Audio review
Soundcore Sleep A20 Review: They Mask Snoring, They Do Not Block It
SoundGuys measured almost no isolation below 500 Hz, which is where snoring lives. That is why one tester scored them 4 out of 10 silent and 10 out of 10 with brown noise playing.
By Paulo GerchonPublished 2 min read
Illustration, not a photo — we don’t have a licensed image of this product yet.
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Soundcore Sleep A20
Good · researched from 3 sources
As a way of masking a snoring partner these work, and the comfort is genuinely better than any earbud not designed for a pillow. Ignore the sleep tracking, and do not buy them to listen to music.
- Buy if
- Masking a snoring partner or noise from an adjacent room · Side and front sleepers, on two of three comfort assessments · Anyone who wants an alarm that does not wake the person beside them
- Skip if
- Blocking low-frequency noise without playing something · Anyone relying on the sleep data · Music listening, which SoundGuys rates poor
We don’t list prices, because Amazon’s change hourly.
Why they need to play something
SoundGuys measured the passive isolation and the shape of it explains the whole product: a peak around 40 dB at 5 to 6 kHz, moderate attenuation between 500 Hz and 2 kHz, and only 0 to 10 dB below 500 Hz.
Snoring lives below 500 Hz.
No Sleepless Nights measured the practical consequence. Against moderate snoring at 55 dB, the earbuds worn silently scored 4 out of 10 for blocking. With the right combination of masking sounds playing, 10 out of 10.
So these do not block a snorer. They cover one, and they are comfortable enough to leave in while doing it, which is the actual product.
Against severe snoring at 65 dB, the only combination that worked was loud enough that No Sleepless Nights found it hard to tolerate for long.
The comfort disagreement
No Sleepless Nights: 26 out of 30 across a week, tied first with foam earplugs, 9 out of 10 on the back and on a feather pillow, 8 on memory foam, and wearable all night as a predominantly side and front sleeper.
SoundGuys: stayed in place, never any uncomfortable pressure.
Android Police: at least one earbud fell out most nights, having tried every combination of wings and tips supplied.
Ear shape is the obvious variable, and it is the one thing you cannot resolve from reading. The design is right, with a flat profile that does not protrude and a soft-touch material Android Police found genuinely better against a pillow than rigid plastic. Whether it stays in your ear is a coin toss.
The tracking is not worth having
No Sleepless Nights caught it precisely: the A20 logged sleep onset at 10:54 pm when a separate tracker showed the wearer still awake at 11:37. Their conclusion is that the earbuds mistake being still for being asleep.
Android Police found their data inconsistent when rechecked.
There are MEMS sensors in here tracking phases, roll-overs and sleeping position. None of the output should be treated as measurement.
The battery is genuinely good
Fourteen hours in sleep mode, ten in Bluetooth, with about 80 further hours in the case.
No Sleepless Nights measured just over nine hours streaming Spotify continuously at half volume, which is a much harder load than white noise.
Android Police's practical version: charging the case about once a week with nightly use.
Do not buy them for music
SoundGuys calls the sound quality poor, with thin or piercing vocals and overly crisp cymbals, and says it is unsuitable for daily use.
Android Police is kinder, finding them perfectly fine to non-audiophile ears with enough bass not to sound hollow, while agreeing on the harsh cymbals.
There is no active noise cancelling. The one genuinely useful non-sleep feature is the alarm, which works without the phone connected, so it wakes you and leaves the person next to you alone.
How it scored
The overall 7.0 is the weighted average of these five criteria — we never adjust it by hand.
Noise blocking
SoundGuys measured a peak near 40 dB around 5 to 6 kHz and only 0 to 10 dB below 500 Hz. No Sleepless Nights scored moderate snoring 4 out of 10 silent and 10 out of 10 with masking sound.
Value
SoundGuys scored 6.9 out of 10 and Android Police 7.5, with Android Police advising buying at a discount rather than full price.
Build quality
A flat profile that does not protrude, in soft-touch material that Android Police found better against a pillow than rigid plastic. Multiple tip and wing sizes supplied.
Comfort
No Sleepless Nights scored comfort 26 out of 30 across a week, tied first with foam earplugs. Android Police had at least one earbud fall out most nights despite trying every tip and wing combination.
Sleep tracking
No Sleepless Nights calls it unreliable, citing the buds logging sleep onset 43 minutes before the wearer actually slept. Android Police found the data inconsistent when rechecked.
Pros and cons
What we liked
- SoundGuys measured a peak of about 40 dB of passive isolation around 5 to 6 kHz
- No Sleepless Nights masked moderate snoring completely with the right sound combination
- No Sleepless Nights scored comfort 26 out of 30, tied first with foam earplugs
- 14 hours in sleep mode and 80 further hours in the case
- An alarm that works without the phone, so it wakes you and not your partner
- A flat profile that does not press when you lie on your side
What we didn’t
- SoundGuys measured only 0 to 10 dB of isolation below 500 Hz
- Two sources call the sleep tracking unreliable
- Android Police had an earbud fall out on most nights
- There is no active noise cancelling at all
- SoundGuys calls the sound quality poor and unsuitable for daily listening
- No Sleepless Nights notes only four audio files can be loaded at once, with no uploads
Specifications
| Isolation | About 40 dB peak around 5 to 6 kHz; 0 to 10 dB below 500 Hz per SoundGuys |
|---|---|
| Battery | 14 hours in sleep mode and 10 in Bluetooth per SoundGuys; just over nine hours streaming per No Sleepless Nights |
| With case | About 80 further hours in sleep mode, 55 in Bluetooth |
| Charging | About 90 minutes for the earbuds and two hours for the case |
| Dimensions | 24.89 x 17.53 x 15.49 mm per SoundGuys |
| Weight | 53 g including case per SoundGuys |
| Noise cancelling | None; passive isolation only |
| Sensors | MEMS, tracking sleep phases, roll-overs and position |
| Alarm | Works independently of the phone |
| App | Sound library with a four-file limit in sleep mode and no user uploads |
How we researched this
We have not had this unit on the bench. This review synthesises the manufacturer’s published specifications, independent measurements and owner reports listed below. Every figure on this page comes from one of those sources rather than our own measurement.
3
sources reviewed
SoundGuys is the only source that measured isolation on a test fixture, supplying the attenuation figures by frequency, the battery specifications, the dimensions and the sound quality assessment, and scored 6.9 out of 10. No Sleepless Nights ran a structured week of sleep testing with scored comfort and masking results against snoring at two volumes, and supplies the sleep tracking discrepancy and the app limitations. Android Police is the extended nightly account and is the source that dissents on comfort, and scored 7.5 out of 10. The three disagree about whether the earbuds stay in overnight, and both positions are reported.
What we read
Common questions
Will the Soundcore Sleep A20 block my partner's snoring?
Are they comfortable enough to sleep in?
Is the sleep tracking any good?
How long does the battery last?
Can I use them as ordinary earbuds?
The bottom line on the Soundcore Sleep A20
As a way of masking a snoring partner these work, and the comfort is genuinely better than any earbud not designed for a pillow. Ignore the sleep tracking, and do not buy them to listen to music.
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