A pair of over-ears from Soundcore that impress in terms of noise cancellation and call performance, though the tuning of the sound is on the bassy side.

• Good comfort
• 30-hour battery
• Strong noise cancellation
• Excellent call performance

• Bass-heavy sound to a fault

• 

• AI chip for noise cancellation and calls

• Customise the performance through the app

• Customise the sound to you with Hear ID 5.0

It’s been a busy year for Soundcore. A gazillion products launched, a name change (though I’m still not entirely sure what the new name is), and the introduction of AI into several of its products. 2026 has seen the brand take a big leap.

But does that mean it’s left its value-focused beginnings behind? Not quite, but the Space 2 Pro headphones show a willingness to push performance while still undercutting the big players in the market.

The Space One Pro were one of my favourite Soundcore headphones of recent years, and though the Space 2 Pro do not replace those headphones (I think), there is an upgraded version of the Space 2 (which they also do not replace). Do they rank as Soundcore’s finest?

• Same look as previous efforts
• Two finishes
• Carry pouch

The Space 2 Pro look, well, like every other Soundcore headphone to date. If you’ve bought a pair of Soundcore headphones in the past, you’ll know the distinct look; the button configuration is the same (physical controls, no touch controls).

They’re bigger than the Space 2, though surprisingly weigh less (by a whole two grams); but the main point of difference you’ll find between the two headphones is the silver trim on the earcups of the Space 2 Pro and the engraved ‘Thus Anker soundcore Space 2 Pro’.

Wearing the headphones for a prolonged period and they’re comfy, partly thanks to the amount of space in the earcups; while there’s not much pressure around the ears or on top of the head thanks to the padded headband and earpads. That’s not to say the fit is loose, but if you’re someone who complains about a clamping force that’s too tight, you won’t find that an issue here.

The headband is adjustable, though the slider is not stepless and therefore makes a slight noise when it’s shifted. The button layout is the same (power/Bluetooth and ANC on the left earcup, playback and volume on the right), and they’re easy to find due to their raised surface and pressing down on each button produces a click to let you know it’s been pressed.

They’re foldable for travel, though there’s no carry case to put them in, but a pouch to keep them safe. Inside are USB-C and 3.5mm cables for charging/audio (Hi-res audio is supported over a wired connection). Colours are the Jet Black version of this review and Midnight Grey.

• 60 hours without ANC
• Fast charging over USB-C

The last few Soundcore headphones have claimed long battery life but come up short. The Space 2 Pro does live up to Soundcore’s expectations, but as usual, it’s a case of reading the fine print first.

Soundcore states 60 hours on a single charge, but that’s ANC on. With ANC it’s 30 hours, and a battery drain at 50% volume for three hours confirmed that to be the case – as long as you’re listening to audio in AAC Bluetooth. While I didn’t drain it with LDAC, given that it’s usually a bit more power hungry, you could expect battery life to be guzzled quicker.

If you’re in need of a quick charge, a five-minute boost is enough for another eight hours.

• Emphasis on bass
• Spacious soundstage

I really enjoyed the Space One Pro’s sound. Weighty, spacious but clear; it was a balanced tuning that I found impressive for the price. I was hoping for a similar experience with the Space 2 Pro, but that’s not quite what turned out to be the case.

Compared to the less expensive Space 2, the Space 2 Pro are an upgrade. The tone of the two headphones is similar, but what you get from the Pro is bass that’s bigger, weightier, with clearer, more detailed highs. If you’re a Soundcore fan after a new headphone and deciding between these two, I would say that the Space 2 Pro is the better-sounding option.

But that comes with a caveat.

Compare the Soundcore against an actual mid-range rival in the JBL Live 780NC, and it reveals how bassy the Space 2 Pro are. I’d thought the JBL had a bass-forward sound, but compared to the Space 2 Pro, they are lightweights in that department.

The Space 2 Pro delivers a bass boost more than I was expecting. It’s slightly rich in tone, but its presence can be slightly overbearing with some tracks, hogging the limelight from other areas and making it all about that .

It does help that it also colours the midrange, making the transition between bass and midrange thicker in tone that over-emphasises male voices (less so female voices).

Some may enjoy the bass-heavy emphasis, but like the Liberty 5 Pro Max, having listened to many songs I’m familiar with, the tone of music changes – kick drums become thuds – and the headphones lose any sense of subtlety with the lows.

Certain tracks (like Phoebe Bridgers’ Garden Song) threaten to become boomy. With tracks such as Warren G’s Regulate, they’re great for describing that sub-bass and power, but not every song needs that treatment.

And that’s a because I feel the headphones do fine work in other areas and aside from the bass boost, I quite like the sound. They sound clearer and more detailed overall than the JBL; the soundstage is wide, and vocal performances ring out with a smooth clarity.

Treble is bright but not bright, with decent levels of detail and clarity. I think it could be clearer and defter with the highs, and overall, what the Space 2 Pro lacks is degrees of subtlety and balance. If you’re after a fun sound with rich bass, the Soundcore provides that. If you’re after fidelity – which you are entitled to expect from a pair of headphones with Pro in the name – the bass power is a bit much.

Anker did release a firmware update that tweaked the sound, but that came a little too late in the day for this review. From the brief listen I did have, bass levels seem to have been tempered.

• Quiet performance
• Decent transparency mode
• Excellent call performance

First off, the Space 2 Pro’s noise cancelling ability depends on getting the right seal. If there’s the slightest gap, sounds worm their way in like a window left ajar.

When the fit is good, the adaptive noise cancellation has been very reliable. It cancels noise naturally (no whine or noisiness when enabled). It shushes cars and traffic well. Walking through Canary Wharf, there aren’t many things I’ve noticed as I walked through the various paths and indoor areas to get between stations.

There’s some surface noise as wind passes by, but it’s nothing too distracting. It’s been quiet everywhere I’ve used the headphones, whether outdoors or on a plane – the only issue I’ve had is a slight vibration in the right ear cup.

The transparency mode is fine – it’s not the clearest or most detailed, but I’m able to hear what’s around me well enough.

Are they the best around the £200 / $200 mark? I would say that between it and the JBL Live 780NC, they’re on a similar level. The JBL might just edge it for being quieter, but the Soundcore seems to cancel noise more naturally. Either way, you can be satisfied with the Space 2 Pro’s performance.

Even more satisfying is the call performance. Using the same Thus AI chip that powered the Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max, the call quality is excellent. It picked up my voice well and didn’t latch onto any background noise at all.

Walking past the DLR during the call, popping into a supermarket and then into a busy restaurant, the person on the other end said all they could hear was my voice. At this price, the Space 2 Pro are the gold standard.

As you’d expect from Soundcore, the Space 2 Pro are stuffed with features. Bluetooth is the 6.1 profile, with support for SBC, AAC, and LDAC; plus Bluetooth multi-point for connecting to two devices at once (you can’t have this feature and LDAC enabled at the same time). From a wireless connection standpoint, I haven’t encountered any issues with these headphones.

The app is where you’ll find the bulk of the features, though I will say that I’ve had issues recently with connecting to the app as the app would not recognise the headphones despite being connected to my smartphone. I had to unpair the headphones and re-pair them for the app to work.

Like any other Soundcore headphone, you can tweak the noise cancellation settings and enable the Wind Noise Reduction setting (should you need to). You can customise the controls, but it’s more or less restricted to the NC and MfB buttons and not the widespread control that EarFun offers with its Wave Pro X.

HearID offers a way of personalising the audio signature of the headphones to how you hear, but you do need to log in/create an account to make that so. Anker offers presets, and some have an effect, though others sound very similar. You can create a custom preset too with an 8-band EQ.

There’s also a Spatial Audio setting at the bottom of the HearID tab, but give this setting a skip. It expands audio but sounds thin and hazy in terms of detail.

There’s a Safe Hearing mode you can enable where you can limit the volume of the headphones, change the audio codec (between high quality LDAC or prioritise connection stability) and toggle on Wear Detection (strangely not enabled by default).

There’s Anker AI Chat, though I’ve given that a wide berth after my experience with the Liberty 5 Pro Max. Otherwise, the Space 2 Pro is well-featured for the price if you’re looking to adapt the performance, though I’d say some of the customisations are more useful than others.

Should you buy it?

I like the Space 2 Pro, but they could be better. It’s clear that Anker Soundcore is pushing into the more premium category (slightly) but still undercutting the main midrange options. They still offer good value in terms of the noise cancellation, design, battery life and call performance, but the tuning of the headphones’ sound could be better.

The bass-heavy tuning doesn’t work for all types of tracks, lacking balance. A recent update to the sound seems to have brought more balance, but came a little too late for me to take into account.

The Space 2 Pro are another confident pair of over-ears from Soundcore, and while they’re maybe not best around the £200 / $200, they’re in the mix. If you’re moving up from a less expensive pair of Soundcore headphones, I would recommend the Space One Pro for sound; but the improved ANC and excellent call quality certainly make the Space 2 Pro worth a look.

The Soundcore Space 2 Pro were tested over four weeks with real world use, with a battery drain carried out, the call performance tested, and ANC compared to other models

• Tested for a month
• Tested with real-world use
• Battery drain carried out

	Anker Soundcore Space 2 Pro Review
Manufacturer	Soundcore
IP rating	No
Battery Hours	30
Fast Charging	Yes
Weight	262 G
Release Date	2026
Audio Resolution	SBC, AAC, LDAC
Driver (s)	35mm dual-material diaphragm
Noise Cancellation?	Yes
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.1
Colours	Jet Black, Midnight Grey
Frequency Range	40 40000 – Hz
Headphone Type	Over-ear
UK RRP	£199.99
USA RRP	$199.99