Life Q30 - uneven sound (slightly right-centered)?

#1

I received my Q30’s a couple of days ago and updated to firmware 1.90.

It sounds pretty good but from the beginning I’ve had this feeling that the sound is not perfectly balanced in the center of my head but seems to be somewhat inclined toward the RIGHT ear cup. For example, when listening to hip hop I can hear the KICK better in the right cup than the left. And if I wear my headphones reversed (right ear cup on the left and vice versa), the sound seems to reverse a bit.

Also just listening to some YouTube vids (spoken content, no music) the sound doesn’t seem completely centered.

When listening to music from my Macbook I tried balancing the sound cca. 15% toward the LEFT on my Mac and the sound seems more balanced/centered that way.

At first I thought it was be a problem with my left ear but somehow I suspect it still may be a QC issue on Q30’s??

Has anyone noticed anything similar?

PS: I tried my Jaybird X4s and Apple wired earpods and they both seem better balanced than my Q30’s :frowning:

#2

Hmm maybe a faulty unit. Try a reset on the headphones and see if it helps (check manual or Soundcore site if unsure how to do it). If that doesn’t help, send service@soundcore.com an email.

#3

Hmmm might be something a firmware update would need. Is it mostly just on YouTube or other platforms too because I have some earbuds that on some platforms sound like stuff comes out just my right ear predominately but it’s how the platform packages the audio

#4

I tried resetting them (Power button + Volume Up for 5 secs) but doesn’t seem to help. It doesn’t just happen on Youtube vids but music and movies as well… anything basically.

I’ve contacted Anker on Aliexpress (where I bought the Q30’s) and asked for a replacement. Hopefully they will reply soon. Or should I contact them via the email you provided above, too?

I’d like a new pair of Q30’s but really don’t want to send this one back before I tried a new one because I’m afraid that the new one could possibly introduce a new issue! :frowning: I’m quite happy with the current pair otherwise, I just wish the sound would be centered…

Do you think they would send me a new unit?

#5

I’ve contacted Anker via Aliexpress where I bought the headphones - still waiting for their reply. It really seems that the sound is balanced toward the right ear cup in my case, which makes me sad because I quite like the headphones otherwise. :frowning:

Would any of you be willing to listen to a couple of samples and let me know how they sound to you? (And possibly compare the sound to some other headphones/earbuds if you happen to have them?)

For example, listening to the below video I can definitely hear the voice more in my RIGHT ear cup, while on the left side it’s kind of hollow and not as strong, which makes the whole thing sound more right-centered. But if I listen through my Apple wired earpods I can hear the voice nicely in my left ear as well:

And in this song for example, I can definitely hear the KICK of the drums more to the right than in the left ear cup:

What do you think?

Many thanks!

#6

Just got mine yesterday, 1st my daughter played it a bit, and told me the right ear side volume is more than left, she tried NC and non-NC, and told me I might get different side experiences in the airplane. I tried it today, checked the firmware, power on/off, seems still same, sound is definitely not clear in compare with my Beats, I bought it as I saw a lot of good comments on NC, as I will have few trips coming up, want to give it a try. At this point, I have not decided yet to get another set or should try a different brand entirely.