Warm, Bassy, And Silent Everywhere – Tronsmart Q20S Bluetooth Headphones
Tronsmart Q20S is a $49 USD pair of over-the-ear headphones with Bluetooth connectivity and ANC designed for everyday usage and a comfortable fit. Today we will review the Q20S and see how they fit in the greater picture of today’s audio market. Those headphones are also named Tronsmart Sounfii Q20S.
Introduction
Tronsmart is a company that generally makes entry-level products and while I don’t usually cover such cheap products, I have to give it to them. They created the Tronsmart Bang Max, a bluetooth speaker I still use on a daily basis.
As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge thanks to Tronsmart for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4bxDvf5
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oBZN7ui
Build Quality / Aesthetics
Tronsmart always comes up with the oddest of products, low prices but still a good experience, so Q20S is one of those headphones that I would otherwise overlook, as it is uninteresting at the surface level, but reading about it, we get Hybrid noise cancellation, and a strong battery inside although there is no fast charging for Q20S.
Those headphones will charge in two hours and a half, but with ANC turned off, you will go beyond 40 hours of playback even if you listen somewhat loud. We have both Aux Input and Wireless connectivity, along with IPX 4 for gym and bad weather usage.
There’s a long list of “other features” that Tronsmart quotes Q20S to have, but they don’t explain what those mean, including the Hi-Res Audio. With a weight of 393 grams for the whole package, and a 249 grams weight for the headphones, Q20S is one of the lightest headphones on the market, having a nice finish and build quality.
I can confirm that Tronsmart delivers on their most important promises, which are fast shipping, easy delivery, and high-quality ANC. I absolutely love the white variant of the Q20S, but it does not look stealthy at all compared to the black version. There is no transport case or bag included in the package, and while for this price I can understand it, you will quickly wear out and damage the headphones if you throw them in a backpack.
Fit / Comfort / Subjective Usage
We get a very good ANC experience, and the company promises up to 40 dB of total noise isolation, and that is about as much as I can hear too, just excellent, although using ANC will mean you always hear a hissing sound with that silence, and the same happens if you’re using the Passthrough Mode.
On the downside, all buttons are very loose and wobbly, and the pairing is disappointing. You need to have the Tronsmart app installed, and you can connect only through it to the Q20S. While I anyways have the app installed and it is a good app, I strongly dislike having to pair through it for a pair of headphones that anyways don’t have LDAC or any kind of advanced Bluetooth codec support.
We have access to the Tronsmart suite of EQ profiles, out of which you will either use Default or Sound Pulse, those two being the only two that have a somewhat natural and clean sound, all of the others introducing heavy distortion, aliasing or Phase Changes that damage the sound more than they can EQ the Q20S. Call quality is very good, although the microphone inside of Q20S can pick up wind noise if you’re outdoors.
Bluetooth signal strength is brilliant, Q20S never disconnects, has a stable connection, and the sound is consistent regardless whether you have ANC turned on or off. Also, the sound for the wired connection is very similar with the one for the Bluetooth connection, although most of the time using the Bluetooth connection results in a slightly better sound. Comfort is mediocre, as my ears barely have enough space inside of the earcups, and they clamp quite hard on my head, but this is great for portable usage and running as the tronsmart Sounfii Q20S is lightweight and feels reliable using high-quality plastics in its build.
Sound Quality
Overall Signature – Tronsmart Sounfii Q20S has the same sound for both the wired and the Wireless connections, reviewing each is not necessary, and both have a similar resolution, tuning, clarity and general sound. The signature is boofy, bassy, warm, full and has a bit of sharpness in the treble to counter the bass. Natural female voices and male voices make a pleasing listening in the midrange, but the whole sound is dominated by the boomy bass. You can employ the Sound Pulse EQ profile in the Tronsmart app to make the bass less boomy, deeper, and upper midrnage / treble sharper. It seems Tronsmart intends you to use the Q20S with SoundPulse turned on.
Bass – Starting from the very lowest of low-ends, Q20S has the sub bass starting at around 40 Hz, with a sharp roll-off below this frequency. Bass is enhanced, uplifted and has a huge hump all across the bass range, up to around 300 Hz, resulting in a strong bass, kick, punch, but also a strong boominess and veiling of the sound. There’s a certain resonance inside the Q20S earcups that further enhances this response and gives all sound a very strong bass, almost as if they were using haptic feedback vibration engines to further replenish the bass impact. There’s quite a bit of bass bloat in the midrange, and with a slow decay, it leaves behind a boom effect.
Midrange – All music is colored by the bass and character that Q20s has, and you hear the strong bass in absolutely everything, including male and female voices, all instruments have an exaggerated body and bass presence, as if the microphone recording it was vibrating a bit from the feedback of the physical resonance of that instrument. All music that has even a bit of bass sounds boomy and you immediately feel like the bass is overwhelming, although this works well for most rock and metal that barely gets an audible bass guitar, while rap, EDM and Pop sound as warm and bassy as you can imagine.
Treble – Getting to the high-end, there’s quite a bit of energy to make up for the strong bass, although we hear a sharp roll-off above 14 kHz, and the treble peak is only half as strong as the bass peak relative to the midrange, so you still hear a lot of bass with Q20S. This being said, for someone just wanting a fun pair of commercial sounding headphones, Q20S should deliver that rather nicely.
Dynamics / PRaT / Textures – All textures are dampened, thick and smooth, with a slow decay. This being said, the high amount of mid bass creates a strong punch and kick, and sound coming out of the TS Sounfii Q20S is extremely dynamic and direct, raw and colored.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – Support for loud listening is extremely good, you can go to max volume with very little distortion, no clipping and Q20S sounds colorful and clean always. There’s a beautiful control at high volumes, and for a pair of bluetooth headphones this is really nice to notice, as most of them cannot get loud enough for me.
Soundstage – We see a fairly narrow and intimate soundstage, sound is not projected far laterally or on the depth plane, TS Q20S just sounds close by and creates vintage and intimate signature, like an old rap track.
Value and Conclusion
With a price tag of 49 USD, if you want bass, Tronsmart Sounfii Q20S is one of the best headphones you can grab, being available on the shelf of supermarket and big electronics stores, and they sound much better than the similarly priced alternatives, having an effective ANC and good build quality, with the next huge upgrade in sound and comfort being available above 100 USD, so more than double the price, so Q20S is super appealing to those who want a nice sound but on a low budget.
At the end of the day, I don’t regret reviewing and giving attention to the Tronsmart Sounfii Q20S, it is a brilliant pair of headphones with an excellent sound, good comfort, lightweight build, beautiful design, effective ANC integration, and if you want a warm, bassy, punchy sound, they are some of the best for the 50 USD price point they can be found for right now.
PROs
- Bassy, Warm and Punchy Sound
- Very good ANC integration, it really helps isolate from the outside noise
- Good Call Quality
- Long Battery Life
- Same sound for Wired and Wireless connections
- Tight and secure fit
- Very good Bluetooth signal strength
- Very high maximum loudness
- Excellent price / performance ratio
Cons
- Long charging times
- Smaller than my ears earpads
- Your ears get hot inside of the earcups
- Can have distortions at maximum volume
- No USB DAC mode
- No transport case or bag
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4bxDvf5
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oBZN7ui
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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