Soundcore Sleep A20 ZDNET's key takeaways The Sleep A20 are Soundcore's earbuds designed for sleep, retailing for $180
The specially designed sleep earbuds are comfortable enough to wear the whole night through and are perfect for listening to ambient noise before falling asleep
The noise masking isn't strong for dampening environmental sounds, so I wouldn't recommend these for people looking to silence bedroom noise. View now at Best Buy
Trouble sleeping? Some people get themselves to bed by listening to audiobooks, podcasts, or ambient noise to fall asleep. In fact, one of my best friends told me he couldn't go to bed without listening to an audiobook on his AirPods. But AirPods are deeply uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time and useless if you're a side sleeper.
That's where sleep earbuds come in. With their discreet and lightweight design, the Sleep A20 earbuds are made to not only stay in your ears all night but be comfortable enough to sleep soundly with.
When my colleague reviewed Soundcore's Sleep A10 earbuds last year, she wrote that they had some pitfalls but were ultimately a refreshing addition to the emerging market of sleep wearables. A year later, with the release of the Sleep A20, I was pleased to see that Soundcore took the feedback to heart in designing the new earbuds, correcting the issues mentioned by reviewers while introducing a host of new and improved features.
The earbuds come in a sleek, matte sandstone case, and their flat, smooth design exudes a subdued and relaxing form factor. This is important, as there are two essential traits sleep earbuds need to get right for me to approve them: comfort and sound-dampening. If a brand can nail these two things, they're 80% there.
Let's start with comfort. As someone who has used sleep mask headphones and earplugs that jut out while laying on my side, the best sleep wearables, in my opinion, lie flush to my ear. These earbuds are smaller than your thumb and feature a flat bud design with two silicon covers: one on the earbud tip and one on the wing. As a regular side sleeper, I can say that I experienced no discomfort, pressure, or obtrusion while wearing these buds. The A20 buds nail comfort, first and foremost, and get close to being altogether unnoticeable because of their thoughtful, flat design.
In other respects, however, the earbuds fell short of masking environmental noises. My bedroom overlooks a busy two-way street in Brooklyn that sees its fair share of nighttime traffic, so it's a great testing ground for all things noise-cancellation. Even with the earbuds on medium volume (high volume kept me awake) and a soundscape playing, I could hear the sirens outside my apartment. Soundcore made some pretty bold claims about these earbuds' ability to block out "a partner sawing wood, chopping logs, or grinding gravel." I don't think they can.
Also: The best sleep headphones of 2025
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