TL;DR: The sound quality of the X10 is not amazing, but it can be highly tuned with EQ modes and custom EQ options. The ANC is ineffective, but the transparency mode is good. The X10 is great for workouts, and it has excellent battery life. At its MSRP of $80, it’s not worth it, but at its current $55 price, I would recommend the X10.
After my right PowerBeats Pro earbud stopped charging, I’ve been searching for a good alternative in terms of fit and comfort while running. Now that I’ve tried the Anker Soundcore Sport X10, I can’t say I’ve found my endgame earbuds just yet. But we’ll get to that. Anker launched the Sport X10 for $80 in March of this year, but they can now be found on Amazon for a consistent price of $55, or $60 for the red and white colors.
In terms of appearance, the Sport X10s look like beans in your ear, with a noticeable protrusion. I would not describe them as ugly, but they are definitely not understated. Unlike the PowerBeats Pro, the ear hook on the Sport X10 only goes just above the tip of your ear. I’ve found that this makes the fit less secure than the PowerBeats Pro, which have never fallen out of my ears in well over one year of use.
In the box, you will find a quick start guide, a ‘How to Wear’ manual, safety information, a USB to USB-C charging cable, extra ear tips in four sizes, and the earbuds in their charging case. The default ear tips are the second smallest of the four sizes. The charging case is noticeably smaller and lighter than that of the PowerBeats Pro. While it cannot be wirelessly charged, the USB-C cable is a fine alternative. Also, the button to open the charging case is a convenient feature that many will appreciate.
The unique feature that allows the charging case to be so compact is the rotation mechanism for the ear hooks. Resting in the case, the earbuds have their ear hooks folded down like a snail. To rotate them out, simply pick up an earbud, grab the hook on the outside of the red accent, and rotate it away from you.
Bluetooth pairing is very easy, as expected from a modern pair of wireless earbuds. Simply open the case, hold the small button on the back of the case, and connect via your phone. The earbuds feature Bluetooth 5.2, which cannot be said about the PowerBeats Pro. This standard allows for better power efficiency. In fact, the Sport X10 has a battery life of eight hours, with an additional 32 hours provided by the case for a total of 40 hours. This is almost double the battery life of the PowerBeats Pro (with ANC off) with a case half the size. A 10-minute charge with the included cable nets you an additional two hours of listening. The case has a battery life indicator with three white LEDs.
Both earbuds have a single button for touch controls located above the Soundcore logo. By default, a single press is used for volume up/down, depending which earbud you press. A double press on the left earbud skips to the next song, while a double press on the right earbud toggles play/pause. Holding the button on either earbud for two seconds switches between standard sound and noise cancellation.
Notice how I said “by default.” The Soundcore app is the absolute best thing about the Sport X10. The app automatically recognizes the Sport X10 once paired via Bluetooth. It immediately prompts you to update the firmware, which is quick and easy. The app is simple and intuitive. The breathing exercises tab seems like a gimmick, but the custom EQ control, custom touch controls, and ambient sound settings are super useful. The app even shows you how to set up a control center widget to switch between normal, ANC, and transparency mode. Unfortunately, I am unable to move the widget up from the bottom of the control center on my iPhone.
Default sound quality on the Sport X10 is not on par with my expectations. It sounds hollow compared to the three-year-old PowerBeats Pro. I don’t think it’s necessarily an issue with the soundstage, as the treble and bass levels can be adjusted with various EQ modes, but the earbuds just lack detail in general. Unfortunately, I don’t have any other similarly priced earbuds to compare the X10 to. The default EQ modes in the app are very nifty, and they genuinely make a huge difference in sound quality depending on the song and genre you’re listening to. I would highly recommend playing around with these customization options. The BassUp mode gets me in the zone for workouts, but it does not improve sound quality at all. I cannot stress enough how much I love the default EQ modes. Listening to “Invincible” by GAWNE and Atlus, the Acoustic and Hip-Hop modes improved vocal quality in the song over the default sound profile. Great job on the customization front! While the sound quality could use some fine tuning, perhaps future firmware updates can address some of the shortcomings.
While the Sport X10 is a $55 pair of earbuds, the ANC quality is lacking. There’s a reason Anker hardly mentions it at all in its advertising for the Sport X10. With music playing and the earbuds in normal mode, voices are clearly audible. With ANC on, some of the mid frequencies are eliminated, but the difference is negligible. Having ANC on without music playing is useless, as it just produces an annoying hissing sound. On a positive note, the EQ modes still work and produce the same effect with ANC on.
However, a key standout is the surprisingly effective transparency mode. By boosting the mids from the ANC microphone without affecting the sound quality of the music, voices are genuinely amplified above the levels of the normal mode. With music playing, this mode allows you to hear voices clearly, although I still wouldn’t recommend having a conversation with music playing, even in this mode.
I can’t fault Anker for catering heavily to athletes, which they’ve done very well. The IPX7 waterproof rating is industry-leading, and it means the earbuds can survive submersion in water for brief periods – up to 30 minutes in one meter of water. Of course, it also means the earbuds are immune to sweat during intense workouts. The thumping BassUp mode will appeal to many intense athletes, although like I said, I’m not a huge fan of the sound quality of these earbuds by default or with this mode.
The X10 previously had an issue with voice assistant support, but they fixed it in a firmware update. Your phone’s assistant can now be toggled via touch controls.
The final aspect that concerns many prospective earbud buyers is: does this pair of earbuds pass the glasses test? As a wearer of glasses, I have tested this and I can say that the Sport X10 passes the glasses test. Glasses can either rest on top of the ear hooks or be secured in place behind them.
Overall, I would recommend the Anker Soundcore Sport X10 at $55. At $80, there are better options in terms of sound quality. But at the current $55 price point, the inclusion of ANC and a brilliant companion app make the Sport X10 hard to compete with. If you’re looking for better sound quality at an affordable price, check out reviews of the Beats Studio Buds (on sale for $90), Google Pixel Buds A-Series ($93), Sony WF-C500 ($68), or Edifier W240TN (on sale for $70). On the other hand, if you need earbuds that won’t come out during intense workouts and you have under $100 to spend, the Soundcore Sport X10 gets my recommendation.
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