THE Soundtrack by Anker Sleep A10 The headphones came out last year, but I was only able to test them recently. I found they were on sale for $50 off, which makes them great if you’re looking for a pair of tiny headphones you can wear to bed at night that offer “noise masking” with a variety of “sleep of sounds to cover disturbing noises.” They are essentially the valuable alternative to the Bose Sleepbuds IIwhich sell for $249 but are often sold out.
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The Sleep A10 sleep headphones have a few advantages. For starters, they’re tiny and lightweight – similar in size to Bose’s Sleepbuds II. They fit completely inside your ear (or at least most ears), making them suitable for side sleepers with their ear pressed against their pillow. They’re comfortable enough for in-ear headphones, although if you don’t like having a tip covering your ear canal, I can’t guarantee you’ll be able to wear them all night.
To be clear, there’s no active noise cancellation. The buds themselves passively block out some ambient noise, then you can choose to play one of many sleep sounds, including white and brown noise, as well as soothing sounds typical of nature (rain, chirping birds, crackling fire, crashing waves) that help mask external sounds like your partner’s snoring. There is also a sleep monitoring function and a personal alarm clock.
While I liked the fit and design of Bose’s ear tips slightly better (the Sleepbuds 2 seem to passively block out a bit more noise), the Sleep A10 headphones have one big feature that the Bose lacks: the ability to play music. music and other sounds. via Bluetooth from your phone or other device.
While the battery life takes a hit if you listen to music (you can only listen to music for a few hours compared to the battery life all night if you just listen to the sounds of the sleep), this is an important feature for many people. And the sound isn’t half bad considering the small size of the buds. They’re a bit bass-shy, but they should sound “good enough” for most people. Unfortunately, you can’t make calls with them – there’s no built-in microphone – but they’re among the most feature-rich sleep buds I’ve tested.
Anker is selling the Sleep A10s on its Soundcore website for $130 with a $50 off coupon (the discount seems to be added instantly at checkout), but the buds are also on sale at Amazon for $130. Like I said, they’re worth checking out if you’re looking for a pair of sleep headphones but don’t want to shell out $249 for the Bose, which I tested and perform well. Again, the Sleep A10 headphones might not be the perfect fit for everyone’s ears – they’re about half the size of traditional stemless headphones and come with a few different tips and fins that you can try to get optimal fit.
