Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC review

Our Verdict

At $79, the Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC is adequate for listening to music on commutes, but that's almost it.

For

• Suited for bass lovers
• Strong connectivity
• Reliable condolement and fit
• Compatible with Soundcore app

Against

• Weak dissonance cancellation and transparency way
• Missing signature Soundcore features
• Touch controls need piece of work
• Subpar battery life
• Audio reproduction isn't corking

Tom's Guide Verdict

At $79, the Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC is acceptable for listening to music on commutes, just that's almost information technology.

Pros

• +

  Suited for bass lovers

• +

  Potent connectivity

• +

  Reliable comfort and fit

• +

  Compatible with Soundcore app

Cons

• -

  Weak noise cancellation and transparency mode

• -

  Missing signature Soundcore features

• -

  Touch controls need work

• -

  Subpar bombardment life

• -

  Sound reproduction isn't great

The Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC comes during a hot streak for its maker. Anker has launched several pairs of true wireless earbuds recently, including the flagship Liberty Air 2 Pro, and with the Life A2 NC information technology'due south taking on active dissonance cancellation (ANC) at an even lower price.

Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC specs

Colors: Black

Battery life (rated): 7 hours with ANC, 35 hours (with charging case)

Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0

Processor: Not stated

Size: 0.6 x ane.iii 10 1 inches (per bud); 2.two 10 ii.2 ten 1.1 inches (charging case)

Weight: 0.2 ounces (per bud); 1.4 ounces (charging case)

The reason why you haven't heard much about it is because Anker has treated the $79 Life A2 NC like a stealth release. Well, it showed upwards on our radar, and we got a chance to test these budget buds to decide whether they're worthy of inclusion in our best cheap wireless earbuds and best noise-cancelling headphones lists. And afterwards completing our Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC review, we have an respond: No.

• The best wireless earbuds overall
• More of the best wireless headphones

The Life A2 NC manages to blend monstrous bass and stable connectivity into a sleek design, while granting admission to some features via the Soundcore app that you lot won't find on other wireless earbuds under $100. Unfortunately, this pair of buds does not accept the noise-neutralizing capabilities of its more expensive cousin, nor that of quality models in their cost class. Other issues similar mediocre bombardment life and unreliable controls don't assistance its example either.

Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC review: Toll and availability

• Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC for $79.99 at Amazon

The Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC is available at Amazon or directly from Anker. It has launched at $79.99 and comes in only one colour: Black.

Past comparison, this is far more affordable than the $250 AirPods Pro and sub-luxury models like the $199 Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro. It'southward also $50 less than the Liberty Air ii Pro, which is currently listed at $129.

For all of the latest sales, exist certain to bookmark our best cheap AirPods deals and all-time headphones deals pages.

Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC review: Design and comfort

Pattern-wise, the Life A2 NC is a scaled-down version of the Liberty 2 Pro, from the shape to the size of the touch panels. The black/dark silver colorway and matte finish stay on theme with Anker'south previous releases and gives these cheap buds a surprisingly luxe appearance. IPX5 protection provides sweat and water resistance as well.

(Paradigm credit: Regan Coule/Tom'southward Guide)

As chic as the buds themselves look, I wouldn't say the same for the charging case. Many will find its compact and lightweight feel convenient for commuting. The pebble-shaped design is also distinctive. Positives bated, I'chiliad not sold on the adroitness, which equally the cost suggests, isn't of the highest quality.

The plastic build is a scuff-and-scratch magnet, and the lid is very flimsy. Some other issue is the protective flap that covers the USB-C port: it'southward poorly designed and will e'er get in the style when trying to connect the charging cable.

(Image credit: Regan Coule/Tom'southward Guide)

Anker bundled the Life A2 NC with a variety of ear tips and fins for optimal fit, which it achieves at the highest level. The tips create a tight seal that keeps the buds stabilized on the ear when moving around, while the fins rest snugly on the concha, not applying unwanted pressure to the ear. I likewise like how the angled audio port smoothly inserted into my ear canal.

(Image credit: Regan Coule/Tom'south Guide)

Fifty-fifty at 0.four ounces, the Life A2 NC feels lighter than near ANC true wireless models with similar shapes. The  Sony WF-1000XM3 (0.3 ounces) and Liberty ii Pro (0.iii ounces) come to mind. I wore the buds for several hours throughout the day, usually 2 hours straight before fatigue prepare in.

Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC review: Affect controls and digital assistant

The Life A2 NC comes with impact controls, though they just work half the time and are limited to double-tap and agree gestures. You will spend some time figuring out what commands you want to assign to each bud. On-ear detection is missing too, meaning you won't be able to automatically pause music when taking off the buds. At to the lowest degree you go a full set of controls to select from, including playback, telephone call management, phonation assistant, listening modes, and book.

If only the touch panels responded accurately; I had to repeat double-taps a few times before they registered intended commands. The hold gesture worked meliorate, but suffered from lag, taking 1-2 seconds to either cycle through the listening modes or enable the digital assistant.

(Image credit: Regan Coule/Tom'southward Guide)

Speaking of which, Siri and Google Banana are attainable on the Life A2 NC and operate fairly well. Anker's mic array does a standout job with speech recognition, grabbing every word for both Apple tree and Google's AI bots to fully comprehend. Aside from the activation delay, my exact inquiries were met with speedy results. Only be wary when enabling the feature, every bit the beep noise that signals yous to speak is uncomfortably loud, no matter the set volume.

Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC review: Active noise cancellation

Knowing how well ANC performed on the Liberty Air two Pro, I figured the Life A2 NC had some potential of existence decent. Simply put, I was underwhelmed by its noise neutralization, which contrary to what Anker claims, does not "eliminate up to ninety% of noise from your environment." Information technology's more similar 50%, with a bulk of external sounds creeping their way onto the soundstage.

At that place are three different ANC modes to choose from: Transport, Indoor, and Outdoor. Each of these are engineered to bargain with ambience noise at unlike levels, only none leave a lasting impression. In fact, I idea the modes were improperly assigned, as the description on i applied best to some other. Transport was the most serviceable, and though it didn't do the all-time job of muting low-end frequencies, it worked better than Outdoors to quiet city noises. Outdoors did the chore of Indoors, but it wasn't effective considering I could still hear my family talking in depression voices around my newborn. Indoors was useless.

(Image credit: Regan Coule/Tom's Guide)

Ambient Sound didn't impress either, as its two modes (Fully Transparent, Vocal) performed similarly, and neither well. Listening to music at mid-level volume, I could barely hear my wife calling out for assistance, nor could I communicate with her contiguous without having to pause playback. I'one thousand non certain why the mics could recognize my vocals so well, yet struggle to selection upward external noises.

Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC review: Audio quality

The Life A2 NC is not the well-nigh sonically counterbalanced model in Anker's electric current true wireless lineup. Even so, its low stop will outperform nigh of the contest in the nether-$100 category. Don't wait stellar mid- and loftier-ranges out of these buds, simply you tin personalize audio to your liking past toying around with the different EQs in the companion app (more on that in the adjacent department).

Anker's 11mm bio-composite driver ramps up the bass levels to deliver boom-filled sonics that are about enjoyable with gimmicky music genres. Bangers like NaS' "It Own't Difficult to Tell" knocked ridiculously difficult with the hammering drums and pounding synths leading the way; caput-nodding style was initiated right from the first of the rail. Clarity did have a hitting, as the rapper'south vocals weren't equally crisp as I would take liked, merely I could hear every verse well enough to recite forth. The Liberty Air ii Pro non only clears up his raspy rhymes, but reproduces signature elements like the "Human Nature" cord sample much ameliorate so that you can actually hear information technology.

(Image credit: Regan Coule/Tom's Guide)

I experienced much of the same when rocking out to Dark-green Mean solar day's "Revolution Radio." The screeching guitar riffs and ambivalent hullo-hats were surprisingly articulate and dominated the soundscape. At the same time, Billy Joe Armstrong's vocals, which already had an angsty distorted effect to them, were veiled behind the instruments.

Reproduction took a olfactory organ dive on melodic tunes similar Billie Vacation's "Strange Fruit." The melody was practically inaudible. I noticed the soundstage overemphasized background static more than Holiday'due south soulful singing. There was also some hissing that occurred when listening to certain records; Method Man & Redman's "A-YO" was a prime number example.

Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC review: App and special features

This is ane of the few cheap Anker models to support the Soundcore app. You won't gain access to all of the features found on some of the brand's premium offerings, but there are even so some that enhance the user feel.

(Image credit: Regan Coule/Tom's Guide)

Let's start with the EQ, which has a customizable setting to create your ain audio profile, along with 22 presets engineered for specific content and music genres. The bulk of these are worth checking out, especially since the default EQ (Soundcore Signature) is sonically off on these buds. Bass Booster and Hip-Hop come in handy for hip-hop records, and I recommend using Spoken Give-and-take or Podcast for commentary clips or movies.

There are toggles for Ambient Audio and command customization, along with bombardment level indicators for each earbud. Hit the ellipsis on the top right reveals a scattering of extras, including firmware updates, a toggle for Touch Tone, and an Auto Power Off setting to put the buds in slumber manner when inactive. The LÜM music service is available on the dwelling screen as well, if you're someone who loves discovering independent artists and music.

(Image credit: Regan Coule/Tom'southward Guide)

There are two other major features missing on the Life A2 NC: HearID and Tip Fit Test. It's typical for Anker to reserve HearID for their more than expensive earbuds, simply I'm not sure why Tip Fit Exam isn't bachelor, especially when the visitor went the extra mile to stock these buds with numerous pairs of ear tips in different sizes.

Something else completely missing from the app is Find My Buds. Hopefully, this is something Anker considers adding in a future update, if it doesn't add Google Find My Device support equally an alternative.

Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC review: Battery life and charging case

Anker rates battery life at 7 hours, though the company doesn't state whether this applies to having ANC on or off. A rep confirmed information technology was the latter. Y'all get 4.5 hours when factoring in listening modes and high volume. This is fine for three days of moderate listening (ane.5 hours daily). Still, to see any pair of buds, allow alone noise-cancelling buds, share the same bombardment life as the AirPods Pro (also iv.5 hours) is always disappointing.

(Prototype credit: Regan Coule/Tom's Guide)

The charging case holds upwardly to 35 hours when fully charged, equating to about 6 additional charges. It'south also college than the AirPods Pro (24 hours) and the Freedom Air 2 Pro (26 hours). Bear in listen that the Life A2 NC'southward case doesn't support wireless charging, and has slightly weaker fast charging: a 10-minute accuse gets you 1.five hours of utilise, whereas the Liberty Air 2 Pro's example gets you double that playtime on a fifteen-minute accuse.

Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC review: Phone call quality and connectivity

The Life A2 NC is decent for phone calls and video conferencing. I was shocked past how loud and well-baked my wife sounded. She idea my voice was fairly clear, merely a lilliputian tinny at times. A few clients felt the same during Skype sessions. Using the buds exterior didn't practise me any favors, as my friends complained about muffling and background noise overriding my vocalisation. The mics also demonstrated poor wind resistance.

(Image credit: Regan Coule/Tom's Guide)

Connectivity is arguably the Life A2 NC's strongest hallmark. The initial pairing process was a cakewalk and re-pairing to known devices was instantaneous. And if Bluetooth ever acts upwards, in that location's always a push at the bottom of the charging case to manually enable pairing fashion.

Range is estimated at 35 feet, which allowed me to movement freely around the left fly of the house minus whatsoever dropout. You tin can likewise employ the left or right bud individually without worrying most connexion issues. Multipoint technology is missing from the spec sheet, though.

Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC review: Verdict

As a standard pair of cheap wireless earbuds, the Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC just about gets the job done. Strong bass, along with several presets for sound customization and spot-on connectivity to reliably pair to devices on all platforms are what come with the purchase. That's about information technology.

Merely does the Life A2 make for a great AirPods Pro alternative, or fifty-fifty a compelling pair of inexpensive ANC buds in general? That would be a difficult no. Sure, the price makes these buds enticing, but for a tiny bit extra you can get ameliorate noise cancellation and longer battery life from the $99 JLab Ballsy Air Sport ANC.

And, if you can go without ANC, the the $59 Soundcore Life A1 seems to offer similar functioning and it's ain prepare of perks — including IPX7 waterproofing and wireless charging.

• More: Check out the best running headphones right now

A lifestyle journalist with an affinity for consumer products, Alex has over a decade of experience and has worked with popular publications such as Complex, Thrillist, Men's Health, Gear Patrol, AskMen, and Hoop Mag. He currently focuses on sound, reviewing the well-nigh coveted headphones in the marketplace for both Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/anker-soundcore-life-A2-nc

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