With the default EQ preset selected and noise cancellation off, the earbuds provide rich and detailed audio, especially for $130. The earbuds do have a sculpted audio response, but it isn’t over the top, and some people will prefer Soundcore’s default tuning.
The bass is particularly noteworthy. On The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” which relies on sub-bass content to round out the track, I was impressed with the depth and weight of the bass synth. The bass is boosted, to be sure, but it doesn’t dramatically overshadow the rest of the frequencies, and I easily heard the lead synth and the percussion. I would have liked a little more clarity from those high frequencies.
This small lack of clarity isn’t as much of an issue on “Loyalty” by Kendrick Lamar. On this track, there’s a sub-bass line that comes in partway through the first verse, and the Liberty 5s were excellent at producing all of the notes in that bass line, save for one. For context, I’ve never heard a pair of earbuds produce every single note, and these earbuds still deliver some rumble that prevents the bass from seeming disjointed. On this track, I felt like the bass was a little much compared with the rest of the frequencies, but it’s worth noting that it can be dialed back using the app’s EQ. Thankfully, other aspects of the track sound good. Lamar and Rihanna’s vocals are rich and clear, and the percussion is crisp enough.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover” sounds excellent, too. While ultra-high-frequency detail is still limited, the earbuds produce the frequencies necessary for a natural acoustic guitar, complete with string noise. Callahan’s vocals are rich and deep, and the drums sound powerful and driving. More crisp crashes from the cymbals would have been nice, though.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)
Orchestral pieces like the opening theme to John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary sound decent. However, the default bass tuning results in a little extra boominess from the lower strings, which sucked some of the room out of the track, making other instruments like the brass sound less vibrant. Thankfully, the brass still sounds natural; it’s just that the lower-frequency instruments are slightly overpowering.
It’s worth noting that my comments about the frequency response here aren’t necessarily about the limitations of the speaker drivers inside the earbuds. We test headphones with the factory, default settings, as most people don’t adjust the sound before listening. Although I don’t love the preset EQs, I created a custom one that sounded more natural, introduced more detail in the high end, and cut back on some of the extra explosive bass. If you’re so inclined, I think you’d benefit from taking a few moments to adjust the EQ yourself.
Anker is relying on Dolby Audio for the Liberty 5’s spatial audio playback. I like the Dolby Sound Music Mode preset, available in the app, which adds some space and makes things sound a little more like a live concert rather than a recording.
The microphones built into the earbuds don’t sound great when recording via an iPhone’s Voice Memos app. My voice sounded tinny and sharp, which wasn’t super pleasant. But my words were easily audible, and I don’t think that others will have trouble understanding you on a phone call if you’re using these earbuds.
