The Low-Down!
The SuperEQ Q2 Pro wireless earbuds bring active noise canceling to what can be considered an affordable price range. The ANC performance is excellent, and the inclusion of multiple bud sizes means they can be adapted to your ear canal size. Where the Q2 Pro fell short for us was in the volume, where we were left feeling like we always just needed a little more sound to really bring out the nuances in production.
SuperEQ Q2 Pro Wireless Earbuds
Battery Life:
8 Hrs
Noise Cancellation:
Yes (ANC)
Waterproof:
IPX5
EQ Presets:
No
What We Scored It
Overall Rating - 62%
Sound - 57%
Comfort - 68%
Build & Design - 64%
Battery - 63%
Value - 60%
62%
The SuperEQ Q2 Pro is a decent pair of wireless earbuds. The ANC is the stand out feature for us. We did feel as though a lack of volume was a fairly big drawback.
If you have not yet heard of SuperEQ, they are a subsidiary brand of OneOdio. While OneOdio’s products focus on studio headphones, SuperEQ is more tailored toward the everyday listener.
Despite SuperEQ offering a selection of headphones themselves, the SuperEQ Q2 Pro is the company’s only wireless earbud thus far, competing in what has become an extremely large market space thanks to the expansive adoption of mobile devices.
Having recently reviewed a couple of similar earbuds, I was keen to see how the Q2 Pro stacked up against the competition. The SuperEQ Q2 Pro is offered at a relatively affordable price range of around $50 to $60, making it much cheaper than something like the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live, for instance.
Unboxing & First Impressions
The SuperEQ Q2 Pro comes in a small, simple turquoise box with earbuds, a charging station, a user manual, and additional bud attachment sizes. The inclusion of various-sized bud attachments was a welcome addition. More companies have started to include these attachments, making a big difference in comfort, especially for those with unusual-shaped ear canals.
The charging station is fairly standard in its design, black with a gold SuperEQ logo on the top. On the front of the charging station, there are 3 LED indicators to show you the status of the earbuds during charging and pairing.
Design & Build
The buds of the SuperEQ Q2 Pro themselves are also familiar with their design, as they follow what has become a tried and tested design for earbuds in recent years. The gold trim along the top of the buds holds aesthetic value, giving them a bit of a premium look. Each earbud also has the SuperEQ brand-abbreviated “S” in the same tone.
Regarding the details of the charging case design, the plastic doesn’t feel particularly cheap, but it doesn’t quite hold the same solid feel as some of the other charging cases I’ve used. The one area that stood out the most was when opening the lid – there is a point at which the hinge feels slightly loose. This isn’t a big deal and shouldn’t affect the overall quality, as it’s simply that there is a little bit of a gap on each side of the hinge, so it moves fractions of a millimeter. It is minimal, but something I did notice when handling.
While the case is primarily a matt finish, the inner parts where the earbuds are held are made from a glossy material and again are familiar in their approach to what we’re used to seeing from wireless earbuds. The earbuds themselves are relatively light but don’t feel excessively cheap.
The Super EQ Q2 Pro has a USB-C type charging port in the back of the charging station with a 370mAh battery.
Getting Them Set Up
Pairing the earbuds for the first time is an easy process: opening the case with the earbuds inside and scanning for Bluetooth devices from your mobile device. If you’ve already paired them, the process is a little different, and the manual states to press the button (earbud) for 6 seconds with the case open to pair.
I encountered some difficulty when pairing and couldn’t pair it using the instructions. Instead, what I found worked was scanning for Bluetooth devices from my phone, and then while scanning, I opened the charging case – after a couple of tries, this worked. I couldn’t find this talked about elsewhere, so it could be related to my source device, but felt it worth mentioning for transparency.
It is worth noting that I didn’t encounter any further issues with connections once they were paired for the initial setup.
The Listening Experience
When I started listening to the SuperEQ Q2 Pro, I was slightly disappointed by the volume levels. I first went to ensure that my phone’s volume wasn’t set too low but noticed that it was already maxed out. The SuperEQ Q2 Pro earbuds don’t allow for their own volume control, and all volume levels are determined by the source device.
This became quite a concern for me, as outside noise impacted the listening experience quite heavily, even at maximum volume. This was when I decided to see if the ANC offered would assist in creating a more audible experience.
I was extremely surprised by the quality of the active noise cancellation with the SuperEQ Q2 Pro. I’ve reviewed several earbuds with ANC recently, and I feel I got the most out of the Q2 Pro’s implementation, more so than higher-end brands. Almost all external noise was removed (primarily low droning noises from fans), and the lack of volume suddenly felt compensated, to a degree. It at least allowed me to experience the full range of audio frequencies without feeling like it was fighting with external noise.
The volume remained softer than I preferred, and with a distinct lack of complaints online about this, I began to contemplate a bigger question. How loud is loud enough for earbuds with noise cancellation? Or is it simply a case of a manufacturing issue on the product that I was testing?
The Super EQ Q2 Pro may offer enough volume for most intents and purposes; however, I could see the volume issue being more noticeable in areas of loud volume where the ANC may struggle to remove competing noise completely, for instance, on public transport.
This lower volume works just fine for casual listening and works well with softer acoustic-driven songs, which can retain their essence at a lower volume, but if you’re a bit of a bass head who likes cranking up EDM, you may well feel as though the life of the track is missing. The SuperEQ Q2 Pro offers a sonically wide sound without the personality that comes with a bit more volume.
When we look at how they perform while gaming, the Q2 Pro will suit casual gamers just fine. However, if you’re into competitive FPS gaming where hearing even the slightest tell about the enemy’s position is important, there are better options for gaming earbuds.
Overall, I was happy with the sound quality but would have liked to have just seen some additional volume to fit my preferences. If you’re someone who doesn’t listen to music at high volumes, these issues are far less likely to bother you.
Comfort
Having multiple earpiece adapters included means that the SuperEQ Q2 Pro caters to more ear shapes than many similar models, which come with only one size to fit all ears. I personally had to swap it out for a smaller size to find comfort.
When sized correctly, I found that the Q2 Pro was comfortable for moderate periods of time. I wouldn’t want to wear them for hours on end, but I found that anywhere from 2-3 hours of continuous use was not a problem.
I didn’t find any issues with the Super EQ Q2 Pro falling out during exercise or housework. This, combined with the IPX5 waterproof rating, means that the Q2 Pro can be used as a workout earbud and can even handle some light rain when out running.
Final Thoughts
The Q2 Pro experience is decent for a pair of ANC earbuds at under $70. This is, however, a very competitive space with products like the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro offering many of the same features at a similar price point.
My experience with these earbuds seemed very different from other online reviews, where volume was never an issue, but some had complained about the ANC. I found the ANC to be some of the best I’ve come across.
The insufficient volume levels left something to be desired, though, and music never felt like it could reach its full potential, with elements of mixing and mastering being lost in the process.