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There are many reasons to get budget earbuds: You’re on a budget, you want to get multiple earbuds at once, you lose earbuds constantly, you don’t trust yourself to keep them for long, etc. But regardless of your reason, there’s a certain level of performance you’d expect from active noise canceling earbuds (ANC) or headphones, even if they are “budget” price. If you’re looking for a great pair of ANC earbuds for a price that won’t make you cry if you lose them, consider the Anker Space A40, currently $53.99 (originally $99.99) after a 46% discount, which I’ve determined is the lowest price they’ve been after looking at price checking tools.
The Soundcore by Anker Space A40 gives you as many features and even better ANC than some high-end pairs for a budget-friendly price tag. I’ve had my pair for some months now, and I can compare the rich and detailed sound to some high-end earbuds I’ve sampled. For the price, the ANC is surprisingly good and also rivals earbuds that go over the $200 price mark. The earbuds have microphones that pick up the sound around you to adjust the ANC accordingly. You can read the full review from PCMag here if you want to go more in depth about its features.
Another impressive quality about these earbuds is their long battery life, with 10 hours of playtime with an additional 50 hours from the charging case. The Soundcore app lets you customize your EQ controls to your liking, but the default audio setting right from the box is already great, so there’s no need to adjust it unless you want to. The earbuds fit well and don’t come off easily, which is a must for any ANC. It is water-resistant with an IPX4 rating.
The main place where these earbuds fall short is capturing your voice when making calls. For the best earbuds for phone calls, consider the Status Between 3ANC. But for a tight budget, the Anker Space A40 does a great job at everything else and is my favorite ANC earbud under $100 dollars.