Anker’s new earbuds deliver the best call quality I’ve ever tested

Soundcore, the audio brand under Anker, has traditionally competed in the budget and mid-range segments, but its latest release signals a clear ambition to challenge the premium leaders. The new Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max are powered by Anker’s proprietary Thus chip, which delivers significantly more processing power than previous Soundcore models. This places them in direct competition with the custom silicon found in Apple, Sony, and Bose products. And that extra horsepower delivers a standout result: the best in-call noise cancellation I have ever experienced from any pair of earbuds.

Previously, Soundcore’s highest-priced non-sleep earbuds were the Liberty 4 Pro at $150. Now, the Liberty 5 Pro costs $170, while the Liberty 5 Pro Max jumps to $230, putting them squarely in AirPods Pro 3 territory. Typically, price differences within a product line signal different designs, like the open-ear AirPods 4 with ANC versus the sealed AirPods Pro 3. That is not the case here. The Liberty 5 Pro and 5 Pro Max earbuds are identical. They share the same chip, 9.2mm drivers, microphone array, ANC performance, sound profile, battery life, IP55 rating, and feature set. The only distinction is the charging case.

The standard 5 Pro case features an angled 0.96-inch TFT screen on the front. This display allows you to adjust settings like ANC, sound profiles, speak-to-chat, and Dolby head tracking. Everything available on the screen can also be controlled through the Soundcore app, so it is simply a matter of preference whether you reach for the case or your phone.

The 5 Pro Max case, however, houses a larger 1.78-inch AMOLED screen on its sliding top. Beyond the same controls found on the 5 Pro, this screen lets you adjust brightness, change wallpapers, and access the feature that truly sets the Max apart: a built-in microphone and an AI note-taking app. You can record audio directly to the case, which has 357MB of internal storage, and later transfer the file to your phone. The Soundcore app then generates a transcription and summary. (Note: a Soundcore account is required.) The file can be edited within the app or exported as an MP3 for audio, and as .txt, Markdown, .docx, or PDF for the transcript and summary. The transcription accurately differentiates between speakers, and in my testing, it was highly precise for both identification and content. For anyone who regularly records classes or meetings, this is a genuinely useful tool, especially since it works without the earbuds in your ears. But beyond the larger screen and this recording feature, there is no major reason to choose the Max over the standard Pro.

The earbuds themselves have a wide, chunky outer body reminiscent of the Bose Ultra Earbuds, but they feel much more streamlined in the ear. Unlike the bulbous Bose design, the Liberty 5’s housing tapers down, providing a better fit and making them easier to handle. They are comfortable, feel very secure, and I never worried about them falling out, even during active movement.

Out of the box, the sound profile leans heavily toward bass. This can make vocals, especially male vocals, sound muddy. Snare hits lack snap, and there is a noticeable absence of sparkle in the high frequencies. Fortunately, Soundcore offers a solution. By selecting your preferred sound from a series of seven example clips, you can tailor the tuning to your taste. (An 8-band EQ is also available for manual adjustment.) This process fixed the issues I had with the default profile. The bass remained present, but the lower mids were cleaned up and the high mids received a boost, opening up the entire soundstage. Nick Drake’s acoustic guitar on “Pink Moon” shimmers more, the piano octaves feel clearer, and his voice is no longer swallowed by the lower guitar register as his vocal line descends. Compared to the AirPods Pro 3, my Soundcore profile was still heavier on the bass and lacked the same high-end extension, but I enjoyed my music just as much. The Liberty 5 Pro also supports LDAC for high-res audio from compatible devices.

Adaptive noise cancellation is comparable to the AirPods Pro 3, which is impressive given the $80 price difference. The Liberty 5 Pro lets in slightly more midrange noise than the AirPods, but the difference is minimal. They handle low-end drone sounds effectively and will serve you well on long flights.

The most remarkable feature of the Liberty 5 Pro series, however, is its voice call capability. I have never tested a pair of earbuds or headphones that handle ambient noise during a call this well. During one call, my son was enthusiastically singing and jumping in front of me, and the person on the other end heard absolutely nothing. On another occasion, arborists were feeding branches into a wood chipper right outside my open apartment window. The person I was speaking with had no idea.

I have a friend who is also an audio reviewer, and I regularly call him to test call clarity. He could not remember the last time I sounded as natural on a call. This was while heavy traffic, including emergency vehicles, passed by as I walked through the neighborhood. To compare them directly with the AirPods Pro 3, I switched between earbuds without telling him which I was wearing. He consistently said the Apple buds sounded muddy and more compressed.

The exceptional call quality of the Liberty 5 Pro caught me completely off guard.

The earbuds also feature a voice-control mode that responds quickly, though it struggles in noisy environments. While my wife was on a Zoom call in the same room, I had to speak uncomfortably loudly to toggle between noise cancellation modes when she was talking. What is interesting, and a bit disconcerting, is that there is no wake word. Instead of listening for just an activation phrase, the earbuds are always listening for 11 different possible commands, including “Play Music,” “Volume Up,” “Reject Call,” and “Transparency Mode.”

For call clarity alone, the Liberty 5 Pro series represents a significant step forward. If you primarily use your earbuds for calls, they are the best option available. While the AI recording and transcription on the Liberty 5 Pro Max case is intriguing, unless you use it regularly, there is no reason to spend the extra $60 over the standard Liberty 5 Pro. They share the same ANC performance, the same sound profile (which is excellent after using the customization questionnaire), and the same incredible call quality. At $170, this is more than Soundcore has charged for earbuds in the past, but the improvement justifies the price. And if you are not tied to Apple’s, Google’s, or Samsung’s ecosystems, the Liberty 5 Pro are an excellent choice.