Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro ANC headphones – the best for under $300 costs $160

The rapidly growing audio brand of the powerbank manufacturer ANKER.

The ANKER brand has been with us and me for many years. Cheap but good powerbanks from ANKER were already a huge topic in 2015. The advantage over Xiaomi powerbanks: ANKER products have always been available on Amazon, with simple warranty processing, without “stress” with customs and without long delivery times from China. That was quite different with Xiaomi back then!

While it was still clear with the first models that a product from Chinese large-scale production was simply bought up and provided with the company’s own logo, ANKER quickly became innovative itself in the area of batteries and charging electronics with the capital it earned.

With the acquired expertise, the company quickly considered which product groups could still be realized for the still young company through its competence in the area of chargers, cables and powerbanks. Thus, the first ANKER Soundcore Bluetooth speaker was launched relatively early, which was a huge success and is still sold today!

Release of the first Soundcore Liberty Air

In 2018, ANKER then launched the first wireless in-ear headphones, the in-house developed Anker Soundcore Liberty Air series. To date, the first headphones we’ve tested here at China-Gadgets whose battery life could keep up with Apple AirPods at (at the time, an incredibly good) 5 hours, and also brought with it a stable (at the time, above average) Bluetooth connection.

From this point on, Soundcore has consistently developed its main series “Soundcore Liberty Air” and “Soundcore Liberty Pro”. Already with the second generation of the “Air series”, the Soundcore App was launched and is reliably maintained and further developed for new products until today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2jgl-k1Kis

I personally find it very interesting to follow the development of ANKER Soundcore from a small Amazon store to an innovative technology manufacturer. Not least by listing their own products in the Apple Online Store as official charging accessories, they have earned themselves something of a knighthood. I find it all the more exciting how Soundcore is now closing in on Sony’s area of expertise with the Liberty 3 Pro!

Packaging & scope of delivery

For the packaging of the new top model, the manufacturer has come up with a completely new packaging. I know, the topic is actually super unexciting, but I liked the packaging and presentation of the product quite a bit and was once again something special and unexpected among all the packages we open every day.

When you open the package, which is held closed by a magnetic closure, the first thing that jumps out at you is the headphones. The charging cradle sits underneath in a separate recess.

It is noticeable that the earpieces of the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro do not have any ear pads attached. They are located in the center of the folded edge. Nicely draped and without plastic bags, one is presented here with a selection of ear pads and ear hooks in four different sizes, with a couple of ear hooks already attached to the headphones.

To the left of this, a small instruction is printed in the box, which explains with pictures how to attach the ear pads and ear hooks to the headphones. In the compartment behind it are the quick start guide, warranty card, and of course a USB-C charging cable.

Soundcore really went the extra mile here, in my opinion. In any case, the “experience” during unpacking was new, compared to other/older Soundcore models.

Design – more compact, more filigree, lighter

Compared to its predecessor, the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro is more compact and thus more suitable for the masses. Because with the Liberty 2 Pro, you had to love the sound a lot to walk around with these headphones in everyday life. That is no longer such a big factor here, in my opinion.

The earpieces of the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro are only 24.7 mm wide according to our caliper, whereas the predecessor generation is a proud 29.3 mm. Thus, the earpieces are still not small and significantly larger than the Redmi AirDots, for example, but the dimensions are now more like those of a common “bud earpiece” and no longer “mega giant lump-in-ear”. Due to the saved width, the shape of the earpiece is now more oval and no longer elongated.

Considering that the Liberty 2 Pro did without ANC technology, proximity sensors, and touch sensors, and that these are now additionally slumbering in the earpieces, it is quite remarkable that Soundcore was even able to reduce the size of the headphones. However, not much has changed in terms of weight: While the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro weighed in at 7.4 grams per earpiece, the new generation weighs in at 6.8 grams.

The charging cradle has also become more compact and filigree compared to the predecessor. Its width has shrunk by 8 mm and the new charger is almost 4 mm flatter. It sounds insignificant at first, but the bulge caused by the cradle is noticeably smaller in the pocket.

Soundcore also offers more color options with the new Liberty 3 Pro than with the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro. While the previous model was only available in black and white, the new in-ear comes in four colors. White, black, light blue and purple. Somehow the colors remind me of iPhone colors. Coincidence? One does not know. 😀

Material & workmanship at top level

In terms of materials, Soundcore has gone one better. While the old wireless in-ear is made entirely of plastic, the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro also uses CNC-milled metal/aluminum. Especially at the driver output, Soundcore creates a more valuable look and refines with no engraved inscriptions.

The headphones are impeccably manufactured, which is a must considering their steep price. Soundcore manages to create here even for the untrained eye perhaps even an unconscious feeling of value. I’m sure no one would guess the price of the headphones to be less than $100 based on gut instinct.

Assessment of design & workmanship

Design is of course a matter of taste, I personally like the more compact design and the resulting look of the headphones, especially compared to its predecessor very much.

Soundcore uses high-quality plastic and filigree processed metal, so that the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro fully justifies its standing as a top model and flagship for ANKER’s audio division, in my opinion.

Sound of the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro

ACAA 2.0 Hybrid Driver Module

For the Liberty 2 Pro, Soundcore has developed the ACAA (Astria Coaxial Acoustic Architecture). This is a dynamic driver for the low/midrange and a BA driver from the manufacturer Knowles for upper midrange/tweeter in one driver module.

While many hybrid drivers have the dynamic and the balanced-armature driver installed separately next to each other, Soundcore has combined two sound sources into one here. In addition to the space saved, Soundcore also promises better, more consistent sound “from a single source” through this module, which also sounds reasonable to my understanding.

For the new Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro, this module has been optimized and slightly reduced in size. Thus, the dynamic driver of the ACAA 2.0 module has become marginally smaller with 10.6 mm instead of 11 mm before.

I am surprised that Xiaomi has not yet launched a wireless hybrid driver in-ear headphone. After all, they were particularly successful with the Xiaomi Piston series with hybrid drivers in times when jack cable headphones were still the rule.

Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro Sound in the test

My expectations for the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro are quite high, as I have been using its predecessor as a daily driver for almost two years now.

The most positive thing first: Contrary to the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro, there is no noise or hiss here, as with the upgrade version Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro+. This is really an unnecessary shortcoming with the Liberty 2 Pro at low volume, now fortunately no more!

A comparison test with other ANC in-ear headphones that we have already tested makes little sense. With its hybrid drivers, the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro outperforms all of the competition with dynamic single drivers, from the Apple AirPods Pro, to all of the Xiaomi TWS, to the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro.

I found the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro to be a touch better than its predecessor, not the least of which is the fact that it doesn’t hiss. In the test, the headphones offer an incredibly large stage with a very deep sub-bass up to extremely detailed high tones.

For me personally, the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro delivers a completely different music listening experience, especially in the classical field or film music, as well as live recordings. Here, the limit of the sound quality at TIDAL is suddenly no longer the headphones or the audio file, but the quality of the recording itself comes into focus.

Classical & Live Music

During my tests, I often listened to the live album “Live in Prague” by Hans Zimmer, among others. The album convinces with outstanding recording quality as well as mastering. In the test, I still noticed some nuances here that I hadn’t noticed so much with the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro, which speaks for an even slightly wider frequency spectrum.

Overall, it’s just insane how much happens simultaneously while listening. Due to the fact that the audio quality is so high, it is possible to pick out individual instruments that get lost in the “mishmash” with other headphones or with lower streaming quality.

In addition, the precision of the sound is also pretty crazy. For example, you don’t just hear the sound of a violin, but it sounds so realistic that you can practically hear how the bow makes the strings vibrate. Wind instruments also sound so real and “snotty” in the treble, as I have never noticed with any other headphones.

HipHop, RnB & Pop

With pop, hip-hop and RnB, the details are usually less noticeable. This is probably simply due to the production method of fast-moving music, which is now often created on the computer and therefore offers not always but often inherently less depth and space than, for example, an orchestra recording.

The 10.6 mm dynamic driver shows what it can do in hip-hop and RnB, where a rich bass also plays a role, and thanks to the BA driver, the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro conjures up the appropriate crystal-clear voices in the ear. It is noticeable that the voices do not separate unnaturally bassy compared to many other headphones, but voices and beats are felt to be better separated from each other.

For pop, it strongly depends on how the music is produced. If it was mainly composed on the computer, the strength of the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro is not quite as much to bear, in live recordings or with live instruments, rather!

Electronic Music

Since electronic music is also mostly created on the computer, one often reaches the limit of the production rather than the limit of the headphones. Thus, the sonic difference between the hybrid driver headphones and a good single-driver headphones is, in my opinion, the smallest.

However, if you have very good audio files, a difference in the details is audible, but not so decisive. I would describe it here as if one would hear the individual audio tracks again somewhat more detailed and more clearly separated from each other than with a single driver or with Spotify audio quality.

Rock & Metal

Admittedly, these are music genres I don’t deal with that often. For the test of the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro, I asked Julian, who edits our YouTube videos and has been part of a metalcore band himself, for a couple of good tracks.

In the test, the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro delivers here also in the area of live music, in my opinion, particularly well. Guitars and basses sound “groovy” and you can hear here, similar to the violins described, very detailed how the strings vibrate – I like very much. Drums are also very precise and the “punch” here can easily scare you.

Depending on the production sharp S-sounds in the high tone

With the “Soundcore Signature” equalizer mode activated by default, Fabian, who tried the headphones in our second color, noticed partly unpleasantly sharp S, CH or SCH sounds in some cases during the tests with various genres, bands and artists.

These usually stand out a bit unpleasantly on vocals. Personally, it bothered me less than Fabian, but since tastes differ, it should be mentioned here. This “problem” can be easily eliminated by slightly modifying the equalizer in the Soundcore app.

Sound comparison with Sony WF-1000XM4

The Sony WF-1000XM4, with a hefty price tag of just under €300 and a reputation that precedes them, are the top dog when it comes to ANC in-ear headphones, making them the benchmark in this headphone category for me.

However, like Apple’s AirPods Pro & Co., they are also only equipped with a dynamic driver. Therefore, I was very curious about the comparison and whether Sony would manage to get similar performance out of a dynamic single driver as Soundcore did out of the hybrid driver module.

After listening to music for a few hours, I came to the following conclusion. Both headphones sound similar in tuning, but you can hear into the room with the Soundcore headphones, which is not possible with Sony’s headphones.

This is especially noticeable with live music, or generally with music that is not recorded in the studio. It makes sense: with studio music, which was created in a soundproof chamber, there is hardly any space that you can hear.

With live music, however, the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro allows you to hear the sound of the instruments, as well as the audience, much more clearly. Thus, for my sensation, the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro transmits a much more emotional sound and also a more emotional experience compared to the Sony WF-1000XM4.

Sound conclusion – For whom is the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro worthwhile?

The comparison with the Sony WF-1000XM4 basically only confirms what Fabian said. The Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro is a razor-sharp headphone that can not only reproduce sound, but also room reverberation with damn precision.

Thus, especially with well-recorded live music in master quality, the headphones give you the feeling of really being there and convey the surround sound, the distance between instrument and microphone, the emotions and energy on a completely different level than any other headphones in this price range – Soundcore: well done!

But do you really need a Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro? No. If you don’t have high-resolution audio files or a subscription to a HiFi streaming service à la TIDAL, you won’t be able to exploit the headphones’ potential. In my opinion, the headphones only sound marginally better with Spotify, MP3 files, etc. than the premium range with dynamic single drivers, such as the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, Apple AirPods, or Huawei Freebuds Pro.

On the other hand, headphones are all about the sound, and if you can get a potentially better sound for a lower price, then I would say: better have than need.

Now also with active noise cancellation

Finally! Not only has Soundcore been able to downsize the Liberty 3 Pro compared to its predecessor, but the manufacturer has now also incorporated hybrid ANC. Means that a total of three microphones per earpiece, which are installed in the earpiece inside and outside, perceive ambient noise and create a corresponding anti-noise, which reduces background noise.

In testing, the ANC of the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro is roughly comparable to that of the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro or AirPods Pro. The headphones reliably suppress background noise, so that a music volume of 30%-40% is already sufficient to completely block out ambient noise.

Moreover, the ANC does not distort the sound of the headphones, as is the case with some budget models. Overall, the ANC does a solid job and can also be customized and optimized in the Soundcore app. There is now also a HearID ANC test here, which I will go into more detail under “Soundcore App”.

ANC comparison with Sony WF-1000XM4

If you’ve ever actively looked into headphones with active noise cancellation, you’ll hardly have gotten past Sony’s flagship models. Both Sony’s over-ear and in-ear headphones top various best lists in the ANC in-ear headphone category.

Sony not only relies on its ANC technology, but also only supplies so-called foam tips for the Sony WF-1000XM4, as already mentioned. These foam ear pads are made of a similar material as Ohropax Soft, can be reduced by rolling them between the fingers and then expand again in the ear.

Thus, the Sony WF-1000XM4 achieves pretty good isolation from the outside world even without ANC. The effect is even stronger when ANC is turned on, so that you cannot hear anything at low to medium music volumes.

In the comparison test, I tried the ANC from Sony and Soundcore without music to better perceive the differences. I noticed that the Sony WF-1000XM4 is able to isolate particularly high background noise a bit better than the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro. However, the differences are really not very big, and they are only smaller when music is turned on.

Therefore: yes, the Sony WF-1000XM4 has the marginally better ANC and is therefore probably the best ANC in-ear on the market. But: it is also 100$ more expensive than the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro and delivers, at least in my opinion, a spongier sound image and sound is actually the decisive factor in headphones.

Headset

The headset of the predecessor was quite modest to say the least. The new Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro had a lot of room for improvement. However, the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, which came out a bit later, showed that the company is capable of building good headsets.

This is now also true for the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro. While its predecessor passed on noise too unfiltered, the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro can reliably suppress it thanks to AI algorithms.

Thus, traffic noise or even a lawn mower in the test are no obstacle for a good conversation. Thus, after various test calls, I can also recommend the headphones for longer calls or telephone conferences at work.

Wearing comfort

The headphones come with a total of four pairs of ear pads and four pairs of ear hooks. Compared to its predecessor, the selection of ear pads has thus been somewhat reduced, as there were a total of seven pairs of ear pads included with the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro. Here, one now saves some intermediate sizes.

In the test, I liked the wearing comfort of the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro. Compared to the larger Liberty 2 Pro, the more compact Liberty 3 Pro holds much better, which is due to the lower leverage.

On the other hand, the Sony WF-1000XM4 only comes with foam tips (foam pads), while the Soundcore headphones still come with ordinary rubber pads. I would have liked the choice between one and the other even better.

Operation – finally touch sensors here as well

While the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro still made do with push buttons, Soundcore’s high-end product now also features touch sensors. As with the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, these can be customized – very good!

The Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro supports a total of four different touch gestures:

• 1x touch
• 2x touch
• 3x touch
• 2 seconds touch

These gestures can be individually assigned with the left and right earpiece respectively. There are a total of six functions to choose from:

• Volume +
• volume –
• next title
• previous title
• play/pause
• Start voice assistant
• Ambient sounds (always two of three selectable for one gesture)
  • ANC on
  • Transparent mode on
  • Normal

In the test, the occupancy in the app, as well as the execution works flawlessly. In addition, the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro are also equipped with proximity sensors that automatically pause the music when you take the earpieces out of your ears, respectively resume when you put the earpieces back in.

Soundcore App

While major audio manufacturers like Sony or JBL have made gaffes with their apps from time to time in the past, Soundcore’s app runs smoothly. This is also reflected in the app reviews.

The Soundcore app currently has 4.2 stars in 15,721 reviews in the Google Play Store and even 4.7 stars in 4,734 reviews in Apple’s App Store. The app is, of course, free and first shows you an overview of headphones and speakers that are compatible with the Soundcore app.

https://youtu.be/ryJZruMlPAc

The functions of the app for the individual audio products are individual and can only be viewed when the corresponding headphones or speakers are connected to the cell phone via Bluetooth.

For the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro, the following functions are available in the app:

• Ambient noise
  • HearID ANC
    • High Level Mode
    • Comfort mode
      • Three-level customizability of ANC strength
    • HearID ANC Adjustment
  • Normal (ANC off)
  • Transparent mode
    • Full transparency
    • Voice mode
    • Voice amplification (still beta here)
  • Wind noise reduction
• HearID Test
• Sound Effects (Equalizer)
• Sound Mode (Android only)
  • Activate LDAC
• Control
  • Individualization and activation/deactivation of touch gestures
• More settings
  • Enable/disable wear detection
  • Device List
    • Dual Device Connection
  • Voice output
    • Feedback tones on/off
  • Ear cushion test
    • (do the pads fit well? – will be done in App at first pairing)
  • automatic power off
    • Options when or if headphone should turn off automatically
  • firmware update

HearID now also for ANC

Soundcore introduced the HearID feature with the release of the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro and later integrated it into the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro.

This is a hearing test, similar to what you might be familiar with from your ear doctor. The app plays sounds at different frequencies and volumes, and the user then indicates whether the sound is audible or not.

After the test, an individual equalizer mode is generated based on this, which takes into account the individual hearing ability. In my case, nothing changes here, as I am (fortunately) able to hear all sounds at all volumes. However, there was positive feedback in the comments under our review of the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro.

HearID ANC works less complex. However, the test has to take place in a loud environment where the active noise cancellation is also needed. The user only sees a loading circle in the app, which confirms that the test or the fine-tuning of the ANC is being performed.

Unfortunately, I cannot determine for sure whether the active noise cancellation really works better afterwards in the test due to my own perception. However, the same applies to Sony’s ANC Optimizer in my case.

Most important functions of the app & conclusion

For me, the most important function in the Soundcore app, at least on Android, is the activation of the LDAC codec for a significantly higher bandwidth in the data transfer between the phone and the headphones.

The Dual Device Connection or Multipoint Connection also has to be activated in the Soundcore app first. The Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro can then be used with two devices simultaneously. In the test, I connected the headphones to my laptop and cell phone at the same time and could use them for Skype, Zoom, etc. on the one hand, and listen to music and receive calls via the cell phone on the other. One small drawback: Dual Device Connection cannot be used in LDAC mode.

Another important benefit of the Soundcore app is the possibility to install firmware updates via the app on the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro. The Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro has already shown in the past that Soundcore can provide really useful updates. For example, this headphone has been updated with the LDAC codec, volume adjustment, and another touch gesture. Speaking of touch gestures, the customization of these is also a useful feature.

Our closed beta version of the Soundcore App for the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro is not yet translated flawlessly, which will be fixed at the official release, but the functions already do what they should. In addition, it is in my opinion well structured, not at all cluttered and intuitive to use.

For me, the Soundcore app is a useful added value for the headphones and not just a useless gadget, which others can take a leaf out of the book.

Bluetooth chip with LDAC instead of aptX

While the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro are equipped with aptX codec, respectively a Qualcomm Bluetooth chip, its upgrade version, as well as the new Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro come with a different module that supports Sony’s LDAC codec. Compared to aptX Adaptive, it allows a much higher bandwidth of 990 k/bits.

A bit awkward is that you have to activate the LDAC codec, which is relevant for you if you use an Android phone, in the Soundcore app first. If you do not do this, the headphones automatically select the AAC or SBC codec first. These offer a significantly lower bandwidth under Android and deliver a correspondingly worse sound experience.

Bluetooth range

In testing, the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro deliver an exceptionally good range. In open spaces, the connection remains stable over a distance of more than 20 meters.

It is correspondingly less in closed rooms, where the nature of the obstacles is especially decisive. In our office, there are almost only plasterboard walls, which the Bluetooth signal can even bridge across several rooms in the test. That would probably look different with reinforced concrete.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the connection stability, even jogging or environments with many interfering signals are no problem for the headphones.

Video Streaming

Thanks to LDAC and AAC codec support for the iPhone, I did not notice any noticeable delay between picture and sound in the test with the iPhone 11 and the Redmi Note 10 Pro. Thus, the headphones are also suitable for watching YouTube, Netflix and other streaming platforms – very good!

Top runtime, despite smaller earpiece & battery (?)

Soundcore has been making the “Apple move” more and more often lately when it comes to some technical specs, and is simply silent about things like battery capacity. I can understand it to some extent, since the battery capacity only says something about the runtime to a limited extent.

Since other components, such as the Bluetooth module, are becoming more and more energy efficient, smaller batteries are sufficient from generation to generation to achieve the same or a similar runtime in total. Nevertheless, the average consumer will potentially see a deterioration in the smaller number, which is why I can understand Soundcore’s actions to some extent.

Battery life in the test

As with the predecessor, Soundcore advertises a battery life of up to 8 hours; Soundcore measured this value in normal mode (without ANC) at a volume of 50%.

In the test with ANC turned on and a mixed volume of 50%-70%, I could still achieve a runtime of just under 6 hours, a good and completely sufficient value in my opinion.

In addition, the headphones can be recharged about three times using the charging case, which results in a total runtime of 32 hours under Soundcore’s test conditions and about 24 hours in my experience.

Of course, Soundcore has also implemented a quick-charge function here, which means that the headphones are ready for use again for three hours (according to Soundcore) after about 15 minutes of charging. In the test with ANC and slightly higher volume, this value is approximately halved, but is still good in my experience.

The charging tray of the ANC in-ears can be charged via USB-C charging cable, but also via QI charging pad. However, the latter takes longer in comparison, which is why I would recommend charging via cable when it has to be fast.

Conclusion

With the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro, ANKER’s audio division has launched its best headphones to date and thus also made a decent statement to the competition. The headphones are manufactured to an absolutely high standard, and they are also in no way inferior to the competition in terms of materials.

In my opinion, the Soundcore headphones with their hybrid driver module deliver a better sound than practically all common wireless ANC in-ear headphones. Whether it’s Apple’s AirPods Pro, Huawei’s Freebuds Pro, Xiaomi’s Air 2 Pro, or even Sony’s WF-1000XM4, you can listen to music with all of these headphones, but only with the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro is it possible to listen into the room.

Which is because the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro has such a sharp and precise sound that I hear not only instruments, but also its room reverberation and part the positioning of microphones. Thus, the headphones sound even more realistic, as if you were there yourself, and for my sensation above all more emotional than the competition. However, this also requires an extremely good recording quality, which is not achieved with Spotify.

Another plus point is the Soundcore app, which includes many (useful) functions and, according to experience, will also offer updates for the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro in the future.

In addition, there is an above-average battery life, low latency during video streaming, and a headset that is a pleasure to use on the phone.

Buy Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro?

In order to fully exploit the potential of the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro wireless in-ear headphones, a few prerequisites must be met. On Android, it is the LDAC codec, which is implemented by default on phones with Android 8 or higher.

This requires high-resolution, preferably uncompressed audio files on iOS and Android devices. If you do not have these, there are now streaming services like TIDAL, Deezer HiFi or Apple Music, which provide a much higher bandwidth than the most popular streaming service Spotify.

If these conditions are not met, the headphones cannot really prove their capabilities and they sound washed out, undifferentiated and less precise. In this case, a cheaper headphone in the price range of 50€-100€ could also be fully sufficient, such as the Redmi Buds 3 ANC In-Ear for about 50€ or the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, which are often available for a good $100.

However, since the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro is cheaper than AirPods Pro and other “flagship headphones” from various cell phone manufacturers, it would still be worth the money to me personally. In case of doubt, my personal motto here is: better to have than to need.