I absolutely, positively, cannot sleep without ambient noise. I’m not sure when that neurotic prerequisite for sleep took root, but it’s here now, and I regard it as a fact of life. As you might imagine, that quirk is fine when I’m at home since I have plenty of noise machines at my disposal—an air conditioner, a smart speaker, and tons of earbuds—to fill the haunting silence that prevents me from sleep like unresolved vengeance prevents a ghost from passing on. But when I’m not at home, things get tricky.
Usually, if I’m at my parents’ house or traveling, I’ll whip out my phone and play my main guy Erik Eriksson’s “White Noise 3 Hour Long” on Spotify. It’s truly the most important composition ever made for extremely personal reasons (it’s just 3 hours of white noise that plays on repeat). This technique works in a pinch, but it also kind of sucks. My phone speakers aren’t good, and it kills my battery big time. It also may subject others to what they may regard as “annoying-ass noise.” It’s not ideal, but sleeping with regular earbuds also sucks big time—in fact, it hurts. Regular wireless earbuds aren’t meant to be slept with, since their shape causes them to press into your ears, which then causes a phenomenon known as “ouch.” For those reasons, there’s a new category of earbuds, and Soundcore decided to throw its hat into that ring.
Soundcore Sleep A30 Surprisingly good at blocking out unwanted noise. Pros Good noise cancellation
Good noise cancellation Lots of in-app sound options
Lots of in-app sound options Clever trick for extending battery life Cons No earbud is comfortable long-term
No earbud is comfortable long-term Still some noise bleed
The $229 Soundcore Sleep A30 are the successor to the A20 wireless earbuds, and they’re designed specifically for sleep. When I say “specifically” here, I mean very specifically. Everything from the buds’ features to the shape is meant to help you block out noise or soothe you to sleep. Speaking of the shape, it’ll probably be the first thing you notice. Instead of regular earbuds that have stems and bulbs, the Sleep A30 are flat. This is critical for ensuring that the buds don’t bother the f**k out of your ears while you’re lying down. As a side sleeper, that design is especially important since my head—even with a cushy pillow—ends up putting lots of pressure on one ear. Because of that, the first thing I wanted to test was how they felt in my ears.
The verdict? Pretty good, but note the “pretty” part. While the Sleep A30 are far and away the only earbuds I would ever venture to wear in my ears all night long, they still get a little uncomfortable with longer periods of use. There’s an unavoidable discomfort with sticking something in your ear that even Soundcore’s emphasis on design can’t fully mitigate. Don’t get me wrong, that slight discomfort is by no means a dealbreaker, but it is something to keep in mind if you’re very sensitive to that sort of thing. It’s even less of a dealbreaker, however, when you factor in how well these earbuds actually work.
The first thing you need to know feature-wise about the Sleep A30 is that they’re the first pair of active noise cancellation (ANC) earbuds for sleep, which puts the emphasis on being able to block out disruptive sounds. How exactly you block those sounds depends on what you choose via Soundcore’s corresponding app. If you’re looking for something soothing, there’s a selection of “AI Brainwave Audio,” which are binaural beats that are supposed to trick your brain into a calm state with the right frequencies. Audio selections in this category include Starry Sky, Ocean, and Forest, which are all long, droning synth sounds played over an ambient nature backdrop.
The second category of audio is “Snore Masking,” which is obviously designed to block out any snorers nearby. These sounds drop the synths and double down on the nature sound effects like “Whistling Winds” or “Himalayan Downpour.” There’s one called “Urban Breeze” that I enjoy since it feels like a soundscape that could be happening right outside my window. If none of those are what you’re looking for, though, you can use the “White Noise” tab to create your own tracks by combining sounds like light rain and campfire. Or, I don’t know, get real weird and go with boiling soup over the sound of a keyboard typing. There are no rules in the create-your-own section, and I love that.
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