Soundcore Sleep A30 Special compared to Ozlo Sleepbuds v1
First impressions of Soundcore Sleep A30 Special after the first 24 hours of use. I've previously been using the Ozlo Sleepbuds v1 on and off since the beginning of this year.
tl;dr the hardware is pretty solid, but the software is buggy and often doesn't work as you'd expect. Comparing these to my Ozlos, I like the hardware a bit better, but the software quite a bit less.
Good things vs Ozlo:
- The case is more compact and the buds are easier to seat properly. It's much more plasticky though, and based on other reviews I've seen, less likely to survive a drop. Definitely prefer the smaller size, though.
- The fit is comparable, with the A30s feeling a bit more bulky, but not enough to make side sleeping significantly more unpleasant. I use the default tips with both, and notice a bit less irritation with the A30 tips. The A30 tips also smell much nicer than the Ozlos (those arrived brand new with a rather unpleasant odour that has not improved).
- The frequency response is notably better on the A30s, with a much fuller sound on the low end. The Ozlos are weirdly tinny and thin sounding, with essentially no bass, sounding almost like they're broken when listening in bluetooth mode.
- The track download speed is significantly faster than the Ozlos--less than a minute vs several minutes. The tradeoff is it can only store one track locally, so switching takes a lot longer compared to the Ozlo, which can store ten tracks locally. I tend not to switch too often, so this tradeoff works for me.
- The ability to mix your own white noise track is pretty cool, which makes up for the fact that there are only 14 pretty average snore masking sounds (only 2 of which have sufficient bass to properly cover snores and vehicle rumbles). Ozlo definitely has a better stock collection.
- Battery life is good enough, with both easily lasting for a full eight hour night.
Unfortunately, this is where the good stuff ends.
Most nights, I simply want to be able to open the case, put the buds in my ear, and have my preferred sound play throughout the night. Unfortunately, there are a few key flaws with how the A30 Special does this:
- The sound quality of local mode tracks, which are what play by default when you open the case, is much worse than the quality of the same tracks in bluetooth mode. The sound of "waves" in bluetooth mode is acceptable, but barely recognisable in local mode, sounding more like some weirdly garbled static.
- I can clearly hear where the track loops, which is not true in bluetooth mode, and is quite distracting, especially when it includes a melody like the "piano" sound, but even with a simpler continuous "airplane" sound. The engineers have clearly taken some shortcuts and just cut the mix short wherever was convenient, instead of where it makes sense or sounds most seamless. I've never noticed the loop point with the Ozlos.
- The loudness of tracks in local mode is about 1/3 of the same track in bluetooth mode at the same volume level setting. There is no way to change this. I need to set the volume level to 80-90% in local mode just to get sufficient masking in a quiet room vs 60-70% on the Ozlos. This also makes the default setting of starting in bluetooth mode and then switching to local mode after you fall asleep completely unusable.
- Downloading white noise mixes has randomly completely stopped working until I reset the app data on two separate occasions.
Finally, the ANC is very weak. I can barely hear any difference, especially compared to all of my other earbuds with ANC.
I paid almost half the price for the A30s as I did for the Ozlos (both were on special when I purchased them), so these might be acceptable issues at this price point. I'll add further impressions if things change as I continue to use the A30s. Both the A30s and Ozlos are ultimately usable, but flawed products.
Since most of my issues with the A30 involve the software, I hope they'll finally fix them to remain competitive with the newly released Ozlo Sleepbuds v2. Sadly, I suspect they'll instead choose to save these improvements for a "Sleep A40" or "Sleep A30 Ultra", which would be most disappointing, but completely unsurprising.