Alright guys, here is my review of the Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pros after about 5 days of use:
As per usual, going to go into everything in detail, but I can say right off the bat that the Liberty 2 Pros to me are clearly among the best TWS out there on the market right now. For $150 (though you can knock them down to about $119 on Amazon right now with the promo code JERRYL2P), I really think this is some of the best sound you can get on TWS at the moment. While they're on the bigger side in terms of form factor, and have a very slight hiss in the background (which is barely noticeable for the most part), the sound quality, comfort, stable connectivity, good battery life, and even great phone call quality more than make up for these slight deficiencies.
Sound Quality: Based on sound quality alone, the Liberty 2 Pros are absolute beasts. These things completely live up to the "Pro" moniker in their name, unlike certain products from some other fruit-based brands out there... In fact, every time I put these things in my ears I feel like I'm actually wearing a piece of professional audio equipment. Everything the Liberty 2 Pros play, they do so with authority and confidence. They have a forward, in your face sound, with a slightly U-shaped signature, but also one that does not lack in refinement and detail. It really makes you want to re-listen to music in your library that you've heard 1000 times, just to hear how it sounds on these. To let you guys know, I tried almost every EQ setting on these and there are a bunch of good ones - e.g. Piano and Acoustic - but I settled on Vocal Booster which seemed to bring the mids to life a bit, reduced the bass slightly, and balanced out the sound nicely. As a result, my evaluation of the sound was done while using the Vocal Booster EQ preset. While the Liberty 2 Pros definitely have a few small issues that I will discuss below, I have not heard a TWS in this price range (or even a few notches above) that rivals the sound that these are able to pump out.
Bass: The Liberty 2 Pros are bass monsters. The bass is beefy, resonant, deep and punchy. It envelopes the eardrum and really makes you feel something, particularly on electronic, modern hip-hop, rock, EDM, reggae, and even jazz tracks that allow the bass to shine. While it is relatively loose and wide, it also manages to be pretty damn clean. It is just so fun to experience such a resonant bass experience on TWS. I would go as far as to say that I have not heard anything in the TWS world, besides maybe the Sennheiser MTWs (which are a bit smoother and more accurate in the bass), that are able to replicate the Liberty 2 Pros' combination of quality and power in the low end. A couple things that I will say here is that sometimes it can be slightly too much and lack a tiny bit of detail in more refined classical works or in slightly poorer-quality recordings. This is particularly evidenced with solo piano music, where sometimes the lower piano notes lose a bit of their attack. Further, on some older hip-hop tracks, such as with a Tribe Called Quest, I did feel that the bass was sometimes a little on the strong side for my liking. The good thing though is that the bass does not bleed into the other frequencies ranges despite its strength, and has phenomenal extension and rumble for TWS. Overall, just epic bass response here.
Mids: When I first started listening to the Liberty 2 Pros, I did feel that the mids were a bit pulled back in the mix. However, the EQ settings that come with the companion app are actually really solid and were able to remedy this issue. On the Acoustic, Piano, and Vocal Booster settings, the mids become much more prominent. Further, once they are brought out a bit, you start to realize that the mids are actually fantastic. Both male and female vocals sound excellent, with good detail, emotion, and breathiness. Actually, the overall detail retrieval in the mid-range is great. Brass, cellos and violas, mid-range drums, woodwinds, and especially guitars (guitars sound fantastic on these) sound rich and are excellently portrayed. I would not say this is a super natural or hyper-realistic midrange (like you'll find on some higher grade wired headphones, or even on the MW07s), as it does sound a little colored. However, it still is highly enjoyable to listen to.
Highs: The highs on the Liberty 2 Pros are just fantastic for this price and also given that in general TWS often struggle with highs due to the complexities that come along with compressing higher range frequencies over bluetooth. The BA drivers are really doing their job here in rendering crispy cymbals and high-hats, smooth high-range vocals, and pinpoint bleeps and bloops heard in a lot of modern hip-hop and EDM. Reggae sounds particularly great on these in my opinion, as the percussion is able to really stand out and form a great stage. The detail retrieval overall in the highs is very good, though I still do think that the Lypertek Tevis are tops in terms of highs on a mid-range TWS. Also, the MW07s very slightly edge these out in terms of pure detail, though I do think these can be a bit less "hot" in the treble for the most part, and are therefore sometimes easier to listen to for extended periods of time. When compared side by side to the Tevis, the Liberty 2 Pros produce a little more of a compressed sound when it comes to cymbal decay, however the actual hit of the cymbal and detail of the sound is certainly there. On the whole, somewhat surprisingly, the highs really get the job done here and just add to the overall high-quality sound experience.
Soundstage/Imaging: For a pair of TWS, the soundstage is actually very good. These have a nice spaciousness to the sound, highlighted by an expansive low-end. While not super wide, the instrument separation is top-notch, as the frequency ranges never seem to step over each other. Imaging is also pretty accurate, and you get a real sense of a stage-like presentation because of it. It's not some crazy huge stage, but at least you can sort of picture it when you close your eyes. In the end, I never felt like the music was closed in, and to me that's an accomplishment on a set of mid-range TWS.
Overall, the sound on these things is so damn good. It certainly rivals that of much more expensive competitors. I can't imagine what else you could ask for out of a set of $150 (or less) TWS earbuds. I really just love listening to music on them. There is one small thing I do need to address here. There is a slight background hiss at very low volumes that most obviously presents itself right before a song or a video is about to play. However, I really don't notice it at all when listening to music, or even when listening to a podcast. Regardless, I'll take this level of sound quality for this price with a slight background hiss any day of the week.
Look/Fit: Going back to what I said before, it really feels like you're wearing some real audio equipment when you put the Liberty 2 Pros on. They feel substantial and utilitarian. They definitely stick out a bit from the ears and are a little bulky, but I actually don't mind how they look too much. They kind of just look like old bluetooth headsets, and since that look has pretty much been normalized throughout the years, I don't feel ridiculous walking around in these. I also found them to be surprisingly comfortable given their size and the fact that I have small ears. There are so many ear-tips and wing-tips to choose from that you're bound to find a good fit. That being said, I wouldn't say these are the most comfortable on the market (see Airpods Pro), but I am still able to wear them for long periods of time without too much fatigue.
Extra Features: Unfortunately, these don't have ANC or pass-through modes, which I actually missed more than I thought I would in the first day of testing. I really liked these features on the Airpods Pro, particularly when on the subway (ANC) or when trying to talk to people at a coffee shop (Transparency). However, I quickly got over it and now appreciate the good seal that these are able to provide. On the plus side, the app is really great, with excellent EQ settings that make a real difference in the sound, and I really like the ability to customize the controls. Regarding the controls, if you're willing to sacrifice the Previous Track function, you can control everything else with the buds. Right now I have it so a double press on the left is Volume Down, double press on the right is Volume Up, long press on the left is Smart-Assistant, and long press on the right is Next Track. Since I don't use the Previous Track function very often, this works just fine for me.
Battery: Battery life is great. I left them out and played them at 80% volume for about 6 hours and still had 30% battery to spare when I picked them up again. Also, the fast charging on the case is very good, as about a 10-15 minute pop in the case charged them up from about 40% to 80% (approx. an extra 2-3 hours of playtime).
Case: I really liked the case on these actually. While it's not the smallest, it has a nice thin oval shape to it that fits in a pocket without too much bulge. It's also got a smooth texture to it, and the satisfying one-handed opening mechanism has turned the case into a bit of a fidget-spinner for me. I also don't feel a rush to have to keep recharging it, as I've only had to charge it up once this week. Not the best, but certainly not the worst, and they've done a good job given that the earbuds themselves are on the larger side.
Microphone/Calls: This really surprised me. I was expecting the microphone to be pretty mediocre, but actually these are 100% usable even in a noisy NYC environment. I have received almost no complaints, even when the wind has picked up, though people have occasionally asked me to repeat myself. That being said, they have not complained about loud sirens going off in the background, which is my #1 test of a good mic. Really great, perhaps not Airpods Pro or MW07+ level, but way better than expected.
Connectivity: Really top-notch connectivity. The Liberty 2 Pros support both Apt-X and AAC codecs and held a rock solid connection with both my iPhone and Windows computer. Very happy with the bluetooth transmission. On maybe one or two occasions I heard some track skipping when connected to my Windows computer, but overall very solid. The one thing is that switching between devices was slightly tedious, as you have to turn off bluetooth on one device to connect with a second and vice-versa, but this is a pretty minor inconvenience when you look at the overall package here.
Conclusion: The Liberty 2 Pros are some of my favorite TWS that I've tried so far and I've tried an absolute ton of them. They are no doubt among the best in terms of sound quality, while also excelling in the key areas that you look for in a quality set of TWS. If you're not a fan at all of a bassy sound signature, perhaps these might not be for you, but even then the bass is just so awesome that you may just like hearing certain types of bass-centric music on them. Also, there is a Bass-Reducer EQ preset in the app if you need. On the other hand, if you like headphones with a deep resonant bass that also manage to maintain good quality and clarity in the mid to high frequency ranges, I highly recommend that you check these out. The price is also very fair for what you're getting, making the Liberty 2 Pros a great value purchase. All in all, these are a definite keeper for me.
You can do that with the Echo Buds for instance.
