Content:
Main Design and construction Sound Application Noise reduction and transparency mode Autonomous operation Technical characteristics Conclusion
Major
The key feature of the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC is the set of options inherent not only in premium headphones, but also in flagship ones.
We mean good sound, active noise cancellation, support for modern wireless codecs and protocols, long battery life, support for simultaneous operation with two devices, wireless charging, a multifunctional application and much more.
The only thing that the Liberty 4 NC does not have compared to the higher models is a bone conduction sensor, designed for conversations in extremely noisy conditions, as well as water resistance according to the IPX7 standard (water resistant when submerged in fresh water at a depth of 1 meter for up to 30 minutes). However, these two parameters are quite rare for headphones with a price of 30 thousand or more.
The first thought that arises after reading the above two paragraphs is what the problem is. Headphones that cost less than 9k cannot be an equivalent replacement for models that cost 3-5 times more. There is no catch. They really can’t. Just because the Liberty 4 NC can do everything that devices in the super premium segment can do doesn’t mean they do it at the same level.
Let’s find out how well Liberty 4 NC copes with the functions declared by the manufacturer and what its real capabilities are.
Soundcore Liberty 4 NC is made in the classic style of TWS headphones – Apple AirPods Pro. Photo: Dmitry Bevza/RG
Design and construction
The design of Soundcore Liberty 4 NC is made in the classic style of TWS headphones – Apple AirPods Pro. Let’s call it a “speaker on a stick” (there is also a drop-shaped design, like the Samsung Galaxy Buds). The advantage of this design of headphones is that the ears are less tired than with “drops”, which must be inserted into the ear quite forcefully. The disadvantage is that they are worse for sports, since they do not have “wings” that fix the headphones in the ear. They are suitable for jogging, but not so good for gymnastics and gymnastics classes. So, in our opinion, the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC are still not sports headphones, but lifestyle headphones.
Soundcore Liberty 4 NC are, in our opinion, lifestyle headphones Photo: Dmitry Bevza/RG
There are no complaints about the design itself, everything is very stylish. Liberty 4 NC is produced in 4 colors: standard black and white, as well as blue and pink. Touch control: touches (taps). Taps can be reassigned. In general, the control worked well, but sometimes the sensor did not register one of the touches and the switching logic, which consists of 2 or 3 touches, would break down.
The design of the case is interesting. It opens not only with the standard movement of the lid, but also by pressing a large button. The Liberty 4 NC button is multifunctional. It is backlit and, in addition to opening and pairing with a sound source, it shows the level of charge of the battery (when connected to a charger) and the level of discharge when using headphones. The only complaint I can make about the case is that it is a little thick. It sticks out quite a bit in the shirt and pants pockets.
The only complaint I can make about the case is that it is a little thick. It sticks out quite a bit in the shirt and pants pockets. Photo: Dmitry Bevza/RG
The moisture resistance of Liberty 4 NC is declared at IPX4. The number 4 tells us that they are resistant to splashes of water. This means they can be used in the rain, but cannot be submerged in water.
Sound
Soundcore Liberty 4 NC are equipped with an 11 mm driver (as headphones speakers are usually called), which, as the manufacturer itself assures, has greater detail. Overall, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC delivers quality sound out of the box, with a boost in bass and treble typical of most consumer wireless TWS earbuds. We must give credit to the marketers and engineers at Soundcore; This is the configuration that most users like. The headphones sound rich, bright, one might even say aggressively. When it comes to talk mode, the AI-powered noise cancellation of the microphones is quite effective. Suppresses external noise such as train, car or wind noise. We can’t rate it excellent yet, but it deserves a solid “good.”
The headphones sound rich, bright, one might even say aggressively. Photo: Dmitry Bevza/RG
Returning to listening to music, we note that when we talk about the nature and quality of sound, we mean the sound of the headphones without additional settings and with active noise reduction disabled (out of the box). But if you’re in a noisy place and turn on noise reduction, then the Liberty 4 NC throws a bag of low frequencies at you. What to do in this case? First of all, many people simply like this sound. So you can listen to music or podcasts as they are. Or you can install the Soundcore app, which allows you to very finely “tune” the sound to your tastes.
Application
In our opinion, without installing the amazing proprietary Soundcore application, buying Liberty 4 NC makes no sense, you can take something simpler. It is the application that allows you to unleash 100% of the potential of these headphones.
Shows the battery level of each earbud and case.
Below is the Ambient Sounds section, which allows you to switch between noise reduction, transparency, and normal modes.
If you activate noise cancellation, you can also choose between three sub-modes: adaptive automatic noise reduction, manual mode (with a selection of levels from 1 to 5) and “transport mode”, which offers noise cancellation options for traveling on plane. , train, bus and car.
In Transparency mode, you can choose Full Transparency or Voice Mode, which makes voices more intelligible. Wind noise reduction can be activated for noise reduction mode and transparency mode.
It is the application that allows you to unleash 100% of the potential of your headphones. Photo: Dmitry Bevza/RG
The next section, Sound Effects, offers 22 presets, including Soundcore Signature, Acoustic, Boost Bass, Cut Bass, Classical, Podcast, and more, as well as a custom equalizer with eight bands, from 100 Hz to 12.8 kHz. The menu also includes 3D surround sound (for watching movies and games) and a HearID Sound tool that creates a special sound profile based on your hearing characteristics. This interesting option allows you to adjust the headphones as much as possible to the characteristics of your sound perception.
In the “Controls” section, you can assign various touch operations to a single, double, triple, and long press of the headphones. Not all controls are available for every type of gesture, but the variety is wide.
And in Settings, you can toggle auto play/pause (when inserting or removing headphones), enable low latency gaming mode, and try the audio leakage compensation tool, which takes into account any audio leakage and compensates for it. (whichever is). that means). Additionally, you can disable/enable headphone control sounds, automatically check headphone fit and correct eartip size, and access the find a lost headphone function.
The “Sound Effects” section offers 22 presets, including Soundcore Signature by default, Acoustic, Enhanced Bass, Weakened Bass, Classic, Podcast, etc. Photo: Dmitry Bevza/RG
Noise reduction and transparency mode.
The noise reduction of TWS headphones is an important parameter, especially in a noisy metropolis, and consists of passive and active noise reduction (ANC – Active Noise Cancellation). Passive works on the principle of earplugs, and active is the suppression of external noise with sounds similar in frequency and volume, but generated in opposite phase by the headphones themselves. As for passive noise reduction, it is average on the Liberty 4 NC. This may be for safety reasons, so that harsh mid- and high-frequency sounds can be heard, such as a car or train horn. But in general, for those who want to be in touch with the surrounding sound reality, there is a transparency mode, when the user listens to sounds using the external microphones of the headphones themselves. The transparency on the Liberty 4 NC works well, but is weaker than, for example, on the AirPods Pro.
Active noise cancellation perfectly suppresses low-frequency noise, airplane noise, streets and trains. Almost at the level of flagship headphones from Sony and Bose, but copes worse with mid- and high-frequency sounds. As for the increasing amount of low frequencies when playing music during active noise cancellation, in general, this is a common problem with ANC of all headphones and the Soundcore app allows you to neutralize it, where you can simply select the “bass” setting weakened.” .
Autonomous operation
The technical specifications of the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC establish up to 10 hours of operation without recharging and 50 hours charging from the case. Outstanding features, but… this is the run time with ANC off, at medium volume and, as we understand, using SBC and AAC codecs. If we turned on “noise reduction”, a high-quality LDAC codec and turned the volume up to maximum or 90%, then our headphones never worked for more than 5 hours. However, this is also an excellent result. By the way, Liberty 4 NC supports fast charging. In 10 minutes they charge up to 4 hours of operation (with SBC/AAC, with ANC disabled and at medium volume). Overall, despite some minor marketing tricks, the Liberty 4 NC’s battery life is impressive, as is the fact that its case supports wireless charging.
The Liberty 4 NC case supports wireless charging. Photo: Dmitry Bevza/RG
Specifications
Sound: high resolution, LDAC; active noise reduction: adaptive; connection technologies: Bluetooth 5.3, fast pair; Calls: 6 microphones with artificial intelligence algorithm (3 for each earbud); Playing time: up to 10 hours on a single charge. up to 50 hours with case; Water resistant – IPX4; Quick charge 10 minutes = up to 4 hours; Wireless charging.
The greatest strength of the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC is its quality/price ratio. Photo: Dmitry Bevza/RG
Conclusion
The strongest side of Soundcore Liberty 4 NC is its quality/price ratio, “the best for your money”. If you don’t want to pay more than 9 thousand for headphones with high-quality sound and a set of functions that premium models have, then the Liberty 4 NC is worth paying attention to. Separately, we highlight the advanced mobile application for working with Liberty 4 NC, which allows you to adjust the sound of the headphones according to the user’s preferences and significantly improves the consumer characteristics of this model.
Who can compete with Liberty 4 NC? There are not so few competitors. These include the slightly cheaper Anker Soundcore Space A40 and TWS models from Soundcore’s direct competitor in terms of market positioning, the 1more brand and Jabra Elite 4, and several premium models from smartphone manufacturers such as realme Buds. Air 5 Pro. However, it won’t be easy to find TWS headphones like the Liberty 4 NC at this price.
