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This is my take on the Soundcore Liberty 5 one month later. Yes, I may be late to the game, but it’s had a firmware update recently (v. 3.8.5) which is why this comparison will be even more relevant.

The Liberty 5 does have some on-paper improvements versus the Liberty 4 NC and 4 Pro like Bluetooth 5.4, slightly longer battery endurance in the earbuds, and better IP55 dust and water resistance. They also have the Dolby logo on it which means Dolby was involved in tweaking their Spatial Audio modes, something which the Liberty 4 Pro doesn’t have even though they share the same Spatial Audio modes.

Microphone Quality

In terms of mic pickup, what I like about the Liberty 5 is how my voice doesn’t sound as robotic as on the 4 Pro, or as bloated as on the 4NC.This also applies in noisy conditions. But I’m not seeing an improvement in its background noise reduction although it is less aggressive, and doesn’t cut into my voice as much. Compared to all the earbuds I’ve tested recently, I would rate it as Rank B, comparable to the Liberty 4 Pro and 4 NC.

👉 Have a listen to the microphone quality

Active Noise Cancelling

In terms of active noise canceling, if we look at these measurements, the Liberty 5 actually seems to cancel more above the 150 hz mark than the flagship 4 Pro, quite similar to the Liberty 4 NC which has the best noise canceling of this group, except that it doesn’t seem to cancel as much in the bass frequencies compared to the 4 Pro and the 4 NC. But overall from actually using them, they are quite comparable in terms of general noise canceling, with the 4NC performing just a tiny bit better.

👉 Have a listen to the ANC quality

Transparency Mode

There’s a lot more difference in transparency mode. The Liberty 5 has the clearest transparency in this group. It sounds airier, more natural, and my own voice when I’m speaking doesn’t sound muffled, which isn’t my experience on the 4 Pro, and especially the 4NC which sounds quite muffled even in transparency mode.

Sound Quality

In terms of sound quality on their default settings, the Liberty 5 seems to follow roughly the usual soundcore V-shape tuning with heavy bass and bright trebles, but it sounds different. And much of it has to do with what’s happening in the bass region here. Bass is louder, but also the 200hz band has been cut to emphasize that separation from the mids.

So actually listening to them, the first thing you’ll notice is they sound a bit more bassy, but the bass doesn’t bleed into the mids. They also sound flatter in the mids so you hear a bit more of the vocals.

However, the 4NC seems to produce more bass detail and more vibrance in the vocals, instruments, and soundstage than the 5. Maybe it’s the slightly bigger drivers? The tuning? Combination of both? Whichever the case, the 4NC sounds more visceral. As for the Liberty 4 Pro with its dual-driver setup, it does have better separation, it’s also the cleanest and crispest sounding earbuds here.

So out of the box, yes the Liberty 5 sounds bassy, the 4 pro sounds clean, but the Liberty 4NC has the nicest balance of exciting, clean and bassy sound.

Although if we’re being honest, all three Soundcores sound a bit sibilant for me especially in the upper midrange. Thankfully, all three are very customizable with pretty much the same EQ presets and graphic EQ settings so I can pick a preset which is less bright, or turn down the mids manually.

And not to forget, HearID auto calibration is there too, to bump up the frequencies that you can’t hear so well so you hear more of your music. However, there’s a problem with the Liberty 5’s HearID. Its sound in HearID mode is much louder than the standard Soundcore signature setting, by about 20%, which isn’t the case on the 4 NC and the 4 Pro. I’ve got no explanation about why that is, except that it’s a volume bug that needs to be fixed.

👉 Have a listen to the sound quality

Now we’re going to compare them individually, which one should you buy, the Liberty 5, or the slightly more expensive Liberty 4 Pro?

Buy Liberty 5 or Liberty 4 Pro?

Where the Liberty 4 Pro is better is in terms of features. This still is the flagship model, so it has Head tracking for Spatial Audio, Easy-chat which toggles the buds into transparency when you start speaking to people, swipe controls on the earbuds for volume, adjustable transparency levels, a barometer for detecting air pressure when canceling noise, and of course, the screen on the case so you don’t have to reach for your phone to change settings.

And although it doesn’t have Dolby-branded Spatial Audio, I have to say, it sounds very similar, almost identical to that of the liberty 5. So you’re not really missing out on much if you do choose to go for the 4 Pro which is still the definitive Soundcore experience. Where the Liberty 5 could be more attractive is better transparency mode, more battery in the buds, and it has sidetone which passes through your own voice during phone calls, so you can speak more naturally. This is something that can be turned on or off depending on preference.

Buy Liberty 5 or Liberty 4NC?

The 4NC still makes a lot of sense now even after 2 years in the market. As you can see, they’re still very competitive in the performance front, having slightly better noise canceling than the Liberty 5 and to some ears, mine for example, they can sound better.

It may not have Dolby Spatial, but it does have a basic Spatial Audio mode which is pretty decent. One aspect which some people may think is better, is that the 4NC has tap controls whereas the Liberty 5 uses the less intuitive squeeze controls. It’s less intuitive because you actually have to pinch the stem while trying to keep it in place, which is much, much harder if you’re running.

At the same time, squeeze controls are less prone to accidental taps so you just have to decide which might be easier to operate for your own situation. So why should you choose Liberty 5? You should choose it for the better transparency and flatter case that’s easier to pocket. The 4NC case is a bit too bulky actually. Might seem trivial, but having to deal with so many earbuds everyday, I just default pick the smaller ones that are easier to carry around. In other words, size matters!

Verdict

So that’s how the Liberty 5 compares to the 4NC and 4 Pro, 1 month later after firmware updates. I would say it’s not really a generational leap, more like a Liberty 4.5 because as you saw in terms of performance, in some ways it’s better, in other ways not so. But overall, it's still worth checking out.

Check latest price:

Soundcore Liberty 5 - https://amzn.to/4kx2H9n

Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro - https://amzn.to/3TVWDfj

Soundcore Liberty 4 NC - https://amzn.to/3UG0vlx

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