I'm a tough critic when it comes to audio gear, but these $199 headphones still have me hooked

Tom's Guide

19-06-2025

I spend a lot of my life reviewing some of the best headphones... and I also spend a lot of my life reviewing some of the worst headphones. Charles Dickens, who? I think I just rewrote "Great Expectations" for the audiophile crowd.
Anyhoo, I reviewed the Soundcore Space One Pro back in February, and I still can't believe how good these headphones are. I gave them a near-perfect 4.5 stars and struggled to fault them.
And the best part? They're just $199. (Well, they're often on sale for $169, which makes them like a 4.75 star product.) I've tested my fair share of headphones, and I think the Space One Pros absolutely blow the Bose QuietComforts out of the water in terms of value, and I'll tell you why.
What makes the Space One Pro headphones so good? For starters, they're a fraction of the cost of other headphones of this caliber. But my favorite part is the personalized EQ (HearID), which I'll get into in full in 3...2...1...
I know some headphone brands offer personalized EQs now (Denon, JBL, Jabra, etc), but the Soundcore version is straight-up entertainment. I've never been so enthralled by a silly little game on my silly little phone before. Let me walk you through it.
The Soundcore app runs you through a game (called HearID), where you select which EQ sounds better. Have you ever been to the opticians for a vision test, and they ask you which lens is better? It's like that, but with the same song under different EQ styles.
After you complete the game, the headphones generate your perfect EQ, based on what you like. So if you choose the bassier songs, it'll create a bass-heavy EQ. Similarly, if you choose the enhanced vocal (treble) track, it'll provide you with treble-focused EQ.
I found this way more effective and fun than a manual EQ slider. Sure, I'm more than capable of adjusting my own frequency volumes — that's all an EQ is, after all — but this made it so much more fun. I was immediately enamored with these headphones.
Kind of ironic, but I think the Soundcore Space One Pros are more comfy than the Bose QuietComforts. The soft cups felt like clouds against my ears, and I couldn't feel the plastic driver casing through the mesh. As soon as I put the Space One Pro headphones on, I was shocked at how cheap they are.
Usually, even mid-range headphones have thin mesh between the cups and the drivers, but not the Space One Pros.
Look at that! So flexible! I feel like a little kid when they say "Mommy! Look at me!" and do some wild contortion that only kids under five are capable of. (I used to be a kindergarten teacher, and that happened to me about 10 times a day. They also used to ask me if I, too, could put my foot over my head. I can't.)
The Space One Pros are comfy and flexible, so they can easily be stowed away in a bag or even in a jacket pocket without being too bulky. I'd definitely grab these right before leaving the house and not worry about accidentally breaking them while stuffing them in my bag, running after the bus.
As much as I love the Soundcore Space One Pro headphones, they're not perfect. The ANC is good, don't get me wrong. But it's not great. They won't be the best noise-canceling headphones any time soon.
When I was testing them, I could still hear traffic noise when I was walking around the city. However, when I was in the office, my colleagues had to wave their hands in front of my face to get my attention.
So, swings and roundabouts. If you want to be aware of your surroundings on city walks, then the ANC might not be a negative.
All that being said, if you need mind-blowing ANC, then you have to spend $$$ and go for the $349 Bose QuietComfort headphones. Bose is renowned for its industry-leading ANC, and the QuietComforts are no different.
My colleague Nikita says that Bose's ANC is "so good you feel lonely", which I think is the best way to describe it.
So if you want to save some dough and get mind-blowingly good value headphones? The Space One Pros are calling your name. But if you need ANC that will block out the world? The Bose QuietComforts might just steal the crown here.
Me? I'm more than happy with my $150 saving and my Space One Pros.