The Soundcore Liberty 4 that I reviewed leaned extra towards the high-end headphones phase than what the producer presents usually. For $150 a pop, we’ve energetic noise cancellation (ANC), LDAC audio codec, wi-fi charging assist, and a really full companion app.
Good
- Discreet type issue and neat design
- IPX4 ranking
- LDAC codec, Bluetooth 5.3, twin pairing
- Environment friendly adaptive ANC
- Good battery life and wi-fi charging assist
- Well being and sports activities capabilities (BPM, exercises, and so forth.)
Unhealthy
- Sluggish charging with the case
- Not optimum for sports activities use
the Soundcore Liberty 4 in a nutshell
The Soundcore Liberty 4 can be found Globally since final yr with a beneficial retail value of $149.99. They’re nonetheless out there at this value on the official retailer or on Amazon.
Soundcore is understood for promoting wi-fi headphones and earbuds with an excellent quality-to-price ratio. The producer has expertise in churning out nice energetic noise cancellation (ANC) efficiency. We additionally typically discover options similar to LDAC codec assist or spatial audio which are usually reserved for a lot costlier true wi-fi headphones just like the Sony WF-1000XM4 reviewed by Benjamin Lucks or Sennheiser Momentum True Wi-fi 3 additionally reviewed by Ben of their choices.
This yr, Soundcore has determined to degree up a bit. The Liberty 4 are nonetheless $100 cheaper than their high-end rivals after they have been launched and the headphones additionally provide well being and sports activities monitoring capabilities which are worthy of an precise health tracker.
Design
The Soundcore Liberty 4 is a pair of traditional in-ear earbuds with stems. They’re fairly mild and discreet in nature, however I discovered their assist to be fairly underwhelming.
Execs:
- IPX4 ranking.
- Put on detection.
- Light-weight (6 g per earbud).
- Compact and chic case.
- In-ear design that’s not too intrusive within the ear canal.
Cons:
- It’s not appropriate for vigorous sporting actions.
The Soundcore are in-ear earbuds, the place its ideas are inserted into your ear canal. I do know this will likely hassle lots of people however I discovered them fairly comfy, even when carrying them for lengthy classes.
Every earbud weighs 6g based on my kitchen scale and the case sans earbuds weighs 50g. They’re fairly unobtrusive visually as soon as worn however regardless of providing three silicone tip sizes, I discovered the match within the ear to be disappointing.
I would not advocate them for outside sports activities or for working. Additionally they had the annoying tendency to come out every time I chewed or yawned. The tactile controls are carried out by making use of strain on the stems. They’re referred to as “capacitive” keys.
The Soundcore Liberty are IPX4 licensed for water resistance. This implies you may sweat it out with out risking any harm. They arrive in two colours: black and white. The charging case has a sliding lid and magnetic slots to carry every earbud. It is a very compact little pebble that matches simply in your pocket. The matte coating may be very good to the contact and the lid’s hinge may be very easy.
The case has a glowing mild to point every time the battery runs low. The headphones additionally mission a white mild whenever you place them within the case or open it. That is fairly useful everytime you attain for them or need to put them away at night time when it is darkish.
Audio high quality and ANC
The Soundcore Liberty 4 options twin 9.2mm and 6mm diaphragms in every earbud. They assist LDAC, AAC, and SBC audio codecs. Energetic Noise Cancellation (ANC) is a part of the deal, and Soundcore means that you can alter it in actual time based mostly on ambient noise.
Execs:
- Very efficient and adaptive ANC.
- Glorious passive isolation.
- Fairly broad frequency vary.
Cons:
- Audio signature focuses an excessive amount of on highs and mids by default.
A sound that could be a little too clear by default
The frequency vary lined by the Soundcore Liberty 4 is fairly broad. It goes from 20 Hz to 40 KHz (i.e. 40,000 Hz). The Soundcore Liberty 4 helps the LDAC codec to take heed to your music underneath one of the best situations (it is of no use for those who’re streaming MP3s over Spotify).
Soundcore opted for a two-diaphragm system in every earbud. One measures 9.2mm in diameter and the opposite is 6mm, the place they’re each aligned alongside the identical axis. There’s additionally a small duct over the drivers referred to as the “treble tube” which is used to diffuse the excessive frequencies as immediately as doable in your ears to restrict the losses and the artifacts associated to the ambient noises.
Sound is usually very clear on the Soundcore Liberty 4. ‘Clear’ right here interprets to primarily the highs and higher mids being emphasised. The bass is to not be outdone however is somewhat behind by default. This audio signature locations plenty of emphasis on the voices and devices, in brief, the essence of the musical message.
Nonetheless, I discovered it to be somewhat too exacerbated by default. There’s some sibilance within the sounds in S, T, and Sh which might grate at your eardrums at excessive quantity. Fortunately, we are able to alter all these through the equalizer which may be very full.
Energetic Noise Cancellation remains to be as efficient as ever
ANC is mostly a powerful level throughout all Soundcore merchandise and the Liberty 4 isn’t any exception. Strong-borne noise (which ends from contact with a floor) may be very properly attenuated. I am speaking concerning the clacking of subway tracks, laptop keyboard keys, footsteps, and so forth.
Voices are kind of properly dealt with and I could not hear the fan in my room in any respect (sure, I am unable to sleep with out this background noise, so the fan nonetheless runs even within the winter).
Within the Soundcore app, you may go for an adaptive ANC referred to as HearID. Mainly, the app checks to see in case your earbuds are fitted correctly when worn. It then measures the decibel degree of noise round you.
The depth of the ANC will then adapt itself in actual time relying on whether or not your setting is kind of noisy. The operate works fairly properly however it’s also possible to alter the extent manually in three steps.
There’s additionally a transparency mode to stay “aware” of your setting. The sound right here can be fairly distorted however at the very least you may hear oncoming autos whenever you stroll the streets.
Software and options
The Soundcore Liberty 4 works with a companion utility (not important) merely known as Soundcore. It permits one to handle the equalizer, the contact controls, and the ANC in addition to the well being and sports activities capabilities.
Execs:
- A lot of settings and customizations.
- Very clear interface.
- The monitoring of BPM is sort of correct.
- Pre-installed or customized coaching modes for athletes.
- Out there on each Android and iOS.
Cons:
- Twin pairing just isn’t all the time as much as scratch.
The Soundcore app is accessible at no cost on Android and iOS. I actually just like the interface as it is rather ergonomic. The principle display means that you can swap between ANC and transparency modes.
You even have entry to the equalizer and Soundcore presents many presets right here. You even have the likelihood to create your individual EQ profiles.
You may as well reassign contact or capacitive controls and affiliate them with three forms of strain (single, double, and triple). You possibly can even set the extent of strain—increased or decrease—to set off a capacitive management and keep away from registering false touches.
Soundcore additionally presents a lot (and much too many, for my part) of exams to test whether or not your earbuds are correctly configured, the extent of ambient noise, the monitoring of your head for 360° audio, and so forth.
The earbuds do not have true multipoint Bluetooth connectivity, however you do have twin pairing through Bluetooth 5.3. In actuality, I didn’t discover this function to be very efficient. There’s a diploma of latency each time you turn from one system to a different. Switching from my smartphone to my PC was not all the time dependable.
However probably the most attention-grabbing bits are the well being and sports activities options. The earbuds have a coronary heart charge sensor and may present metrics on your BPM and stress degree. I in contrast the outcomes to the Xiaomi Good Band 7 that I exploit and so they have been constant.
With the built-in gyroscope, the Soundcore Liberty 4 may also aid you keep good posture so you do not over-stretch your neck. And the app incorporates pre-installed exercise modes and allows you to create your individual. I am a human worm, so I have never examined these modes out.
Battery life
The Soundcore Liberty 4 can obtain a battery lifetime of 9 hours with out ANC, 7 hours with ANC, and 5 hours for calls or with 360° audio, based on the producer. The case is able to offering as much as two full recharges of the earbuds.
Execs:
- Ample battery lifetime of 7h with ANC enabled.
- Wi-fi recharging assist for the case.
- An auto-off mode in case of non-use.
Cons:
- The fairly sluggish charging pace.
In on a regular basis use, I can affirm the battery life efficiency when used with and with out ANC fall inside the producer’s itemizing. We will obtain 7 hours with ANC enabled on a regular basis at a reasonably excessive listening quantity.
Recharging through the case is fairly sluggish although. It took quarter-hour of charging to get better the equal of three hours of battery life. Different producers did higher right here. It took me a mean of 45 minutes to attain a whole recharge from 0 to 100% with the charging case.
The case accepts wired and wi-fi charging, which may be very handy in case your smartphone has reverse wi-fi charging enabled. And that is removed from being a typical function on this value vary.
Technical specs
| Technical specs | |
|---|---|
| Product | |
| Picture |  |
| Design | In-ear | IPX4 | weight per earphone: 6 g | weight of the case: 50 g | port sensor | haptic controls (capacitive) |
| Audio | Twin 9.2 + 6 mm diaphragm |
| Frequency response | 20 Hz to 40 KHz |
| ANC |
|
| Bluetooth |
5.3 | Codecs LDAC, SBC, AAC | Twin Pairing |
| Battery life |
|
| Value | $149.99 |
Conclusion
For $150 a pop, the Soundcore Liberty 4 presents loads of worth for the cash. I am not a fan of the default audio signature, however when you run them by the equalizer, the sound high quality of the earbuds proved worthy of their value vary.
They’re probably not appropriate for sports activities when it comes to health workouts and that is a disgrace contemplating the well being monitoring and coaching options supplied within the app. I discovered it attention-grabbing that Soundcore needs to switch a health tracker with a pair of earbuds and the BPM measurements have been truly fairly correct.
The battery is excellent, though I discovered the charging pace to be somewhat too sluggish. The ANC is all the time top-notch from Soundcore and there are many choices to regulate it. For my part, the wi-fi charging functionality, LDAC codec assist, port sensor, and adjustable ANC justify the $150 price ticket.
What do you consider the Soundcore Liberty 4’s value/efficiency ratio?
