The Soundcore Space Q45’s are an amazing value for any frequent flyer, specifically cause they block out an above average amount of noise for a pair of entry level ANC headphones and they also have a very impressive battery life. And in general, the Space Q45’s really try to punch way above its weight class. So today, we’re going to see how the Space Q45’s stack up to the Sony XB910N which are a pair of mid tier ANC headphones that I really like.
Regarding pricing, the Sony XB910N’s have a retail price of $250… however they routinely like to go on sale for $180 and on major shopping holidays, they might even go for a little less. Now these things came out in the fall of 2021, and personally, I am expecting to see their successors, the Sony WH-XB920N’s in the fall of 2023. But then there are the soundcore space Q45’s and these things retail for $150 and they were released in the fall of 2022. Nonetheless, if you want to pick either of these two headphones up, they’ll be linked down below.
Now first lets talk about their included cases. Now both of these headphones come included with decently size hardshell cases. So if you plan on traveling with either of these two headphones… their cases are going to keep them perfectly safe if you tram to cram them into a cramped backpack. Now I would expect to see this type of case with the XB910N’s cause these are a pair of mid tier ANC Headphones… but I am surprised to see this type of hardshell case come included with the Q45’s cause these are a pair of entry level ANC headphones. Nonetheless, both of these headphones come included with decent cases.
But now lets talk about the headphones themselves. From a build quality stand point, both of these headphones are fully collapsable and they can be laid down flat. They both have mostly plastic bodies and both of these headphones are using new plastic. And they both have good feeling leatherette. However, quality wise, I can’t help but feel that the XB910N’s just feel noticeably more premium than the Q45’s. The leatherette feels better, the plastic feels sturdier, the points of articulation swivel smoother and they have a better sounding click to them and the tolerances on the XB910N’s are just tighter. Both of these headphones have decent built quality, but the XB910N’s just feel better.
And when it comes to fit, overall the XB910N’s are just more comfortable than the Q45’s. Now when it comes to clamping force, both of these headphones have a neutral amount of clamping force, as in they aren’t too tight and they aren’t too loose. So they are both big head approved and they also fit very well with hats. However, when it comes to their weight, the Space Q45’s weigh in at 298 grams, where as the XB910N weigh in at 252 grams. Now in general, the Q45’s weigh an average amount for a pair of premium ANC headphones… however with the XB910N’s weighing in at 252 grams, these are just a lot of easier to forget that you’re wearing while you’re sitting at your desk or laying in bed, and you notice their weight shifting around a lot less when you’re walking around with them on than with the Q45’s. But also there’s their padding. The padding underneath the headband on the Q45’s is very soft and there isn’t a lot of it. So I noticed that at the one hour mark, this headband does like to create a hot spot on the top of your head… cause the padding just gets all the way compressed. So I have to take these headphones off and take a break. Where as with the XB910N’s, this headband has a lot more padding and hot spots aren’t an issue for these headphones. But then there are their ear pads, now both of these headphones have very spacious earpads and they should both have no problem fitting most ear types. However, the earpads on the XB910N are more spacious than the earpads on the Q45’s cause they are deeper. Even with my average sized ears, I can feel the earpads on the Q45’s pressing down on my cartilage, which does get uncomfortable after awhile. Whereas, that isn’t an issue for the XB910N’s. So overall, the XB910N’s just feel more premium cause they have better feeling materials and they feel better put together… and their also more comfortable cause they are lighter, their headband has more padding and their earpads are more spacious.
But now lets talk about tech specs. When it comes to battery life, this is an area where the Q45’s just easily outclass the XB910N and a lot of other other headphones in general. The Q45’s have an advertised battery life of 50 hours with their active noise cancelation turned on, which is way above average… where as with the XB910N’s they have an advertised battery life of 30 hours with their active noise cancellation turned on. But with both of these headphones you can always extend their battery life by using them with their Active noise cancelation turned off… the Q45’s are good for up to 65 hours where as the XB910N are good for up to 38 hours.
Now when it comes to charging these headphones, they both charge via a USB C port, as they should… but their fast charging numbers are a little different. With the Q45’s if you were to plug them in for 5 minutes from a dead battery, they are going to get you 4 hours of playback time. Where as with the XB910N, if you plug them in for 10 minutes from a dead battery, they are going to get you 4 and half hours of playback time.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, both of these headphones can be connected to two devices at the same time, which is good if you’re a power user, cause this way you can use your headphones with your phone and your computer at the same time, and they don’t have to be in the same eco system.
And when it comes to overall performance, both of these headphones have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device. And when it comes to audio codecs, both of these headphones have support for SBC, AAC, and LDAC, which is Sony’s own in house high res audio codec.
However, if you want to use LDAC, you do have to be an android user cause iPhones top out at AAC. Also, if you want to use LDAC, then your headphones will only be able to be connected to one device at a time. And if you want to use LDAC, keep in mind that LDAC does take an additional toll on the battery life.
But if you want to, you can always just use as wired connection with either of these two headphones cause they both still have a 3.5 millimeter audio jack, and they both still come included with an audio cable. Now I know this sounds very basic, but I do have to point this out cause some headphone manufactures are starting to remove the audio jack on their headphones, and I feel that this is still premature, especially if you’re a frequent flyer.
But now let talk about actually listening to music with these headphones. Now with both of these headphones, they sound good enough to get the job done, but these headphones don’t have the best instrument separation. So they can sound a little narrow, and their instrumentals can get a lot a little bit. These headphones are mostly bass and vocals. And with both of these headphones, they both have a customizable EQ, so you can make them sound however you want. However, the XB910N’s sound and perform much batter than the Q45’s. With the XB910N’s, these things have an above average amount of physicality in their bass. If you go in to their EQ and if you raise their clear bass slider, they are really going to rattle your head. Now all of this physicality in their bass is a lot of dumb fun… but this extra physicality in their bass also adds an extra level of immersivness when watching movies with these headphones. Where as with the Q45’s, these headphones aren’t really going to rattle your head cause their bass is on the audible side. And even though they do have a bass up feature… this setting still isn’t going to make these headphones rattle your head… and instead it does make them sound very shallow because the bass and low ends on these headphones just become so overpowering and muddy. Where as, the bass on the XB910N is its own entity. It doesn’t become overpowering or muddy. So overall sound quality, even though the XB910N’s don’t sound amazing, they sound and preform much better than the Q45’s… plus the extra bass feature on the XB910N does add an extra level of immersivness when watching movies with these headphones… which is something that isn’t found on a lot of other headphones out there.
Now when it comes to controlling your media, the Q45’s are using physical button… and these physical buttons are easy to find and they have a good tactile click to them. But with the XB910N’s, these have a touchpad. Now this touch pad is very easy to use and its very accurate. But I know some people are very anti touchpad on their headphones… so for some people, the physical buttons on the Q45’s could be a deciding factor.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. The Space Q45’s block out an above average amount of noise for a pair of entry level ANC headphones. However, the Sony XB910N are at the same level as the Space Q45’s, but so that you can see for yourself, we’re going to jump into the ANC Test.
ANC Test
So like you may have just see, the Sony XB910N’s do a noticeably better job of blocking out low frequency sounds like road noise or airplane noise than the Q45’s. With the Q45’s, the let in a lot of higher pitched noise during the road noise portion of the test. However, when it comes to blocking out chatter, the Q45’s did a better job of blocking out those higher frequency sounds than the XB910N. Overall I would say the XB910N would be better for your bus ride commute or for the airplane, where as the Q45’s would be better for the cafeteria. However, with the Q45’s, they do have noticeably more cabin pressure than the XB910N. Where as cabin pressure isn’t a problem for the XB910N. Overall, I do think the XB910N have the better preforming ANC here… but nonetheless, the ANC On the Q45 is very impressive for a pair of entry level ANC Headphones.
But now lets talk about the ambient mode on these headphones. Now both of these headphones have a decent sounding ambient mode and you can adjust them to your liking. However, the ambient mode on the XB910N just sound more natural. But more importantly, the ambient mode on the XB910N is the active kind, meaning that they will actively block out sudden loud sounds like this.
XB910N Active Ambient mode Demo
So like you just saw, with the XB910N, when they detected that loud siren, they turned off their ambient mode and protected your ears from just getting blasted, and when that siren stopped, they turned their ambient mode back on. And I think this is great if you’re walking around the city. Whereas with the Q45’s, they just let in everything.
But also, with both of these headphones, they have a talk mode or sony calls it quick attention, where you can talk to someone without having to remove you’re headphones like this.
Now I think that having this type of feature is very useful, especially if you’re traveling with your headphones. However, with the Q45’s, you can only have your ambient mode or talk mode… not both, where as with the XB910N, you have both your ambient mode and quick attention mode. So overall, I am going to have to say that the XB910N have a significantly better ambient mode than the Q45’s… which I feel is very important for commuters and constant fliers.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now I feel that both of these headphones have decent enough sounding microphones for phone calls while in a quite room.
But I do feel that the microphone on the Space Q45’s does sound a little more robotic.
But the microphone on the Q45’s does a much better job of dealing with noise pollution than the microphone found on the XB910N.
Cause with the XB910N, these are trying to reduce this road noise, but you can still hear a decent amount of road noise in the background and there is some interference with my voice.
Now when it comes to blocking out chatter, these are doing a decent job.
And the Q45’s are also doing a decent job here. But I feel these are blocking out more noise. So overall, I feel that both of these headphones have decent sounding microphones on them, but I do feel the Q45’s are the way to go if you need to block out noise pollution.
But with all of that being said, the Soundcore Space Q45’s are a great value for any frequent flyer cause they block out an impressive amount noise and they also have a very impressive battery life. Plus they also come included with a decent hardshell carrying case, and these are a pair of entry level ANC headphones. However, when compared to the Sony XB910N… which I feel is a fair comparison… I just feel that the XB910N are more comfortable, they are better built, they have a better preforming ambient mode and they sound better. So personally for me, I do prefer the Sony XB910N over the Soundcore Space Q45’s. I feel that they are the better long term investment. However, if you’re looking to block out the most amount of noise without spending the big bucks, then you’ll might want to go with the Soundcore Space Q45.