Review: Anker’s Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro wireless earbuds are almost perfect

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Since its first effort in 2017, Anker has continued to refine and improve its truly wireless earbud offerings. The Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro is proof of that, offering a high-fidelity experience at a palatable price.

Crucially, it’s as feature-rich as one can reasonably hope for a pair of $150 wireless earbuds. It packs Qualcomm’s CVC 8.0 noise-canceling technology and both wireless and fast charging options. And did I mention it sounds exceedingly good too?

Soundcore goes upmarket

The Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro comes with a pebble-shaped charging case that betrays its more premium aspirations.

Unlike other wireless charging cases, which use a hinge mechanism to open, the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro graciously slides open with a press of the thumb.

READ MORE: Review: The Anker Soundcore Sleep A10

This slick feature means the buds are less likely to come loose when roughly thrown into a bag, and indicates that Anker’s thought beyond mere sound when designing this product.

Towards the rear of the device, you’ll find a USB-C charging port. This is protected by a small rubber flap. I must confess, my heart fluttered somewhat when I saw this.

Although Anker makes solid products, it steadfastly clings to the old MicroUSB standard for its audio products, which increasingly feels archaic and cumbersome.

Suffice to say, I would have been slightly disappointed to see MicroUSB present on an audio product retailing at $150.

In the box, you’ll find seven pairs of silicone ear-tips, if the ones pre-installed don’t fit you. Anker also throws in a USB-C charging cable.

I was impressed by the quality of the earbuds. They managed to stay put, even whilst briskly walking, or pounding the treadmill.

Although in-ear earbuds aren’t to everyone’s taste, I found the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro to be exceedingly comfortable and well-suited for long listening sessions, like when you’re binging Netflix or devouring the latest This American Life podcast.

Sounds good; lasts ages

Perhaps the standout feature of the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro earbuds is the battery life, which ranks head-and-shoulders above most of its competition.

The earbuds last eight hours between charges, which compares favorably to Apple’s AirPods 2, which offers just five hours of listening time. This endurance is boosted by the charging case, offering an additional 32 hours of juice.

When you run low on power, the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro’s fast-charging feature saves the day. In just ten minutes, you get two hours of listen time.

As mentioned, these earbuds include noise reduction technology, which is powered by a constellation of four tiny microphones, as well as Qualcomm’s cVc 8.0 technology.

Although this didn’t offer the same noise-canceling performance as, say, the Jabra Elite 85h, it is still a welcome addition. It managed to effectively mitigate against external sounds, like those produced by passing road traffic.

As is common with Anker’s audio gear, the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro tends to emphasize lower notes, in order to produce a more bass-forward listening experience.

This listening profile is especially emphasized when listening to tracks like Hopopono, from Manchester jazz troupe GoGo Penguin. It also makes the buds particularly well-suited to genres like R&B and hip-hop.

Typically, I have low expectations of wireless earbuds. In my experience, they tend to sacrifice audio performance upon the altar of ergonomics.

That, fortunately, isn’t the case here. There’s enough detail offered to make the most out of more sophisticated compositions, and highs and mids don’t feel muted or shrill.

As an added bonus, users can tweak the equalization settings through the optional Soundcore app, which comes with several genre-specific presets.

With a single tap, users can configure the buds to their liking. There’s even a “spoken word” option which caters to fellow podcast-junkies.

Conclusion

Announced in New York last month, and released to the public today, the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro provides a meaningful alternative to Bose and Sony’s venerable (but expensive) offerings.

They’re exceptionally well-rounded, packing all of the must-have features you’d expect from a pair of mid-range truly wireless earbuds.

The Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro is nothing short of a home run for Anker, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. If you’re tempted, you can grab a pair from the website or from Amazon.

A sample unit was provided for the purpose of this review.

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Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here for more.