Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Headphones Named Best for NYC Noise
NY Post staffers tested nine headphone models, identifying the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro as the top choice for its noise cancellation and awareness features in a bustling urban environment.
New York City, known for its constant soundtrack of screeching subways and honking cars, demands a special kind of headphone. A team of NY Post staffers spent their summer testing nine different models to find a pair that could effectively combat urban noise while keeping users aware of their surroundings. The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro emerged as the standout, earning the title of the best headphones for navigating the city.
The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro demonstrated robust noise cancellation capabilities, proving adept at handling the clamor of subway platforms and even allowing for crystal-clear phone calls while walking through Times Square. Equally important for city dwellers, the headphones also feature an effective awareness mode, enabling users to stay attuned to their environment.
Testing and Features
The testing process, overseen by the Post's go-to headphone reviewer, focused on criteria crucial for a city like New York: solid noise cancellation, a functional awareness mode, stylish design, and all-day comfort. The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro met these demands, offering five levels of adjustable noise cancellation, ranging from minimal to extreme. The inclusion of Dolby Spatial Audio and optimization for Dolby Atmos enhance the listening experience.
Setup for the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro was noted as exceptionally easy, with clear diagrams on the packaging eliminating the need for an instruction booklet. Testers, using both iPhone and Android devices, reported no issues with pairing. While an app is available for advanced features, the headphones are designed for user-friendly operation even without it.
Design-wise, the earbuds feature a distinctive "bean-like" shape that testers found surprisingly comfortable, with some even preferring it over traditional designs. The package includes multiple sizes of ear tips and wing tips, and an ear fit test within the app helps ensure a customizable and secure fit. The charging case is equally unique, with a sliding closure designed to keep the earbuds secure. It also features a touchscreen for checking battery levels, adjusting noise cancellation, and controlling audio modes, and can even function as a remote for a phone camera.
Noise Cancellation and Audio Modes
The headphones offer four primary audio modes: Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Transparency, Adaptive, and Normal. The ANC feature has five adjustable levels, with testers noting its effectiveness in blocking out significant noise, such as subway brakes, to the point where announcements were audible but unintelligible.
The Adaptive mode is particularly valuable for urban environments, dynamically balancing noise cancellation and transparency based on the surrounding environment. This allows for a degree of noise reduction while still enabling users to hear important sounds like public transport announcements or approaching traffic.
For audio immersion, the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro supports Dolby Audio, offering both fixed and head-tracked spatial audio options. Testers found the audio quality to be crisp, with Dolby Audio enhancing the listening experience for music and calls.
Comparison and Value
In head-to-head testing against the Apple AirPods Pro 3 and Sony WH-1000XM6 earbuds, the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro stood out not only for its comprehensive feature set but also for its more accessible price point of $169.99. While the AirPods Pro 3 offer adaptive mode and Dolby spatial audio, they lack true Bluetooth multipoint connectivity. The Sony WH-1000XM6 include multipoint but do not offer an awareness feature or native Dolby Atmos support.
The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro provides a balanced combination of effective noise cancellation, a useful transparency mode, Dolby Atmos support, and multipoint Bluetooth connectivity at a significantly lower cost than its competitors. This value proposition, coupled with its strong performance in the rigorous testing environment of New York City, solidified its position as the top recommendation.
The battery life is rated at 12 hours, and the earbuds are water-resistant. The charging case is included, and the total weight is 2.4 ounces. A warranty is also provided, varying by region and retailer.