If you’re impatient like me, you can select noise canceling or transparency modes in the app. The app also unlocks an almost embarrassing amount of other options, from a Gaming Mode to reduce input lag to multipoint pairing so you can connect the buds to two devices at once. The bounty can be intimidating if you’re new to the segment, and you’ll find a simpler layout in something like the AirPods menu.

One place I recommend experimenting is with the sound signature, which is a tad brash and snappy by default up high. Like a growing number of brands, Soundcore offers a personalized sound that will tailor the frequency curve to your ears. This starts with a hearing test, where you get to find out all the damage done in your time on planet Earth. Hopefully, there will be only a few sounds you can’t hear, but it does feel like an audiology exam. It’s also not reassuring that, though there are multiple age categories, everyone over 40 is in the same one.

I didn’t notice a huge sonic difference after my test and actually found the default sounded more open overall, if more sizzly in the upper register. I ended up carving out my own sound curve from Soundcore’s extensive multiband EQ under the Custom setting.

Whichever signature you choose, performance is impressive for the money, offering solid overall balance without over-reliance on thumpy bass. The stereo imaging is particularly nice, with instruments well placed in the mix so you can take your time exploring the different colors. Once my ears adjusted to the Space A40’s cooler sound signature, I found myself regularly impressed with their penchant for digging up instrumental textures, from the dappled vocal lines in Nickel Creek’s Reason’s Why to the laser-sharp synths in Go by the Chemical brothers.

Instruments aren’t as defined as in higher-quality buds like Sony’s lovely WF-1000XM4, but that’s to be expected at around a third of the price, and there’s a surprising amount of tact and detail here for the money. Like Sony, the Space A40 support LDAC for high-resolution Bluetooth streaming.

Calling is relatively impressive. I had no major complaints with the calls I made, and you can assign a Wind Buffer feature. Honestly, aside from their lack of auto-pause and fancy extras like 3D spatial audio, it’s hard to find a major feature these earbuds don’t offer. They also have a transparency mode, though I didn’t like it. It’s rather bright, revealing only a very localized selection of ambient frequencies, and it doesn’t provide fancy options like adaptive sound to limit incoming decibel levels.

Maybe the biggest feather in the Space A40’s cap is just how solid the noise canceling is, especially in the lower frequencies. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the earbuds cut the din of the city on my daily dog walks, offering a lovely blanket of silence that assures you this is much more than just arm-candy noise canceling. Drone sounds slip away, cars driving by are reduced to smooth wooshes, and a bit of music puts you in a tranquil state.