The Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 are a strong contender for the best value Bluetooth earbuds. For relatively little money, they not only offer very good sound and effective noise suppression, but also heart rate measurement and other extras.
Most users probably know Anker as a manufacturer of high-quality accessories, especially when it comes to chargers and cables. The company, founded in 2011 by former Google employee Steven Yang, has made a name for itself. In the meantime, however, the Chinese company is also successfully active in a number of other technology areas, including audio devices from the Soundcore brand. The latest product is the Bluetooth earphones Liberty 4, which have a lot to offer for 150 euros.
First of all, the case is striking, the lid of which is not opened, but pushed open. Opened or closed, it reliably snaps into place. This not only feels good, but also makes it easier to remove or put back the earbuds.
The plugs, designed in a simple but attractive wing design, show another special feature: When the lid is open, their transparent attachments pulsate in the charging box. This not only looks pretty chic, but is also an indication of an extraordinary extra: the right earphone has an integrated sensor for measuring the heart rate. He works with light, which is why the attachments are transparent. The heart rate monitor does not work with ear tips from other manufacturers.
The packaging, which is unfortunately far too wasteful, contains silicone plugs in four different sizes. Once you have found the right attachments, the Liberty 4 sit extremely comfortably, but are secure enough to be suitable for sporting use. The earphones are also protected against splash water according to IPX4 and can withstand a downpour.
To find out the data from the heart rate monitor, you have to open the associated Soundcore app and go to the health section. There you can not only see the fairly accurately measured heart rate, but you can also call up recordings, start running training or do a stress test.
Also interesting is the possibility of using position sensors to track the head position and to hear a warning tone if you sit motionless with your head down for more than five minutes. In order for this to work well, a comfortable posture is calibrated beforehand. In the test it worked fine.
Overall, the Liberty 4 does not replace a smartwatch or a fitness bracelet. With the earphones plus app, beginners have a useful initial training and motivational aid.
The excellent app does not only have a health department. You will find an extensive equalizer with various modes and setting options. One of the things you can do is create a custom HearID. This means that you can use a test to adapt the sound to your own hearing ability.
With active noise cancellation (ANC), there is also the option to create an adaptive mode adapted to the ear canal. And so that everything works well, you can first test whether the earphones fit optimally.
Finally, you can also find settings for spatial audio in the sound effects. You can choose between a spatially fixed 3D sound and – made possible by the position sensors – head tracking (spatial audio). That means when you turn your head, it sounds like the stereo stage stays in place.
So many extras are exceptional for €150 earbuds, but they would be worth little if the sound and ANC were only mediocre. But here, too, Anker delivers. The earphones produce very satisfying, deep bass. Cleanly defined and distributed mids determine the sound, which is crowned by clear and detailed highs.
Even at high volumes, the Liberty 4 don’t lose control, they are pleasantly low-distortion. A fairly wide and airy stereo stage is also nice. In addition, the new Soundcore plugs have proven to be very versatile, they convey every style of music well.
The basic mood is warm, sometimes the sound can seem a bit dull. The equalizer can help here. In the test, however, the HearID in particular led to a significantly better, more neutral and clearer sound. Correctly adjusted, the Liberty 4 also stand up to comparison with the much more expensive upper class.
This is especially true when feeding them high-resolution, LDAC-encoded material. The earphones do not support aptX or other high-resolution codecs. The Bluetooth connection (5.3) is also stable over long distances.
The Liberty 4 does not disappoint when it comes to active noise cancellation either. Apple’s Airpods Pro 2, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II and other ANC champions filter background noise a little better, but the Soundcore earphones do their job well, especially at dampening steady traffic noise.
The adaptive mode works, but the adaptation to the ear canal is hardly noticeable. The transparency mode, when it is important to hear outside noise, is pleasantly dosed. You understand everything, but you don’t feel like you have super powers.
The plugs are controlled via their pressure-sensitive wings. Here you have the option of setting what happens to each page in the app if you press it between your index finger and thumb once, twice or three times. This works perfectly and is more pleasant than typing on touch surfaces, which is always associated with a somewhat unpleasant pop in the ear.
There is also nothing to complain about the mileage of the earphones. According to Anker, they last up to nine hours with ANC. In the test it was about eight hours, which is still very impressive. The box, which can also be charged inductively, has reserves of up to 19 hours. After 15 minutes in the case, the buds can play music again for around three hours.
Currently, you can hardly find better Bluetooth earphones than the Soundcore Liberty 4 for 150 euros. Their sound is excellent, their ANC effective, their endurance very good. There are also many customization options and extras that are very rarely found even with much more expensive competitors.
