Soundcore Space One Pro Hands-On: Succeeding Where the AirPods Max Failed

The Soundcore Space One Pro in a nutshell

The Soundcore Space One Pro is available from September 19, 2024, with a recommended retail price of $199.99. If you were to register before September 18 on the official Soundcore website, you'll receive a compact carrying case worth $34.99 for free.

Design

The Soundcore Space One Pro looks a bit like the Bose Quietcomfort Ultra Headphones (review). It has a very neat design, sporting a fine finish. Above all, it has the advantage of being foldable. This is one feature that almost all its competitors have abandoned, making this pair one of the most practical headphones to carry around.

Pros:

• Meticulous, comfortable design.
• Discreet colors.
• Elegant carrying case.
• Foldable headphones.

Cons:

• No IP rating.
• Feels a little heavy.

The Soundcore Space One Pro is available in two colors: black and creamy white. The headset tips the scales at 286 g. The earcups are lined with matte plastic, while the headband is aluminum and the ear pads are faux leather. The headset has no IP rating for water and dust resistance, so you might want to be wary of wearing it in the rain. The buttons are physical and not tactile.

I found the design to be very neat. The ear cushions are well padded, while the headset covers the ears well and doesn't hug the head too tightly. It's a little on the heavy side, so you feel a slight inertia when you move your head. The absence of an IP rating is a real shame, especially with an asking price of almost $200.

The headphones can be folded in half with the earcups rotated 90 degrees. Soundcore offers two storage cases that are sold separately. The first retails for $24.99 and comes in a classic case format. The second, with a $34.99 asking price, is more compact and minimalist.

I like the fact that you can still find a pair of foldable Bluetooth headphones today. It's much easier to carry. The fact that the earcups overlap saves even more space, even if the headset is also "thicker" in this configuration. I also loved the minimalist carrying case. This is what Apple should have done with the AirPods Max case. The basic idea is the same, but Soundcore's version is much better.

Audio quality

I used the Soundcore Space One Pro for 30 minutes in the middle of the IFA trade fair in a noisy environment. I only had my iPhone with me, so there was no LDAC codec support. I'm not going to give a definitive opinion on audio quality.

The Soundcore Space One Pro sports 40 mm drivers. The headphones are Hi-Res certified and support the following Bluetooth codecs: SBC, AAC, and LDAC.

Soundcore tends to have a rather pronounced V signature. Basically, bass and treble are overemphasized at the expense of midrange.

• How to understand the audio quality of your Bluetooth headphones

Personally, I found the midrange to be quite faithful to the naked ear during my very short test session. Voices were clear and instruments were clearly identifiable. The stereo soundstage seemed correct and not too narrow. Bass had an impact and didn't drag too much. On the other hand, I did notice a little sibilance on the cymbals in particular.

Thankfully, Soundcore has a good five-band equalizer and an audio signature adaptation function. This allows you to easily create a profile that suits you better, and I'll tell you all about it below in this review.

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)

The Soundcore Space One Pro has Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). It can be adjusted manually or left in automatic mode, which I found it to be very effective.

Pros:

• Very effective ANC.
• ANC can be manually adjusted.

Cons:

• Unnatural transparency mode.

The headphones incorporate six microphones and offer both manual and adaptive ANC. In manual mode, you can choose from five intensity levels. You can also leave it to the headphones to automatically adapt the intensity to your sound environment.

I found the ANC of these headphones to be very effective. Passive isolation was already very good, even without software intervention. However, with ANC activated, all structure-borne noise was canceled. Even most airborne noises were properly attenuated.

The Soundcore Space One Pro also features a transparency mode. This amplifies even the most distant sounds but it lacks naturalness and suffers from a fair amount of distortion.

Features and applications

Soundcore has an Android and iOS app to set up the Space One Pro. The app is very comprehensive, boasting numerous features. There's plenty of control over ANC and its audio signature.

Pros:

• Wear detection.
• Multipoint Bluetooth connectivity.
• HearID Sound function that adapts to the audio signature.

Cons:

• Account requirement to use the application.
• Controls are not very customizable.

I really liked the HearID Sound function. It lets you run several audio tests to customize the headphones' audio signature to your hearing and preferences. You can also create your own equalizer profiles with the eight-band equalizer. It's nice to have this degree of control.

The physical controls are not very customizable. On the right earpiece, there are two volume buttons and a play/pause button. These buttons are not customizable at all. On the left earpiece, there's an on/off button and a button to activate the ANC. Only the latter is customizable.

The Soundcore Space One Pro also features wear detection and an automatic sleep function in addition to multi-touch support.

The absence of Spotify Tap and Find My Device isn't a big flaw but it's the kind of convenient feature I'd still like to have.

Battery and charging

The Soundcore Space One Pro has a pretty solid battery life on paper. The headphones can last up to 60 hours with ANC disabled. When ANC is activated, battery life drops to around 40 hours. Of course, I was unable to verify these values touted by the manufacturer.

Pros:

• Excellent battery life on paper.

Cons:

• LDAC codec drains the battery quickly.

We're a long way from the 90-hour battery life of the Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT (review). However, the Soundcore Space One Pro's claimed 60 hours puts it at the very top of the range.

I'll check whether this promise is kept in my full review. I can already tell you that using ANC and the LDAC codec places a severe drain on the battery.

The 60 hours of battery are only achieved with ANC and LDAC disabled. With ANC enabled (and without LDAC), the figure drops to 40 hours. And with LDAC and ANC enabled, the figure drops to 25 hours. Even then, the Soundcore Space One Pro is at least as long-lasting as the Bose Quietcomfort Headphones (review) or a much more expensive Apple AirPods Max.

Technical data