Anker Soundcore Sleep A20 review

Should you buy the Anker Soundcore Sleep A20?

I tend to start sleeping on my back, then roll over to my side, and sometimes find myself on my belly. As with anything in your ears, it will take some getting used to, but I quickly adjusted to the feel of the Sleep A20 earbuds and never felt any uncomfortable pressure while pressing my ears into the pillow. They come with four sizes of ear tips for blocking noise and three sizes of ear wings to rest in the concha, so you have plenty of options to find your right fit. There are also three sizes of what Soundcore calls “breathable” ear tips, which have two slots at the end of the ear tips to allow for more airflow but compromise isolation.

The Sleep A20 has no active noise canceling, so using the ear tips and wings to get a good seal is crucial to ensuring optimal noise isolation. The ear tips have two layers of rubber seals that sit outside the ear canal to help block out sound, but even so, they are not foolproof for blocking out noise. In my overnight testing during a hot summer evening, I couldn’t hear my partner rustling beside me or any buzzing or humming from my apartment’s appliances. Still, I could hear the occasional car racing down the road from the open window despite listening to a recording of rainfall at 60% volume.

As you can see in the chart above, the Sleep A20 earbuds provide minimal isolation (0-10 dB) at low frequencies below 500 Hz, moderate isolation (10-30 dB) in the mid-range from 500 Hz to 2 kHz, and the best isolation (30-40 dB) at higher frequencies above 2 kHz. The peak isolation of about 40 dB occurs around 5-6 kHz, which means the earbuds are best at blocking out high-pitched sounds like crickets singing in the trees or birds chirping in the early morning.

Rainfall is the default sound effect that comes pre-installed with the Sleep A20 earbuds and starts playing as soon as you put them in your ears, but I quickly found myself searching for alternatives within the Soundcore app. Both the Rain and Misty Railway recordings were lacking in clarity and had very poor envelopment. I want to be able to hear the distinct raindrops and or waves against the shore to be mentally transported to a peaceful location. But instead, it all sounded staticky, dull, and muddy, and I’m reminded I’m in bed wearing earbuds and listening to shoddy recordings. I don’t know where Anker is sourcing these recordings from or if they are getting them themselves, but perhaps they need better equipment.

The app gives you two listening modes: Bluetooth and Sleep. You can use Bluetooth 5.3 (with support for SBC and AAC) to listen to playlists or podcasts from your favorite music streaming apps. These earbuds are not designed with audio performance as a priority, so don’t think you can use them as your daily commuting earbuds, too. Simply put, the sound quality is poor and especially tinny. For instance, Freddie Mercury’s vocals, especially in higher ranges, sound thin or piercing in “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. The cymbals and high-hat also sound overly crisp or harsh.

Aside from the library of presets, the Sleep mode is where you can set your bedtime and alarm, and there’s also an optional Smart Volume that does its best to raise the volume to mask noise disturbances. To access any of the Sleep Data tracking, you will have to set up a Soundcore account. Not setting up an account will not mitigate privacy concerns; I set up my account after two nights of sleeping, which, to my surprise, loaded all that prior data. It tracks things like how light or deep your sleep was, how long and when you were awake, how many times you rolled over, and what position you tend to sleep in the most. Some of this data can be illuminating or at least explain why you feel so tired during the day.

Battery life is excellent, so you won’t have to worry about the Sleep A20 earbuds dying in the middle of the night. Soundcore claims 14 hours of playtime (10 hours with Bluetooth), which is more than the recommended 8 hours of sleep per day I attempt to get. The charging case provides an additional 80 hours of playtime (55 with Bluetooth on), and I was able to leave it on my night table to recharge the buds for a few days before needing to find a USB-C cable.

All in all, the Anker Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds are a decent solution for light sleepers seeking audio-assisted slumber. Their comfortable design, customizable fit, and impressive battery life are definite strengths. The earbuds can block out some ambient noise but struggle with low-pitched frequencies. They do stay secure throughout the night, even for restless sleepers.

However, the lackluster quality of some pre-installed sound effects is a notable drawback. At $149.99 at Amazon, they’re a considerable investment, but for those struggling with noise disturbances or who rely on audio to fall asleep, the Sleep A20 could be a worthwhile purchase. Just don’t expect perfect passive isolation, and be prepared to experiment with custom sound mixes to get the most out of these sleep-focused earbuds.

What are the best Anker Soundcore Sleep A20 alternatives?

Here are a few alternative earbuds designed for sleeping to consider:

• 1MORE Z30 Sleep Earbuds ($79.99 on Amazon): These are slightly more affordable and have an ergonomic fit. They don’t have ear wings, so they are slightly less secure and more likely to fall out of your ears. But they have a similar battery life and a companion app.
• Bose Sleepbuds II: These earbuds have officially been discontinued, but if you can find them in stock, they are a high-end option. However, they will effectively be resurrected by former Bose engineers as the forthcoming Ozlo Seepbuds.
• Loop Quiet Ear Plugs ($24 at Amazon): If you can do without any audio, these earplugs have better passive isolation and are effective in various loud environments and use cases aside from sleeping.

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