Does adding ANC improve sleep?

Earbuds for sleeping aren’t a new thing; they’ve been making them for a few years now. The new Soundcore Sleep A30 are the next evolution of the company’s sleep-focused earbuds, and they now come with ANC. I’ve used sleep-focused earbuds in the past, and they have been effective. I like white noise or fan noise in the room when going to sleep. There’s nothing worse than dead silence to me. So the Soundcore Sleep A30 ANC earbuds seemed like an interesting review to take on.

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

Wearing earbuds while sleeping isn’t for everyone, and these earbuds take that into account. Like other sleep-focused earbuds, these little guys are far smaller than your normal earbuds. They’re also mostly designed to be used for sleeping. So we’re not getting into music sound quality in this review as these aren’t truly meant for that. But, yes, you can use them as regular earbuds and listen to music to fall asleep. Let’s dive in and find out what these little guys are all about.

The Quick Take

The key feature of the new Soundcore Sleep A30 is the ANC. This works fairly well considering how small the buds are. Fitting the buds into your ear can get finicky due to how small they are. Though, I admit that my hands aren’t exactly small. Still, the ANC feature paired with the sleep audio features and other tracking features does make this a compelling package. Battery life could be better, but I think it’s enough to get most people through a night’s sleep. I would say the Soundcore Sleep A30 buds should at least be on your consideration list for your next set of sleep-focused earbuds.

Score and Bottom Line

Soundcore Sleep A30

USD 229

Nailed it

• Neat and compact design that fit nicely in the ear
• Comfortable to wear while sleeping
• Really nice sleep features
• Decent app for controls and features
• For sleep buds, the actual sound for music isn’t too bad

Needs work

• Tap controls are not always responsive and sometimes you have to tap hard to get a response
• Battery life could be better

Sleep-focused earbuds aren’t a new thing, but I do think they’re not a massive market like other earbuds usually are. That said, the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds do have a market they are going to reach. For those folks, here’s a list of things I think will appeal to them and what I think are the best features.

• Active Noise Cancellation (ANC): Effectively blocks low-frequency sleep disruptions like traffic, HVAC systems, and snoring.
• Comfort: Low-profile design, no pressure points, and comes with a comprehensive set of accessories for a comfortable fit.
• Adaptive Snore Masking: The case monitors and adjusts to snoring, and the earbuds can almost completely block snoring sounds.
• Enhanced AI Brainwave Audio: Offers upgraded binaural beats with spatial audio and customization options for an immersive experience.
• Slimmer Profile (for side sleepers): A small but significant improvement for side sleepers to prevent pressure points.

But there are also some things that make me reconsider buying the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds.

• Price: The retail price of USD 229 might be a bit steep if users aren’t seeing the value in the new features.
• Battery Life: With just slightly under 8 hours of battery life, some users may feel it’s not enough. It was enough for me as I only sleep around 6 to 7 hours a night. You also get the case charging.
• Unresponsive Touch Controls: The touch controls are unreliable, often requiring multiple attempts or really tapping hard to get a response.

Overall, I don’t think the Soundcore Sleep A30s are bad; they do have some great features. But I do think that users who already have the A20 earbuds may not see the need to upgrade.

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Soundcore Sleep A30 Specifications

• Smart ANC
• 3-Stage Snore Masking System
• AI Brainwave Audio
• Ergonomic Design
• Charge Once, Peaceful Sleep 5 Nights
• Comfortable Materials and Comfy

What’s in the Box?

• Soundcore Sleep A30
• Charging Case
• Extra Tips
• Charging Cable
• Manuals and Documentation

Design

The Soundcore Sleep A30 ANC earbuds design is where these stand apart from other buds. These things are slim and tuck nicely into the ear. This design helps to keep them from being uncomfortable in the ear while sleeping. The new slimmer profile is great for side sleepers who found previous versions uncomfortable.

There’s really not much to these little guys. They look like trimmed-down earbuds, and that is for good reason. I know people who wear AirPods to sleep, and they do complain that they can be uncomfortable. The Soundcore Sleep A30 ANC earbuds are designed to be as comfortable as you can be.

The case is also slim and has a sliding top and offers more battery life on the run. Overall, the entire package looks really nice, clean, and simple. The best part of the design is the comfort of these buds in the ear while lying down. You barely feel them. I mean, they are there, and you know they are. But they don’t get pokey and uncomfortable like regular earbuds.

Ease of Use

Setting the Soundcore Sleep A30 ANC earbuds is a breeze, and once you have them paired to the app, it’s just a matter of finding your best settings and going to sleep. Tweaking them the next day if they didn’t fit your needs.

The touch controls on the buds are supposed to be easy to use, but I found that the responsiveness was lacking. I had to tap multiple times to get a response, and sometimes I had to tap hard. Sometimes that tapping hurts when you have these in your ears. Eventually, I just stuck with the app and didn’t use the touch controls at all. Still, these are overall easy to use with some annoyances with the controls.

App

The app is good; it’s the same Soundcore app I’ve used for other Soundcore devices, and it has everything you need in there for full functionality and firmware updates. No complaints about the app. Overall, it is well laid out and easy to use, and there are a TON of features and sounds to go through here. There is certainly a wide variety, and that’s a good thing.

Performance

The sound performance on the Soundcore Sleep A30 ANC earbuds, for just regular music is actually pretty good. These aren’t really made for day-to-day listening to music, but they can be used for that. So I thought I’d at least mention that the sound quality of music with ANC on is good. But what really matters are the sleep features, and the best of them I’ve already mentioned in the Quick Take, but here they are again.

• Active Noise Cancellation (ANC): Effectively blocks low-frequency sleep disruptions like traffic, HVAC systems, and snoring.
• Comfort: Low-profile design, no pressure points, and comes with a comprehensive set of accessories for a comfortable fit.
• Adaptive Snore Masking: The case monitors and adjusts to snoring, and the earbuds can almost completely block snoring sounds.
• Enhanced AI Brainwave Audio: Offers upgraded binaural beats with spatial audio and customization options for an immersive experience.
• Slimmer Profile (for side sleepers): A small but significant improvement for side sleepers to prevent pressure points.

Overall, I think that ANC does make a difference in getting better sleep, and the other sleep features are pretty darn good. I’m not sure if this would be the case for everyone, but it never hurts to give it a try.

Battery Life

I was able to pull almost a full 8 hours out of the Soundcore Sleep A30 ANC earbuds with ANC on. It really was just at the cusp of 8 hours, close enough that I probably should just call it 8. But battery life will be different for everyone, and there are countless factors at play. Soundcore claims 9 hours, so it’s not far off, but I’d love to see 12 hours. I will add that the fact that these are so small and slim adds to the lower battery life. Less space to put the battery, and you should take that into consideration.

I used these with ANC on all the time, and I think that matters. The under 8-hour mark did not bother me; I sleep only 6 to 7 hours a night anyway. I’m also skeptical that you would need these to be playing in your 6th to 8th hour of sleep anyway. I’m not sure whether they’re doing much for you at that point anyway, but I can’t say that with certainty. The battery life here is acceptable, for me. But I do know how sensitive the battery issue can be for some, and many may not find this to be enough.

One thing to note, the Soundcore Sleep A30 does offer local mode, which turns off streaming and uses only the onboard white noise options. This will get you up to that 9-hour mark, but most people will be buying these for the ANC, so I think that battery life marker is what people will be considering more.

Price/Value

Priced at USD 229, the new Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds aren’t a bad prospect. They get numerous things right and a handful of things wrong. I think this is a mixed bag. I feel like many users will see the value in these, but some may not. This one is really difficult to give a definitive nod to. I’d read more reviews and do more research before committing to a purchase.

Wrap-Up

Sleep-focused earbuds aren’t a new thing, but I do think they’re not a massive market like other earbuds usually are. That said, the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds do have a market they are going to reach. For those folks, here’s a list of things I think will appeal to them and what I think are the best features.

• Active Noise Cancellation (ANC): Effectively blocks low-frequency sleep disruptions like traffic, HVAC systems, and snoring.
• Comfort: Low-profile design, no pressure points, and comes with a comprehensive set of accessories for a comfortable fit.
• Adaptive Snore Masking: The case monitors and adjusts to snoring, and the earbuds can almost completely block snoring sounds.
• Enhanced AI Brainwave Audio: Offers upgraded binaural beats with spatial audio and customization options for an immersive experience.
• Slimmer Profile (for side sleepers): A small but significant improvement for side sleepers to prevent pressure points.

But there are also some things that make me reconsider buying the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds.

• Price: The retail price of $229.99 might be a bit steep if users aren’t seeing the value in the new features.
• Battery Life: With just slightly under 8 hours of battery life, some users may feel it’s not enough. It was enough for me as I only sleep around 6 to 7 hours a night. You also get the case charging.
• Unresponsive Touch Controls: The touch controls are unreliable, often requiring multiple attempts or really tapping hard to get a response.

Overall, I don’t think the Soundcore Sleep A30s are bad; they do have some great features. But I do think that users who already have the A20 earbuds may not see the need to upgrade.