If you want sleep earbuds that let you stream audio or simply serve as great earplugs, the Anker SoundCore Sleep A20 will get the job done at an affordable price. They’re not without some quirks, but overall, they offer the best feature-to-price-point ratio.
It was hard to point out any major difference in performance between these and the premium Sleep Earbuds models, which, considering their $150 price difference, is quite impressive for Soundcore.
The Soundcore buds promised more battery life per charge, which I didn’t really pay attention to as both buds easily reached the eight-hour range. However, I noticed that the case held a charge for up to 80 hours, meaning I didn’t have to charge it for a week, whereas I had to recharge other Sleep earbud models after two nights of use. The Soundcore buds also connected to my device with significantly less lag than other models.
So, where did they show their lower price point? Maybe this is more personal preference, but I wasn’t a big fan of the sleep sound library on the Soundcore app. A lot of sounds felt too busy and too loud, even at low volumes. One night, when I was testing a feature that turns audio from Bluetooth streaming into white noise when the earbuds detect you’ve fallen asleep, the sound of the white noise literally woke me up because of how loud it was. Of course, this was due to the volume I had it set at, but only because the volume on the podcast I was streaming seemed fine (even low!), and I didn’t exactly expect the white noise from the Soundcore app to be quite as loud.
Later while playing with the controls in broad daylight, I found that the highest volume literally hurts my ears – thankfully, this can be avoided by setting it so high, but it felt like these headphones could have used better protection in terms of volume. After all, it’s not like you can adjust the volume on the fly when you’re unconscious. In terms of the automatic switching feature, I found that it usually jumped the gun. Sometimes, I just sit down with my eyes closed, and the earbuds turn on (a problem I didn’t experience with more premium models).
As far as flaws go, those were the only major ones I noticed. The buds stayed in my ears and felt comfortable to use while lying on my side. The Soundcore ear tips are silicone and feel a little sticky – this didn’t bother me, but my partner couldn’t stand the feeling, so it’s something to be aware of if you deal with any sensory sensitivities. My audio streamed reliably (if, again, a little loudly), and the touch controls worked perfectly when I used them, but never accidentally turned on while sleeping at night. In general, I didn’t find myself using the touch controls that much to adjust volume or switch between modes, but they still felt like a nice addition.
The Soundcore earbuds also provide sleep data, which can be stored on the earbuds for up to a week (sync is required to get the information in your app). I’ve never used any kind of sleep-tracking device before, but since I’ve used sleep-tracking apps on my phone, these earbuds provide more accurate and detailed data on how I slept, from how long to how many times I tossed and turned.