Havit Space S1 review

The HAVIT SPACE S1 enters a crowded budget ANC headphone market with eye-catching specs, such as Hi-Res codec support and a claimed 100-hour battery life. But can they deliver a good listening experience for the price, or are there too many compromises?

What’s it like to use the Havit Space S1?

The SPACE S1 didn’t make the best first impression. Right out of the travel case, the headphones have a noticeable chemical smell, likely from being sealed in plastic wrap. The earpads are already slightly deflated and made from the kind of pleather material that often wears down quickly from sweat and daily use. The earpads are too shallow for my not particularly large ears, pressing directly against the mesh driver covers inside the earcups. The sides and tops of my ears also come into contact with the interior walls.

Build quality feels budget-appropriate: lightweight plastic that creaks under pressure, and a headband adjustment mechanism that meets resistance when sliding in and out of the plastic housing. The clamping force is fairly weak, and because the earcups only move along a single axis, sideways but not up and down, I wasn’t able to get a good seal around my ears. In general, I didn’t find the headphones comfortable to wear for more than an hour. There’s no IP rating either, so these over-ear headphones aren’t suited for workouts or getting caught in the rain.

Controls consist of three physical buttons: a power button, an ANC mode button, and a rather large rocker switch on the right earcup. You can flick the rocker to skip tracks, or hold it in either direction to adjust volume. It’s a bit gimmicky and protrudes noticeably, but it’s more reliable than touch controls in cold weather or when wearing gloves, so there’s some practical value.

What are the best features of the Havit Space S1?

Havit advertises the ability to use ANC while listening in wired mode, even with a depleted battery. However, after running the headphones to 0% in our battery test, I was unable to activate ANC while listening to music over a 3.5mm cable with the headphones off. I could turn the headphones on after they drew enough power to activate ANC, but the ANC button does nothing when the headphones are off and playing music over a wired connection.

Aside from that, the SPACE S1 pairs with the HAVIT LIFE app (iOS and Android), which provides basic control over the headphones’ features. The main screen shows the battery level and lets you switch between three ANC modes: Noise reduction, Closure (ANC off), and Transparent mode. There’s also a five-level ANC intensity slider that makes a noticeable difference in noise cancelation strength—I kept it maxed out and left it there.

The app includes toggles for Spatial Audio and Game Mode. Using Spatial Audio, I found the vocals sound wider and more distant, but it doesn’t create a very convincing sense of three-dimensional space overall. I found Game Mode slightly reduces latency and improves lip-sync synchronisation between audio and video.

Lastly, there’s a 10-band equalizer with ±6dB adjustment range. You get seven presets (Normal, Dance, Class, Rock, Jazz, Blues), plus the ability to create custom profiles. What’s puzzling is that the default “Normal” tuning has massive peaks and cuts, as shown in the photo above. I’ll have more to say about the sound quality of that later, but I created a flat custom preset to get a (what I would consider) more “normal” sound.  The other presets are similarly questionable. I found Jazz is tolerable, but the rest make odd tuning decisions that don’t improve most music.

How does the Havit Space S1 connect?

The HAVIT SPACE S1 uses Bluetooth 6.0 for wireless connectivity and supports multipoint pairing, allowing you to connect up to two devices simultaneously. For codec support, you get LHDC at up to 990 Kbps for Hi-Res audio, though this requires compatible devices like select Xiaomi or HUAWEI phones. Most users will rely on AAC for iPhones or fall back to the universal SBC codec on other devices.

As for wired connections, the SPACE S1 includes a 3.5mm aux input that maintains ANC and microphone functionality, which is a fairly useful feature that I haven’t seen from many competitors. This means you can still take calls and block out noise in wired mode, not just listen to music.

How long does the Havit Space S1’s battery last?

Battery life is one area where these headphones excel. Havit claims up to 100 hours of playback, and in our testing, that proved true, with the headphones lasting even longer at 108 hours. While there is no fast charging support, you likely won’t miss it, given how rarely you will have to top them up.

How well does the Havit Space S1 cancel noise?

The SPACE S1 reduces the perceived loudness of outside noise by an average of 76% with ANC enabled.  That’s not bad, but it is slightly below the 80% average we’ve measured for headphones at this price. The average would probably be higher if it weren’t for the poor passive isolation and the inability to get a good seal.

ANC performs best in the mid-frequency range (200Hz-2kHz), adding a consistent 13dB of attenuation. This means decent attenuation of indoor noise, like office chatter, but only a moderate reduction of low-frequency sounds such as airplane engines or subway noise. It’ll take the edge off your commute, but don’t expect Sony or Bose levels of silence.

How does the Havit Space S1 sound?

The Havit Space S1 is quite fatiguing to listen to and has very strange default tuning.

Reviewer’s notes

Editor’s note: this review uses a hover-enabled glossary to describe sound quality based on a consensus vocabulary. You can read about it here.

Can you use the Havit Space S1 for phone calls?

The SPACE S1’s microphone performs adequately in ideal conditions. Your voice comes through intelligibly, though there’s noticeable distortion that makes it sound less clean. It’s functional for basic calls when you’re in a quiet environment.

Havit Space S1 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Should you buy the Havit Space S1?

The SPACE S1 struggles to compete in the budget ANC category. The combination of poor comfort, questionable default tuning, and build-quality concerns makes these difficult to recommend when better alternatives are available at similar price points. The 10-band EQ, unfortunately, isn’t enough to adjust the major swings in emphasis because the default tuning is so far off.

The massive battery life is the biggest selling point, but that alone can’t overcome the core issues with fit and sound quality, at least for me. If the SPACE S1 is heavily discounted or the only option available to you, it might suffice. But for most people, I would recommend spending a similar amount on competitors like the Soundcore Space One, JLab Jbuds Lux ANC, or the EarFun Wave Pro as they will deliver a far better experience out of the box.

Havit Space S1 review: FAQs