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I can't say reviewing the Soundcore Sleep A30 Special earbuds was particularly challenging.
After all, it was just about four months ago that I reviewed the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds upon their release. Those were the earbuds that added active noise cancellation to sleep earbuds — a feature not available on any other options on the market at the time. Their performance impressed me enough that I considered them the standard for premium sleep earbuds, despite their few flaws.
That is, until now. With the Sleep A30 Special earbuds, Soundcore doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, but the few changes they do make are noticeable improvements over the original Sleep A30 buds.
The result is that the Sleep A30 Special earbuds aren't just better than their predecessors — they officially sit head and shoulders above all other available sleep earbuds. Let's get into what makes them the best.
What's new about the Soundcore Sleep A30 Special earbuds?
The Special earbuds came as a surprise to me, as Soundcore's addition of ANC already felt like a big enough upgrade to tide them over for at least a year, especially considering their complete lack of competition on that particular front.
Better battery life
That said, the ANC didn't come without a cost. The 14-hour battery life of the Sleep A20 earbuds — Soundcore's 2024 release — dropped all the way down to about seven-and-a-half hours with ANC on the Sleep A30 buds.
While that's more than enough for some people, it's not impossible to imagine a scenario where someone whose environment is loud enough that they want sleep earbuds with active noise cancellation might also want a full eight hours of coverage with that noise cancellation. Especially if you're relying on the earbuds' built-in alarm at the end of those eight hours. For earbuds that cost $229.99, it felt like a surprisingly limiting factor.
Soundcore directly addresses this issue by adding an hour of battery life to the Special earbuds, giving you anywhere from around eight to 10 hours of battery life. The variation depends on your settings, but in my week testing the earbuds, I found that leaving the ANC on and switching to local audio (without ANC) or leaving ANC and Bluetooth audio on all night comfortably got me through eight hours, which wasn't consistently the case when I tested the regular A30 buds.
A lower, and very competitive, price point
Typically, better features mean a higher price point, but Soundcore surprises again on this front. Rather than tacking on to the $229.99 price point of the Sleep A30 earbuds, the brand lowered the price to a more reasonable $199.99. While this is still not exactly chump change, it's an asking price that suits these single-purpose earbuds better.
In my original review of the A30 earbuds, I wrote:
I do need to acknowledge that $229.99 is a lot to ask for earbuds used just for sleep. Granted, they're far cheaper than the $349 Ozlo Sleepbuds, and they do come with ANC — the price makes sense. However, it's still steep, and far from your only option for effective noise blocking. The Sleep A20 are still a great (more) affordable option at $179.99.
Not only does the $199.99 price point widen the gap between Soundcore's ANC earbuds and the Ozlo Sleepbuds (which offer no ANC), but it also shortens it between the 2022-released Sleep A20 earbuds. Though those buds are still a great value (when on sale), at full price the Sleep A30 Specials are worth the additional $20.
Calm app integration
As a final bonus, the Sleep A30 Special earbuds also feature a Calm app integration within their companion app, giving users the choice between 20 sleep stories and five sleep-focused meditations to listen to as they drift off to bed. Among the sleep stories, you'll get options from categories including fiction, train and travel, and nature.
This feature is less notable, as thanks to an update, it's also available via the Soundcore companion app for the regular Sleep A30 earbuds.
As for the content itself, I was a little disappointed that there was no option to change the voice of the narrator. I could also see the options getting repetitive (though that might not be the most pressing issue, as they're intended to help you get to sleep). The lack of options does stand out more when you consider the partnership between Ozlo and Calm, which gives users a year free of the $80 meditation service. But, again, the Ozlo buds cost $349 — you could buy the A30 Special buds, purchase a Calm subscription separately, and still have about $69 left over.
Small issues aside, the integration itself feels like a natural pairing between the two brands. And as someone with a brain that likes to think every thought possible the second my head hits the pillow, the addition of more white noise-style options is always welcome.
Soundcore Sleep A30 Special: Sound, noise cancellation, and performance
Excluding the upgrades mentioned above, the Sleep A30 Special earbuds perform nearly identical to the Sleep A30 earbuds. The Sleep A30 buds have had some firmware updates since their release in August, which improved the touch control accuracy, sleep detection options, and ANC.
All in all, that adds up to a pair of sleep earbuds that perform very well. The triple noise reduction system (Soundcore's term for the combination of ANC, passive noise reduction, and their snore masking tech) works well on all fronts, the battery life of the case and earbuds feel reasonable for daily use, they're comfortable with plenty of wear options, the app easy to navigate, the white noise varied, the sleep tracking a neat feature, and the touch controls didn't fail me once during my week of testing (which I appreciated extra while snoozing my alarm). The lower price point from the previous generation makes all of these features stand out even more.
Are they absolute perfection? Not quite yet. It would be nice to be able to set more than five alarms, and I find that the sleep tracking doesn't always work accurately — it occasionally detected an earlier bedtime than I had, or registered an especially early wakeup time if one of my earbuds loosened during the night (which, granted, really only happened as I tested out ear tip sizes).
However, those gripes are relatively minor and do very little to detract from the overall experience of using the earbuds.
Soundcore Sleep A30 Special specs
As a final roundup, here's everything you'll be getting on the Sleep A30 Special earbuds:
Active noise cancellation
Adaptive snore masking powered by microphones in charging case
Approximately eight to ten hours of battery life per use, depending on settings
Approximately five days of battery life in case per charge
Seven total ear tip options (four sizes of silicone ear tips and three sizes of memory foam), plus three sizes of ear wings
Customizable soundscapes for white noise, including Calm app sleep stories and meditations
Customizable touch controls
Built-in alarm with snooze
Sleep tracking
Two colorways: mist lilac and lunar white
Should you get the Soundcore Sleep A30 or Sleep A30 Special?
As much as I love the Sleep A30 Special earbuds, there's no need to upgrade if you already own the Sleep A30 buds, unless you're very, very unhappy with the battery life.
For anyone who's yet to purchase either pair, both are currently available for $199.99 (with the Sleep A30 earbuds technically on a markdown from their list price). With that, there's no reason not to opt for the better earbuds.
All of that said, don't sleep on the Sleep A20 earbuds sale prices if you're looking for a more affordable option. Ask yourself if you actually need ANC. If at most, you're trying to block out the sound of an air conditioning unit or simply prefer to fall asleep to videos titled things like "Deep Sleep Music ★︎ FALL ASLEEP IMMEDIATELY ★︎ Melatonin Release," likely you don't actually need any additional noise cancellation. I personally picked up a pair of the Sleep A20 buds over Black Friday as a gift for my dad, and spent all of a whopping $107.99.
Are the Soundcore Sleep A30 Special earbuds worth it?
The Soundcore Sleep A30 Specials are, without a doubt, the best sleep earbuds to get if you need the maximum possible noise cancellation. (Even though they are really your only option on the ANC front).
Despite providing a unique feature in their ANC, at $199.99, they're priced fairly, and much more competitively than the $350 Ozlo Sleepbuds, the other major contender for premium sleep earbuds.
Though they have some very minor quirks here and there, they ultimately set the bar for other sleep bud brands to beat. Though it seems Soundcore's intentions are to just keep improving on a good thing.
Topics Earbuds Mashable Choice
