The Soundcore Space One Active headphones are the best budget option on the market today. (Rick Broida/Yahoo Life)
Listen up: Our senior tech writer, Rick Broida, has spent the past two decades testing (and testing, and re-testing) hundreds of headphones. So, when he says a sub-$100 pair rivals some of the $400 headphone models, it's no hyperbole. When he tested some of the best headphones on the market, he named the Soundcore Space One Headphones the best budget option, praising their sound quality and noise-cancelling abilities. And this budget option just got even more budget friendly, currently matching a previous all-time low price of just $79.
We don't need to tell you that it's waaay past time to get rid of your cable TV subscription, do we? This will give you instant access to more than 1.5 million movies and TV shows, all for less than the cost of a couple of movie tickets.
Over-the-ear headphones are a fashion statement of sorts. Soundcore makes some of the most aesthetically pleasing ones on the market, but their quality rivals more trendy headphones (the AirPods Max and Sonos Ace, to name a couple) at a fraction of the cost. They made our list of the best wireless noise-cancelling headphones, with our Senior Tech Writer writing that they "sound perfectly good to my ears" and the "noise-cancelling exceeded my expectations given the price point."
Even at their usual $100 price, these Soundcore headphones are a steal. But, for only the second time in a year (the last time being four months ago), they've matched their all-time low of just $79.
If you're wondering whether $100 headphones can possibly rival ones costing three or four times as much, get ready for a surprise: It can. Soundcore's Space Ones offer sweet sound and robust ANC. On those merits alone, we'd have no qualms about recommending it.
Because unless you're an audiophile, you're not going to notice much of a difference between these and, say, the $400-plus Sonos Aces.
When reviewing these headphones, Broida flagged that the Soundcore companion app "is a model of simplicity: Everything is clearly labeled and logically organized."
"These 'phones can play for a whopping 55 hours on a charge, or 40 if you use ANC. Just five minutes of USB-C quick-charging nets you up to four additional hours," Broida mentioned. "Apple's $549 AirPods Max need to recharge after just 20 hours."
One of the standout features, according to Broida, was Easy Chat. "Cup your hand over the left earcup and the headphones quickly switch into transparency mode so you can converse more comfortably," he wrote in his review.
"I'm no audiophile; I just like listening to music and going about my business," Broida wrote. "Space Ones don't match the depth and richness offered by higher-end headphones like the Sonos Aces, but they sound perfectly good to my ears. And noise-cancelling exceeded my expectations given the price point."
Broida does note that, overall, they don't feel quite as high-end as other models he tested. "The build feels just a touch plasticky overall," he noted. "The volume and play/pause buttons on the right earcup are a good size and well-placed, but good luck remembering which of the two left-earcup buttons is for power and which is for toggling ANC modes."
he reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $35 or more.)
