Anker has managed to hold its own against large tech rivals by providing better-than-expected quality and stuffing functionality into its Soundcore-branded wireless earbuds — all while keeping the price low. The Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pros are the most recent example of this, and they demonstrate how far the firm has progressed in terms of audio design.
With twin drivers in each bud, active noise cancellation, wireless charging, and other conveniences like multipoint and LDAC compatibility, the Liberty 3 Pros are the most sophisticated earbuds in the Soundcore collection, costing $170. They have a strong, rich sound quality that is a step up over the Liberty Air 2 Pro, as well as a long battery life, IPX4 water resistance, and other features. They are also available in a variety of hues, including white, black, purple, and the grey pair that I tested.
Anker tends to stuff everything but the kitchen sink into the ear and wing tips that come in the package. You get four of each with the stemless Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro buds. With so many size possibilities, finding the correct fit becomes a process as you experiment with different combinations. When most large rivals throw in three pairs of ear tips and call it a day, the firm deserves credit for giving an extensive variety. These earbuds aren't as discreet or little as other rivals, despite being smaller than the previous Liberty 2 Pros, but they're not unattractive.
I find myself fussing with the pebble-shaped charging case while wearing the Liberty 3 Pros because it opens with a smooth sliding action and closes with a pleasing clunk. If the tolerances are slack or the casing opens too quickly, it might seem cheap, but Anker avoids these issues. When the earbuds are properly inserted in the case, an LED illuminates, indicating that they may be charged wirelessly as well as via USB-C.
Anker makes a lot of bold claims about sound quality, claiming that its Soundcore buds are recommended by 20 Grammy-winning experts on a regular basis. They do, in fact, sound pretty vibrant — but not as polished as our top premium selections. The bass is handled by one driver, while the mids and treble are handled by the other. The Liberty 3 Pros include a V-shaped EQ curve that sounds sharp and powerful right out of the box. When I listened to Bleachers' "Stop Making This Hurt," the default bass output was far too loud and boomy for my taste. The Liberty 3 Pro's occasional inclination of pushing treble frequencies into harsh region was also revealed on that track. If you wish to dial in your own sound, you may use the full EQ controls.
Despite the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pros' compatibility for Bluetooth 5.2, I've had some audio cuts during my time with them. It's not a common inconvenience; it just happens once or twice every listening session. However, competitors like as Sony, Samsung, and others have improved their connection stability significantly.
The Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pros are unique in that they support both LDAC (Sony's higher-bitrate wireless streaming technology) and multipoint Bluetooth, allowing you to connect to two devices at the same time. Multipoint isn't even available on Sony's premium 1000XM4 earphones, but it's finally becoming more widespread on earbuds other than Jabra's.
However, due to Bluetooth's bandwidth constraints, you can't listen at LDAC quality and utilise multipoint at the same time; Anker forces you to choose between the two options via the Soundcore mobile app. During the daytime, I enjoyed the multipoint convenience. The LDAC option is easy to discover if you're relaxing and want to get the most out of higher-fidelity tunes like Amazon Music, Apple, Tidal, or Qobuz. Little keep in mind that it reduces battery life, reducing the eight hours you get on a charge (with ANC turned off) to just over four hours. With ANC turned on and the normal AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs, I received around six hours of continuous listening. The charging case is capable of charging the earphones three times.
Anker keeps improving its active noise cancellation, but it's still not up to the standards set by Sony, Bose, and Apple. The Liberty 3 Pros do a good job of isolating you from your surrounds, but the greatest noise-canceling earbuds feel like you've struck the mute button for the world around you, which these don't yet. The same can be said about transparency mode, which is an upgrade over previous versions but still lacks the natural feeling achieved by the AirPods Pro or Bose's QuietComfort Earbuds. Those I chatted with on Zoom and over the phone noted the Liberty 3 Pros maintained my speech clear, even when background noise from my end occasionally intruded.
The Soundcore app for Android and iOS is bulky and disorganised; I'm not sure anybody would want a shopping mall area in an audio accessory companion app. There are a lot of features jammed in here – customizable sound profiles, white noise audio, and so on — but it could need more simplifying and less overt advertising of other Soundcore products. Using the app serves as a constant reminder that you chose a low-cost brand, and not in a nice manner.
The Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pros are an amazing deal at $170 when seen as a complete. When looking for earphones, it's tempting to have tunnel vision and focus solely on the most well-known brands. However, if you're looking for a pair of earbuds for around $200, these Soundcore buds provide a long list of functions, good sound (with some EQ tweaking), and a snug fit owing to big pack-ins. They're not the greatest in the world at anything, but they're extremely excellent in a lot of areas and a fantastic purchase.
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