New York City is, to quote Lin-Manuel Miranda, “the greatest city in the world.”
It’s also pretty loud here.
Whether it’s screeching subways or honking car horns, sometimes you need a good pair of headphones to quiet that noise.
A group of NY Post staffers spent all summer testing headphones alongside me. As The Post’s go-to headphones gal, I’ve been reviewing headphones for more than three years and I was a natural choice to oversee this category’s testing, devising the criteria and testing each model alongside my colleagues.
In our quest to find the best pair of headphones that was completely NYC-proof — that means solid noise cancellation and awareness mode, a stylish design that is comfortable enough to wear all day — one pair rose to the top.
The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro stood up to subway noise, put through crystal clear phone calls even when we were walking through Times Square and helped us stay aware of our surroundings as we navigated the city.
Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro
Pros:
- Customizable fit
- App-less design
- Flexible noise cancellation
- Bluetooth multipoint connection
Cons:
- “Bean-like” shape may be a dealbreaker for some
Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro has five levels of noise cancellation that can be adjusted to your preferences, with one being a step above nothing at all and five being extreme active noise cancellation. On a five, you’re getting extremely effective noise cancellation. In terms of sound, these are equipped with Dolby Spatial Audio and optimized for Dolby Atmos.
Battery life: 12 Hours | Water resistant: Yes | Noise canceling: Yes + Transparency mode | AUX option: No | Case included: Yes | Weight: 2.4 ounces | Special features: Touchscreen case, customizable fit | Warranty: Yes, up to two years depending on region and retailer purchased from
Our review
The perfect headphones for NYC should be comfortable and durable, while allowing you to hear your music and your surroundings when necessary with active noise cancellation and a transparency mode to filter sounds in.
This is the pair that stood up to the test.
Set up
The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro is incredibly easy to set up thanks to some very handy diagrams printed right on the packaging.
Without having to even open an instruction booklet, you can begin pairing your headphones by following the few easy steps on the packaging. None of the testers reported any issues with pairing their headphones to their device for the first time, and our testing pool consisted of both iPhone and Android users.
Within minutes, I was up and running, already listening to my favorite music.
Soundcore does have an app for pairing, but it’s user-friendly and you may find yourself not really needing it thanks to one specific design feature that we’ll get to soon.
Design
At first glance, it’s obvious these earbuds aren’t like a lot of other pairs, specifically because of the “bean-like” shape, as Commerce Partnerships Manager Frank Massaro put it. While he initially thought the design may be an issue, by the end of our testing period, he said that the shape “may actually be [his] preference going forward.”
Entertainment reporter Eric Todisco also liked the shape, noting that they fit him comfortably and he’d often forget he was wearing them.
In addition to the ear-and-wing-tips that come on the headphones, the box includes four additional sizes of ear-tips and two wing-tip sizes. The app has an ear fit test that can help determine if the tips you have on are actually the best size for you.
1 of 2
“Typically brands just have small and large as supplemental offerings in my experience,” Massaro said. “It was nice to see that there was an XS and XXS option.”
The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro’s sleek design extends to its charging case. The unique case has a sliding closure that locks the buds in, rather than utilizing a case that opens from the top. All of the testers noticed that this style of case does keep the earbuds secure if the case happens to be dropped. Drop-testing from a few different heights all proved the same results: these headphones aren’t going anywhere.
The case has another unique aspect to it: the touchscreen. Directly on the case, you’re able to check the battery levels, control the noise cancellation levels, the audio modes and Dolby audio. There’s even the ability to use the case as a remote for your phone camera when connected to Bluetooth.
Special features
There are a ton of features worth calling out on the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro. The biggest one, and probably the one most consumers consider the highest priority, is noise cancellation.
The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro has four different modes: Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency, Adaptive and Normal. Normal is exactly what it sounds like: no ANC, no transparency, just normal.
The Active Noise Cancellation has five levels, with one being a minimal amount of noise cancellation and five being the most.
Entertainment reporter Jolie Zenna said that the Soundcore blocked “the extra loud noise like screeching brakes” in the subway more efficiently than other pairs she’s tried. The other testers also praised the effectiveness of the active noise cancellation.
Using ANC, Massaro said, “I was able to tell an announcement [on the subway] was made, but I could not make out what was being said.”
Todisco agreed that Soundcore’s noise cancellation is effective, but he “mostly only wore one” so he was aware of his surroundings due to how much noise they actually blocked out.
Massaro tried all of the levels of noise cancellation and noted that level one “was barely discernible from transparency,” but still, “much more comes through on transparency mode.”
Adaptive is a unique feature that uses the microphones placed inside the headphones to read the environment, creating a custom blend of transparency and noise cancellation that changes intensity on the fly. If you’re on the subway, it might lean more toward ANC than if you’re walking down a quiet street.
Adaptive mode is especially useful in a bustling city like New York. You get the best of both worlds: a little bit of noise cancellation and a little bit of awareness.
In addition to the sound modes, there’s the option to turn Dolby Audio on and off for immersive spatial audio. Massaro said the “sound really pops” with Dolby turned on. You’ll have two options with this setting: fixed, which is great for commuting or office work if you’re sitting or standing in one spot for a long period of time, and head tracked, which works best when you’re in motion.
When testing, all the testers noted how crisp the audio sounded, especially when experimenting with different settings. I’ve found the sweet spot to be adaptive + fixed Dolby audio, which keeps me both aware and immersed at once.
Another great feature is multipoint, which allows you to connect to two devices at once and seamlessly switch between the two. It’s a useful feature, especially in the office, to swap between video calls and the music on your phone without having to change the settings every single time.
How does it compare to similar products?
In our testing, the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro went head-to-head with the Apple AirPods Pro 3 and the Sony WH-1000XM6 earbuds. There wasn’t one defining reason why Soundcore won out over the other two, but all the testers had a positive experience testing them. That, plus the slightly more approachable price point and the fact that I found myself reaching for this pair more than any of the others, is why we chose them as the top.
All three pairs we tested have active noise cancellation and some kind of awareness mode, but each of them also lacked something that the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro does have.
Apple AirPods have an adaptive mode built-in and support for Dolby spatial audio, but lack a true Bluetooth multipoint feature (which is especially frustrating as an Apple user, as you can’t easily switch between iPhone and MacBook). The Sony WH-1000XM6 do support multipoint, but don’t have an awareness feature or native support for Dolby Atmos.
At a slightly lower price point, you can get everything you want in a pair of headphones from Soundcore, and that’s why we chose these as the ones that can “make it here.”
Price
On the spectrum of headphone prices, the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro is actually on the low end at $169.99, especially compared to the other two earbud models we tested (without any discounts, the AirPods Pro 3 are $249.00, while Sony costs $328.00).
Don’t be fooled by that lower price, though; this is still a high-end option.
Soundcore also runs discounts often, especially around Prime Day, Black Friday and other major shopping holidays, so you may even be able to save a bit more when you shop.
Is it worth it?
Yes, absolutely! If you’re a city dweller looking for your next great pair of headphones, the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro are a worthwhile choice, and not just because they won’t exactly break the bank.
As we’ve tried to demonstrate with this review, the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro are truly among the best headphones money can buy.
How we tested
We tested headphones across three different categories — earbuds, over-ear and open-ear — as people often have different preferences when it comes to the kind of headphone they wear. For the most part, testers were consistent across categories to not only determine which pair was the absolute best, but also to have something to compare to.
In the earbuds category, three testers and I tried out headphones alongside me: Reporter Jolie Zenna, Entertainment Reporter Eric Todisco and Commerce Partnerships Manager Frank Massaro.
The goal was the same for each category: Which pair of headphones is best for long NYC days, from subway to streets?
Testing Criteria
- Subway noise (for over-ear and earbuds): Can it block screeching brakes, platform announcements, performers, crying babies, and the person watching TikTok out loud?
- Call clarity: Can someone hear you while you’re walking down Broadway, near construction?
- Comfort: Can you wear them from commute to office to errands without ear pain?
- Over-ear: Consider pierced ears and glasses as things that may make headphones less comfortable. Is the headband itself tight?
- Earbuds: Do they come with ear tips in different sizes? Did you have to change the size of the ear tips to comfortably wear them? How long do you last before you want to rip them out of your head?
- Open-ear: Do they feel secure on your ear, or do you find yourself having to constantly adjust?
- Battery life: Can they last a full outside-all-day New York schedule?
- Awareness mode (for all, but especially for open-ear): Can you hear enough to not miss your stop or get hit by a Citi Bike?
- Bag compatibility (primarily for over-ear): Do they fold/store well, or are they eating up your entire work tote?
- Style factor: Do they look sleek or like you work in airport security?
- Durability (for open-ear and earbuds): Drop your earbuds in the case. Does it stay closed? Do they fall out and fly everywhere?
- Sound quality: Listen to these four songs from film scores. How does it sound? Is it layered and complex, or does it sound sort of flat? Can you clearly hear the different instruments throughout? Which of the pairs you’re testing make these songs sound the best?
- “Cantina Band” by John Williams (“Star Wars: A New Hope”)
- “Run Free” by Hans Zimmer (“Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron”)
- “The Mandalorian” by Ludwig Göransson (“The Mandalorian – Chapter 1”)
- “Enterprising Young Men” by Michael Giacchino (“Star Trek”)
Why Trust Post Wanted by the New York Post
This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.