2 over the Q45.
While the Space 2 has a bass-forward and consumer-friendly tuning, the actual sound quality seems closer to the Space One Pro.
The Q45 may be more balanced, but the Space 2 is the more exciting and “fun” headphone to listen to, with superior bass response.
vs Soundcore Space One Pro
The more expensive flagship Space One Pro really impressed me with its sound quality, which I found to be in a tier above the Q45, entirely.
The driver architecture and diaphragm material on the Space One Pro is clearly higher-end than the Q45, resulting in immediately more resolution, clarity, and open soundstage.
There is simply much more detail and controlled bass on the Space One Pro, which is fitting for being Soundcore’s flagship and most expensive offering.
vs Anker Soundcore Life Q30
The Q30 is the next lower model in the lineup, but actually has very competitive sound quality with the Q45.
They share the same size 40mm drivers, but the Q45 was reworked and has slightly different materials.
I actually like the Q30’s balanced tuning that is less consumer-friendly than Soundcore’s typical “house sound”.
That said, the Q45 has a slight edge on the overall detail and cleaner bass response.
Sound Quality Score: 7.9 out of 10
Comfort
The Anker Soundcore Q45 is one of the heavier over-ear, wireless noise cancelling headphones as weighed on my scale:
- Sony WH-CH520 – 144.0 grams
- JBL Tune 510BT – 158.1 grams
- JBL Tune 520BT – 158.6 grams
- Sony WH-CH720N – 186.4 grams
- Beats Solo 4 – 217.6 grams
- JBL Live 670NC – 218.1 grams
- Sennheiser Accentum – 223.0 grams
- JBL Tune 720BT – 223.2 grams
- Sennheiser Accentum Plus – 225.8 grams
- JBL Tune 770NC – 227.1 grams
- Skullcandy Hesh ANC – 229.6 grams
- Bose QuietComfort – 236.1 grams
- Sony WH-1000XM5 – 245.9 grams
- Anker Soundcore Q20i – 249.3 grams
- Sony WH-1000XM4 – 251.6 grams
- JBL Live 770NC – 254.5 grams
- Anker Soundcore Space One – 260.6 grams
- Anker Soundcore Space 2 – 262.8 grams
- Anker Soundcore Life Q30 – 264.6 grams
- Beats Studio Pro – 268.6 grams
- CMF Headphone Pro – 280.8 grams
- Anker Soundcore Space One Pro – 286.3 grams
- Anker Soundcore Space Q45 – 297.5 grams
- Nothing Headphone (a) – 311.4 grams
- Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 – 332.3 grams
Wow, I truly wasn’t expecting the Q45 to weigh close to 300 grams.
Most other budget headphones in this category are primarily cheap plastic, and weigh closer to the 230 gram mark or below.
But the Q45 is a step above in build quality with what seems to be some metal components contributing to that weight.
My initial impression of them was that I found them fairly comfortable, although less comfortable than I expected.
I do feel a bit of that weight around the earcups and ever so slightly on the headband.
Earcups have plenty of interior room so my ears aren’t touching anything, which is always nice.
Overall, the Q45 is one of the more comfortable headphones that I could wear for hours.
Comfort Score: 9.0 out of 10
Features / Battery Life / Build Quality / Practicality
Features
The Anker Soundcore Space Q45 was originally released in August 2022, so they’re a fairly modern headphone with most of the modern features:
- Built-in microphones for taking calls
- Smartphone app with customizable EQ
- Multi-point connection between 2 devices at once
- Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio
- LDAC
- Adaptive Noise Cancelling (choose from 5 levels, or Adaptive)
- Transparency Mode
- Includes Compact Hardshell Case
- Foldable and Collapsable
It’s great to see the more updated Bluetooth 5.3, which I’ve had much more reliable connectivity with than the older Bluetooth 5.1 on other headphones.
These also don’t have Spatial Audio or Dolby Atmos support, for those that care.
Also nice that these include a fairly premium compact hardshell case, something you definitely don’t see often in the budget class.
These headphones do fold and collapse, fitting nicely into the smaller case.
The included case reminds me of Bose’s size and design, perhaps ever so slightly cheaper-feeling.
Battery Life
The Anker Soundcore Space Q45 has 65 hours of battery life with ANC set to OFF, and 50 hours with ANC on.
This is definitely above average battery life and towards the higher end of the wireless over-ear ANC headphone class.
- Nothing Headphone (a) – 75 hours (ANC on), 135 hours (ANC off)
- Marshall Monitor III – 70 hours (ANC on), 100 hours (ANC off)
- Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 SE – 60 hours (ANC on), 100 hours (ANC off)
- Sennheiser HDB 630 – 60 hours
- Sennheiser Momentum 4 – 60 hours
- Sennheiser Momentum 5 – 57 hours
- Anker Soundcore Space 2 – 50 hours (ANC on), 70 hours (ANC off)
- Anker Soundcore Space Q45 – 50 hours (ANC on), 65 hours (ANC off)
- JBL Live 770NC – 50 hours (ANC on), 65 hours (ANC off)
- JBL Live 670NC – 50 hours (ANC on), 65 hours (ANC off)
- JBL Tune 520BT – 57 hours (no ANC included)
- Sennheiser Accentum Plus – 50 hours (ANC on)
- Sennheiser Accentum – 50 hours (ANC on)
- Beats Solo 4 – 50 hours (no ANC included)
- JBL Tune 770NC – 44 hours (ANC on), 70 hours (ANC off)
- Anker Soundcore Space One Pro – 40 hours (ANC on), 60 hours (ANC off)
- Anker Soundcore Space One – 40 hours (ANC on), 55 hours (ANC off)
- JBL Tune 510BT – 40 hours (no ANC included)
- Nothing Headphone (1) – 35 hours (ANC on), 80 hours (ANC off)
- Sony WH-1000XM6 – 30 hours (ANC on), 40 hours (ANC off)
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) – 30 hours
- Sony WH-1000XM5 and WH-1000XM4 – 30 hours
- Sonos Ace – 30 hours
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra (1st Gen) – 24 hours
- Apple AirPods Max 1 and 2 – 20 hours
There is also a “Rapid Charging” feature that provides 4 hours of listening time with 5 minutes of charging.
Build Quality
When it comes to build quality, I think this is where the Anker Soundcore Space Q45 shines in the budget class.
The Q45 has better build quality than any headphone I’ve tested under $200, and overall just feels solid when handling.
This headphone feels more like $200 to $300 headphones in the class, featuring some Aluminum metal in the headband.
Most budget headphones in this class are the cheapest of plastics and feel like they could break at anytime.
The drawback to this build quality and feel is the heavier weight than its competitors, but this bodes well for its long-term durability.
Practicality
The Soundcore Q45 is an excellent daily driver due to its comfort, foldable design, included hardshell case, strong battery life, and active noise cancelling.
It’s just a little bit heavier than most other budget headphones.
The hardshell travel case is a very rare inclusion for a sub-$200 headphone, bolstering the Q45’s value.
Features / Battery Life / Build Quality / Practicality Score: 9.0 out of 10
Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) Performance
Up to this point, the Q45 has made itself out to be quite the feature-rich headphone for the budget class.
But unfortunately, I’m a bit disappointed with the Q45’s overall noise cancelling performance.
You can either set it to “Adaptive”, or manually choose between 5 levels of noise cancelling strength.
Going through all the settings, I found that the Q45 just freely lets in certain frequencies with ease, even when set to the max level.
If you look at their product listing page on Amazon, it seems the ANC has been tuned to focus only on specific frequencies like jet engines and dogs barking.
But this leaves a decent amount of outside noise unchecked and flowing through.
There’s also a Transparency Mode, which is decently functional and mostly gets the job done.
Overall, I do think “you get what you pay for” when it comes to noise cancelling performance.
For this budget class, I’d rather have the ULT Wear’s noise cancelling performance.
Noise Cancelling Performance Score: 8.0 out of 10
Value
At the time of this writing, the Anker Soundcore Space Q45 retails at $149.99, but can be found on sale for as low as $89.99 to $139.99.
At full price, I’m less excited about the Q45.
But I’ve seen them on sale for around that $90 price point, which I think is a fairly amazing value.
No headphone under $200 brand new has the build quality of the Q45 (aside from maybe Soundcore’s Space One).
But I walk away a bit disappointed by both the sound quality and noise cancelling performance, so it isn’t a slam dunk for me.
Value Score: 8.5 out of 10
Overall Scoring Breakdown
Sound Quality (50% of score): 7.9 / 10
Comfort (10% of score): 9.0 / 10
Features / Battery Life / Build Quality / Practicality (10% of score): 9.0 / 10
Noise Cancelling (20% of score): 8.0 / 10
Value (10% of score): 8.5 / 10
Overall: 8.20 / 10
Is the Anker Soundcore Space Q45 Worth it?
The Soundcore Q45 is a strong all-arounder under $150, especially if it goes on sale these days closer to $100.
That said, I do find myself preferring the newer Soundcore Space 2 for $129, or the Space One Pro which has also gone down in price to just $140 lately.
Also, the Q30 is surprisingly close to the Q45 and can be found for under $60 these days, which I find to be an absolute steal and better value.
Some very strong alternatives in this class of wireless headphones are:
- Anker Soundcore Space One
- Anker Soundcore Space 2
- Anker Soundcore Space One Pro
- Anker Soundcore Life Q30
- Anker Soundcore Q20i
- Sony ULT Wear
- JBL Tune 770NC
- Sennheiser Accentum
- Sennheiser Accentum Plus
- Sony WH-CH720N
- Nothing Headphone (a)
- JBL Tune 720BT
- Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2
- Sony WH-1000XM4
- Sony WH-1000XM5
- Bose QuietComfort (2023 model)
- Beats Studio Pro
- Bose QuietComfort 45
Order HERE for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Save money with RENEWED!
Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Anker Soundcore better than Bose?
Having tested several Anker Soundcore and Bose headphones, I would say that Anker Soundcore isn’t better than Bose, and they don’t directly compete with each other based on price.
Bose headphones tend to be quite a bit more expensive than the budget-friendly Anker Soundcore line of headphones, and thus have superior sound quality and noise cancelling performance.
Which is better Soundcore Space One or Q45?
Having tested both, I prefer the Q45 over the Space One, which seems to be the better dollar value and has a slightly more pleasing sound profile.
Which is better, Soundcore Q30 or Q45?
The Soundcore Q45 is the higher-end upgraded model to the Q30, which is cheaper and lower on the Soundcore lineup of wireless over-ear noise cancelling headphones.
When was the Soundcore Q45 released?
The Anker Soundcore Space Q45 headphone was officially released on July 5th, 2022.
How We Tested and Our Methodology
RecordingNOW.com is a 100% independent publisher with over 10 years of experience testing and reviewing consumer electronics and headphones.
We currently purchase the products we test with our own money, and are not paid by any company or manufacturer to influence our opinions or decisions.
After purchasing the product, we conduct up to hundreds of hours of detailed hands-on testing in a controlled, acoustically-treated environment.
ODi Productions is our resident expert and author of this article, with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, tech journalist, and audiophile.
Post Update History
- July 2026: Updated scores to “Version 2.0” of our Headphone Scoring System. Added long-term “1 Year Review” updates throughout post. Included new comparisons to previously unreviewed headphones like Soundcore Space One Pro, Soundcore Space 2, and Soundcore Q20i. Updated to 2026 current sale prices and adjusted Value score accordingly. Added YouTube video review.
- July 2025: Original publication date.
Read Next
Best Noise Cancelling Headphones under $200
Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Review
Anker Soundcore Space 2 Review
Anker Soundcore Space One Pro Review
Anker Soundcore Space One Review
Sennheiser Accentum Plus Review
Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 Review
Bose QuietComfort Review (2023 Model)
Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45) Review
