The PerfectRec Earbuds or Headphones team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
The Sennheiser 560S headphones offer superior overall sound quality and a more immersive listening experience, making them a great choice for high-fidelity music enjoyment at home, especially given their larger soundstage. However, they're open-back, which means they'll leak sound, and they're not suitable for noisy environments or outdoor use. On the other hand, the Soundcore Space A40 earbuds offer good noise isolation and portability, making them versatile for use during exercise, travel, and outdoor activities, and they feature active noise cancelling. While they offer lower sound quality compared to the Sennheisers, they're more suited for calls, meetings, and general multimedia consumption, and they are more affordable. The Soundcore earbuds also have additional features like wireless charging and a longer battery life. Consider your primary use case—immersive home listening or versatile, on-the-go use—when making your decision. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Sennheiser 560S
Best in class for music
Excellent for TV and video
Very good for podcasts and audiobooks
Advantages of the Soundcore Space A40
Very good for air travel
Key differences
Music
9.5/10
7.7/10
The Sennheiser 560S is best in class for music, while the Soundcore Space A40 is good.
Gaming
6.9/10
4.9/10
The Sennheiser 560S is only fair for gaming, while the Soundcore Space A40 is poor.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
8.1/10
4.9/10
The Sennheiser 560S is very good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Soundcore Space A40 is poor.
TV and Video
9.1/10
5.3/10
The Sennheiser 560S is excellent for TV and video, while the Soundcore Space A40 is poor.
Noise Reduction
2.5/10
9.1/10
The Soundcore Space A40 is excellent for noise reduction, while the Sennheiser 560S is poor.
Battery
N/A
8.0 Hours
The Sennheiser 560S does not have a battery. The Soundcore Space A40 has 8 hours of battery life.
Cost
$180
$80
$50
$100
$150
$200
$250
The Sennheiser 560S has a price of $180 and the Soundcore Space A40 costs $80.
"Sennheiser made a near perfect pair of studio monitors with the HD 560S. Flat bass response? Check. Neutral and uncolored midrange? Check. Extended treble with a bit of lower-treble emphasis to highlight mastering flaws? Check. Fairly easy to drive? Check. Good soundstage and imaging? Check, and check."
"The Anker Soundcore Space A40 is an excellent deal if you want affordable noise canceling earbuds with great sound. The baseline frequency response is enjoyable, and the many EQ presets to choose from plus the ability to customize your sound profile makes it good for pretty much anyone. The noise canceling is quite good, and the many ear tips to choose from ensure a good fit for the noise canceling and isolation to do its job."
Get a great deal on the Sennheiser 560S or the Soundcore Space A40
About Sennheiser
A family-owned company, Sennheiser is a German, high fidelity, audio equipment manufacturer founded in 1945. Their consumer audio division is now owned by the Swiss hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturer Sonova. Sennheiser offers a wide variety of, very high quality, audio equipment solutions, from headphones to earbuds, full sets of monitoring speakers, amplifiers and microphones. They also make what is widely regarded as the best, and most expensive, headphones in existence, the HE-1 Orpheus, costing a whopping $59,000 dollars.
About Soundcore
Soundcore is a sub-brand belonging to Anker Innovations. Starting in 2014, initially marketing wireless, Bluetooth, speakers, Anker now offers an array of, budget-friendly, wireless earbuds and headphones that directly compete, especially in the Active Noise Canceling field, with other brands several times as expensive.
Give feedback
We're constantly perfecting our model
Earbuds or Headphones guides you might be interested in
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.
By the numbers
108
Earbuds and headphones evaluated
11,340
Earbuds and headphones stats compiled
15
Proprietary Earbuds and headphones ratings developed
122,900
Recommendations made
18,435
Consumer hours saved
About the Earbuds or Headphones team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Earbuds and Headphones Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Luis Torres
Earbuds and Headphones Expert
Luis is a Mexico-based headphones expert. He’s been making headphone recommendations for five years and has close to 100 pairs in his personal collection.