ANKER Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro and Pro Max: simply out of this world

For me, the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro and the Liberty 5 Pro Max are the most out-there in-ear earbuds I have ever tested. Not because of the buds, but because of the cases with a display. The recommended retail price (RRP) is €179 for the Liberty 5 Pro and €249 for the Pro Max.

The buds are the same in both

The most important thing first: the buds are technically identical in both models. Same chip, same microphones, same really good sound, compatible with Android and iOS. If you just want to listen to music and make calls, you save €70 with the Liberty 5 Pro. The difference lies solely in the cases and their functions.

What’s in the box is the same too: buds, case, and USB cable, plus five pairs of silicone tips and three airwings that improve the hold in the ear. The wearing comfort is really good, with the right ear tips I wear them for a very long time without pressure, and they stay rock solid. I find the design with the elongated bean shape and the wing at the end extremely interesting.

Sound and AI chip

Soundcore uses 9.2 mm drivers, LDAC with Hi-Res Wireless, and Dolby Atmos with head tracking. In the app you take a hearing test, and the AI creates a personal sound profile from it. The built-in AI chip also restores audio details in real time that are lost in streaming compression.

According to Jen, the Anker THUS AI audio chip is the first audio chip in the world where calculations take place directly in memory, similar to the brain. That means 150 times more AI performance than the predecessor, and everything runs completely in the buds, without the cloud and without a smartphone.

Noise cancelling and phone calls

• Adaptive ANC 4.0: The first ANC generation that classifies types of noise and adapts in real time, for example in a bar, in a café, or on a plane. On a plane, the unpleasant pressure in the ear is balanced out automatically.
• Automatic transparency mode: Bone conduction sensors detect when you are speaking and switch to transparency mode. After that, ANC comes back. I am not a big fan, and when you sing along loudly, ANC switches off, which can ruin the moment.
• Phone calls: 8 microphones and 2 bone conduction sensors. AirPods Pro 3 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have six microphones plus two of these sensors. You can make a phone call even at Oktoberfest at over 100 decibels and be understood clearly. In a quiet environment, even a whisper is understood. Anker says it holds the Guinness World Record for the clearest voice quality. I can’t measure that, but the voice quality is outstanding in both.
• Controls: by touch gesture or by voice command. Over 20 commands run completely offline on the chip, without an announcement, for example “volume down”.
• Connection: Bluetooth 6.1 with up to three devices.

The cases with a display

The Liberty 5 Pro has a small display on the front. The Pro Max has a 1.78-inch OLED display on the lid, which is much more pleasant to use.

AI voice recorder (Pro Max only): With the case you record meetings, provided the participants agree. It transcribes automatically and translates in real time into 100 languages. Up to 12 hours of recording are stored locally in the case. With a double tap you mark important moments. Afterward the app creates a transcript with speaker assignment and an AI summary, which can be exported as a text file, Word, PDF, or Markdown.

Translation (both): 100 languages with 97% accuracy according to Soundcore, in two modes:

1. Real-time translation: In the Soundcore app you choose the spoken language and the target language. The translation comes straight into your ear or onto your smartphone to read along. Good for meetings, vacations, radio, TV, or conversations.
2. Face-to-face translation: You speak through the buds, and the person opposite sees the translation on the smartphone and, if wanted, has it read aloud. They answer into the smartphone, and you hear the translation in your ear. With the Pro Max, the case with the large display can be used instead of the smartphone.

I had expected everything on the Pro Max to run locally on the case without a smartphone. It doesn’t: with both models, the smartphone has to be with you and the translation function in the Soundcore app has to be open.

Functions via the case (both): switching ANC and Dolby Atmos on and off, managing sound effects, Smartchat (music gets quieter and transparency mode switches on when you speak), and a remote shutter for the camera. The shutter is ultra cool, but you can’t switch modes and you don’t get a preview. I had hoped for that on the Pro Max.

Battery and charging

The batteries are identical: up to 12 hours without ANC and 6.5 hours with ANC, 50 and 28 hours with the case. Fast charging: 5 minutes for 4 hours of music. Only the Pro Max case charges wirelessly by magnet, the Pro case only by cable.

What do you get for the €70 extra?

There are five differences:

1. The larger OLED display on the case, which is much more comfortable to use
2. The AI voice recorder for meetings
3. For face-to-face translation, the case instead of the smartphone for the person opposite
4. Magnetic wireless charging
5. The color choice: the Liberty 5 Pro in four colors, the Pro Max in two

Verdict

If you don’t need the additional case functions and the added convenience, you save the €70 and get the same listening experience. If you can use the large case display and the extra functions, go for the Liberty 5 Pro Max.