Life NC - Music to Your Ears for Years

Let me start you off with my conclusion: Go.get.these.now.

I’ve searched for the right noise canceling headphones with the perfect set of features that are unique to me for some time now. I have literally spent hours on Google search for something like these.

I wanted:

  • Noise canceling with great sound quality
  • Minimal cable worries
  • Bluetooth (Since my iPhone is not audio jack cooperative now)
  • Option to use with audio jack (For my occasional long flights to Asia)

I’m not an audiophile nor an overly picky sound guy. If it offers good noise canceling and some good quality sound to watch movies or listen to soothing music, that is fine with me.

But most importantly, I wanted a hybrid capability on my noise canceling headphones that would allow me to use this on the plane and on my phone.

So I tested these out this weekend on a short domestic flight. I SLEPT LIKE A BABY - the only discomfort being the narrow small economy seats with the hulk sitting next to me. But despite the physical restraints, smooth music was flowing in my ears without the loud aircraft noise.

Comfortability
These headphones are very comfortable to wear. You forget that these are on your neck because it doesn’t interfere with your movements, whether that be in the office or on a flight. I will say, however, this neckband sometimes gives me shoulder/neck pain. I would have to test these out for longer periods to give a final verdict though. They have appropriate weight for what it offers.

Battery
I wish these had 15+ hour batteries for my long Asian flights, but 10 hours is good enough. But I feel 10 hours is bare minimum for headphones like these. If any less, I would not buy them.

Functionality
These headphones have 3 modes: Active noise canceling, transparency mode, and noise canceling off. Since the earbuds themselves have a good passive noise canceling function to them, the sound is pretty clear even without the ANC on. I’m still trying to figure out the transparency mode as it seems this mode lets me hear the outside noise much clearer than the other two modes. I use this in the office when I want to detect sneaky coworkers checking up on me.
The pouch is great too. It has a zippered compartment to put your cables in!

So all in all, I love the Soundcore Life NC.
My top 3 reasons to get this over competing products like the Sony WI-1000X are:

  1. Price - very affordable
  2. Same feature - hybrid bluetooth and wire capability
  3. Easy to stow away - more portable than other ANC headphones.

Things I want to see improved:

  1. Native app for controlling noise canceling feature. Sony has a great app for this.
  2. A lighter/slimmer body with longer battery life. Smaller earbud would be great!
  3. A solution to dangling earbuds from the base. Sony’s base allows for the earbud wires to stow so there isn’t much dangling when stored.



7 Likes

Nice review and comparison! I would have liked to see a few more pictures…

I have one question, what is the neck band made out of? I can’t really tell… is it plastic, rubber, foam?

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10 hours of listening music!
That’s seems record breaking! :joy:

4 Likes

Great review but I don’t think I’m a fan of the neckband…

A very nice structured review and insights into this product. Thank you for sharing your review with us. :ok_hand:t2::clap:t2:

1 Like

Great review, well written

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I agree in that the neckband is not for everybody.

Thanks for the feedback! I’ll try to get some more pictures on here. Most of the neckband is plastic. (Near the buttons) The back of the band is a bit more flexible than the rest and is made of rubber-like material.