Android Audio
AC Contributor, vinyl collector, and hobbyist drummer Brady Snyder dives into the world of headphones, earbuds, speakers, streaming, and everything in between in Android Audio.
Sleep earbuds can be essential for a good night’s rest, but the market for them is quickly dwindling. Bose discontinued its Sleepbuds without a replacement, and Philips did the same. That leaves only a handful of reputable brands making high-quality sleep earbuds in 2025.
One of those brands is Soundcore, a subdivision of Anker, whose Sleep A10 and Sleep A20 are both on our best sleep earbuds list. Now, the company is taking pre-orders on Kickstarter for the next-generation Sleep A30. For the first time, the Soundcore Sleep A30 feature active noise-canceling, but also come along with a $50 price hike compared to the prior model.
I’ve been testing (and sleeping with) the Soundcore Sleep A30 for a week, and they knock it out of the park. As a side sleeper, I was impressed with how the Sleep A30 earbuds managed to comfortably stay in my ears most nights with zero pressure or discomfort the morning after. The sound quality and active noise-canceling are great considering the earbuds’ size, too.
However, a steep retail price of $230 means that interested buyers should consider whether the Sleep A30 can double as everyday or workout earbuds to make the investment worthwhile.
Comfort is top-notch with the Soundcore Sleep A30
Above all else, comfort is the most important aspect of sleep earbuds. They need to be designed to be compatible with a variety of sleeping positions and preferences, and they’re especially tricky for side sleepers like me. Sleep earbuds that are too bulky and protrude from your ear canal too much will cause discomfort as soon as your head hits the pillow.
Soundcore’s Sleep A10 and A20 were already outstanding in this regard, as they kept an ultra-low profile. That gets better with the Sleep A30, as these earbuds are 7% smaller than the older models. This was immediately noticeable because after twisting the buds into my ears, they sit nearly flush. While lying on my side, I quickly forgot the earbuds were in my ears at all.
Something that shocked me while testing the Soundcore Sleep A30 was how well they fit securely in my ears without creating pressure or congestion. Usually, when I wear earbuds to sleep, they either fall out during the night or cause a ton of congestion after waking up. Neither happened while testing the Sleep A30 — I never felt discomfort, and the earbuds only fell out on one occasion.
Some of this can be attributed to the Sleep A30’s small form factor, and the rest results from excellent ventilation.
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I used the medium silicone eartip on the left earbud and the small silicone eartip on the right, but there are plenty of customizable tips included in the box. You get four sizes of silicone eartips and three sizes of foam eartips, plus three sets of wings. Between the flexible wings that help lock the earbuds in place and the variety of tip sizes and materials, just about everyone should find a Sleep A30 combination that works for them.
Soundcore explains that the silicone eartips will probably be more comfortable, while the foam eartips have better sound isolation and a firmer fit. If you can deal with the slight hassle, I’d consider wearing the silicone ones to sleep and workout, with the foam ones being best for daily wear.
Sound quality and ANC are better than you’d probably expect
Obviously, sound quality isn’t the main goal for sleep earbuds. These aren’t going to replace my Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, AirPods Pro 2, or Powerbeats Pro 2 in terms of sound quality, but the Sleep A30 held their own. There wasn’t an overemphasis on any part of the soundstage — you can make out the lows, mids, and highs.
You do get booming bass with the right song, simply because the passive sound isolation is so good that the vibrations stay mostly trapped within your ear canal. There is a sense of warmth in the Sleep A30’s sound signature, but I didn’t mind it, especially considering their intended purpose. The volume is also excellent, allowing you to sleep at 50% or below comfortably, which is great for battery life.
Over Bluetooth, you get 6.5 hours of playback with ANC on for each earbud, and a total of 35 hours with the charging case, according to Soundcore. This was about what I experienced during firsthand testing. After a full night of Bluetooth listening, my Sleep A30 earbuds were dead or almost dead when I woke up. In local mode, while listening to white noise or nature sounds downloaded to the earbuds themselves, that bumps to nine hours of battery life per earbud.
This is all with active noise-canceling enabled, so you can presumably squeeze out some extra battery life by flipping that toggle off.
The app is solid, with controls for ANC, sleep sounds, alarms, AI features, and more. However, you’ll probably use it more than you’d like. The on-earbuds controls leave a bit to be desired. A double-tap of the right earbud is supposed to toggle ANC on or off, but these taps can be unreliable. You might find yourself tapping a bunch before the earbuds will recognize it, or just give up and use the app instead.
The sleep alarms were particularly helpful, as they wake you up more gently than a traditional alarm. Still, they are contingent on your earbuds lasting the entire night on a single charge, so I didn’t feel comfortable using the Sleep A30 as my only alarm.
Active noise-canceling worked as expected, blocking out most sounds without causing discomfort. That said, the Sleep A30 are so good at passive sound isolation that I found I didn’t need ANC on most nights, especially while playing music or sounds. This feature could be handy for someone with a specific need to block out sound, like a person living in a noisy shared space.
Should you buy the Soundcore Sleep A30?
The Soundcore Sleep A30 are really good, but if you already own a pair of Sleep A10 or Sleep A20, you might not need to upgrade. Active noise-canceling is the key differentiator here, and people who don’t need ANC might prefer to save a few bucks by going with the cheaper Sleep A10 or A20 instead.
Keeping that in mind, you can make the Sleep A30 a great value despite its $230 retail price if you commit to using them for multiple purposes. A dedicated pair of sleep earbuds is a tough sell at that price, but one that can handle workouts and everyday wear is a much easier one. With the comfortable design and included eartips, it’d be easy to use the Sleep A30 for everyday wear, the gym, and sleep.
You can pre-order the Soundcore Sleep A30 on Kickstarter and get an early-bird discount now. The sleep earbuds will be available on Soundcore’s website and at third-party retailers later. Currently, pre-ordered units for Kickstarter backers are expected to start shipping in August
Soundcore’s best sleepbuds yet
The Soundcore Sleep A30 build on prior generations, adding active noise-canceling, AI software, and a slimmer build. Plus, you can grab them for $50 off if you act fast on this Kickstarter pre-order deal.
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