New for 2023, the Anker Soundcore Liberty Four NC earbuds carry a decrease record worth than final 12 months’s Liberty Four buds and are arguably higher. They’ve improved noise canceling and higher sound high quality, together with help for the LDAC audio codec for gadgets that help it. (Many Android smartphones do, and in principle it gives barely improved sound high quality when paired with a music streaming service that gives high-res tracks.) They’re light-weight buds that ought to match most ears comfortably with 4 sizes of ear ideas to select from. 

The Liberty Four NC buds have single customized drivers in comparison with the Liberty 4’s dynamic twin drivers — and a very totally different case design — however I assumed they delivered extra nice sound than the Liberty 4s. Their treble is a bit smoother and so they characteristic sturdy bass efficiency. They got here throughout as pretty open, with a fairly extensive soundstage. You’ll be able to tweak the sound profile within the companion app for iOS and Android. 

The buds are available in a number of coloration choices and are IPX4 splashproof, in order that they’re appropriate for working and gymnasium use. They characteristic wonderful battery life — as much as 10 hours on a single cost at reasonable quantity ranges — and there is additionally a transparency mode that lets ambient sound in and sounds fairly pure with solely a really faint audible hiss. Whereas the noise canceling is an enchancment over the Liberty 4’s and is efficient, it falls wanting what you get from Bose’s and Sony’s premium ANC earbuds. 

Just like the Liberty 4, the earbuds have six built-in mics for noise canceling and making calls, and callers stated they thought the buds did a reasonably good job of lowering background noise, with my voice coming via comparatively clearly. They’re an all-around good performing set of buds for the cash and so they have a powerful characteristic set, together with ear-detection sensors and wi-fi charging.