Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro review: faithful companions with good sound

Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro release date and price

With its wireless headphones, Anker's subsidiary company Soundcore has set itself the goal of making a good pair of in-ears with good sound. To achieve this, the company worked with sound engineers to develop a technology (Astria Coaxial Acoustic Architecture, or ACAA) that reproduces the sound as in a recording studio.

You can get the pair of headphones for a price of $149.99, not the cheapest, of course, but compared to Apple's AirPods Pro at least still affordable.

Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro design and build quality

When I first unpacked them, I was quite impressed by the way the in-ear headphones were presented. Soundcore is very cautious in its choice of colors. So you can only decide between two variants: black or white. For my test, I used the white headphones and got a grey charging case. At first sight, I found both of them quite elegant.

In addition to headphones and the charging case, a USB-C cable, headphone wings (two pieces), and tips (six pieces) are also included in the box, the latter two being especially< practical so that the headphones adapt better to your individual ear shape. However, I find it a pity that these are not memory foam tips, but only standard plastic. The foam would certainly have made the wearing comfort much more pleasant.

Soundcore has, in my opinion, really tried hard to do justice to the price of the headphones in its packaging. The headphones appear to be of high quality, just like the charging case, and did not stand out negatively in a first feel test.

The headphones are quite nicely designed and are, in my opinion, well made. But if you are looking for in-ears that are hardly visible, you have landed at the wrong place. The headphone shell of the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro is thumb-sized. A fact that bothered me just when I wanted to put on a cap in colder weather. Because these headphones are not suitable for helmets or caps.

But the insertion itself is really very easy. Luckily Soundcore thought along with us and printed an "L" for left and an "R" for right on the headphones. The only weak point: the print is not very strong and I can well imagine that the information is difficult to see for people with visual impairments or on particularly sunny days.

Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro performance

Let me say right away: Soundcore did a lot of things right with these wireless headphones. But rarely is anything perfect, and especially for me as a notoriously impatient person when it comes to music, some things have come up sour. Handling the headphones is one of these points. You will find the on and off buttons directly on top of the plugs. They are easy to reach and even if you understandably cannot see them, they are easy to feel. On the positive side, I think it's good that the keys are not too sensitive, so that you don't run the risk of unconsciously using up the battery.

The problem I see, however, is the time it takes for the earbuds to switch on. The same is true for switching off, although the earbuds sometimes opened the voice assistant of my smartphone when I wanted to deactivate them. When I'm on the road, I want the headphones to turn on and off and connect quickly. But if I first have to wait for two subway stations until the earphones have thought about putting the music on my ears, my morning begins badly.

In any case, it's nice that the headphones tell you whether the battery is full or empty when you switch it on. So you can quickly decide whether you want to put them in the charging case for a short break. What irritated me here, and after a short time was very annoying, was the continuous audio information and booting sounds.

What I noticed positively were the magnets on the side. With these, the headphones not only fit perfectly into the charging case, but can also be stuck together. So neither of the two headphones could get lost, which happens to me quickly with others.

The ANC (Active Noise Canceling) feature is becoming more and more a decisive factor for wireless headphones these days. But it is a trend that Soundcore is not following with these headphones. So I could still hear train announcements despite having music playing. For commuters who always want to stay up to date, I find this perfect. Unfortunately, however, all conversations of other passengers can be heard at the same time. Since I am a big fan of ANC myself, I really missed it with these headphones. If you don't attach too much importance to ANC and are looking for wireless headphones that just give you good music, these headphones are great. However, if you intend to wear any kind of headgear, or if you just want to leave the world behind with your headphones, I strongly advise against wearing these headphones.

I would not recommend these headphones to anyone who does extensive sports or jogging. But in the end, you should try them out for yourself and decide for yourself.

Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro audio

Soundcore had set itself a high goal with these headphones: to deliver top sound for a relatively low price. To test this one, I divided the sound into three points: Music, audiobooks, and telephone calls. The manufacturer has done a good job in two out of the three.

The music playback really surprised me positively with the Liberty 2 Pro. If, like me, you've only worn cheaper wired headphones, these earplugs are a great change. The sound is really clear with these headphones, with no emphasis on highs or lows and I enjoy the fact that you can hear the bass but it doesn't stand out. I think these headphones are a good choice for anyone who wants to enjoy a good sound experience while commuting or in everyday life.

Of course, you don't have to listen to music exclusively with these. Audiobook fans will be pleased that the headphones also cut the mustard in this area. Voices sound clear and distinct when played back. So you don't have to worry about blurred or muffled voices.

While the headphones scored well in terms of both music and voice reproduction, they unfortunately had to suffer a defeat during telephone calls. Here the voice of my conversation partner came through to me muffled and seemed a little as if I was sitting underwater. On the positive side, however, I would like to emphasize at this point that my counterpart could understand my voice quite clearly. The microphone per sé, the shortcoming on my side cannot have been exclusively my fault.

In summary, I think these headphones are a really good product in terms of sound. But if you don't just want to listen to music, podcasts or audiobooks, but also want to make phone calls, you should keep your hands off these devices.

With the Soundcore app, you can customize the headphones even more

In addition to the headphones, you can use the Soundcore app. This is not absolutely necessary to activate the headphones, but it does make some things a lot easier. After I downloaded the app for free, it first wanted me to register. Fortunately, this point can be skipped without further ado. Once you have done this, you will be asked about your Soundcore device. Enter the appropriate one and let it connect to the app. Now the tap fun can begin (I'm serious - I cycled stupidly enthusiastic through all the possibilities).

The display first shows a picture of the two earplugs - each labeled with "R" and "L". One glance at the letters and I knew how much battery I still had available. The lower part of the display shows the "Control" area on the right, on the left you will find the Equalizer. Under Control, you can see which action can be performed at the power button and you can define it manually.

Via the Equalizer, I could set my personal HearID. In other words, the device did a small test to determine which volume, etc. is best for my ears. The test lasted three minutes - which is an acceptable amount of time for comfortable listening. Personally, I found the app a nice little toy.

Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro battery

According to Soundcore, the battery life of the Liberty 2 Pro is eight hours. With the included charging box, you should be able to fully charge the earplugs up to three times. This would give you a runtime of 32 hours. To test the running time, I had the earplugs exposed to an eight-hour piano session. The headphones lasted about 6 hours and 40 minutes, whereby the left earplug broke down faster than the right one.

A subsequent charge of about 10 minutes in the charging case brought me the missing 01:20 hours for my drive home (40 minutes). This means that although the listeners do not make it through the eight hours specified, they can hold out long enough, including the charging case, to get you through the day.

But while I can still accept the runtime, the automatic battery status announcement here has extremely annoyed me. Because as soon as the battery starts to run low, you'll get an announcement every ten minutes. This is the first time it's really handy to put the headphones in the charging case. But beyond that, it gets on your nerves. If the battery is completely exhausted, the headphones will logically switch off.