Soundcore by Anker Life A2 NC Multi-Mode Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds, ANC Bluetooth Earbuds with 6-Mic Clear Calls, 35-Hr Playtime, and Deep Bass, Fast Charging, Transparency, and App

These Soundcore by Anker Life A2 earbuds sound really really good. The bass is full and punchy, the mids clear, and the highs sparkly without being at all harsh.As for the active noise canceling, the Soundcore app (free download) provides three levels of ANC - Transport, Indoor, and Outdoor. Transport mode is for when you are in a car or airplane; Indoor mode reduces mid-frequency noise in public indoor spaces such as coffee shops; Outdoor mode reduces ambient noise when walking around city streets, etc. All three modes work very well. Not quite as well as earbuds or headphones costing hundreds of dollars, but remarkably well for this price point.The Soundcore app also includes 22 preset EQ settings to tailor the sound to your liking. If none of the presets work for you, you can create custom equalization with the 8-band EQ feature included in the app. This is very slick, and works beautifully.These earbuds fit securely in the ears, but are comfortable. Included are different size tips so that you can get a good fit for your ears.Finger tap control of these earbuds is somewhat limited as compared to other wireless earbuds, but the controls can be customized. They will respond only to a double tap left and right and hold for 2 seconds left and right. I configured the controls as follows: double tap L moves to next song; double tap R pauses or plays; 2 second hold L decreases volume; 2 second hold R increases volume. The finger tap and finger hold functions work well.Battery life seems quite good. Soundcore claims 6 hours of battery life with ANC on, but I haven't had a chance to test that claim. I have worn them for several hours with no problem though. They also claim that by putting the earbuds back in the case (which has a built-in rechargeable battery) you can get up to 36 hours of battery life. I have observed that the case seems to hold a charge very well. I have used the earbuds numerous times, listening for at least an hour or two each time and then returning them to the case. The case still shows three LEDs of charge, the highest level of charge, and I've not had it plugged in. So the 35 hour claim may very well be accurate.I also own a pair of Tozo NC9 ANC earbuds, which are also very good. The Tozo NC9s are about $20 cheaper than these Soundcore earbuds, and sound almost as good. I would give the edge in sound quality to the Soundcores. Also, being able to adjust the EQ of the Soundcores is a big plus. The ANC of the Soundcores is a little better too. Not dramatically better, but noticeably better. The battery life of the Tozo NC9s has been disappointing. The Soundcores offer much better battery life.For the money I think the Soundcore Life A2s would be hard to beat. Highly recommended!

I personally was looking for solely comfort and audio quality, everything else is an extra.First, the comfort is great. I tend to wear headphones for 8-10 hours at work, most of my day is at a computer and music goes a long way. The small fittings work for my ears and aren’t really bothered even after a few hours. They have an interesting way of fastening into your ear that seems to spread the load out a bit better than just shoving them in there.Secondly, I’m no audiophile but they exceed what I would hope for at this price range. Audio feels clear and, if I set for higher bass, it doesn’t muddy other tones that I can tell. The fact that they have a simple equalizer through the app is great. In my personal experience the ability to set an equalizer will always improve my experience far more over more expensive products without one.Onto my “extra” features, active noise cancellation is actually new to me. From what I can tell, it does an incredible job at completely cancelling low frequencies (like engines, ac, etc.) It actually astonished me how unaware I was that my workspace has a LOT of this low frequency noise. It shocks me every time I remove my headphones when I remember just how loud the low tones are.It does a decent job in at least reducing other noises and voices, but never quite cancelling the sound outright like it does low tones. I wish the indoor setting (targets voice and mid tones) and outdoor setting (targets ambient noise?) would block low tones just as well as the transport mode (explicitly low tones). Those low tones actually seem to make up a ton of background noise everywhere. Again, this is extra to me anyway and I can’t speak on how it compares to other products.The battery life is pretty decent, from a full charge of constant use I get maybe 6-7 hours, which lasts me a full day since I tend to charge them when away from the desk. Charge time also does seem surprisingly fast. Would top my chart if it had 9-10 hour life but its decent as is.Microphone quality also seems pretty good. Quite honestly, these headphones are the first wireless ones I’ve used where the microphone could actually be heard decently by the other line. The quality will never be great considering the distance from your mouth, but it still seems to make up for it well.The app also lets you configure the touch controls on the buds, which is nice. Options are pretty simple but its nice they even have them and I made use of it. Personally I only ever want to pause/play by touching the buds so those are now the only controls enabled.My one other small caveat is that most wireless earbud cases seem to be Qi wireless charging compatible, and I would have loved if this case was the same. Fortunately I only need to charge the case once or twice a week, but I love being able to skip the cord entirely.