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Type In-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless Truly Wireless
Transducer Dynamic
Noise Cancelling Yes
Mic Yes
The Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless are lower mid-range noise cancelling in-ears with a few extra features. Notably, there's an adaptive active noise cancelling (ANC) system, which outperforms similar products from this manufacturer, like the Anker SoundCore Life P3 Truly Wireless. They also support LDAC codec, which is Sony's proprietary codec for hi-res audio, and have robust sound customization features via their companion app. You can even wirelessly recharge their carrying case, making them a solid choice if you want affordable yet versatile in-ears.
Our Verdict
6.8 Neutral Sound
TheAnker Space A40 are fair for neutral sound. Their warm sound profile brings a cozy feel to vocals and instruments in your favorite tunes. Out-of-the-box, they lack some low-bass, though, and their underemphasized treble veils details in the mix. Thanks to the graphic EQ and presets in their companion app, you can switch up their sound. Of course, as in-ear headphones, their soundstage isn't the most immersive.
Pros
-
Sound customization features available via companion app.
Cons
-
Bad passive soundstage.
See our Neutral Sound Recommendations
8.3 Commute/Travel
TheAnker Space A40 are great for commuting and travel. Thanks to their adaptive ANC system, these headphones can block out background noises like bus and plane engines. They boast a comfortable fit and a portable design that's easy to take with you on the go. Plus, they last over eight hours continuously, and their carrying case supplies an extra four charges if you need it.
Pros
-
Outstanding noise isolation performance.
-
Comfortable and well-built design.
Cons
-
They lack stability fins and can pop out of your ear.
See our Commute/Travel Recommendations
8.0 Sports/Fitness
TheAnker Space A40 are great for sports and fitness. They're comfortable enough for long workouts and sturdy enough to withstand wear and tear. If you like to exercise outdoors, there's even an IPX4 rating for water resistance to help protect them against the elements. They'll stay in your ears for more moderate workouts, but since they lack stability fins, their fit isn't quite as secure as some other models.
Pros
-
Comfortable and well-built design.
-
Rated IPX4 for water resistance.
Cons
-
They lack stability fins and can pop out of your ear.
See our Sports/Fitness Recommendations
7.5 Office
TheAnker Space A40 are good for office use. With a continuous battery life of over eight hours, they last through most work days, and their carrying case offers some extra charges if you need to top them up. You can pair these headphones to up to two devices at a time, making it easy to switch between your phone and your laptop. Also, their adaptive ANC system helps you focus on your work by reducing ambient noise, like the chatter of nearby coworkers.
Pros
-
Outstanding noise isolation performance.
-
Comfortable and well-built design.
-
Supports multi-device pairing.
Cons
-
Mic has poor recording quality.
See our Office Recommendations
5.5 Wireless Gaming
TheAnker Space A40 are truly wireless headphones. While you can connect them to Bluetooth-enabled PCs, their latency is likely too high to be suitable for gaming, even when using their low-latency 'Game Mode'.
See our Wireless Gaming Recommendations
5.3 Wired Gaming
TheAnker Space A40 are Bluetooth-only headphones; you can't use them wired.
6.4 Phone Calls
TheAnker Space A40 are passable for phone calls. Their integrated mic has poor recording quality, so your voice sounds distant and sibilant to whoever's on the other end of the line. The mic can separate your voice from moderate background noise, but it's no match for louder environments like a busy street. You'll want to take your calls in quieter places if possible.
Pros
-
Outstanding noise isolation performance.
Cons
-
Mic has poor recording quality.
- 6.8 Neutral Sound
- 8.3 Commute/Travel
- 8.0 Sports/Fitness
- 7.5 Office
- 5.5 Wireless Gaming
- 5.3 Wired Gaming
- 6.4 Phone Calls
+ Create your own
- Updated Jan 09, 2024: The following test group has been updated following TB 1.6: Bluetooth Connection. There have also been text changes made throughout the review, including to the usages to match these results.
- Updated Jan 09, 2024: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.6 , which updates how we measure latency. We've updated and renamed the following test groups: Wired Connection, Bluetooth Connection, and Wireless Connection (Dongle). We've also added new codec latency measurements and provided an audio sample of recorded latency.
- Updated Nov 10, 2023: We've added a comparison between these earbuds and the Samsung Galaxy Buds FE Truly Wireless in < a href="#test_302">Stability.
- Updated Oct 17, 2023: Updated review text for clarity. No changes to test results.
- Updated Jun 19, 2023: We have retested battery life using SBC codec and added our measurements to the Battery text.
- Updated May 02, 2023: Fixed a written mistake in the Controls test stating that they had physical buttons. These earbuds have a touch-sensitive control scheme, and the text has been adjusted.
- Updated Mar 08, 2023: After user feedback, we have re-evaluated the Noise Handling scoring to better reflect their performance. The Speech + Pink Noise Handling score has been lowered from 7.5 to 7.0, and the Speech + Subway Noise Handling has been lowered from 8.0 to 7.0.
- Updated Jan 17, 2023: We've added a comparison with these headphones and the Nothing Ear (stick) Truly Wireless in Noise Isolation.
- Updated Dec 23, 2022: We have measured the 'Game Mode' latency in Bluetooth.
- Updated Dec 02, 2022: Review published.
- Updated Nov 18, 2022: Early access published.
- Updated Nov 11, 2022: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Sep 15, 2022: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Aug 29, 2022: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Anker Soundcore Space A40 come in three color variants: 'Black', 'White', and 'Blue'. We tested the 'Black' variant, and you can see our model's labelhere. If you encounter another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the forums, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Headphones
TheAnker Space A40 are truly wireless headphones with a powerful adaptive ANC performance. They can block out an outstanding amount of ambient noise that rivalshigh-end competitors like the Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless andSennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3, but you can also switch to one of five manual ANC modes if you prefer a different level of noise isolation. Like the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro Truly Wireless, they also support LDAC codec for streaming hi-res audio on supported apps. Unfortunately, their mic's recording quality is similarly poor, so if you care about call quality, check out our picks for the best earbuds and Bluetooth headsets for phone calls.
Check out our recommendations for the best wireless Bluetooth earbudsand the best noise cancelling earbuds.
Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC Truly Wireless
TheAnker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC Truly Wireless and theAnker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless are very similar earbuds. The A40 have a warmer sound than the bass-heavy Liberty 4 NC, but both can be adjusted with the companion app's graphic EQ and presets. Their ANC systems both work incredibly well, with the A40 blocking out slightly more bassy ambientnoise than the Liberty 4. They both last around as longon a single charge as well.Ultimately, your preference between either willcome down to what kind of design you want. The Liberty 4 NC have a bud and stem design that is slightly more stable, but the A40's bud-only design takes up less visual real estate and has a more subtle look.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless
The Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless offer a better overall performance than the Sony WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless. The Anker are more comfortable, have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer, and their adaptive ANC does a significantly better job of blocking background noise.However, the Sony are better-built and have a more stable in-ear fit. Their continuous battery life is longer, though the Anker still have more extra charges in their case.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Anker SoundCore Life P3 Truly Wireless
The Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless have a slight edge over the Anker SoundCore Life P3 Truly Wireless. While both headphones are comfortable and well-built, the Space A40 have a significantly better noise isolation performance, a longer continuous battery life, and support multi-device pairing.However, the Life P3 have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 True Wireless
The Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless are better in-ears than the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 True Wireless. While both buds are well-built and comfortable, the Space A40 have a better-balanced sound profile, which some users may prefer, and their ANC system does a significantly better job of blocking out background noise. They also have a better battery performance. However, the Liberty 4 have a virtual soundstage feature to help immerse you in your audio, and their companion app offers more overall features.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro Truly Wireless
The Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless are slightly better in-ears than the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro Truly Wireless. While both headphones are similarly comfortable and well-built, the Space A40 have a significantly better noise isolation performance, a longer-lasting continuous battery life, and one more additional charge in the case.However, the Liberty 3 Pro have a more stable in-ear fit.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
JBL Tune Buds True Wireless
The JBL Tune Buds True Wireless are better earbuds for neutral sound than the Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless. While both buds can be customized with graphics EQs and presets, the JBL have a more balanced sound profile. They also have a more stable fit and a longer continuous battery life. That said, the Anker have a much better ANC system that blocks out a wider range of frequencies than the JBL.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Jabra Elite 7 Pro True Wireless
The Jabra Elite 7 Pro True Wireless and the Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless have different strengths, and depending on your usage, you may prefer either one. While both buds are comfortable, well-built, and have similar battery performances, the Jabra have a more neutral and balanced sound profile, which some users may prefer. However, the Anker have a significantly better noise isolation performance.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Nothing Ear (stick) Truly Wireless
The Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless are better budget-friendly headphones than the Nothing Ear (stick) Truly Wireless. The Anker are in-ears with ANC, meaning they can block out a significant amount of background noise around you. They have a superior battery performance, and support multi-device pairing as well as LDAC codec for Hi-Res audio. However, the Nothing are earbuds with a one-size-fits-all design. They're more comfortable, better built, andhave a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
+ Show more
Test Results
Design
Type In-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless Truly Wireless
Transducer Dynamic
TheAnker Space A40 look somewhat similar in design to the Anker Soundcore Life Dot 2 Truly Wireless. They have a stemless bud design with a glossy frame and a semi-matte touch-sensitive surface. The touch surface also has the manufacturer's logo, and these headphones come in three color variants: 'Black', 'White', and 'Blue'.
—
7.5 Design
Weight 0.02 lbs
Clamping Force
These headphones have a comfortable in-ear fit. They don't have as deep of a fit as other headphones from this manufacturer, like the Anker Soundcore Life Dot 2 Truly Wireless. They also feel lightweight, and using the controls doesn't push the buds deeper into your ear. However, they can cause a plunging feeling when you're putting them in for the first time.
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LEARN ABOUT COMFORT
7.6 Design
OS Compatibility
Ease Of Use Decent
Feedback Good
Call/Music Control Yes
Volume Control Yes
Microphone Control No
Channel Mixing No
Noise Cancelling Control On/Off
Talk-Through
Additional Controls Voice Assistant
The Anker Space A40 have good controls. There's a touch-sensitive surface on each bud, but they aren't the most intuitive to use since the layout splits controls on each bud. Luckily, you can use the companion app to remap the controls to your liking, and you can even add volume controls without losing other commands. There are also audible chimes while cycling between ANC on, normal mode, and transparency mode. There are tones available for tap feedback, too, but you'll have to activate this via the companion app.
On the left bud:
- Double tap: Skips to the next track.
On the right bud:
- Single tap: Plays and pauses audio.
On either bud:
- Double tap: Answers and ends calls.
- Tap and hold for two seconds: Switch between ANC on, transparency mode, which allows you to hear your surroundings without taking out your earbuds, and normal mode.
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LEARN ABOUT CONTROLS
9.4 Design
L 1.2" (3.1 cm)
W 1.2" (3.1 cm)
H 1.1" (2.9 cm)
Volume 1.73 in³ (28.30 cm³)
Transmitter Required No
Like most in-ears, these headphones are very portable. They're small enough to fit into most pockets or bags without an issue.
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LEARN ABOUT PORTABILITY
7.5 Design
Type Hard case
L 1.7" (4.4 cm)
W 2.7" (6.8 cm)
H 1.1" (2.9 cm)
Volume 5.16 in³ (84.50 cm³)
The carrying case feels good and sturdy. It's mostly made of matte plastic on the outside and glossy plastic inside the case. There are three LED lights at the front of the case to indicate the battery charge and a reset/pairing button on the back of the base.
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LEARN ABOUT CASE
7.5 Design
The build quality is good. They're mostly made of plastic, but the touch-sensitive surface feels a little cheaper than the rest of the body. The buds are certified IPX4 for resistance against water splashes, and they come with several different tip sizes to help you get the best fit.
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LEARN ABOUT BUILD QUALITY
7.0 Design
These in-ears are decently stable but lack stability fins to ensure a truly stable fit. They'll stay in place if you're listening to audio at your desk or on the couch, but talking and chewing can break the ear tips' seal, causing the buds to wiggle around. They can fall out if you wear them during moderate to intense physical activity. If you're looking for earbuds with a more stable fit, try the Samsung Galaxy Buds FE Truly Wireless, which have stability wings to keep the buds in place while you're moving.
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LEARN ABOUT STABILITY
Design
—
Design
—
Design
—
Design
- Anker Soundcore Space A40
- Charging case
- 5x ear tips
- USB-A to USB-C charging cable
- Quick start guide
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Sound
Bass Amount
Treble Amount
The Anker A40 have a warm sound profile. Although they lack thump and rumble in the low-bass, their extra high-bass adds warmth to mixes. A dip in the mid-mid extending into the treble range means that vocals and instruments lack detail and clarity. Luckily, if you prefer a different sound, their companion app offers a graphic EQ and presets to help you customize their sound.
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LEARN ABOUT SOUND PROFILE
9.0 Sound
Avg. Std. Deviation
The frequency response consistency is outstanding. Once you achieve a good fit using the included ear tips, you'll experience consistent audio delivery each time you use them.
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LEARN ABOUT FREQUENCY RESPONSE CONSISTENCY
Sound
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LEARN ABOUT RAW FREQUENCY RESPONSE
8.0 Sound
Std. Err.
Low-Frequency Extension
Low-Bass
Mid-Bass
High-Bass
These headphones have great bass accuracy. The response is tilted, though there's still an underemphasis of low to mid-bass. Mixes lack thump and rumble, as well as punch and kick. However, the response gets close to neutral in the high-bass range, which helps add warmth and boom back into your mix.
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LEARN ABOUT BASS ACCURACY
8.3 Sound
Std. Err.
Low-Mid
Mid-Mid
High-Mid
The Anker A40 have great mid accuracy. Like the bass, the mid response is tilted. The low-mids are flat and neutral, resulting in present vocals and instruments, while the mid to high-mid is rolled off. It nudges vocals and instruments to the back of the mix as well as weakens them.
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LEARN ABOUT MID ACCURACY
6.1 Sound
Std. Err.
Low-Treble
Mid-Treble
High-Treble
The treble accuracy is mediocre. The response is mostly underemphasized, resulting in very veiled vocals and instruments as well as dull sibilants like cymbals. In songs like Rock Me Amadeus by Falco, hi-hats in the first verse sound a bit lispy, while the lead singer's voice lacks detail.
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LEARN ABOUT TREBLE ACCURACY
7.5 Sound
Peaks
Dips 0.81 dB
The peaks and dips performance is good, which indicates that these headphones control their sound profile well. There's a peak in the low-mid, which is more prominent in the left driver and muddies vocals and instruments. A dip in the low-treble veils the upper harmonics of vocals and lead instruments. A significant peak in the mid-treble turns sibilants like cymbals piercing.
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LEARN ABOUT PEAKS/DIPS
9.1 Sound
Weighted Group Delay
Weighted Phase Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
The imaging performance is outstanding. Generally, most Anker headphones have well-matched drivers, indicating the brand's quality control and ergonomics. It's worth mentioning that earbuds and in-ears tend to be better matched than their over-ear counterparts. Our unit's L/R drivers are also well-matched regarding group delay, phase, amplitude, and frequency response, which is important for accurately placing objects like voices in the stereo image. While there are a couple of minor peaks in the phase response's low to mid-mid, it's hard to hear with real-life content. Imaging can vary between units, though.
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LEARN ABOUT IMAGING
0.6 Sound
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
PRTF Size (Avg.)
PRTF Distance
Openness 0.8
Acoustic Space Excitation 1.4
As expected of in-ear headphones, their passive soundstage is bad. Activating the outer ear is a key component of creating an immersive soundstage experience, but these headphones don't do that by design. As a result, their soundstage sounds closed-off, unnatural, and small. Sound seems to come from inside your head rather than from speakers placed in the room around you.
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LEARN ABOUT PASSIVE SOUNDSTAGE
0 Sound
Head Modeling
Speaker Modeling
Room Ambience
Head Tracking
Virtual Surround
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LEARN ABOUT VIRTUAL SOUNDSTAGE
7.7 Sound
WHD @ 90
WHD @ 100
The Anker A40's weighted harmonic distortion performance is good. There's a peak in the low-treble range, which is more noticeable in the right driver at moderate and high volumes. Still, this peak is hard to hear with real-life content. The rest of the response falls within good levels, resulting in mostly clear and pure audio reproduction.
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LEARN ABOUT WEIGHTED HARMONIC DISTORTION
Sound
Firmware
Power
Connection
Codec
EQ
ANC
Tip/Pad
Microphone
These are the settings used to test these in-ears. Our results are only valid when using them with these settings.
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LEARN ABOUT TEST SETTINGS
9.2 Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
Noise Cancelling Yes
Bass
Mid
Treble
The noise isolation performance is outstanding. Unlike other budget-friendly picks like the Nothing Ear (stick) Truly Wireless, these buds have an adaptive ANC system, which automatically adjusts to the noise in your environment. If you prefer, you can manually set the amount of ANC between 'Low', 'Medium', and 'High'. The adaptive ANC can block out the low rumble of bus engines. It also cuts down ambient chatter as well as the high-pitched hum of AC units.
The adaptive ANC can block out slightly more bass-range noise when it recognizes a 'High' noise environment than when the ANC is manually set to 'Strong'. You can see a comparison between these modes here.
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LEARN ABOUT NOISE ISOLATION
8.8 Isolation
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
Leakage is mostly concentrated in the treble range and sounds thin. You can rock out to your favorite tunes without disturbing those around you.
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LEARN ABOUT LEAKAGE
Microphone
Integrated
In-Line
Boom
Detachable Boom
Mic Yes
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LEARN ABOUT MICROPHONE STYLE
4.3 Microphone
Recorded Speech
LFE
FR Std. Dev.
HFE
Weighted THD
Gain
The integrated mic's recording quality is poor. Your voice sounds far away and sibilant. Our unit's right earbud also enters a feedback loop when using the mic, resulting in your own voice playing quietly by the right bud. When connected to a phone, the microphone sounds a bit more sibilant, too, which you can hear in the recorded speech file here.
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LEARN ABOUT RECORDING QUALITY
7.0 Microphone
SpNR
Noise Gate
Speech + Pink Noise Handling 7.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling 7.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
The mic's noise handling performance is decent. It's best to take calls from quieter environments like an office to ensure that the person on the other end of the line hears you clearly. In louder environments like busy streets, your voice gets drowned out.
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LEARN ABOUT NOISE HANDLING
7.7 Active Features
Battery Type
Continuous Battery Life
Additional Charges
Total Battery Life
Charge Time
Power-Saving Feature
Audio While Charging
Passive Playback
Charging Port USB-C
The battery performance is good. The manufacturer advertises 10 hours of continuous playtime, and with the ANC on, we measured eight hours using the LDAC codec. When using the SBC codec, which is the default Bluetooth codec, and with ANC on, we measured over nine hours. Turning the ANC off but still using the SBC codec also results in over ten and a half hours of battery life. Keep in mind that battery life can also vary depending on usage. If you need a top-up, their carrying case supplies an additional four charges, which is handy in a pinch. They also have an auto-off timer, which helps conserve battery life when not in use, and you can use one bud while the other charges.
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LEARN ABOUT BATTERY
8.0 Active Features
App Name Anker Soundcore
iOS Yes
Android Yes
macOS No
Windows No
Equalizer
ANC Control
Mic Control No
Room Effects
Playback Control
Button Mapping Yes
Surround Support
The Anker Soundcore app is great. You can see a video of how it works here. This app allows you to change your ANC settings, switch between manual and adaptive ANC, and customize the transparency mode. You can add a volume limiter, remap controls, and update the firmware. You can even customize their sound profile using their companion app's graphic EQ and presets, as well as switch to LDAC codec.
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LEARN ABOUT APP SUPPORT
0 Connectivity
Analog Audio
USB Audio
Detachable
Length
Connector
Latency - Analog
Latency - USB
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection No Wired Audio
The included USB-A to USB-C cable lets you recharge the case.
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LEARN ABOUT WIRED CONNECTION
8.4 Connectivity
Bluetooth Version
Multi-Device Pairing
Quick Pair (Android)
Quick Pair (iOS)
Line Of Sight Range
Latency - SBC
Latency - aptX
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
Latency - LDAC
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec LDAC
AAC Support
The Anker Space A40 have great Bluetooth connectivity. They support multi-device pairing, so you can connect your headphones to two devices simultaneously and have a game mode to help lower latency. Using Game Mode, their latency via SBC falls out of good values, so you'll notice a slight lip sync mismatch. If you disable this mode, you'll get even higher latency values, which can be annoying if you're streaming video. It doesn't seem like this mode affects LDAC latency, though, which is Sony's proprietary hi-res codec. This codec has high latency, but it won't be an issue if you're only streaming audio. However, you need to use compatible audio to benefit from this codec, and you can only connect to one device at a time.
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LEARN ABOUT BLUETOOTH CONNECTION
0 Connectivity
Line Of Sight Range
Latency - Dongle
Recorded Latency
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LEARN ABOUT WIRELESS CONNECTION (DONGLE)
Connectivity
Analog
Wired USB
Non-BT Wireless
These headphones connect to Bluetooth-enabled PCs with full audio and mic compatibility. That said, you can't connect these headphones to your PC in any other way.
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Connectivity
PS4 Analog
PS4 Wired USB
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
PS5 Analog
PS5 Wired USB
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
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LEARN ABOUT PLAYSTATION COMPATIBILITY
Connectivity
Xbox One Analog
Xbox One Wired USB
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
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LEARN ABOUT XBOX COMPATIBILITY
2.2 Connectivity
Type
USB Input
Line In
Line Out
Optical Input
RCA Input
Dock Charging
Power Supply
The Anker A40 come with a carrying case with a USB-C input for the charging cable. It supports Qi Wireless charging, too. However, the case has no other inputs.
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LEARN ABOUT BASE/DOCK
