Advnture Verdict
The Anker Soundcore Sport X10 are a good quality, affordable pair of running headphones that will particularly appeal to anyone who enjoys running to a pounding beat thanks to their excellent bass. The absence of touch controls is a shame, but battery life is good, they're comfortable for long-term wear, and the unique twisting hook design means they pack down into a surprisingly small case.
Pros
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Affordable price
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Excellent bass
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Smart twisting design
- +
Don't budge during workouts
Cons
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No touch controls
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No auto-pause
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Sound sometimes cuts out in areas of interference
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Anker Soundcore Sport X10: first impressions
The Anker Soundcore Sport X10 (available direct from Anker or from Amazon) are some of the best running headphones we've tested thanks to their smart folding design that allows them to hook securely over your ears during a workout, but still fit neatly into a tiny charging case. It's a smart design that makes them super compact when not in use, and the twisting section moves easily but feels durable.
• List price: $79 / £89
• Weight: 0.16oz / 4.4g per earbud without case
• Colors: black, white
• Active noise cancellation: yes
• Best use: trail running, road running, gym work
Interestingly, there are no touch controls on the buds themselves. Each one has a small button on top that you can customize using the Soundcore smartphone app, but that's all. This was quite a surprise for a pair of modern sports headphones.
The case is charged using a USB-C cable, which is supplied in the packaging, and opens easily with the press of a button on the front (no need to pry it open with your fingernails). The button also contains a small LED display to show the case's current charge level.
On the tech front, the Soundcore Sport X10 offer active noise cancellation (ANC), which makes them well suited to gym workouts where you want to get in the zone, or blocking out distractions at work. Unlike many of the best running headphones, they also have wind cancellation, which aims to solve the problem of roaring air that often occurs when you're running using ANC-equipped earbuds.
All this comes for a surprisingly affordable price of just $79.99 / £89.99 – and you certainly get a whole lot of bass for your money.
Anker Soundcore Sport X10: on the road
What I appreciated most about the Anker Soundcore Sport X10 was their ability to deliver proper, resonant bass during a workout. I'm a big fan of bone conduction headphones thanks to their ability to let you hear ambient sound around you during a workout, but they really struggle to deliver the driving beats that can help you maintain good cadence during long training sessions. This is something Anker Soundcore products are known for, and if the audio profile isn't quite to your liking, you can tweak it using the accompanying mobile app.
The hooks of the headphones themselves are soft and proved comfortable even during long training sessions. If they don't immediately feel right, you can turn them a little to achieve a better fit. The fact that the control button is on top of each earbud means you won't press it into your ear when tweaking the volume or switching tracks, which is a welcome bonus.
You can activate ANC by pressing and holding the button on either earbud for two seconds. This will drain the power a little faster, but I was nevertheless impressed by the Soundcore Sport X10's battery life. In my tests they lasted for the full eight hours promised by Anker when playing without ANC, and six hours with, though it's worth bearing in mind that cranking up the volume will decrease that.
The buds also have a transparency mode that uses their built-in microphones to admit ambient noise. though this never works as well as having your ears open due to the inability to pinpoint where a sound is coming from, but Anker's buds perform better than most, admitting surprisingly detailed sound.
I'm usually wary of using true wireless headphones for running due to the possibility of them simply dropping out partway through a workout, but the Soundcore Sport X10's hook-over design meant this was never a problem. Even before I experimented with the different silicone tips and found the ideal size, they never felt like they were about to budge.
Anker promises that the Soundcore Sport X10 are sweat resistant, and I had no trouble using them in the rain either. For me, the biggest drawback was that the connection to my phone sometimes dropped out briefly in areas with a lot of interference. I live near a large railway station, which often causes trouble with Bluetooth headphones when I run too close, but some headphones are more affected than others and the Soundcore Sport X10's audio skipped more than most.
However, that's a minor grievance, particularly if you don't often work out close to a major transport hub. It wasn't something that happened when I was out hitting the trails or roads further afield. They also paired with my phone extremely quickly and easily, and reconnect the second they're removed from their case, though unlike some other true wireless sports headphones (such as the Amazfit Powerbuds Pro), the audio doesn't pause when you remove them from your ears.
Overall, if you enjoy decent bass during your workouts, I think you'll enjoy the Soundcore Sport X10, and will likely be able to overlook the slight inconvenience of their physical controls and lack of auto-pause. If you're not into pounding beats then you might like to consider something more nuanced, but these headphones are well designed, solidly built, and great value for what they deliver.
