It’s time for sleep. You’ve got like three hours, so you want to make the most of it. But the neighbor’s cat is mewling nonstop, the dogs barking at the shadows, neighbors who are still somehow up with the karaoke at full volume, or your partner’s snores are keeping you awake. I’m sure we can all relate.

The Soundcore A30 steps up as a solution. It is an earbud designed to ensure people get uninterrupted sleep. One of its defining features is its flat design, in contrast to more popular designs that focus on a bulb shape or stems. The Soundcore A30’s flat design means you can sleep on your side comfortably, with almost nothing pressing at your ear.

If you happen upon these earbuds, you don’t need a bed or pillow to try them on. Just tuck it in your ear and press your hand flat against your ear; you won’t feel the buds at all, so there's no need to push the device deeper into your ear. It’s a simple and excellent design choice.

The buds themselves are very soft and comfortable. There is a little silicon flap that you can pull off your ear when you’re done with it. And the charging case has a circular shape, but there is more to it than just standing out among the crowd. We’ll get to that later. But one thing I’m happy to describe about this charging case is: It is one heck of an ASMR beast when sliding the lid open and closed.

While the Soundcore A30 is designed primarily for sleep, its audio quality is no less impressive. The sound is loud and rich, with a good, punchy bass. I am hearing plenty of other details, like little sound cues and vocals, that I don’t normally hear from the speakers or my regular buds.

The ANC is strong, and it comes with what Soundcore calls a 3-Stage Snore Masking system. There’s a lengthy explanation of what it is, but the TL;DR is: if your partner or bunkmate snores, the Soundcore A30 will block those sounds so you get a good night's sleep.

The longer version of that has the first stage; the charging case is not just a charging case. Soundcore calls it a Real-Time Snore-tracking case, which detects and analyzes sounds to produce a countermeasure to prevent disruptions during your sleep.

Soundcore is quick to point out that no form of audio is being recorded. All sound processing involves frequencies, intensity, and wavelengths, which are, basically, the rough noises, like someone snoring. The third stage of the system is the foam tips that come with the box, if your background is too noisy.

Battery life is solid enough. I’d wake up most mornings with some battery still left, and just to see how far it could go, I’d keep them running as I prepped for the day. This would be a total of five or six hours, and there’s plenty left to keep it going. In some more dedicated tests, the battery lasted between 7 and 9 hours. Just enough for sleepers who get the recommended amount of sleep. But the reality is that many of us don’t even get that much, so you can probably get two nights’ worth of sleep with the battery from the earbuds themselves.

The round case can add over 40 hours to that. Give or take, it's good for about five nights without charging the earbuds and the case.

There is another feature Soundcore shows off. It is the AI Brainwave Audio, which they say will help you sleep better. Now, I understand “AI” is a buzzword these days. So I can’t really attest to what this is. Soundcore’s own description is “Binaural beats deliver different frequencies to each ear, which helps sync your brainwaves with calming patterns to promote relaxation and restful sleep.”

Basically, it’s just background music. There are three: Starry Sky, Ocean, and Forest. I’ve only had Forest play for me, probably because it synced with my brainwaves and detected how much of a mess it is, and decided to ride with that. Who knows?

The Soundcore app can help customize the buds’ features, such as built-in alarms and the ability to find earbuds when they get lost.

The Soundcore A30 is an impressive pair of earbuds. The design is pretty, especially the charging case. Sound is great, and its ANC features are adaptable. It’s a solid choice to include on your list when hunting for new earbuds.