Unboxing

Soundcore Q45 were bought from the HEKKA store, from a Chinese warehouse. The parcel arrived in 2.5 weeks. No duty or other additional fees had to be paid. Packed in a plastic parcel bag, without any padding, so the corners of the package had a little "decoration".

In the package, the headphones are placed in a carrying bag adapted to them. The bag itself additionally comes with: USB-A / USB-C and 3.5mm / 3.5mm audio cable. The packaging is written in EN, but the product instructions are in CN, but who reads it? Ha ha!

Quality

When purchasing the wireless BT headphones, I had two colors to choose from: white or black. The manufacturer itself also has a blue model on its website, but HEKKA did not have such a choice. I found the black color the most attractive, so I chose it.

The BT headphones themselves are black, but the outer casing of the speakers has a dark blue metallic shade, which really looks very modern. Space Q45 hoop - metal, with the ability to expand and adapt to various head shapes. Padding is placed on the inside. 

The speakers' wide cushions fit comfortably around the ears. Covered with imitation leather. The speaker housing on the left has NC (ANC) and power buttons, a USB-C connector and an LED indicator light. On the right, the body has Vol + / - , Play / Pause and a headphone jack. The speakers of the headphones rotate and can bend to the side of the bow. Overall, when holding the Space Q45 headphones themselves, it seems to be made of solid plastic.

The carrying bag has a quiet, single zipper. A small fabric handle is sewn on the outside. A specially molded shape placed inside the bag is designed for convenient storage of headphones, which can also be easily removed. The cables included in the set look of high quality, the 3.5mm audio plugs are covered in gold.

Functionality

Space Q45 supports the following audio encoding technologies: Hi-Res Wireles, Hi-Res, LDAC. These technologies ensure high-resolution sound reproduction, as well as its transmission via BT connection. LDAC provides higher sound quality but increases power consumption, only supported by Android phones.

After pressing the NC button, you can choose from three options: NC (ANC), Normal, Transparent, and the functions of the NC button can be controlled through the app. In the headphones, a woman's voice announces which filter to switch to. Also in NC mode there are two options, adaptive and manual control.

By pressing the ON / OFF button twice, you can connect a second device. In this case, if it is connected to a PC, you can additionally connect to the phone. In the app, you can see which devices are connected and which you want to disconnect. 

What did we like?

Soundcore Q45's design commands attention. Soft ear cushions do not press either the ears or the head itself, but fit easily. For comfortable wearing, the length of the bow can be adjusted according to yourself. The NC function is very useful when working in openspace office. With ANC on, it's like asking everyone to make less noise, so I like to just put on my headphones with ANC on without any music.

Sufficiently long battery life. Only 5 minutes of charging is enough for up to 4 hours of use. After testing the conversations, the interlocutors assessed that the voice was clear and rich, without any additional noise.

Also, no problems talking outside, the microphones cope well with noise. The transparent filter allows you to increase the volume up to 40% volume so that no echo is formed. In addition, it has an AUX connection, after the headphones are discharged, if the available device allows, you can connect them with a cable.

In the app, you can choose the desired EQ or create your own. With Bass Boost on, there's a lot of boost in the low end. I was surprised that all sound effects are perfectly audible while watching movies. A convenient function - battery level notification - is set via the app, when the headphones are turned on, it notifies you of the battery level: High, Medium or Low.

After removing the BT headphones, you can turn the speakers so that they are pressed against your chest - like a DJ. If you keep forgetting to turn off Space Q45, you can set automatic shutdown - the following options are available: 30, 60, 90, 120 min or always on.

A convenient travel bag - less risk of breaking or otherwise damaging the headphone case when pulling from a full backpack. BT 5.3 - long distance operation. In the office, I connect the Q45 to the PC for conversations and listening to music, while walking with them around the premises, the kitchen is 30 meters away through two walls - no problems!

What we didn't like?

Well, I will say without hiding that headphones have both pluses and minuses. The NC filter is a great feature, but only for the office or when there is little/even noise. While driving a bus, one or another speaker suddenly mutes/louds/pulsates. I would think that AI microphones are not able to fully filter out the low frequency. Also, when this filter is turned on, it feels like a small vacuum is created in the ears.

The normal filter produces a lot of white noise, after turning off the headphones, the noise decreases. Noise coming from the back is more suppressed than from the front. Therefore, when chewing or turning the head, the noise level fluctuates.

After connecting the AUX cable, the microphone does not work as well as all the filters. The manufacturer declares that the battery should work for about 50 hours when using ANC, but it's not really the case, up to 35 hours at most. when listening at 28-35 percent volume. When used at work for about 8 hours, it is enough for 3-4 days. During the cold season, the battery drains faster outdoors.

Also, the padding of the headphones hardens in the cold. The manufacturer does not provide information about the resistance of the headphones to moisture (water). The molded plastic in the carrying case for housing the headphones is not well thought out, although it is marked where each speaker should fit, it still fails to place correctly the first time. In the forums, other users suggest simply removing this form.

If automatic shutdown is set, you must remember to press any button, otherwise the headphones will say "bye bye". After turning on LDAC on an android phone, I didn't notice any sound change, in this case it disables the support of two devices. Comparing iOS without LDAC and Android with LDAC on, my ears didn't notice any difference.

Verdict

Wireless headphones have been around for a long time. Before these, I used my old wired SENNHEISER HD 202 in the office. They have a lot of use in life, so I decided it was time to renew, and since it was the holiday season, why not treat myself.

After seeing this model, I decided to take a look, many good reviews - I'm trying it. Plus, at that time, there was definitely a good offer. The price is really high, but I think it's worth it. Why? Excellent sound quality. The reproduced low frequency is rich/soft, does not overshadow the mids and highs. Long battery life. Even real 35h with ANC function is really a lot.

Travel bag. A small thing, but the manufacturer thought about possible damage while wearing. When hunting for shares, you can definitely get a very attractive price. AUX connection. Not often used, but why not? Functionality. Large selection of EQ, adjustment of button functions, 2-device support. Modern and attractive design.