Anker recently released new TWS headphones soundcore Liberty 5, which have already managed to get to the editorial office of Mezha for review. This is an in-ear model with dynamic drivers, active noise cancellation, Dolby Audio surround sound support, and the HearID 4.0 individual sound adjustment system. Now we will tell you about them in more detail.
Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Specifications
| Headphone type | intracanal |
| Connection type | wireless, True Wireless |
| Emitters | dynamic, 9.2 mm |
| Compatibility | Android, iOS, PC |
| Bluetooth version | 5.4 |
| Range | 10 meters |
| Codec support | SBC, AAC, LDAC |
| Management | pressure sensors |
| Multipoint support | + |
| Volume control | + |
| Microphones | 6, support noise cancellation |
| Headphone weight | 4.6 grams |
| Protection from moisture | IP55 |
| Autonomy | up to 12 g, up to 48 g with case |
| Exercise | USB Type-C, wireless charging, fast charging |
| Recommended price in Ukraine | 3 999 UAH |
Package contents
The Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 comes in a small box in the company's signature white and blue colors. It has a lot of printing on it, including an image of the headphones themselves, as well as the main technical specifications.
The box contains an almost standard set: headphones in a charging case, a short Type-C cable for charging, documentation, and 6 pairs of silicone tips of different sizes. A nice bonus, considering that the vast majority of TWS headphones come with only three pairs. So you can more accurately choose the required size.
Design and usability
Anker soundcore Liberty 5 have a fairly standard design for TWS headphones with a stand. The dimensions are very compact. The headphones are almost entirely made of glossy plastic. Only the frame of the stand is matte. There are black, white, pink and blue options to choose from.
The main body is streamlined and positioned at a proper ergonomic angle. There are two holes on the inside: one microphone and a compensation hole. Another microphone is located on top at the base of the leg.
On the outer part of the legs at the top there are only small soundcore logos. On the front of the legs, on the matte frame, there is a small recess. Here is the pressure sensor for controlling the headphones.
There is one more microphone on the bottom of the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 legs. And on the inside there are two charging contacts and left-right markings between them.
The sound channels are quite short and have metal meshes to prevent dirt from getting in. Their diameter is slightly smaller than standard, so third-party tips probably won't fit.
The weight of each earphone is 4.6 g, they are almost not felt in the ears, they can be used for hours without discomfort. Anker soundcore Liberty 5 hold well provided that the tips are correctly selected. The headphones are protected against dust and splashes according to the IP55 standard, so they are quite suitable for sports.
The charging case has a flat square shape with rounded corners. It fits quite comfortably in a jeans pocket. The case is made of matte plastic of the same dark blue color. On top is an engraving in the form of a logo, along the perimeter is a decorative strip of a lighter color. On the front there is a wide LED indicator of the charge level, charging, as well as the firmware update process.
The lid of the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 case does not open, but slides with a pleasant auto-adjustment at the extreme points. Inside there are places for headphones with contacts, as well as a reset button.
The Type-C charging port is in the usual place, on the back. But you can skip it altogether if you have a wireless charger.
Management
To control the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5, there are squeeze sensors on both headphones. This is a fairly convenient way to control, but at first you don’t always find the sensors accurately, you need to get used to it. When you press, you hear a slight click. Unfortunately, there are no additional sensors on the outer part of the leg. They could be used to adjust the volume by longitudinal movements.
The default control scheme is quite convenient. A single squeeze of either earbud pauses/plays and accepts a call. Double squeezes of the right and left earbud skip to the next and previous track, respectively. Long squeeze toggles between active noise cancellation and transparency mode.
The soundcore app has more features, as you can use triple compression. Additionally, you can adjust the volume and launch the voice assistant. There are also settings for switching modes. By default, ANC and transparency mode are active. But you can also add an inactive mode. So the control system settings are quite flexible.
Connectivity and functionality
To connect the Anker soundcore Liberty 5, Bluetooth version 5.4 is used. There are no problems with signal stability: no gaps or stutters even through two walls. The headphones support SBC, AAC, and LDAC codecs. Interestingly, in TWS soundcore headphones, to enable LDAC, you need to download some kind of firmware and when activated, the headphones reboot. There is support for Multipoint, but LDAC is not available when connecting to two devices.
The proprietary soundcore application has a very convenient and intuitive interface. The first screen displays a list of all connected soundcore devices. When switching to Anker soundcore Liberty 5, an image of the headphones and the case with charge levels is displayed. Below is access to the main functions and features. Namely: the switch for active noise cancellation and transparency mode. Noise cancellation has 5 levels, as well as modes for airplane and car. There is an additional wind protection function for transparency mode. Below on the main screen there is a transition to control settings, game mode (with low latency) and sound settings.
The sound settings are the most interesting. There are many ready-made presets for different music genres, a graphic equalizer and Dolby Audio. In addition, there is a Preference Test function. The user listens to one song fragment in two versions with different equalizer settings and chooses the one he likes. This procedure is performed 6 times and the appropriate equalizer is formed. There is also a separate HearID 4.0 function, which analyzes the user's hearing, correlates it with average indicators corresponding to his age, takes into account musical preferences and adjusts the sound.
The rest of the settings are in the additional menu, which opens by clicking on the gear in the upper right corner. There is a lot of useful things here. The function of automatically activating the transparency mode during calls to better hear your voice, auto-pause when removing headphones, volume limiter, sound signals, switching to the LDAC codec, Multipoint, checking the correct position in the ears, auto-off, searching for headphones, adding a widget to the desktop and updating the firmware.
Sound, noise cancellation and microphones
The manufacturer reports that the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 uses 9.2mm dynamic drivers made of a combination of wool and paper, as well as dual amplifiers for deeper bass. The sound really has very noticeable accents on low and high frequencies. This is typical for modern TWS headphones aimed at a mass audience.
The low frequencies are really deep, massive and thick, with enough sub-bass. They have a very good attack, but are not perfectly controlled. There are also a lot of high frequencies and they are quite detailed, especially considering the price of the headphones. They are bright and add a kind of shine and volume to the sound. The weakest side of the sound is the midrange: by default they are somewhat flat and have mediocre detail. You can level the situation a little with the help of equalizers and add midrange quantitatively. But in terms of quality they are quite mediocre and live instrumental music sounds just okay, nothing special. In general, the nature of the sound is more suitable for various electronics, pop music, hip-hop, etc.
Anker soundcore Liberty 5 have a total of 6 microphones for active noise cancellation and conversations. The headphones use the latest version of the company's active noise cancellation system ANC 3.0, which is adjusted every 0.3 seconds and has a special acoustic chamber that muffles human voices. It copes well with monotonous low-frequency noise such as air conditioning, fans or cars outside the window. Of course, it is more difficult with sharp mid- and high-frequency sounds. But this is a common problem with modern active noise cancellation systems. In general, the ANC efficiency is not bad, although it is still not Sony or Bose, so you should not expect miracles.
The company claims that AI processing is used for good voice transmission and there are wind protection algorithms. The voice is transmitted really well and there are no problems on the street, the interlocutor does not have to ask questions. The only thing worth mentioning is that sometimes when talking indoors, the interlocutors said that there was a slight echo.
Battery life
The manufacturer claims that the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 can last up to 12 hours (without ANC) on a single charge. And with the charging case, this figure is 48 hours. The headphones were used exclusively with the LDAC codec with active noise cancellation at a volume of 60-70%. No more is needed, because the total volume margin is quite high. In such conditions, it turns out 7 hours.
It takes about 2 hours to fully charge the case via cable. The headphones charge in an hour. Fast charging is supported: 10 minutes should be enough for 5 hours of listening. There is also support for wireless charging.