Design and features:This model has controls for music player transport, call connect/disconnect, volume, noise canceling/ambient sound monitoring, bass boost, and digital voice assistant activation. It supports unspecified digital voice assistants when used with Bluetooth connected devices that have those features. The free soundcore app for Android and Apple mobile devices adds additional features.
Sound quality:We found the Q20i Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling provides excellent active noise reduction and delivers sound quality that falls in the very good range - it reproduces music and voice very well although it does have some noticeable sonic quirks. The overall sound can be summarized as somewhat bassy and grainy, and a bit sizzly. With the noise canceling mode engaged in the soundcore app and the equalizer set to Soundcore Signature (the default setting) the bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) has good impact and goes deep, but is somewhat prominent and boomy. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is fairly even but is somewhat grainy and a bit hazy, and congested (think sonic traffic jam), and depending on the program material can be a bit overwhelmed by the bass. The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is extended but is a bit prominent and sizzly (sounds that should have a delicate shimmer have a sound reminiscent of bacon frying), and a touch smeared. The sound also has a good sense of liveliness and is somewhat open--sound-wise it almost seems like you don't have anything covering your ears. It also does a decent job of recovering the room ambience of recordings. The soundcore app tonal presets and EQ adjustments have a noticeable effect on the sound. These headphones provide excellent noise reduction across the entire frequency range with the low frequencies reduced the most. A very faint rushing sound can be heard in quiet environments when there is no audio program to drown it out.
Comfort and Fit:We found that these headphones produce a sense of moderate pressure around the ears.
As typical of over-ear models the ear pads might feel hot and/or sticky after prolonged use.
Large
Users with larger heads might find that the headband does not have enough adjustment range to allow the ear cups to rest properly over the ears and/or that the headband presses uncomfortably on the top of the head.
Users with larger ears might find that the over-the-ear fit of the ear pads feel cramped, or that the ear pads sit on, rather than around their ears; in that case the less-than-ideal fit around the ears might interfere with the ear pad seal and reduce the bass response and/or noise reduction capabilities of the headphone.
Stability
Some users may find that when they lean far forward the headphones feel unstable and shift forward, possibly to the point of falling off.
Other noise
When wearing this model while walking the muffled vibrations from each foot step can be heard slightly through the headphones regardless of whether or not the headphones are in noise cancelling mode.
When the audio cord is used the sound of it rubbing on clothing may be faintly heard through the headphones.
