My first word wow. One of the wows is a hand clap to Anker marketing and their fast turnaround to getting this sent out. So, Hand Clap to you guys.
My first earbud wow moment was due to my initial hesitation to have a neckband earbuds and my fear to how I would react to this design and I was already trying to see any perceived faults in the design. Well I have to say I now have no complaints and wish my wife did not see them.
As you can tell from the picture that you get your standard pouch, power cord, extra earbuds, and a micro usb to 3.5 headphone cord (love this little device). As I was also comparing them to my Soundcore Spirit X, I realized that the earbuds had the same number on the earbud bag. Although I did not try it yet but I think that you could switch them out if needed so that if you wear large and your wife wears the small, you will then have a second set as needed.
Similarly to the Spirit X coating the Life X is made with the same material and is stated to have an IPX 5 rating which means taking a supersoaker to it. So if it get wet with sweat or rain, it should not cause issue with functionality. I did a little test of this and it did not affect functionality.
As shown the earbuds have an U shaped base with earbuds. After I got them out of the package I was really surprised by the minimal weight of the Life NC. As compared to the Spirit X these earbuds do not have an ear wrap design. So if you plan to get these to run a marathon, I would stick with the Spirit X as I can see these being good for home, work, or light activities.
My first impressions wearing them was a little grin on my face as I was surprised again with how they felt and the sound of the earubds. When I put them on, I got to a point where I forgot that I was even wearing them as they felt that light on my neck. I initially thought the earbuds would come out of my ears since they were worn on my neck but they never did and I had a full range of motion and never felt a tug on the earbuds.
I also did some test that I though was needed to be done. My first test was to try to test the battery. Out of the box, they lasted for a long time without a charge and I always love that is that I do not have to wait to use a technology device and can just dive into it without having it to charge. Overall I am satisfied with the battery life and I love this little function that was added with this device. After you connect the device which was sweet and easy is that the earbud icon also had a battery icon next to it and it told how much battery life you had on it. Awesome.
Although my wife threw the box away, I believe that it stated a distance of about 30 feet and that was pretty good distance but I also tried to navigate to the other end of my house and I believe it did go the full length and was picking it up at around 75 feet. This did not include trying to listen to it through wall which would decrease the distance due to interference. So you should have plenty of leeway to navigate your house.
My other wow moment was with the Noise control functions. initially I was not impressed but after I changed my earbuds was wearing it around, I did start to notice a difference. My big wow moment came as I was getting my youngest son ready to bath. I had turned on the fan and getting his water ready. I had my earbuds on and switched the modes and was surprised again at the differences in the sound. The transparency mode made the fan sound more vibrant and when I changed it to the noise canceling, it went from vibrant to being muffled. I then could tell the difference of the mode from night and day.
I am currently limited on the phone functionality of this testing. I have done some test with it but I do not think I have done enough to state if it ok or not. From what I did test, I thought it was good and I had called my wife and my work phone and I had no issues with me not hearing my voice. I basically called while I was in Walmart, with a defective buggy and around other folks and there was no issues.
I also enjoyed the app that you can download and did not know so many other Anker devices used this app. I enjoyed the ability to remap some functions and seeing the icons. I like being able to change the play setting so that if you want to listen to music and have it on the bass setting then you could do that. My only thing with this would be I wish there was a little tune that played so that you could tell if that was the setting you wanted or preferred.
So I have to say there is not much not to like about these earbuds. I could complain about the pouch but you included a zipper so carry my cords in it. I could complain about the earbuds dangling but you included magnets so that you can attach them together. I could complain about micro to the 3.5 jack but I love Anker included this as I can connect them to my devices without Bluetooth. So my only complaint will be my wife as she has taken my earbuds and I just do not know how to get them back from her.
PS will try to do an Amazon review in the near future as well.