Soundcore - by Anker Liberty 5 Advanced In Ear Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Wireless Earbuds - Black

Great sound and functionality, Only thing it needs is in-ear, earhooks. Mainly, in-ear hooks that i can keep on when i place earbuds back into the case. I purchased some aftermarker rubber in-ear hooks that I have to take off when I put them back in the case or they won't charge. I dont like having to put rubber in-ear hooks on every time i want to waer them, but thats what I have to do to keep them from falling out my ears.

I've used earbuds over the years from virtually every major manufacturer. This was my first time using earbuds from Anker. I was pleasantly surprised with how terrific they were, as they have a fairly low MSRP and they feature active noise canceling. Pros: - The sound quality was fantastic. From my experience, the sound quality outperforms every other brand I've used in a similar price range. Podcasts sounded great and music was terrific as well. - I like the design of the case with how it gently slides open. The earbuds magnetically snap into place very easily. - While many earbud products provide you with 3 sets of ear tips for different sized ears, this product provides SIX different sizes. You are pretty much guaranteed to get the perfectly comfortable fit that you are looking for. - I'm typically not a fan of audio companion apps, but the Soundcore app does have a cool white noise feature that I liked. It had tons of preset options if you want to meditate with specific background noises, fall asleep to gentle waves, etc. You can also easily customize white/background noise to your liking by adding anything from birds, to campfires, to hiking steps, crickets etc. The combinations are nearly infinite. Cons: - The touch controls worked OK for me, but there was a slight learning curve to get the proper pinching technique down. When you consider the sound quality, craftsmanship, features (ANC), and price range, this Anker Liberty 5 Soundcore product is an excellent option!

*** Summary *** The Anker Liberty 5 Bluetooth earbuds were a pleasant surprise for me with their good sound quality, excellent active noise cancellation, and a plethora of tuning options to dial in the EQ to my liking, all at a price point that is very affordable. All of my previous earbuds were from bigger “brand name” companies which I chose because of their brand cachet and the fear of making a mistake. After experiencing the Liberty 5 across multiple scenarios, I can attest that Anker knows what they’re doing when it comes to creating quality audio hardware with premium features at a fair and value price point. Due to some small inconveniences, I can’t give it full stars, but a 4.5 Stars. It’s still a Win. ________ *Pros: -Excellent sound quality. -Really good active noise cancellation. -Clear and loud phone calls even with just one bud. -Excellent wind noise masking during calls. -Comes with six different ear bud tip sizes. -Supports Dolby Audio and LDAC (high-res audio) -8-band custom EQ + lots of preset options -Good battery life. -Comfortable for long-term wear. -Very fast quick charge. -Solid Bluetooth connection. -Excellent value. ________ *Neutral: -When opening the lid, there is slight friction in the beginning that prevents smooth opening due to the wobbly lid. -Out of the box, the sound is tuned too much for bass and a bit muddy. -Sometimes difficult fishing out the earbuds out of the case. ________ *Cons: -No raised groove on lid  hard to tell which direction to slide open the lid *** Hardware, Design, and Comfort *** I found the design of the Liberty 5 to be attractive and functional. The bud part that goes inside the ear offers a comfortable and secure fit thanks to the six differently sized ear tips, and the ear tips offer a great seal for very good passive noise cancellation. The stem part is where the touch control zones are, and I found the length to be just right. The touch zone has an indent on the surface, making it easy to find it. I found the touch responsiveness, however, to be a bit lacking. Instead of my desired action, such as music pause, happening immediately, there is a delay that made me doubt whether my command was going to go through or not. I eventually got used to this but during my break-in period, it was kind of annoying. The earbuds are compact and light, and they were very comfortable to wear for hours on end. The buds snap inside the case quickly and accurately via the strong magnetic force, and I found the case to be comfortable to carry around thanks to its small footprint. The plastic feels a bit cheap-feeling and the sliding lid wobbles up and down on the hinge, which makes opening the case not very smooth. Also, there is no indent on the lid, making it hard to know in which direction I should push the lid open when I’m not looking at the case. I’m guessing this area is where Anker cut some corners in order to keep the Liberty 5 below a certain price point. It’s a not a big deal or let down but I’m not sure how durable the lid and the hinge will be long term. *** Audio and Sound Quality *** I mainly use the Liberty 5 earbuds at work to listen to music, and they have been excelling in my sometimes-noisy environment. I have some noisy cubicle neighbors but thanks to the quick-reacting and excellent active noise cancellation (ANC), I’ve been able to listen to my music in peace. Out of the box, I found the default tuning to be too heavily oriented toward bass, which sometimes resulted in muddy-sounding music. I played around with the different preset EQ settings as well as setting up my own custom EQ curve, and so far, I find the Piano preset to be the best for the types of music I listen to. With so many tuning options, I’m sure you won’t have a problem dialing in the earbuds to your liking. After my dog chewed up my Plantronics Bluetooth earbud, I decided to try using the Liberty 5 for phone calls, and I was surprised by how good it was at delivering loud, clear voices and blocking out ambient noise for the person on the other line. Everyone I talked to said my voice and volume were MUCH better, and they asked me to use the Liberty 5 every time I called them from now on. 😊 The high-res LDAC option isn’t available to toggle on out of the box, but you can unlock it via a firmware update. The app will warn you that battery life will go down as a result, but it’s totally worth toggling on both LDAC and Dolby Audio for the better sound experience. Speaking of battery, Anker lived up to its marketing claim and the buds charged up REALLY fast. *** Is it a good buy? *** Yes, most definitely. Anker may not have the brand cachet of the big market players, but the Liberty 5 earbuds deserve to be tried. The sound is very good, the tuning options are myriad, the ANC is excellent, and the buds are comfortable to wear for long hours. I would totally recommend these to my friends and family unapologetically.

PROS Aggressive Voice Suppression Up to 8hrs Battery Life with ANC Excellent Soundcore App CONS Soundcore App not supported by all Android 16 Devices Wonky & Cheap touch controls Fitment test results are not in sync with each other Never could get a good fit test to complete TLDR: This is my first set of Anker earbuds. The Liberty 5's represent Anker's top-of-line offering for earbuds. They mostly hit the mark, good in many aspects, but not nearly as polished as premium offerings. SET-UP / INITIAL CONFIGURATION I have multiple devices I use to test new audio products. I'm glad I do. I often find that products and their respective apps don't always perform as well on one platform as they do on others. This is the case with the Anker Soundcore app. It is polished and pristine on my iPad, proving to be a well-designed and intuitive offering. Anyone that has had experience with any of Anker's other smart products, from chargers to battery packs, will immediately feel at home with the Soundcore app. Same with installation on my new Pixel 10 Pro. The Soundcore app works slick and intuitively, with little to no difference in the experience from iOS to Android 16. However, the Soundcore app fails miserably on my Samsung Tab A9+. I'm not sure why, but the Soundcore app refuses to install on the tablet, even though it is running the latest Android 16 update. I'm guessing it is hardware issue, but I will say this is the first time I've ever had an app fail from one Android device to another, running the same OS. SOUND / AUDIO QUALITY Out of the box audio quality of the Liberty 5's is horrible. They are some of the worst sounding ear buds I've ever experienced. Even worse than some of the cheapest of the cheap wired headphones you can get at a bargain thrift store. The Liberty 5's come out of the box tuned with so much high-end treble that they actually hurt my ears. Thankfully, Anker stepped in with their Soundcore app and offer a robust audio tuning algorithm. Playing a pre-made audio track, the Soundcore app will walk you through tailoring the sound output to your liking. Focusing on tailoring all three areas of the listening spectrum; the lows, mids, and high frequency reproduction. Like I stated above, the Liberty 5's were so bright that I almost couldn't stand using them. I'm glad I put in the effort, as the Soundcore app allowed me to roll back the top end and even out the audio spectrum to my likening. A little effort and a couple of minutes of your time brings a very rewarding experience. From a nearly unusable product to one that is nicely balanced and pleasing. FITMENT The Liberty 5's include tips from XXS to XXL. There seems to be a size to fit everyone. Everyone except me apparently, at least according to the fit-test. While using the app to tailor my music profile, the Soundcore app responded that I had a sufficient seal with the earbuds to adequately prevent outside distractions. However, once I completed the audio profiling, the fit-test never did complete properly. I tried literally every single pair of silicone plugs included with the Liberty 5's and every single tip said that they weren't sealing properly in my ear canal, when just minutes before the profile test reported a good product seal. Interesting. After several hours worth of use now, I tend to believe the fitment test more that the profiling test. Regardless of silicone tip I use, I just cant seem to find one that fits right. From XXS to XXL, none of them seem to allow the Liberty 5's to fit properly. Maybe I have oddball ears or maybe it's the shape and design of the earbuds themselves, but I have yet to find a properly feeling fitment. ANC Anker's Active Noise Cancellation technology emphasizes voice cancellation. I have to say that the Liberty's do a good job at reducing human voices, with a marked reduction in outside distractions. However, they don't work well with human voice coming from sources like a TV. They are far less effective at cancelling artificial voices comparted to actual human speech. BOTTOM LINE Anker's new Liberty 5's are an attractive option at an attractive price point. After proper tuning, they are very good sounding and performing set of earbuds. Are they the best product out there? No. I can't get a proper seal in my ear canal, the touch controls feel unbelievably cheap and are hard to use, and the Soundcore app has compatibility issues. However, with some careful tuning using the Soundcore app on a supported device, the Liberty 5's excel at drowning out ambient conversations and background drone while providing very good audio quality. I find they work great in my office, muting most ambient noises, often better than many other competitors' earbuds that often struggle with errant voices, while the Dolby listening modes provide some excitement to music and movies. The Liberty 5's deserve a look. RECOMMENDED

Earbuds come in all shapes and sizes, and since I have had good experiences with Soundcore in the past, I wanted to try these. The design mirrors many premium models, with the microphone positioned at the end of the stem. They include a charging case and a companion app that allows for deeper customization. The charging case feels solid and opens smoothly, and placing the earbuds in or taking them out is effortless. Pairing was fast and straightforward, so setup only took a few moments. The app is well organized and useful for firmware updates, adjusting touch controls, and personalizing audio settings. The Preference Sound feature stands out because it creates a sound profile based on a short listening test, tailoring playback to individual hearing preferences. Comfort is another strong point. They are lightweight and sit securely without drawing attention to themselves once inserted. Transparency mode is available, though with a proper seal there is already noticeable passive isolation. While I did not hear much environmental noise even in transparency mode, I could clearly tell when it was active because my own voice sounded more natural when speaking. There are a few areas that could be improved. When I moved my head, the microphone stem occasionally brushed against my shoulder, creating a faint crinkling sound that was more noticeable in transparency mode. The physical control button can also be tricky to find by feel, and it requires a firm press to activate, which makes it seem slightly stiff. Additionally, removing the earbuds pauses playback but does not automatically shift audio back to the connected device’s speaker. Sound quality is where these earbuds really stand out. Across genres, the presentation is rich and balanced. Bass delivers impact without overwhelming the mids, vocals remain clear and forward, and highs are crisp without becoming sharp. The overall tuning allows for extended listening without fatigue. Enabling Dolby Sound in Music Mode while streaming through Apple Music expanded the presentation even further. The audio felt more spacious, with improved instrument placement and clearer separation between layers. Subtle details emerged more distinctly, giving tracks a greater sense of depth without sounding artificial. The personalized sound profile enhanced this even more by subtly refining tonal balance to better match my hearing. The preset EQ options were also useful when I wanted a slightly different emphasis for certain styles of music, offering quick adjustments without manual tweaking. When watching movies on Disney+, Dolby content translated well. Dialogue stayed focused and intelligible, while effects and background elements remained clearly defined. Action scenes carried weight, yet voices were never overshadowed. Whether listening to music or watching films, the clarity, separation, and dimensional quality consistently impressed me. If you are looking for a budget-friendly premium listening experience, these earbuds are worth looking at.