After Apple’s AirPods, the fashion of true wireless Bluetooth earphones has literally exploded. Fortunately, we add, since this has allowed the advent of numerous specimens of quality and low price. To date, in fact, it is possible to buy this type of peripheral at an excellent quality-price. Among the brands that more than others have been able to seize the opportunity, Anker who with its sub-brand Soundcore has accepted the challenge and has constantly reduced the gap with high-end competitors. Today in test Life P3, the earphones with active noise reduction, at a competitive price, and with excellent sound quality.
- 1 Soundcore Life P3, unboxing
- 2 Life P3, how they are made
- 3 Life P3, how they are worn
- 4 Soundcore Life P3, how they work
- 5 Noise cancellation
- 6 Life P3, how they sound
- 7 Conclusions
Soundcore Life P3, unboxing
While it might be tedious for the reader to read about unboxing, we find it useful to do so, just to show you what exactly you will find inside the box. In addition to the headphones, and the charging cover, also the USB C cable for charging the case and some silicone rubber pads of different sizes. In total there are four pairs, in addition to those already inserted in the earphones, with a rather wide range of measures.
Life P3, how they are made
Those familiar with other Soundocore products will find some familiarity in this pair of headphones. On an aesthetic level, in fact, they are very similar to the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 and the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro. The design, in fact, is very similar to these models, in particular to the latter if you look at the bar of the earphones. And then, the speech made previously applies, according to which these Life P3s are not at all a copy of Apple’s AirPods, but have a design and a style that shines with its own light.
Life P30 does well starting from the aesthetic data and from that of the case, which turns out to be a small, light, and well-made case, which allows you to immediately extract, and in total comfort, the earphones from the cover. In general, it is a truly pocket-sized choice, both in terms of size and weight. Furthermore, the case can also be recharged via a QI-compatible wireless charger, just like the Liberty Air 2 Pro.
Life P3, how to wear them
As already mentioned, there are five pairs of rubber pads included with these Life P30, and therefore a consistent assortment that, in theory, should allow you to find the exact size for a perfect fit. We found it, even if it is too subjective a parameter to say whether, in general, they are universally comfortable earphones. In any case, we cannot ignore the fact that, since these are earphones not specifically intended for sports and jogging, normal use on public transport or at the desk, will not give any problems on-ear sealing. Furthermore, although we have indicated them as not suitable for running, they are IPX5 earphones, therefore theoretically suitable for running even in the rain and to resist sweat. However, due to the shape and the absence of a second headband to secure them inside the ear cup, we do not recommend use during a run.
Soundcore Life P3, how they work
With the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, we are talking about Bluetooth 5 earphones. From the point of view of pairing Anker has improved a lot. We remember when a few years ago, in reviewing outdated earphones, we reported some small jams in the pairing system, which forced resets. Now, however, the pairing is almost immediate, and just open the case to see the earphones appear in the list of Bluetooth devices and then pair them. however, there remains a convenient reset button on the cover, which in our case was not needed.
They also pair with the smartphone via the Soundcore app, capable of adjusting practically everything imaginable. It is possible to “play” with the equalizer, set the three different playback modes, including ANC, normal, and Transparency, as well as customize the touch functions, which allow you to change tracks, increase or decrease the volume, choose between the three playback functions, and more.
Speaking of the touch controls, there is something we didn’t like: when you switch from one listening mode to another, between ANC, normal and Transparency, the headset does not announce vocally (as others do) the chosen mode. This, at times, generates confusion as to which mode is running, also because, as we will say below, the difference between the different listening options is not so marked. Touch accuracy, however, is quite good.
Noise cancellation
As with the Liberty Air 2 Pro model, the Life P3 also offers noise suppression. The ability to eliminate noise is good, practically on a par with the model mentioned above. And then, human voices, music, and all sounds with varying frequencies are considerably muffled. It must be said, however, that the transparency mode is less successful, which also has two sub-categories (total transparency and transparency for speech): in these cases, it is lost that this mode does not really succeed and bring out the noises of background and surrounding voices.
When the noise suppression is activated, three “presets” are also made available which should adjust the noise suppression on three different scenarios: public transport, indoors, and outdoors. Also in this case we point out that the differences between one mode and the other are hardly perceptible.
Life P3, how they sound
We approached these headphones with a lot of hope, because generally all Soundcore products sound good. Indeed, our expectations have been confirmed. In the basic configuration, the sound is warm and full-bodied on average and offers something less than the Liberty 2 Pro model, but at a much lower cost. Accentuated bass and mids, without disturbing an overall clarity, which is noteworthy. Something is lost on the human voice, which in some cases seems a little hidden by the background music, but these are trivial notes, considering the price range of these earphones. For what they cost, the sound reproduced is truly remarkable.
The quality of the calls is also good, with the voice of both subjects that is perceived without disturbances and at a good volume. This is also thanks to a sufficient ambient noise suppression system, which certainly cannot match that of the competitors AirPods, which we remember are, however, in a higher price range.
There is also a game mode, which reduces latency and which, in fact, seemed to work properly. The sound effects are absolutely synchronized, and the same. the mode also helps in YouTube videos, when for example watching VLOG, where it is important that the voice is well synchronized with the video.
Anker explains that Life P3’s noise-canceling battery offers 7 hours of playback on a single charge and up to 35 hours with the compact charging case. Moreover, a recharge of about a quarter of an hour will ensure you at least an hour of playback, without activating the noise reduction. The estimates seem realistic to us.
Conclusions
Soundcore Life P3 is a good buy for those who do not want to spend a lot but want to enjoy music at a certainly valid level, and without even giving up the ANC, present and which all in all works well. The Soundcore app is really versatile and also offers a very pleasant night mode, which plays soothing sounds to fall asleep. Of course, the materials are not the precious ones of other high-end competitors, but the price of 79.99 euros is absolutely in line with the general quality offered.
Pro
- Aesthetically valid
- ANC works
- Good sound quality
- Great support app
- IPX5
Against
- Controls touch improvements
- Not suitable for jogging
