Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC earbuds review

About the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC

Here’s a look at the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC earbuds specs:

• Price: $99.99
• Battery life: Up to 10 hours, up to 60 hours total with case
• Drivers: Two 11mm drivers
• Wireless charging: Yes, Qi-compatible case
• Colors: Blue, White, Pink, Navy, Black
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3
• Audio codecs: Hi-Res, ACAA 3.0, Spatial Audio, SBC, LDAC
• Water-resistance: IPX4
• Ear tips: Extra small, small, medium, large
• Weight: Earbuds, 10 grams (0.35 ounces); case, 48.6 grams (1.71 ounces)

If you’ve seen and set up the Liberty 4, then you know what it’s like to see and set up the Liberty 4 NC. The general design is nearly identical, with two small differences. The Liberty 4 NC arrive in five different colors compared to two for the Liberty 4. And the case for the Liberty 4 NC takes more of an oval shape and opens Apple AirPods-style, as opposed to the Liberty 4’s sliding technique.

What we like

They sound even better than the Liberty 4

The folks at Anker must have read our (or other’s) review of the Soundcore Liberty 4. Those earbuds sound great in their own right, banking on the earbuds’ detailed Signature Sound profile and deep roster of audio customization options to satisfy the masses. They were a hit, with the only real blemish being that the Liberty 4’s drivers tended to “bottom out,” when trying to replicate lower frequencies in certain songs.

Enter the Liberty 4 NC, which essentially takes everything we loved about this brand’s sound quality and fixes its low end issue. In direct comparisons between the models, that was the conclusion song after song. Otherwise, they’re incredibly similar. Hi-Res Audio is still in the mix (and still a feature that you have to toggle “on” in the Soundcore app, oddly), as is 360-degree Spatial Audio, which can be simultaneously wondrous and baffling, depending on the track you try it with. And once again, everything from Loverboy’s “Working for the Weekend,” to Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” sounds impressively crisp.

One neat addition is the Safe Volume feature in the app, which measures the current decibel level of your earbuds and rates how safe they are for your ears. We don’t expect everyone to follow the app’s guidance, of course. But working ears are better than impaired ones, and it’s nice to see a brand like Soundcore recognize that in a meaningful way.

They come with even more features

The Liberty 4 NC get a serious bump in battery life. It’s not necessarily reflected in the single-charge statistics (10 hours for the NC compared to 9 for the original Liberty 4). But the Liberty 4 NC have a whopping 60 total hours of battery life with the charging case, while the Liberty 4 sit at just 28 total hours. That kind of glow-up from one generation to the next is, for lack of better words, wild.

Battery life isn’t even the half of it. Tap into the settings tab of the Liberty 4 NC, and you’re met with options like Gaming Mode, automated Sound Leak Compensation, the ability to set up dual connections for pairing your phone and another device at once, a Fit Test feature, a handy Find Device tab, and so much more. I wasn’t able to find the “Soundcore Wellness” tab that I raved about with the Liberty 4, which is a letdown since it seemed like such a neat perk of the Liberty 4. But that feels like a small price to pay for everything you get wrapped up in the Liberty 4 NC package.

Noise cancellation gets a serious boost

In a press release for the Liberty 4 NC, Soundcore claimed that these new buds are capable of blocking out “98.5 % of external noise.” That sure sounds like a lot of market speak, but there is a lot to the idea that the Liberty 4 NC are massively improved when it comes to active noise cancellation.

The earbuds employ Soundcore’s Adaptive ANC 2.0 feature, which calls on in-ear and external sound sensors to work in unison on blocking out unwanted sounds from the environment you’re in. In the same everyday settings I auditioned the Liberty 4—the gym, busy morning streets, the occasional grocery store run—the Liberty 4 NC shined noticeably brighter and blocked out so much more noise. It’s still a losing battle to compare them to juggernauts like the far more expensive Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3. But the Liberty 4 NC easily exceeded expectations in the noise-canceling sector, whereas the Liberty 4 simply were on par for their price point in the category.

One more intriguing note about the Liberty 4 NC’s ANC chops: the Noise Cancellation tab in the Soundcore app has some new features for the new buds, including Transportation Mode. This lets you choose between airplane, bus, train or car travel, and the earbuds’ noise cancellation will automatically adjust based on those environments. That, paired with a Manual Mode that lets you choose the level of noise cancellation you’re using, makes for a much more accessible version of ANC.

They fixed the controls

Soundcore tried squeeze touch controls with the Liberty 4 that are similar to the AirPods Pro 2, and they stunk. They weren’t easy to trigger a command, especially when it came to multi-squeeze commands. The Liberty 4 NC have reverted to standard touch/tap controls which, despite the occasional accidental tap, are worlds better when it comes to their ease of use. Both pairs of earbuds allow you to customize controls in the Soundcore app. But the Liberty 4 NC make it substantially easier to actually use the controls that you designate for your buds.

What we don’t like

They don’t stay in your ears as well

I can’t quite put my finger on exactly why, but in testing the Liberty 4 NC in more active situations, they tended to fall out or become dislodged more often than the previous Liberty 4. It’s a peculiar phenomenon, since the two pairs largely employ the same design and style.

The Liberty 4 NC are marginally bigger and have a slightly longer stem, which could conceivably be a factor in staying in my ears less. Your mileage may vary with the Liberty 4 NC and how secure they feel. But I consistently found myself pausing runs to quickly adjust the Liberty 4 NC in my ears, which is something I didn’t experience nearly as often with their older siblings.

They make the Liberty 4 useless

Useless is, of course, an exaggeration. And, as another caveat, this isn’t really the Liberty 4 NC’s problem. But there’s surely a number of Liberty 4 owners reading this with flabbergasted expressions. The Liberty 4 are relatively new earbuds in their own right. For Soundcore to waste no time in releasing a universally better version of the same earbuds at a discount is a deafening blow to the Liberty 4’s ability to sustain their value.

Should you buy the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC?

Yes, Soundcore has added value to MVP-caliber earbuds

Cards on the table: the Soundcore Liberty 4 are not the MVP in our book. But they had more than enough going for them to be in that conversation between their exceptional sound, comfortable design, and solid lineup of features for just $150.

As an encore, Soundcore decided to shore up the Liberty 4 NC’s bass deficiencies, give them an entirely new lease on life when it comes to ANC, and return to a more tried-and-true, if not unoriginal control method. Oh, and they slashed the retail price to just under $100. Up until now, that kind of improvement paired with such a price decrease was simply unheard of.

Feel free to pop over to our list of best noise-canceling earbuds under $100 to try and find a better alternative. Not to spoil things, but you won’t. Soundcore took exceptional $150 earbuds and transformed them into incredible $100 buds in a matter of months. A new bar has been set, and it’s going to be hard to touch for some time.