Home » News » Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 in the test: Customizable sound in the AirPods look

Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 in the test: Customizable sound in the AirPods look

Anker has released 2 new headphones with the Soundcore Liberty Air, which are designed to match the Apple AirPods or AirPods Pro (here Caschy’s test) recall. The headphones should also score with Anker’s HearID, i.e. personalized sound. These true wireless headphones are currently available for around 130 euros, so I risked a look for a test.

The Liberty Air 2 should also stand out from the current standard range in the market for Bluetooth headphones in that you can optionally charge it wirelessly. Anker advertises this as everyday headphones. So if you are looking for athletic companions, you should probably look elsewhere.

Key technical data of the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2

  • Design: In-ear (True Wireless)
  • Operating time: 7 hours (28 hours included in the charging case)
  • Fast charge: 10 minutes charge for 2 hours of operation
  • Interface: Bluetooth 5.0
  • 4 microphones with uplink noise cancellation for phone calls
  • Protection class: IPX5
  • Special features: Personalized HearID sound, wireless charging; Qualcomm aptX; Touch control; Auto pause with motion detection
  • Scope of delivery: headphones, charging case, cable for USB Type-C, five pairs of silicone attachments
  • Price: approx. 130 euros

Above you can see the most important key data of the completely wireless headphones. Reads about the amount declared, especially since Anker at Amazon.de uses coupons from time to time, which reduce the price to 99 euros, quite acceptable. How the Liberty 2 Air did in my day-to-day life, you will learn later in the test.

Equipment and processing

Anker generally offers good equipment and workmanship at fairly aggressive prices. This also applies to the Soundcore Liberty 2 Air, even if the plastic design in the style of Apple AirPods should be a matter of taste. I also like the matte charger. It is charged via USB Type-C. In addition to the corresponding connection, there is also a reset button (hold it down for several seconds), which I unfortunately needed a few times during my test – more on that later.

Well solved: There are three white LEDs on the front of the charging case, which indicate the charge level. You can light it up by briefly pressing the button on the bottom if you are unsure how much power is still in the charging case and the headphones. The small lights also indicate the battery level during the charging process.

In the scope of delivery of the Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Air you will find not only the headphones and the case itself but also a suitable USB-C charging cable, a little paperwork and Eartips in sizes XS / S / M / L / XL. So this is basically the usual standard and completely sufficient.

comfort

I used the Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Air in combination with the size M ear tips. What fits you can of course turn out differently. It is worth experimenting, because it can also happen that you need different attachments for the left and right ear. In my case, the Liberty 2 Air is more comfortable to wear than the Liberty 2 Pro because it doesn’t create this uncomfortable pressure. Even if earwings are missing, I found the seat to be sufficiently firm in everyday life. You have to screw the Liberty 2 Air a little bit so that it stays in your ear.

Funny decision again: If you take the Liberty 2 Air out of your ear, the playback automatically pauses – great in itself. However, if you reinsert it, the playback will not continue automatically, you have to start it again manually. Even if Anker does not advertise the Liberty 2 Air for sport, of course I still used it for jogging. I did not have high expectations and it is better that way: Unfortunately I did not get far with the earbuds without having to readjust them.

Overall, however, the Liberty 2 Air is quite comfortable and unobtrusive. For my taste, they could sit a little more tightly, but that’s completely subjective feeling. No pressing, apart from sports, no frequent readjustment – everything fits.

The sound

The Liberty 2 Air are priced below the Liberty 2 Pro, which you can hear with the sound. The Pro model offers a wider stage and more dynamism. Nevertheless, the Liberty 2 Air also sound anything but bad. When comparing with the Jabra Elite 75t or the Poly BackBeat Pro 5100 but they lose very clearly. The latter are currently the best solution for me when it comes to sound and comfort when sport is not an issue.

You have the possibility to adapt the sound of the Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Air very extensively using different equalizers. On the screenshot above you can see a selection of the possible presets. Alternatively, you can also take a hearing test that is identical to the one that is also run in the Soundcore app for the Liberty 2 Pro.

Essentially, the app plays sounds from different frequency ranges and you signal by holding a virtual button when you can hear the tones and when your hearing is interrupted. After the test, the Soundcore app individually adjusts the sound of the Liberty 2 Air for you. You can repeat the test at any time. As with the Pro version, this worked well in my case and had a noticeably positive effect on the sound.

With the headphones, I listened to my usual mix of indie rock, indie folk, some pop and electronica as well as guitar-heavy music with a lot of noise and a number of sound tracks. My taste in music is particularly challenging in terms of the highs and the differentiation (see my Spotify insider tips).

And overall, the sound of the Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Air is a bit muddy than that of the Liberty 2 Pro. With songs like Daughters “How” the Pros sound more differentiated. In addition, especially with live recordings or acoustic songs, you notice that the stage is simply wider in some competing models. Since I hear a lot of Shoegaze with shimmering guitar walls, it quickly became clear to me that the highs are somewhat weak on the chest.

The Liberty 2 Air tends to punch in at volume and bass, even if not as much steam is made here as with the Jabra Elite 75t – But they are also a class above the price. So if you are looking for slightly more sophisticated in-ear headphones, I recommend the Jabra model, the Poly BackBeat Pro 5100 or the Liberty 2 Pro. However, the Liberty 2 Air are a very clean compromise between price and performance, so that you don’t really do anything wrong at the advertised price.

Further comments

The first time I connected to the Liberty 2 Air was like a puzzle because I accidentally paired the two earbuds separately – so the Soundcore app always told me to connect both earplugs in parallel instead of using one in mono mode , In the end, only a reset of the headphones and a completely new pairing helped. Because the right earbud has to run as the primary earplug. Should happen automatically, but didn’t work the way it should be for me on the first try.

Annoying: To carry out firmware updates again, you have to connect both earbuds to the smartphone at the same time, but as individual devices. That worked, but afterwards I had the same problem as at the beginning – the Liberty Air 2 could only be operated in mono mode. Fortunately, no further reset was necessary, it was sufficient to switch the headphones off and to decouple or then pair them again. But must then be after every firmware update – that Anker has been able to do this better has been shown with other headphones.

I don’t want to go into the Soundcore app for too long because I have already presented the application in several tests – e.g. B. in combination with HearID in my test of the Liberty 2 Pro, So you can choose from several equalizers in the app, of course you can take the hearing test for HearID and, as mentioned above, update the firmware and view the battery level.

The key assignment can also be adjusted very flexibly via the app. It should be noted that the touch buttons react a little too quickly for me. So it happened more often in my test that I only wanted to adjust the earbuds a little, but accidentally changed the volume or paused the playback. I would have preferred that Anker had installed real, tactile buttons instead of the touch-sensitive surfaces. Especially since the Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Air turns out to be quite narrow, so it happens that you touch the surface directly / for too long and trigger a function.

The official battery life information is well received. How long you can live with a charge, of course, also depends on the selected volume. Wireless charging? Sure, that’s fine, but I think it’s more of a gimmick. But if you generally charge a lot via a Qi station, you can also offer Anker yourself, who welcomes this feature as a bonus.

My conclusion

The Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Air fits me better than I thought, even if I don’t find the “toothbrush head design” particularly aesthetic. So I found the comfort here to be significantly higher than with the slightly more expensive Liberty 2 Pro. The sound of the Pro is a bit more dynamic, but it doesn’t help if the seat doesn’t fit – that’s why I personally like the Liberty 2 Air even better. But keep in mind that each ear is different – in terms of ergonomics, it can also look completely opposite to you.

I have minus points for the overzealous touch buttons, which I sometimes accidentally activated in everyday life, even though I just wanted to adjust the earbuds. Where we are in the right direction: In my opinion, the Liberty 2 Air is unsuitable for sport because it is too loose. Anchors should be held back, but they are not advertised for them either. I hope for the Soundcore Spirit X2, which are more in this direction.

If you are looking for true wireless headphones for everyday use at a fair price with good sound, I think the Liberty 2 Air is really well served. The design will divide the spirits, but HearID is a real added value of this model in this price range, so I have no reservations about recommending the Liberty 2 Air.


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