Soundcore Liberty 5 review: Outstanding everyday earbuds

      **Soundcore Liberty 5**

      **MSRP**: $130.00

      **“The Liberty 5 returns to the fundamentals (and excels at them).”**

      **Pros:**

      - Impressive sound

      - Highly effective ANC

      - Superb transparency

      - Excellent for calls

      - Long-lasting battery

      **Cons:**

      - No Bluetooth Auracast

      Soundcore's Liberty 5 wireless earbuds largely meet the expectations I have of this Anker-owned brand. They are a midrange set of noise-canceling earbuds that fulfill nearly every request, and at $130, they remain quite affordable when compared to Apple’s AirPods Pro 2, which retail for $249. Soundcore claims to have made several enhancements over the previous version, boasting their best ANC system yet. However, some features have been removed: head-tracked spatial audio and heart rate monitoring are no longer included. Here’s what to anticipate from the Liberty 5.

      **Design**

      Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

      Soundcore enthusiasts are well-acquainted with the brand's design philosophy, and the Liberty 5 reflects this, featuring stem-based earbuds, a charging case with a sliding lid, a bar-style LED indicator, and wireless charging capability. The earbuds also offer good protection against dust and water (IP55).

      Available in four colors, the package includes a short USB-A to USB-C charging cable and a generous set of five sizes of silicone eartips (six if counting the preinstalled mediums).

      Soundcore has maintained the pressure-based squeeze-to-click controls on the earbud stems that debuted with the Liberty 4 (similar to the controls found on Apple’s AirPods 4 series). While the Liberty 4 Pro introduced a swipe gesture for volume control, the Liberty 5 still uses the squeeze-to-click method for volume adjustments.

      **Comfort, controls, and connections**

      Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

      In general, while I consider stem-style earbuds to be slightly less secure than stemless versions, they tend to be more universally comfortable. I’m not alone in this opinion—Samsung switched to a stem-based design for its Galaxy Buds Pro 3 for this reason.

      The Liberty 5 are consistent with this observation. Using the default eartips, I found them quite comfortable for extended use. If you’re uncertain which eartips to select, the Soundcore app provides guidance to help you achieve optimal ANC and sound quality (comfort will be subjective).

      I appreciate the squeeze controls for their accuracy, which touch controls typically lack. They're also easily accessible even when wearing gloves. Although it would be somewhat easier to use if the stems had a tubular design instead of being flat oval, that's just a minor critique.

      The controls can be fully customized via the Soundcore app, allowing for four gestures per earbud (single, double, triple-click, and long-press). An optional camera trigger for your smartphone is also available, but oddly, it can only be associated with the single-click gesture.

      A new feature for the Liberty 5 is the ability to mute the mics during a call with a single click. This is quite useful, providing an immediate confirmation tone and a reminder tone every 20 seconds while muted. However, it’s worth noting that there’s no additional feedback regarding your muted status—the mute button in iOS’s phone app won’t reflect the earbuds' muted state.

      To aid in music control, the earbuds come equipped with wear sensors that automatically pause and resume playback when an earbud is removed or replaced.

      With Bluetooth 5.4 and Google Fast Pair, connecting the earbuds is straightforward on both Android and iOS devices. The wireless range is average, typically around 20-30 feet indoors, depending on obstacles, and further outdoors; I did not experience any dropouts during my testing.

      Bluetooth Multipoint operates effectively, and I’m pleased that Soundcore has updated its app to allow you to view all previously paired devices, making it easy to select which ones to keep active. Additionally, Soundcore has resolved a previous limitation where users had to choose between Multipoint and LDAC codec support—now, both can function simultaneously, a feature not available in competitive models like the EarFun (e.g., Air Pro 4).

      However, the Liberty 5 (and indeed all Soundcore products to date) do not support Bluetooth Auracast. If this feature is important to you (which I suspect it will become increasingly significant), you might want to consider EarFun instead.

      **Sound quality**

      Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

      Out of the box, the Liberty 5 produce good sound with excellent bass response thanks to the dual sound tubes integrated into their acoustic design. However, I found the high end somewhat lacking in brightness, and the midrange felt a bit underwhelming. If, after your own listening, you feel similarly, I highly recommend utilizing the Soundcore app’s two personalization features