The increasingly complex race, from every point of view (cost, technical, image and market conquest), in the field of headphones and earphones has left dead and injured companies on the street, once leaders in the market, but wiped out. from the inability to adapt to the ruthlessness of this niche now strictly linked to digital. At the same time this battle has also launched new protagonists; one of these is certainly Anker who with its sub-brand Soundcore has accepted the challenge and has constantly pursued the bar with increasingly complex products, even technically. One of the milestones is marked by the launch of Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro (129.99 euros on Amazon) full wireless earphones which follow the Liberty Air 2 and to which they add the function of noise cancellation .
These earphones swoop into the most difficult ring, already packed with top-level protagonists such as Bose, Senneheiser, Sony and Apple with its AirPods Pro but also medium-sized realities, such as Jabra, and small realities (a name above all Tronsmart with the Apollo Bold ) who try to challenge the greats on a technical level by also focusing on a lower price. How do the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro fit in this context? What results do they bring home? Let's try to answer with our review.
Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, the box
As already mentioned on other occasions, we are very bored talking about the box of a product. But this is a reason for doing it. The package, much larger than that of Apple products but absolutely in line with that of other companies such as Bose, contains the earphones, the case, the USB-C cable for charging and an impressive number of ear plugs: 9 pairs (eight in the package and one “fitted” on the earphones). The assortment, while not essential since several competitors offer good comfort allowing you to choose only three or four sizes, is important because in this way it should be easier to have the best possible passive insulation. Above all, such a wide choice represents a factor of attention for the customer.
The assortment of rubber tips included in the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro
Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro as they are made
Anyone who knows other Soundocore products and in particular the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 will find themselves at home. The design is the same as the previous model , an AirPods style design. We specify that Anker does not expire in the blatant copy of Apple as some (even important) competitors of the Apple do; the style is different and it is impossible to confuse the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro with the AirPods.
After all, when compared to the most famous earphones in the world, and especially the AirPods Pro, the Anker earphones are obviously larger . On the other hand, the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro compare and win against various competing products ; just compare them to the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds which are much larger and much heavier. Apart from the dimensions there is a general feeling of good quality product, thanks to the design, but also to the excellent matte plastics (black and gray in our case, but it is possible to buy the Soundcore earphones in pink, white and blue).
The Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro recall but do not copy the AirPods
The case
The Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro are also appreciable in the case, light, small and well engineered . Although it is very similar to that of the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro, it should be emphasized that here too it recedes from the temptation to re-propose the Airpods-style case design seen in the Soundcore Liberty Air 2, re-chewed by an infinite number of competitors.
In the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro we have a very pocket-sized box, similar to that of the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro that opens like a box of mints; the lid slides back and forth precisely revealing the two earphones. On the front of the case we find three LEDs that indicate the state of the charge; on the back is the USB-C input port. Charging can also be done with a QI compatible wireless charger.
Ergonomics of Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro
We have just mentioned the large number of inserted earphones that we find in the package of the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro. The assortment, however, is not everything. In our case, however we struggled to find one that gave the impression of being really comfortable . In part it could depend on the shape of our ear, but a contribution is given by the inserts themselves which are perfectly round, not the best shape to seal the ear cord, and not very deep.
In any case, thanks to the weight and the rod shape of the earphones, the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro do not give the feeling of falling when used normally. After all, since they are not sports earphones (even if they are IPX4 certified), without wings or hooks, as with the original AirPods, they are not born to accompany us during a mountain bike ride or some demanding physical exercise. These are commuter earphones, for those who need to concentrate in an armchair or want to have greater isolation from the surrounding environment, whatever the reason. In this sense, the stability of the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro is sufficient for the purpose for which they were made.
This is how the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro are worn 
On the left, the rubber pad of the AirPods Pro , on the right that of the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro. As you can see that of the Apple earphones is slightly oval that of the Sundcore perfectly round and less ergonomic
Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, how do they work
With the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro we are talking about Bluetooth 5 headsets. From the point of view of pairing, they therefore work exactly like any other product based on this technology. Just open the case to see the earphones appear in the list of Bluetooth devices and then pair them (if necessary, a button for manual reset and pairing is also available).
They offer a whole host of features that we have seen in other products of the genre, such as listening with only one earpiece and a sensor that allows them to automatically deactivate when they are removed from the ear . Where the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro stand out from any other competitor known to us is the amazing arsenal of customizations offered by the Soundcore application.
The Soundcore application
This app is known to anyone who has used any of the latest Soundcore products in the past but it remains impressive. It is in fact able to regulate practically everything imaginable. It is difficult (perhaps not entirely useful) to list what the program can do, but two things deserve to be highlighted: the possibility of creating a totally personalized listening profile using an audio test and the formidable equalizer .
We are talking about 22 presets (Bass Amplifier or Podcast, classic or electronic, Jazz, Rock and so on) each of which in turn can be customized. To this is added a totally “custom” profile that allows you to adjust the individual frequencies . Obviously, from the Soundcore application we can also adjust the touch controls and manage the noise suppression system (more on this below).
Although some purists might consider the adjustments present in the Soundcore application in some respects a useless exercise, we believe that in the end it deserves to be praised and taken as an example in particular by those producers who totally close the door to those who, perhaps after spending 630 euro, would like to customize the sound of their headphones or earphones to their liking.
The hearing test to customize the sound imprint 
The various equalizer presets 
The touch controls page
Touch controls
The Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro have touch controls . The touch accuracy is quite good even if not like that of the AirPods (occasionally the earphones do not respond promptly) and offers various customization possibilities, including which activates and deactivates noise reduction, back and forth in tracks, voice assistant activation, play and pause and also the ability to adjust the volume .
But since the system allows you to associate the various actions with only two distinct gestures, double tap or prolonged touch, if you choose to activate the volume adjustment, two out of 4 gestures are dealt with, forcing you to sacrifice other functions. This, combined with the not always meticulous precision of the touch detection, does not allow us to unconditionally praise the control system which, with the adoption of the volume adjustment directly on the headset, in itself , would be very appreciable.
Noise Cancellation
Ankler with the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro introduces noise suppression in its earphones for the first time. Customizations aside, after having carried out some live tests (evaluating the roar of the street and a noisy room with or without earphones) and using some YouTube videos played on the TV soundbar we were convinced that the ability to reduce the disturbance around us is very good . Not that it's a surprise; already with the Soundcore Life Q30 headphones Anker has proven to be able to develop a very efficient noise suppression system.
Less obvious is the fact that that technology moves into such a miniaturized context as earphones. Wearing the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro you get the cancellation of all low-frequency tones at a constant frequency ; human voices, music and all sounds with varying frequencies are considerably muffled. However, it must be said that you have to work a little to get a good result. The passive seal of the earphone cable, an important aspect of the noise cancellation system, is in fact made more complex than other competitors by the aforementioned not too convincing shape of the “rubber pads. In the end, however, the results obtained are very similar, perhaps identical in effectiveness, to those of the AirPods Pro even if lower than those offered by the Bose QuietComfort which still represent the parameter in this area.
Noise Cancellation Customization
The noise cancellation has long been no longer just an “on off”. All the latest earbuds have various customizations, from noise cancellation level to transparency mode. Anker goes beyond anything we've seen to date .
Transparency mode
First we have not one, but two transparency modes . The first is similar to that of the Airpods Pro: the external microphones pick up the sound and transmit it to our ears, amplifying it. The second mode does the same thing, but blocks the lower sounds; in short, the ANC is activated only on some frequencies and at the same time the voice reaching the earphones is amplified. The technological gimmick is good and the difference between the two modes perceptible and evident. However, the transparent sound quality is lower than that of the AirPods Pro . Comparing the Liberty Air 2 Pro to the Airpods Pro you get the impression of an artificial sound and that the earphones prevent us from hearing what is happening around us well, despite the high volume, which is not the case with the AirPods Pro.
Noise Blanker Adjustment
When the noise suppression is activated, three “presets” are also made available which should regulate the noise suppression on three different scenarios: public transport, indoors and outdoors. In reality it must be said that the differences between one mode and another are quite modest . In particular, “Vehicles” and “Indoors” are substantially identical. “Outdoors” is more convincing; we can define it as a kind of transparency mode with the cancellation of low frequency noise to let those with higher frequency pass.
A fourth button would allow you to customize the noise reduction using a sort of virtual “clickwheel” (remember the mechanical and then capacitive one of the iPod?) On 11 levels; pity that while trying and trying again it was very difficult to distinguish 11 real different levels of noise suppression . To be generous we can say that there is a perceptible difference only between a couple of positions. In fact, at the moment, perhaps waiting for a software firmware update to change the situation, this function seemed useless enough.
Sound quality
In general, all Soundcore products defend themselves quite well in terms of listening quality. The Liberty Air 2 Pro are confirmed at an excellent level . In the basic configuration the sound can be defined as decidedly warm, with a high accentuation of the bass and mids . The clarity is remarkable and the separation of the tones noteworthy; excellent stage effect. Something is lost on the slightly veiled human voice, but it is relatively easy to change the sonic signature using the equalizer.
When comparing the Liberty Air 2 Pro to other products such as the AirPods Pro or Bose QuietComfort, most listeners will find these three earphones qualitatively similar and equally musically engaging. If the comparison shifts to headsets of the same price range, the Liberty Air 2 Pro are certainly among the best we've ever heard.
Call quality
The quality of the telephone call through Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro is very good . The voice both that which reaches our interlocutor and that which reaches us is clear and presented at a good volume. The ambient noise suppression system, that of a busy street for example, has a lower efficiency than that of the AirPods Pro but still of a good standard. Those who listened on the other side in the face of a phone call in the middle of traffic told us to perceive a slight background sound that in any case did not disturb the perception of our words; the same thing happened trying to call after starting a Youtube movie that reproduced the noise of a crowded environment.
The battery can be charged with any QI charger (here we use the Magsafe Duo)
Battery
Anker explains that the battery of the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro without ANC lasts 7 hours . Using the noise reduction system we arrived at about 6 hours, therefore close to the figure provided by the manufacturer and above the performance of which the AirPods Pro are capable. The case should provide 3 full recharges bringing the autonomy to around 24 hours of reproduction, obviously always considering the constant activation of noise cancellation. Note that it is possible to get three hours of autonomy by recharging the battery for 15 minutes, a function similar to fast fuel. The judgment on autonomy can therefore only be positive.
Conclusions
The Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro have the opportunity to carve an important niche in the world of anti-noise earphones. They have a high efficiency in reducing ambient sound and at the same time offer excellent quality in music reproduction. From these two points of view they can compete with several popular products, including the AirPods Pro, without disfiguring. To the advantage of the Anker earphones there are also a very flexible software that allows full customization of listening and noise reduction (even if some options seem redundant or not entirely effective); between the quality worthy of mention, efficient microphones for phone calls and a long battery life.
Where the Liberty Air 2 Pro are least convincing is in ergonomics and controls. The potential of the nine pairs of rubber pads of different sizes is affected by a shape that makes it difficult to find the most suitable one, while the touch inputs do not always respond as they should. All this, however, must be put on the scale along with the price. It is 129.99 euros, a cost that fully places the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro in the group of low-cost anti-noise earphones. In this segment there is no any rival capable of challenging the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro in performance and quality. As if to say that if you want to spend a hundred euros more then you could find better, but if your budget is around 150 euros or even under 100 euros, you may regret not having bought the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro.
Pro
Cons
Price and availability
The Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro cost € 129.99 and are available on Amazon in 4 different colors: white, black, blue and pink.
