Anker SoundCore Space A40? Or other?

aisle9 · April 18, 2023

I'm looking for BT earbuds for an upcoming trip, which is going to involve a couple of southeast US to northwest US flights. The earbuds I have right now are either wired with iffy noise isolation and no ANC, or wireless Five Below/Amazon's Choice garbage that's great for running because I don't care if my sweat fries it. The most important things to me:

At least six hours on a charge, not counting what's in the case
Good, neutral soundstage that I can control either with an EQ on my phone or on the earbud itself. A little heavy on bass is ok as long as I can tone it down and bring up the mids and highs via a customizable EQ
ANC or outstanding noise isolation. I'm going to be in seat 375H on a Boeing 777, and those are not known for being quiet
Not prone to falling out of my ears, because that's just gross to have to pick up off the airport/airplane floor
Ideally priced around $60, max would be $100

Anker has really jumped out at me, and their SoundCore Space A40 comes in at $80 and checks every box except maybe the whole "not falling out of my ear" part. Which, when you think about the intended use, is kind of a deal-breaker if the accounts of them being prone to landing on the floor are true.The SoundCore Life Dot 2 also looks great and won't fall out of my ears, but with no ANC and no app EQ support. Same with the SoundCore Life P3, which seems to be similar to the Space A40 in performance, but with worse battery life and more of an Apple design to them. And then there's the wildest of cards: the EarFun Air Pro 3, which has a "price is right" look to it, but their sound isn't said to be as good as the Ankers, and I'm not at all sure how I feel about having an app from a Chinese company called "EarFun" on my phone with all my personal data.

So I think it's really coming down to the Space A40 or the Life P3 for me, but I'm open to other ideas and feedback on those two. Any thoughts on those two, or if I've missed anything that's great sounding, checks the other boxes and is in my price range?

filpo · April 18, 2023

1 minute ago, aisle9 said:

So I think it's really coming down to the Space A40 or the Life P3 for me, but I'm open to other ideas and feedback on those two. Any thoughts on those two, or if I've missed anything that's great sounding, checks the other boxes and is in my price range?

the soundcore a40s are good earbuds. I use the cheaper Life A2 NCs and they're battery life is very good if they're anc isn't that good. The anc on the a40s though is good. I would go for it