Decent all-round ANC headphone for the price of a Steak

The Tronsmart Soundfi Q20s is a budget-friendly ANC headphone at $49.99 (currently on sale for $39.99) that punches well above its weight in terms of comfort, sound quality, and features. At its price, it offers a highly compelling package, making it one of the most pragmatic options for listeners who value a good solid performing ANC headphone without breaking the bank.

I have been using the Q20s for the past few weeks, mainly as an ANC headphone so on public transport, on a few flights, out walking around my noisy city center but also at home when cooking and cleaning my house. I do feel its strength are when using ANC as its non-ANC sound signature is very bass heavy, but as you will see later in the review, with the ability to tweak the sound with the companion EQ options it can be tailored to your tastes.

In this review, I thought I would share my experience with the Q20s and hopefully give you enough information that you can decide if this ANC headphone is a good option for you.

So lets get into what yoy get with the Soundfi Q20s:

Unboxing Experience and Build Quality

The Tronsmart Q20s arrives in nice box (unfortunately my box was slightly damaged):

One of the key features the EQ is highlighted on the side of the box:

Inside the box, you’ll find:

• The Q20s headphones
• USB-C charging cable
• 3.5mm audio cable for wired listening
• User manual

Headphone Comfort

The headphones themselves feature a lightweight plastic build with soft padding on the ear cups: and headband:

There is also excellent extension, so larger heads should not have a problem using the q20s:

I thought the ear cups were very comfortable (and slightly larger than I expected).

The inner ear measurements are 60mm X 40mm and I think crucially rather than an oval design Tronsmart settled on a more rounded square internal shape, given it a little more space and flexibility for your ears.

Earcup size comparison

Here is a comparison of size and shape of the earcups with some other ANC headphones I have recently reviewed:

With the Sennheiser Accentum Plus: Accentum Plus Size: 60mm x 40mm (oval)		With the Earfun Wave Pro: Wave Pro Size: 65mm x 40mm (oval)
With the Final Audio ux3000: Final Audio Size: 55mm 31mm (oval)		With the Soundcore Q30: Soundcore Size: 60mm X 45mm (oval)

So the Final Audio have the smallest internal volume and in my opinion are the most uncomfortable of those above. The Accentum Plus has a similar width and height but are let down it comfort department by their clamping force. The Earfun Wave Pro has slightly taller internal dimensions and the Soundcore Q30 have technically slightly wider but both are oval, though I find both of these headphones and the Q20s are equally comfortable.

So, I also found the clamping force to be excellent (unlike the Accentum Plus), strong enough to get a good seal for audio and for the ANC to kick in effectively but not overly uncomfortable even wearing the q20s for long periods.

The ear cups swivel and fold for easy storage both flat and folded:

The buttons on the ear cups provide tactile control for playback, volume, and ANC:

I really like the button layout where all the buttons are on the right earcup and in sensible locations with the ANC switch button clearly on its own on the right hand side of the photo above. With the volume controls and on/off button on the left hand side.

Features and Functionality

Active Noise Cancellation

The Q20s features basic but effective ANC, reducing ambient noise when I was vacuum cleaning my house and from
oven fan when cooking. When out walking it worked well to cut down on traffic noise much better than the similar priced Edifier WH700NB that I recently reviewed. It is also better ANC than the older Soundcore Q30.
It was on par with the more expensive Earfun Wave Pro and Edifier W830NB, but you cannot expect miracles it is still far behind the more expensive ANC headphones that I have reviewed like the Sonos Ace or the Apple Airpods Max.

I felt the ANC is easily good enough for everyday environments like offices or commuting and pretty great for its price point.

App and 5-Band EQ

A standout feature at this price point is the Tronsmart companion app as similar priced budget ANC headphones like the Edifier WH700NB typically will not have any companion app:

Clicking the settings button on the top right hand side allows you to check for updates:

Once you click on the q20S icon you have basic control on the ANC including customising the level of ANC provided:

I do like how the App provides both some presets but crucially a 5-band customizable EQ:

This allows you to tweak the sound profile to your preferences, while not as extensive as the 10-band EQ you get in some ANC headphones or even the basic PEQ provided by the Edifer W830NB, its provide enough leverage to tweak the sound significantly. Later in the measurements section I will provide some basic EQ settings that I used and specific measurements of the EQ Profiles so you can switch with confidence.

Battery Life

The Q20s specifications suggest up to 60 hours of playback with ANC off and up to 40 hours with ANC on. Charging via USB-C is quick and efficient, a 10-minute charge gives you 8 hours of use.

I would say this is slightly optimistic, but you can easily get 30 hours with ANC enabled.

Microphone Quality

The microphone quality is reasonable good indoors but struggles when using it outside in a noisy environment. Still an impressive microphone for this price point.

Sound Quality

For its price, the Q20s delivers 2 very different sound profiles depending on whether you have ANC enabled or not. With ANC enable you get a bass boosted sound signature which will definitely appeal to many users. There are profiles and the 5-band EQ to tweak this profile, but ultimately I would suggest the classical EQ present for listening with ANC off and some EQ presets when using the q20S with ANC.

Typically, you get overly boomy bass in ANC headphones at this price and no way to tweak the sound, the Q20s has some sensible choices for Presets and the addition of the 5-band EQ within the App the experience can further refine the sound.

So, these impressions below are mainly based on using both the “classical” EQ preset (when not using ANC) and my tweaked EQ when using ANC which I will present later.

I will explain in the measurements section in a bit why I feel this is the best way to use the q20s.

Bass

The bass is deep and punchy and will appeal to bass heads. With ANC enabled and in a noisy environment the deep bass comes into its own and in tracks like “Billie Eilish – Bad Guy” are a showcase its ability to deliver a satisfying low-end.

Midrange

The midrange while not the smoothest is mostly clear and slightly forward, which works well for vocals and acoustic instruments. “Adele – Someone Like You” highlights the clarity of vocals, though there is a slight lack of detail compared to higher-end headphones.

Treble

The treble is smooth and inoffensive, avoiding harshness or sibilance. Though some of the EQ profile can push the treble into a more forward exciting response and give the q20S a much more v-shaped sound signature. With the classical EQ tracks like “Fleetwood Mac – Dreams” maintain a sense of airiness, though fine details may be somewhat subdued.

Soundstage and Imaging

The soundstage is narrow but what you should expect for a budget closed-back ANC headphone. Due to the reasonable good channel matching the imaging is precise enough for casual listening but not suitable for critical audiophile use. Basically the q20S is easily good enough in noisy environments for you to enjoy your music.

Specifications and Measurements

Frequency Response

Let’s start with the “default” Frequency Response and channel balance: While not an amazing frequency response this is not terrible for the default sound from a budget ANC headphone. Many people will prefer this V-Shaped sound and with the ability to have EQ preset tweaking this is a very good start.

With ANC disabled the frequency response changes considerable:

Note: I find this strange as we get a big bass boost which is the opposite of what I would have expected.

With both ANC off and transparency enabled you get the same frequency response (as you should expect):

There are 5-levels of ANC and each level does subtly change the Frequecy Response:

Differences with ANC, Transparency or ANC off

So, like most budget ANC headphones there is a large difference in sound tonality between ANC being enabled and Transparency and ANC off but as I mentioned above I was surprised it was more bass when ANC is off.

Usually you get more bass with ANC enabled, for a very good reason when you enable ANC the assumption you are in a noisy environment (e.g. an Airplane or some public transport), those environments will overpower the bass region so a boosted bass actually sounds more natural in general.

I did most of my ANC listening impressions both on public transport into my office and on a few recent plane trips and on many long walks around my city center. I separately got sound impressions with ANC off around my house.

EQ Presets

So, within the Tronsmart ‘Companion’ Application you can quickly toggle between 2 different profiles (including the “custom” 5-band EQ, this at least allows one profile to be used with ANC enabled and a different one when ANC is switched off. Since I think the main use of an ANC headphone is using it with ANC enabled, I felt that would be the ideal opportunity to tweak the sound using the 5-band EQ and use one of the other profiles for when ANC is off.

EQ Presets measured:

Here are the various easy to pick presets provided within the App:

So first what do the different profiles look like with ANC-off:

As you can see this graph is the definition of V-Shaped, but the “classical” profile at least is the most balanced of these options and the one I would recommend with ANC-off.

For those interested this are the comparison graphs for when ANC is switch on:

If you pick Classical here is what it looks like with ANC on and ANC off clearly showing that mid-bass boost:

EQ 5-band Tweaking

So as I mentioned above I decided when using ANC (which would be my main use case for the Q20S), I would customise the sound (as I will present this custom EQ below).

So as you can see in the initial measurements above get a default V-shaped sound signature but the key to understanding how to tweak with a 5-band EQ is understanding what change each band makes:

Here are the min and max values of the 5 different levels normalised to the “default” reset “flat” level: So you roughly get 4dB extra on the positive side and 6dB less on the negative side.

Here are the different levels labeled:

Here are what these levels are in relation to the ‘Harman OE2018’ target:

This does indicate a bit of trouble as ideally the Harman target would be completely within Min and Max ranges but as you can see above there are places where you cannot lower or raise the EQ to ‘Harman’ level.

Recommended EQ

So there isn’t allot that can be tweaked but since there was a bass boost already I lowered the bass and increased the treble effectively settling for a milder V-shaped sound signature:

This is what I saved in the custom settings within the App:

I subjectively felt this sounded better than the either default and the classical presets but your mileage may vary.

Distortion

There is very little distortion - even at pretty loud listening levels:

Rating

I gave the Tronsmart Q20s a decent 4-star pragmatic rating as I think for the price it is a good ANC headphone. The ANC and microphone performance while not the best you can get, are pretty incredible for $49.99 (currently $39.99). The addition of app-based EQ further solidifies its position as one of the best budget ANC headphones available under $50 and while the sound signature is definitely V-shaped it can be made much less bassy that other similar priced ANC headphones.

Conclusion

The Tronsmart Q20s delivers a fantastic balance of features, comfort, and customisable sound quality at an entry-level price. Whether you’re a casual listener or someone looking for an affordable pair of ANC headphones with decent sound customization, the Q20s is a solid pick. Its lightweight comfortable design and long battery life make it a great companion for everyday use.