Anker Soundcore Liberty Air: TWS In-Ears for $79.99
There are many Bluetooth headphones in ever changing designs. At the moment the trend is towards absolutely wireless ear studs. The Anker Soundcore Liberty Air fall exactly into this scheme. We have a review of the AirPod clone here for you.
- Anker Soundcore Liberty Air
Technical Specifications
| Name | Anker Soundcore Liberty Air |
| Driver | 2x 6 mm Ø Graph Driver |
| Frequency range | 20-20.000Hz |
| Impedance | 16 Ohm |
| Standards | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Battery capacity | 2 x 55 mAh + 500 mAh |
| Weight | Total 55 g |
| Dimensions | 1.7 x 1.2 x 0.6 cm per earpiece |
| IP Protection class | IPX5 |
Packaging and scope of delivery
The packaging lettering of our Anker Soundcore Liberty Air (directly from China) is in English. The packaging itself comes in the typical Anker branding, in the colours white-blue.
In addition to the wireless in-ears and the charging/transport box, the accessories include a Mirco-USB charging cable, ear pads in four sizes and an operating manual. The latter is more like a small book, as the manual is printed in 18 languages, including English, of course.
Design and workmanship
On the outside, Anker’s latest TWS-In-Ears resemble the Apple AirPods for the first time; in a direct comparison, the 1.7 x 1.2 x 0.6 cm earpieces are only slightly larger. In contrast to its predecessors, the “bud design” preferred by many manufacturers has been discarded and replaced by an ordinary in-ear form, where strictly speaking “only” the cable is missing.
The Anker Soundcore Liberty Lite are also equipped with standard in-ear ear cushions. Personally I like that pretty much because I don’t get along with half in-ear headphones like the AirPods or the Xiaomi half in-ear. Experience has shown that in-ear speakers provide a much better shield for most people, but as always this is a matter of taste.
The wireless In-Ear is available in Apple-like white, but also in black. The case of the white in-ear is shiny, while the black case has a matt surface. All in all, the headphones are very well processed and make an absolutely high-quality impression on me. Anything else wouldn’t be acceptable at the proud price at which you almost get the original.
Sound of the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air
The Liberty Air handsets are each equipped with a dynamic graph driver, so this is not a hybrid in-ear.
I liked the headphones pretty much in the test for a wireless in-ear. It has a powerful bass and a solid midrange and treble. The sound is balanced, with a tendency to low, which I personally like. Compared to the Air by Crazybaby Nano, I like the sound of the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air a little bit better, it looks a little rounder and makes listening to music fun.
The Anker Soundcore Liberty Air is the best true wireless in-ear I’ve tested so far. Unfortunately, it is also priced very high and certainly doesn’t offer the best price/performance ratio. In comparison, the Tronsmart Spunky Buds perform better here.
Firm hold in the ear, even during sports
During the last days I took the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air a few times to the sport. I didn’t have any problems with slipping earphones. In order to achieve this good wearing comfort, Anker gave the listeners a smart ergonomic shape. The in-ear cushions are not straight as usual, but slightly angled downwards, so that the headphones are practically hooked into the ear.
Thanks to ear pads in XS, S, M and L there should be the right size for everyone. Personally, I get along best with the pads in “M”.
Operation with two touchpads
Compared to the Liberty Lite, the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air is no longer equipped with physical buttons, but with touchpads, like the Xiaomi AirDots or the Tronsmart Encore Spunky Buds. Despite the small size of the handsets, some commands can be executed.
Functions of the Touchpads
| Function | Touchpad Combination |
| Play/Pause | Tap the touchpad 2x on the right handset |
| next track | Press touchpad on right earpiece for two seconds |
| previous title | Press touchpad on left earpiece for two seconds |
| Answer/end calls | Tap the touchpad 2x on the right earpiece |
| Hold calls | Press touchpad on the receiver for two seconds |
| Change between on hold and active call | Press touchpad on right handset for two seconds |
Unfortunately, the volume of the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air cannot be adjusted via the earphones. This can only be done using a playback source such as a smartphone.
In practice, the touch “buttons” offer a great advantage over physical buttons. Since in principle no pressure has to be exerted on the receiver, it is possible to carry out functions without the earpiece slipping in the ear. This is much more difficult with conventional buttons and almost always requires readjustment of the headphones.
Telephoning with the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air
While with most TWS In-Ears you only use one earpiece, as a mono headset, these headphones function as a stereo headset. Anker advertises with an uplink sound insulation that filters noise and guarantees first-class sound quality for you and your conversation partner.
Unfortunately, in practice you don’t notice much of it, during my test phone calls it was said that my voice sounded “as if you were standing next to an airplane”.
To put it plainly, this means that the microphone quality is not particularly good and is at most sufficient for short telephone calls. Usual city centre noise, which is solidly isolated by most in-ears with CVC 6.0, makes telephoning with the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air an ordeal for the conversation partner.
Up to 5 hours of music at a time
According to Anker, the battery lasts about five hours at moderate volume, an above-average value! The renewed, complete charging process, on the other hand, only takes about two hours. In total with the charging box it should be possible to listen to music for up to 20 hours without the need for a power outlet. On request, Anker informed us that a 55 mAh battery was installed in each handset, plus a 500 mAh battery in the charging box.
In practice the battery life convinced me, in the test I could confirm a runtime of 4.5 – 5 hours at moderate volume.
Here, the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air offers a great advantage over many other true wireless in-ears. On average, the battery life of such headphones is only about three hours. Also about four complete battery charges are possible with the enclosed battery box.
Conclusion
Anker does a lot right with the Soundcore Liberty Air in my opinion. I also like their sound compared to the Anker Soundcore Liberty Lite. With “Bud-Design” I like their sound much better. The in-ear offers a nice sound with a slight focus on the bass.
The workmanship is first class and there is nothing to complain about externally. The only thing you can chalk up about the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air are the pretty bad headset microphones. In the test, telephoning is only possible to a limited extent and they are only useful for short conversations.
But since the headset function is not too important for me personally, the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air is still one of the best wireless in-ears I’ve tested so far.
To the gadget
Write comment