Soundcore Liberty Lite

Cheap True Wireless with Bluetooth 5.0

In a nutshell

The Soundcore Liberty Lite moves the price limit down for in-ears, delivering solid performance and quality workmanship. It even boasts water resistance to IPX5 specification. That being said, sound quality could be better. It needs to be more balanced; there needs to be more bass, less treble and better tuning with a more transparent quality. Of course, this is hardly surprising. If a product at this price point could deliver on all counts, there wouldn’t be any market for wireless in-ears over the 60 euro mark.

The Liberty Lite in its current version illustrates quite well what’s possible at a minimal price. That being said, it also shows the limitations of cheaper options. If you demand more, you need to pay more.

When it comes to wireless in-ear earphones, high prices have been the standard. That’s not the case any longer. These earphones retail at around 60 euros, making it incredibly easy to buy yourself into what was once a rather exclusive circle of audiophiles. The question is, is it worth it? Bluetooth 5.0, 4x 3.5-hour battery life, a comfortable fit and appealing sound. With the Soundcore Liberty Life Total-Wireless Earphones, the answer is a resounding yes.

Package Contents

In the small box you’ll find a charging cable, charging unit, documentation and four pairs of earpieces and hooks (in a choice of XS, S, M and L). These offer a very good fit and firmness when placed within the ear, which at the same dispenses with worrying about losing audio quality to background noise. They are practical and reassuringly large, yet do not protrude too deeply into the ear. Instead, the fit is quite organic.

Fast Connection with Bluetooth 5.0

Activation and pairing with iPhone 8 was done by pulling it out of the charging cradle and a quick click to confirm connection in the Bluetooth menu of the phone.

Faster, higher, further. This is how the technical data sheet for Bluetooth 5.0 reads: More sound transfer in width, the range four times as far (200 metres in open fields and at optimum humidity, 40 metres within rooms) and all this, of course, with lower energy consumption. Many optimisations and improvements across the board. When I listen to music with the Liberty Lite, I don’t notice anything of note at first. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that the transmitter and receiver are only about one metre apart. On the other hand, the sound capabilities of the Liberty Lite is simply not enough to take your breath away.

Sound

However, first impressions convey a solid, sufficiently loud sound, which lacks a certain range and velvety tuning. This means that the Liberty Lite lacks the bass, while the highs can at times be unpleasant to the ear. If you switch on the equaliser, the sound improves, but the music is not reproduced in an outstanding way. No matter whether it’s pop or classical music, you won’t find anything too impressive. This is not to say things are bad, just that there’s nothing to dazzle here. That being said, we’re still talking about True Wireless In-Ears at an amazingly low price of 60 euros!

Operation

Control switches on the backs of the in-ears are incredibly convenient to use. One click on either side controls the music, while a double click calls the assistant. Long clicks on the left ear jumps to the last track, while a long click on the right earpiece skips to the next one. Only the control of the volume will require you to use the buttons integrated into the cable, unless you want to call up the help of a virtual assistant on your smartphone, of course.

While I don’t like to complain about the runtime, the charging box is a little bigger than the advertising of the product makes out. Three charging LEDs on the front side provide necessary information, while inserting the Liberty Lite into it is child’s play thanks to magnetic attachment. In addition, an integrated microphone makes it suitable for calls, with the voices of callers audible to both ears. This is no longer a matter of course, so good to see.