Soundcore – by Anker Life Dot 2 XR True Wireless Noise Cancelling In-Ear Headphones – Gray

Anker Life Dot 2 XR offers a budget friendly in the ear wireless ear bud that delivers pretty solid noise cancellation. Solid sound quality and a comfort fit design make this a viable option for those looking not to break the bank.
Out of the box you get everything you need to you going and one of the first things i noticed was the amount of different tips and covers they give you. The case is a nice solid hard plastic design and lining up the ear buds for case charging is easily done with no issues to pin alignment. You get a free app which allows for some customization of the audio quality and noise cancellation. Through the app you can set your ambient noise settings between 3 different options and within those options there are a couple of different modes to chose from. The app will also come with preset audio settings such as bass booster, acoustic, classical and so on. You also have the option to set your equalizer to the way you want rather than use the pre-sets. One nice feature i noticed off the bat was the fact that you can listen to each earbud individually, meaning you don’t need them both in your ear to work, but you can also adjust each individual earbuds buttons to a function of your desire. The earbuds themselves offer roughly about 7 hours of runtime and 35 or so hours of additional time delivered through the case via the charging dock. I don’t want to waste too much time on the app as there is really nothing stand out about it. Its your standard app that gives you battery life, a equalizer, button mapping, ANC options and so on. Basically everything your going to need to adjust it to your liking will be found in the app.
Let’s focus on audio, ANC and battery life. After all these 3 things will either make or break the sale. First off audio quality was actually pretty solid. Given the price point that these units are coming in at, i was expecting to have feedback issues or Bluetooth connection issues. This was not the case at all. Never once did i notice any drop outs, especially when getting up to about 20 feet away from my phone. Audio quality was crisp and clean with the higher volumes coming in just fine with little to no reverb going on. Now bass was lacking a bit so keep in mind these are not that bass heavy however sound quality for Rock and Alternative music was great. This is not to say that Hip Hop or Rap sounded horrible, cause it most certainly did not, its just those type of Genres tend to be more bass heavy and although the bass is ok, it’s not knock you off your seat good. As far as Rock music goes, vocals came in very crisp with all my mid rifts and high hats coming in balanced and clear. Now as far as the ANC or noise cancelling goes this was probably one of the most impressive parts. I tried these out at a automotive shop that i work at seeing as how the place is never quite. The earbuds did a great job at greatly reducing and muffling the larger noises like air tools and hammers. Vocals were almost completely none existent meaning i could not hear conversations going on around me. Phone calls were clear coming in as well as voice quality going out. Battery life was another nice feature i noticed here. Some of the cheaper headphones around this price point i have owned could barely make it through a 1 hour workout at the gym before needing to be recharged. With ANC turned on i was able to get about 3 separate 2 hour workouts in before the unit was crying out to be charged. And here’s the nice thing, the case can hold about 35 hours of additional charge time with 5 minutes of charge time yielding 1 hour of run time, give or take your settings and volume. The comfort level was superb and with all the different fitments they offer you i never once felt like the earbuds were unstable or about to fall out. Another thing to mention about the comfort level is the fact that they do not enter too deep in the ear canal giving it a better comfort level for those that can’t stand in the ear designs.
Here’s my take away from this product. As far as earbuds go there really is nothing break through about this product. The app is pretty much similar to every other audio app on the market and there really is nothing new in the way of the ANC built in to the buds. What makes this a good buy is the fact that you get solid sound and ANC at a budget that does not break the bank. Not only that but the battery life this unit has to offer is some of the best i have seen. Is it the longest lasting battery life? Absolutely not, as other in the ear designs are boasting up to 15 hours of run time. But at 7 hours of runtime with a 35 hour piggy back charge time i have to honestly say it’s a very solid contender. Overall i feel you will easily get what you pay for and then some.

ok $100 wireless earbud from soundcore, this the second earbuds i’ve tried from them, the first was the liberty Air 2 Pro which I thought was amazing. does this stack up to Liberty series that they have?
Pros
– the package comes with multiple ear tips for you to change into and earwigs. they have this matted black look to it which It does looks premium
– these also have their active noise canceling similar to the Liberty Pro series, from my experience they work great almost similar to the previous one that i’ve tried. as soon as you put them al you’ll hear the difference of how the noise canceling is activated , also if you download the app you will have the ability to change up to 3 settings for noise canceling. you have 3 modes option to choose from. Transport, Indoor or Outdoor
– 7 hr playtime with 35 hrs while using the charging case, so yeah I believe that’s more than enough time to enjoy your music through out the day
– for my experience the sound quality is the same with their Liberty Pro series, you also have a ton of flexibility here by making your own custom audio setting through the soundcore app that I highly recommend. the have pre made sets of setting for the environment you currently prefer but the whole custom sounds is where the app comes in handy. the app alone is 10/10
– I love how easy and small the cases are having them in your pockets cause zero issues to me. the case have 3 white bars to indicate your battery levels
– to control the earbuds most of the action can be done by pressing or holding either Left or Right buds. left touch focuses on skipping picking up called and ending calls, while the right side are fairly the same the only difference is the right side is for play and pause your songs , while it offers the same functions for phone calls
– the audi from my end calling my girl have zero issues as well, It sound clear. did notice issues on my end when I decide for her to call using the earbuds
Cons
– about the noise canceling, liberty air 2 pro seems to block better back ground sounds than these Life dot 2 xr, I could pick up the sounds of the tv or footsteps from people walking inside the house, these are the some of the issues I didn’t experience with Liberty air 2 pro
– I did not enjoy listening to phone calls with this device , the bad part is that I hear white noises when the other party is not talking through my ear, i’ve also experienced the audio keep cutting off on the ride earbud, odd but it’s notice
– you really have to touch the earbud slowly and not too fast, or your button pressing will not register and you’ll be stuck on keep tapping the earbuds just to skip a song.
for me I would spend an extra $30 just to upgrade for Liberty Air 2 Pro. Life dot 2 XR is a great earbuds but for $30 more you’ll get a better slimmer design that soundcore Liberty series have. but if you can’t spend that extra dollars then yeah go for this. it’s still a great sounding device. amazing bass with fully adjustable settings for you to play it.

The Anker Soundcore Life Dot 2 XR earbuds are an excellent value for the features and price point! The initial setup is as easy as opening the case and syncing via bluetooth, downloading the Soundcore app, and following the quick introduction. The app is a huge benefit, allowing you to customize the touchpad functions, ANC order, equalizer, and sound modes with ease! Inside the box, you are greeted with the quick start guide, the earbuds in their case, a USB-C charging cable, and a wide assortment of different sized eartips and earwings to ensure a proper fit. After you find the right size for your ears, these things are secure and rock solid! I used them on a few walks, runs, and bike rides with the ambient aware mode and it was almost like wearing open ear headphones! Music was still crystal clear, but with a nice amplification of the surrounding ambient noise to help with awareness and safety! The active noise cancellation is very good, especially at this price! It is not quite as good as the top-end ANC earbuds, but at over half the price, these perform well above their price category! The only real frustration I’ve had is if your fingers are sweaty and/or you don’t fully cover the touchpad, it may not register you’ve touched it. This is something I’ve noticed with a lot of earbuds that use touchpads and not unique to these.
I would definitely recommend these ANC earbuds for anyone looking for an excellent value, do-it-all set of true wireless earbuds that are water and sweat resistant for workouts, but also look sharp enough to fit in dressed up!

The Anker – Soundcore Life Dot 2 XR Earbuds True Wireless Active Noise Cancelling Earbuds is Anker’s latest foray in the ANC space. First, is that the form factor is rather small for a pair of ANC earbuds when compared to the competition which sells double the price. The supplied silicone tips have a good seal and to provide a secure fit, wings are also provided for these earbuds. And while I am no fan of wings, I must say these are the best fitting pair of earbuds that I own. (And I own eight!) And for comparison I have replaced the supplied earbuds with a pair of memory foam tips and quite surprisingly the supplied silicone tips can hold up against the memory foam tips. Add to that that the Dot 2 XR has IPX rating of 5 which makes it perfect for the gym.
Battery life of these earbuds is at an impressive 7 hours and with the charging case totals to 35 hours. The sound signature of these earbuds is pretty much balanced but will not wow bassheads. Fortunately, with the included app, there are 22 eq profiles to choose from and also a customizable eq setting wherein several profiles can be saved giving you the sound you want.
There are four mics included so calls are pretty decent. By that I mean voice quality is neither great nor bad as I have tried better sounding earbuds with other buds. Still in my opinion call quality is more on the great side so there’s nothing to worry about.
As for the noise cancelling, obviously these cannot compare to “cans”. That said the noise cancelling features are still impressive since unlike other models, there are several options for the level of noise cancellation you prefer. Even ambient mode has two options. These features are often found only in “cans” and higher end earbuds.
Anker/Soundcore provides a USB-C charging cable which is the standard nowadays. But still I wish that Anker/Soundcore added wireless charging capabilities in this model.
One thing to note is that Anker/Soundcore has released identical models with different names thereby confusing its customers. The earbuds space is already crowded and by doing so Anker is adding further to the confusion. Thus I am removing one star for this and not for its performance. Still, this is a great pair of ANC TWS earbuds.