These wireless earbuds sound way better than their price suggests – and I'm impressed

Earbuds are everywhere and come in every configuration, feature set, price point, color, and shape. You’ll find inexpensive earbuds as cheap as $20 and as expensive as $11,000. Most people aren’t going to opt for a pair of earbuds with a price tag that includes three zeros, but when you hit the $100 to $200 range, you’re looking at the sweet spot.

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Anker recently released the Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro earbuds, which sell for $129 on Amazon, and they certainly live up to that price with rich, agile sound and a perfect fit.

Let’s dig into these earbuds.

The specs

• Seven-sensor noise-canceling
• Touch bar on the case for customizing the noise-canceling
• Battery — 10 hours (four hours with just a five-minute charge) and 40 hours using the case 
• 10.5mm bass driver and titanium-coated tweeter
• Digital crossover
• Enhanced ACAA
• 360-degree spatial audio
• IPX 5 splash resistance
• Six microphones
• Built with over 28% recycled materials
• Price on Amazon — $129

My experience

Normally, when reviewing earbuds at this price point, I assume I’m going to have to download and install an app to get the best sound and features. The Soundcore Liberty 4 Pros buck that trend and, the out-of-the box sound is special.

I typically crank up Rush’s “Signals” album to get my first impression, but given it’s the holiday season, I was already in the mood for Christmas tunes, so I fired up a Classical Christmas playlist and sat back to take it all in.

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My all-time favorite Christmas song is Lully, Lulla, Lullay, by Philip Stopford. It’s profoundly beautiful, and the Soundcore Liberty 4 Pros do it justice. You can hear the separation of the voices, each breath, and the heartbreaking dissonance. When the piece reaches a climax, the Liberty 4s really shine. If you’ve never heard this piece of music, I highly recommend you listen now.

After that joyful noise, I switched back to my usual playlist to push these earbuds as far as I could. As expected, “Analog Kid” was brilliant, with a nice soundstage that gave the trio plenty of room to avoid getting even slightly muddy. The bass was crisp (but not overpowering), the mids were spot on, and the highs were dynamic and crisp.

Next, I couldn’t help but switch to what I believe will wind up as my album of the year, The Cure’s “Songs From A Lost World.” The first track, “Alone,” presented the song so well, I got totally lost in the sound. I closed my eyes and just let it wash over me. There was some seriously good separation for a pair of earbuds, and when Robert Smith started singing, I could feel my heart swell, and the desire to dance about my office was overpowering. Of course, the only proper way to dance to The Cure is to stare at your shoes and sway.

I decided to keep the shoe gaze trend going and played Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You.” Now, I understand that Hope Sandoval’s voice sounds ethereal no matter how you’re listening, but the Liberty 4 Pros gave her a bit of extra love.

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Here are some other choice hits:

• Coheed and Cambria’s “Afterman” was delivered with the necessary punch on the low end and just the right midrange for Claudio Sanchez’s voice.
• Periphery’s “Luna” did not disappoint, with plenty of power and enough separation that the instruments didn’t blend into one another. For this song, I cranked the volume to 50% and found it to be almost too loud, but the earbuds didn’t cave under the weight of the sound.
• School of Seven Bells’ “This Is Our Time” is a song that really gets into you (especially when you know the history of the band), and it punched me in all the right places. This piece tends to get distorted when listened through lesser speakers, but the Liberty 4 Pros handled it to perfection.

I could continue with the tunes I played through the earbuds, but you get the idea. No matter the genre, you’ll be impressed with the sound produced.

As far as the ANC is concerned, I was shocked at how much external sound these earbuds blocked. Of course, that largely depends on the seal you get when inserting them. It’s important to pull back your ear when you place them in. Otherwise, the seal won’t be tight.

With a proper fit, the ANC on these earbuds is spectacular. Additionally, being able to adjust the ANC settings from the case really sets these apart.

ZDNET’s buying advice

You’d be hard-pressed to find a pair of earbuds at this price that can match the quality of sound and the ease of use. It doesn’t matter what genre of music you listen to, or if you use earbuds for calls, podcasts, or audiobooks, the Soundcore Liberty 4 Pros deliver on all levels. I’ve tested so many earbuds at this price and can’t recall a pair that impressed me as much as these. 

Sure, you could get better sound from the likes of the Denon PerL Pros, but at nearly twice the cost. If you’re on a bit of a budget, I would suggest splurging for these earbuds… you won’t regret it.