Anker Soundcore Sleep A30 review: ANC finally comes to sleep earbuds, but at what cost?

Looking for the best sleep earbuds to finally get a peaceful night’s rest? Soundcore’s latest Sleep A30 earbuds promise to be a significant upgrade over their predecessor, the Sleep A20, with the addition of active noise cancelation (ANC) and a slimmer profile designed specifically for side sleepers. With adaptive snore masking and noise blocking, these third-generation sleep buds aim to tackle the most irritating nighttime disturbances. I took them to the pillow to see how they hold up.

Soundcore Sleep A20 vs Sleep A30: What’s new?

The Sleep A30 brings quite a few upgrades over the A20 while building on the previous model’s strengths. Here’s what’s changed:

• Active Noise Cancellation: The headline feature is Smart ANC—the A20 had no ANC at all.
• Adaptive Snore Masking: The case now monitors and adjusts to snoring patterns in real-time.
• Memory Foam Ear Tips: A30 includes memory foam options, while the A20 only had silicone tips.
• Enhanced AI Brainwave Audio: Upgraded binaural beats for sleep, meditation, and focus with spatial audio.
• Improved Sleep Reporting: More detailed analytics including sleep latency, stage tracking, and rating system.
• Microphones for Calls: New addition of call functionality—not available on the A20.
• Price Increase: $229.99 retail vs A20’s $149.99, though Kickstarter early bird pricing at $139.

What I like about the Soundcore Sleep A30

The Sleep A30 comes in a slightly slimmer profile compared to the A20. Anker says that they are 7% smaller, but I didn’t really notice a difference with them in my ears, even if I can see that they have a flatter surface and don’t stick out as much, and, for side-sleepers like myself, every bit counts. The charging case is compact and soft to the touch, with a lid that slides open to access your earbuds.

The advantage of sleep buds like this is the low-profile design, which doesn’t protrude from your ears, eliminating the pressure points that traditional earbuds would create when your head hits the pillow. I never felt any discomfort while wearing them; they stayed in place throughout the night despite tossing and turning under the sheets.

The earbuds come with a comprehensive set of accessories, including four pairs of silicone tips, three pairs of memory foam tips, and three pairs of ear wings to accommodate different ear shapes. I never had an issue with them falling out, and they remained snugly in my ears throughout the night.

How well does the Sleep A30 attenuate noise??

Of course, the addition of ANC is the headline upgrade here, and I’m happy to report that it performs adequately. I am a light sleeper who is particularly sensitive to noise while drifting off, and the ANC here did an excellent job of quieting ambient noise. I couldn’t hear anything at night aside from my own breathing, even without playing any of the masking music.

Our testing shows that the A30’s ANC (blue line) provides substantially better low-frequency isolation than passive isolation alone (purple line). The ANC performs particularly well in the 20-200Hz range, where sounds like traffic, HVAC systems, and low-frequency snoring typically occur.

What features does the Soundcore Sleep A30 have?

A lot. Aside from attenuating outside noise, you can use the Sleep A30 in Bluetooth mode to listen to music or in Local mode to access a library of brainwave audio, snore masking sounds, and white noise in the Soundcore app. Let’s quickly break down each of those in turn.

The brainwave audio feature consists of what Anker calls “binaural beat soundscapes that stimulate the brain to produce calming brainwaves.” Basically, you get three different soundscapes to choose from – Starry Sky, Ocean, and Forest – each of which plays a series of soothing tones, rhythms, and sound effects designed to mimic those environments. For instance, listening to the Forest one, you will hear some birds and critters chirping away. You can enable Spatial Audio with each of these to enhance the immersion, and there are options to tune Audio Density, Audio Space, and Audio Brightness.

I couldn’t tell much difference adjusting density, but adjusting Space did change the perceived spatial width and reverb, making it feel like you’re in a small room, a concert hall, or a wide-open plaza. Adjusting Brightness emphasizes the high and low frequencies, making the sounds more vivid or clear. Lastly, there is a selection of elements you can add to your soundscapes, from singing bowls to bubble sounds, to personalize your relaxation. Overall, the customization and quality here are much better than the standard presets of the Sleep A20, which I found staticky, dull, and muddy.

As for snore masking, the case itself will actually listen for snoring sounds in real time as it sits on your bedside table, and analyze the sound level and frequency. The earbuds then adjust your choice of masking audio accordingly, such as rain and wind effects. Thankfully, my partner doesn’t snore, but I tested the feature against a YouTube video of snoring sounds playing through my laptop speakers, and impressively, the earbuds could almost completely block the sounds unless I set the volume to 100%. Anything below that was silenced.

Lastly, there are a ton of white noise options to choose from, from light rain to crickets to a cat drinking water. You can select any three from the library to play simultaneously. Still, I found the quality of these recordings more muddy and filtered compared to the brainwave audio feature.

Editor’s Note: Sleep tracking functionality was not available during my testing period, likely due to having an early review unit before the final app version rolled out. According to Soundcore, the feature should automatically track sleep once you fall asleep without requiring manual operation or app activation. The earbuds can reportedly store up to a week’s worth of sleep data locally. I’ll update this review once sleep tracking becomes available for testing.

What I don’t like about the Soundcore Sleep A30

The biggest trade-off with adding ANC to the mix is reduced battery life. Anker claims a total of 9 hours, but in our testing, the Sleep A30 only lasted 7 hours and 33 minutes, just under the recommended 8 hours for a good night’s rest. You do get up to a total of 45 hours with the case, so you won’t need to recharge that too frequently, but if you want to use ANC all night, the earbuds might die before you wake.

Speaking of charging, the case can only be charged using a USB-C cable. For the price, I would have liked it if they supported wireless charging, as it would have been easier to set the case on a Qi pad instead of fighting for the cable going to my phone on the bedside table.

I also had an issue with the responsiveness of the touch controls. Two taps on the left earbud are supposed to switch between Bluetooth and Local Mode, and two on the right earbud to toggle ANC, but I often used the app to perform these functions instead. Tapping the earbuds would sometimes work on the third or fourth try, but was very unreliable overall.

Should you buy the Soundcore Sleep A30?

The Sleep A30 represents a meaningful evolution from the A20, with ANC being the key differentiator to upgrade. The active noise cancelation genuinely addresses the A20’s biggest weakness, poor low-frequency isolation, making these notably more effective at blocking low-frequency noise. The slimmer profile is also a nice quality-of-life upgrade for side sleepers.

The enhanced brainwave audio is a clear improvement over the A20’s poor-quality presets, offering better customization and spatial audio features. The real-time snore masking works impressively well in testing, though your mileage will vary depending on your partner’s snoring volume and frequency.

However, the $229.99 retail price feels steep, essentially asking $80 just for ANC over the A20. The reduced battery life (7.5 hours vs A20’s 14 hours) and lack of wireless charging further complicate the value proposition at full price. I think an ideal price point would have been around $199. That said, the Kickstarter early bird price of $139 makes these an absolute bargain—actually cheaper than the A20 while offering significantly more features.

Alternatives to consider

If you don’t need ANC, the Sleep A20 at ($149.99 at Amazon) remains a solid choice with excellent battery life and comfortable design. For those prioritizing premium comfort and build quality, the Ozlo Sleepbuds at ($299 at Amazon) offer superior fit and the ability to play custom audio. However, they lack ANC and cost more.