Soundcore Space One Pro headphones
R3,500, Takealot
I was impressed with the Space One headphones from Soundcore, the subbrand of Anker. They were reasonably priced for solid active noise-cancelling (ANC) cans and have solid audio.
For the new Pro model the sound quality is just as impressive, but even more impressive is the engineering work Soundcore has done to make the headband so foldable.
It folds almost completely in on it itself, with both earcups facing each other. It does look rather like a doughnut, as the adverts show.
But it also has 40 hours of audio with ANC and 60 hours without. Its USB-C port provides 8 hours of playtime on a 5-minute charge and takes two hours to charge to full.
Epos Adapt E1 earbuds
R5,000, Circuitcity
In the age of Teams calls, it’s not possible to work without a set of headphones or earbuds. If they are specifically designed for Teams or Zoom, even better. And if you can use them to listen to music, podcasts or Audible, better still.
Epos thinks it has solved all of those for you with its Adapt E1 earbuds. They are really comfortable and have a great battery life of 14 hours and 50 hours in total from the recharging case.
They have decent ANC performance, which is good considering they have a semi-open design. The call quality is good. There are three beam-forming mics in each earbud, which means noise reduction works well. Anyone in an office, or open-plan room will appreciate these features.
The USB-C dongle included has a lower latency than most Bluetooth connections, so your video call doesn’t lag. The build quality is great. The case feels sturdy, with a satisfying closing snap, and the earbuds are small and lightweight.
You can easily wear them for the whole day without hurting your ears, we found at Stuff. They’re also intuitive to operate and give tactile feedback from button presses.
Just as importantly, they have decent audio quality for music.
• Shapshak is editor-in-chief of Stuff.co.za.
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