The Anker SoundCore Spirit X have a decent-looking, sporty aesthetic that looks and feels more premium than their price range would suggest. They have thick and flexible ear-hooks and a more polished earbud design than the Anker SoundBuds Curve Wireless. They also have a better in-line remote. Unfortunately, they also have thin cables that don't seem as durable as more expensive wireless sports headphones like the Fitbit Flyer Wireless. It somewhat cheapens their design, and they also don't come in as many color schemes as most sport-oriented headphones. On the upside, their understated look will work for most. Show  Weight 0.05 lbs Clamping Force 0 lbs The Anker SoundCore Spirit X, like the Anker SoundBuds Curve Wireless, are comfortable for in-ear headphones. The tips don't enter the ear canal as deeply as most in-ears, making them more comfortable and removing some of the soreness and pain some listeners experience during long listening sessions with in-ear headphones. Unfortunately, since they don't enter the ear canal as deeply, they tend to slide out of your ears sometimes and may need to be adjusted somewhat often, which may get a bit annoying. It's not a big issue, but it's more common when doing physical activity. Overall, these headphones will be comfortable enough for most listeners. OS Compatibility Not OS specific Ease Of Use Good Feedback Good Call/Music Control Yes Volume Control Yes Microphone Control No Channel Mixing No Noise Cancelling Control No Talk-Through No Additional Controls No The Anker SoundCore Spirit X have a slightly better control scheme than the Anker SoundBuds Curve Wireless. The buttons are more responsive with clicky feedback, and they're better spaced out on the in-line remote. They also have a simple three-button setup with no additional features. It's an easy-to-use and efficient control scheme that provides all the essential functions: call/music, track skipping, and volume controls. Avg.Temp.Difference 1.1 °C The Anker SoundCore Spirit X, like the Beats Powerbeats3 Wireless, the Altec Lansing True Evo Truly Wireless, and most in-ear headphones, are very breathable. They have an ear-hook design that has more points of contact with your ear than typical in-ear models. However, the temperature difference is negligible and won't make you sweat more than usual during more intense physical exercises since they don't cover your outer ear like over-ear and on-ear designs. L 2.1" W 3" H 1.2" Volume 7 in³ Transmitter Required No The Anker SoundCore Spirit X are easy to carry around on your person and come with a good, compact case. Like most wireless in-ear headphones, they're portable, lightweight, and you can fold them to fit into your pocket, bag, or purse. They're slightly larger than straightforward, wired in-ear designs (since they have ear-hooks), but they're still very portable and come with a decent case. Type Hard case L 3.2" W 3.2" H 1.4" Volume 14 in³ These headphones come with a decent hard case to protect them from minor impacts, scratches, and falls. However, the case shell isn't as hard as some of the others we've tested. On the upside, it's compact and can fit into a pocket. The Anker SoundCore Spirit X have the same build quality as the Anker SoundBuds Curve Wireless. They have a slightly more polished earbud design and a better in-line remote but thin and non-replaceable cables. The earbuds and ear-hooks are dense and relatively sturdy, making them better built than most sports-oriented headphones in their price range like the SENSO ActivBuds S-250 or the MEE audio X6 Plus Wireless. They're also rated IPX7 for water resistance, although we don't test for this. For waterproof headphones with a thicker and shorter cable, take a look at the JBL Endurance Dive Wireless. Unlike the Anker SoundCore Liberty Air Truly Wireless, the Anker SoundCore Spirit X have a stable ear-hook design that's great for sports. They also have a couple of stability fins included in the box that help with the fit, making them even more stable. However, the earbuds slip out of your ear canal from time to time, especially during more intense activity. They won't fall from your ears, but the change in the seal when they move around alters their sound, which isn't ideal when running or working out.
Sound Bass Amount 3.58 dB Treble Amount -1.99 dB Avg. Std. Deviation 0.12 dB The frequency response consistency is excellent. If the user can achieve a proper fit and an air-tight seal using the assortment of tips that come with the headphones, they should get consistent bass and treble delivery every time they use them. Std. Err. 4.21 dB Low-Frequency Extension 10 Hz Low-Bass 5.81 dB Mid-Bass 5.06 dB High-Bass 2.42 dB The bass is great, and their LFE (low-frequency extension) is excellent. Low-bass, responsible for the thump and rumble in bass-heavy genres like EDM, hip-hop, and film scores, is overemphasized by more than 5dB. It results in quite a bit of thump and rumble, which fans of bass may like. Mid-bass is also hyped. High-bass, responsible for warmth, is over our neutral target by less than 1dB, improving over the Anker SoundBuds Curve Wireless. Overall, the bass is thumpy and heavy without sounding muddy and cluttered. Std. Err. 1.1 dB Low-Mid -0.28 dB Mid-Mid -0.61 dB High-Mid 1.04 dB The Anker SoundCore Spirit X have an excellent mid-range performance. The overall response is even and flat but recessed by about 2dB. It nudges the vocals and lead instruments towards the back of the mix by giving bass and treble a bit more emphasis. Std. Err. 1.71 dB Low-Treble 0.53 dB Mid-Treble 0.72 dB High-Treble -10.86 dB The treble performance is good; low-treble is even and within 0.65dB of our target. Mid-treble is also well-balanced but a little uneven between 8Khz and 10KHz. It could make some of the sibilance (S and T sounds) slightly lacking and some other sibilances a tad too sharp. Overall, their treble response is well-balanced, which is important for good reproduction of vocals, leads, and cymbals. Peaks 1.31 dB Dips 0.78 dB Weighted Group Delay 0.17 Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 1.79 Weighted Frequency Mismatch 1.76 Weighted Phase Mismatch 2.55 The imaging performance is excellent. The weighted group delay is very low. The GD graph also shows that the entire group delay response is below the audibility threshold, ensuring a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Also, the L/R drivers of our test unit were very well-matched, important for the accurate placement and localization of objects (instruments, voices, footsteps) in the stereo image. PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) N/A PRTF Size (Avg.) N/A PRTF Distance N/A Openness Acoustic Space Excitation The soundstage is poor. This is because creating an out-of-head and speaker-like soundstage is largely dependent on activating the resonances of the pinna (outer ear). The design of in-ears and earbuds fully bypasses the pinna and doesn't interact with it. Also, because these headphones have a closed-back enclosure, their soundstage won't be perceived to be as open as that of open-back earbuds like the Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless, Google Pixel Buds 2017 Wireless, or the Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless. Head Modeling No Speaker Modeling No Room Ambience No Head Tracking No Virtual Surround No App WHD @ 90 0.457 WHD @ 100 0.303 Firmware Unknown Power On Connection Unknown Codec SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz EQ No EQ ANC No ANC Tip/Pad Silicone (small) Microphone In-line Isolation Overall Attenuation -13.08 dB Noise Cancelling No Bass -1.79 dB Mid -14.3 dB Treble -24.43 dB The Anker SoundCore Spirit X have a mediocre isolation performance. In the bass range, where the rumble of bus and airplane engines sit, they achieve about 2dB of isolation, which is barely noticeable. In the mid-range, they isolate by more than 14dB, which is above-average. In the treble range, occupied by sharp S and T sounds, they isolate by about 24dB, which is also above-average. If you want sports-oriented wireless headphones that provide a bit more isolation, check out the Jaybird Freedom 2 Wireless 2017 or Jaybird Tarah Wireless. Overall Leakage @ 1ft 33.86 dB The Anker SoundCore Spirit X's leakage performance is great. Like most other closed-back in-ears, they don't leak in the bass and mid-ranges. A significant portion of their leakage is in the treble range and between 4KHz and 7KHz, which is quite a narrow range. The overall level of the leakage isn't loud either. With music at 100dB SPL, the leakage at 1 foot away averages at 34dB SPL and peaks at around 60dB SPL, just above the noise floor of an average office. Microphone Integrated No In-Line Yes Boom No Detachable Boom No Mic Yes LFE 285.09 Hz FR Std. Dev. 2.55 dB HFE 3,133.58 Hz Weighted THD 26.997 Gain 45.25 dB The microphone has a mediocre recording quality. The LFE (low-frequency extension) means speech recorded/transmitted with it will sound noticeably thin. The HFE (high-frequency extension) is poor and results in speech that's muffled and lacking in detail. It also negatively affects the understandability of speech. SpNR 14.77 dB The Anker SoundCore Spirit X's in-line microphone is mediocre at noise handling. In our SpNR test, they achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of 15dB, indicating they're best suited for quiet environments and will struggle to separate speech from ambient noise in moderate and loud situations. Active Features Battery Type Rechargable Continuous Battery Life 11.9 hrs Additional Charges 0.0 Total Battery Life 11.9 hrs Charge Time 1.8 hrs Power-Saving Feature No Audio While Charging No Passive Playback No Charging Port micro-USB They have decent battery performance. The battery lasts about 12 hours, which should easily last a typical workday. They recharge relatively quickly, but they have no power-saving feature, so the battery will continue to drain even when they're not in use. They don't support passive playback, and you can't use them while charging. App Name No App iOS No Android No macOS No Windows No Equalizer No ANC Control No Mic Control No Room Effects No Playback Control No Button Mapping No Surround Support No The Anker SoundCore Spirit X don't have any compatible companion app. Connectivity Bluetooth Version 5.0 Multi-Device Pairing No NFC Pairing No Line Of Sight Range 88 ft PC Latency (SBC) 200 ms PC Latency (aptX) N/A PC Latency (aptX HD) N/A PC Latency (aptX-LL) N/A iOS Latency 164 ms Android Latency 229 ms The Anker SoundCore Spirit X support Bluetooth 5.0, but they don't have NFC support, and you have to pair them manually. We didn't test Bluetooth 5.0's dual audio feature. They also have an interesting feature; when you start playing music immediately after pairing, the music fades in instead of immediately going to full volume. They have very high latency and are unsuitable for watching videos. The latency is slightly worse than the Anker SoundBuds Curve Wireless. They also don't support the aptX codec. Non-BT Line Of Sight Range N/A Non-BT Latency N/A Analog Audio No USB Audio No Detachable No Length N/A Connection No Wired Option Analog/USB Audio Latency N/A You can only use these headphones wirelessly. PC/PS4 Analog No PC/PS4 Wired USB No PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless No Xbox One Analog No Xbox One Wired USB No Xbox One Non-BT Wireless No Type No Base/Dock USB Input No Line In No Line Out No Optical Input No RCA Input No Dock Charging No Power Supply No Base/Dock There's no compatible docking station or base for these Bluetooth headphones. Unlike truly wireless headphones, there's no charging case. Is Anker earbuds better than JBL?While both headphones are comfortable and well-built, the Anker have a significantly better noise isolation performance, and their integrated mic has a better recording quality. However, the JBL have a significantly better battery performance. Are Soundcore earbuds worth it?These are definitely a contender for some of the best affordable noise canceling earbuds based on performance and value. With an IPX4 rating, long battery life, and good ANC, these are worth a go. You might not want to go for a run with them, but otherwise they're decent. Is Anker Soundcore headphone good?The Anker Soundcore P25i/P20i True Wireless impress with their performance at a cheap price. While it's expected that budget constraints come with cutbacks, they still pack in features like a companion app with EQ. You get some nuanced control, like reallocating the touch controls to your preference. Is Anker Soundcore a good company?Soundcore, Anker's audio brand, was launched in 2018. It offers a range of audio products, including earbuds, headphones, and speakers. The brand is known for its high-quality sound, innovative features, and competitive pricing. Soundcore products are generally well-received for their quality and performance. |
