soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max Review: A well-rounded overall package

With the soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max, the Anker subsidiary is launching its most ambitious product to date. The price of 249.99 euros is new territory for the brand and raises the legitimate question of whether the combination of THUS AI chip, improved sound and charging case with AI dictation function really justifies the extra money. After extensive everyday use, the answer is clear: yes in some respects.

Technical data of the soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max

The product	Liberty 5 Pro Max
Bluetooth codecs	SBC, AAC, LDAC
Bluetooth version	6.1
Maximum operating range	15m (without obstacle)
Battery life	Up to 6.5 hours, 28 hours in total with charging case; (varies depending on volume level and audio content)
Charging time	50 minutes (earbuds); 3 hours (for charging case via USB-C)
Operation	Touch and slide control, KWS offline voice control
ANC	Yes (Adaptive ANC 4.0, 8 MEMS microphones, 360°)
IP certification	IP55
Most important functions	Thus AI chip + AI voice recorder + Case with 1.78″ AMOLED Smart Display
price	€ 249.99 *

soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max test: design and workmanship

Soundcore has completely revised the design of the headphones compared to the Liberty 4 Pro. The result is unmistakably unique: The earpiece outputs no longer sit at the very top of the earpiece stem, but slightly more centrally. The headphones have a curved shape, moving away from the classic in-ear design. A decision that is visually and ergonomically convincing. The earbuds do away with the stem design previously common with Soundcore in favor of a curved, oval shape that comes closer to the profile of the Bose QuietComfort earbuds (our test).

The Liberty 5 Pro Max model is available in the colors Midnight and Champagne. Both color options look high-quality and timeless. In terms of materials and workmanship, both models leave nothing to be desired. The earpieces are IP55 certified and the case is IPX4 certified for both models. Both are very neatly finished, the material has a high-quality appearance and there are no processing or material defects to be found. china-gadgetschina-gadgets
The most striking design element is undoubtedly the charging case.

The case uses the same sliding opening system as the Liberty 5 Pro and has the same square layout, but is slightly higher. Instead of the narrow touchscreen strip on the front of the Liberty 5 Pro case, the Pro Max exposes the entire lid for a touchscreen display. The battery case of the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max has a large 1.78-inch AMOLED touch display on the top. This display is bright, fluid and responds appropriately to touch.

One small point of criticism: the touchscreen responsiveness occasionally lags behind and sometimes requires several swipe gestures before an action is registered. This is not a dealbreaker, but it is noticeable in everyday use. The case is also noticeably larger than that of typical in-ear competitors – if you prefer very compact trouser pockets, you should take this into account.

Equipment and features

The technological centerpiece is the new ANKER Thus chip. This is the world’s first audio AI chip based on CIM (compute-in-memory) architecture. In conventional audio AI chips, the processor and memory are physically separated from each other, which makes data transfer a bottleneck. With the Thus chip, these transfer paths are eliminated as calculations take place directly in the memory. The result: significantly more efficient processing, lower energy requirements and a massive leap in the complexity of the AI algorithm. Another huge advantage: thanks to the CIM architecture, the ANKER Thus chip only requires around a sixth of the physical space compared to conventional audio AI chips. Compared to the AirPods Pro 3, this space saving makes it possible to install eight microphones instead of six, plus two bone-sound microphones.

The exclusive additional functions of the Pro-Max case are the AI notepad and the face-to-face translator. The AI notepad is a practical voice recorder function. Up to 15 hours of audio recordings can be saved locally on the case itself. For particularly long meetings, the recordings are downloaded to the smartphone in real time. Important points can be marked directly during the recording by simply tapping the case. In the Soundcore app, the recordings can then be summarized and organized using AI and exported as text, PDF or Markdown, for example. The transcription accuracy is absolutely impressive.

For face-to-face translators, the Liberty 5 Pro Max offer the advantage that you don’t have to share your in-ears with the other person. You wear the headphones to listen to the translation while the other person uses the case. This means that the other person can not only listen via the small loudspeaker, but can also read along directly on the display. Dozens of different language variants are currently available in the app, including English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Korean, Chinese and Indonesian.

Other features include Bluetooth 6.1 with support for SBC, AAC and LDAC for high-resolution wireless audio on compatible Android devices and Google Fast Pair for instant pairing on Android. Multipoint is enabled by default and allows simultaneous connection with up to three devices. Important note: LDAC is not available with three connected devices. If you want maximum audio quality, you are limited to two simultaneous connections.

The recording and transcription function of the Liberty 5 Pro Max includes a free quota of 120 minutes per month over a period of 24 months. A paid subscription is only required if this amount is exceeded. This is an aspect that should be taken into account when purchasing. However, I would say that it is absolutely sufficient for most private users.

Operation: Now also by voice command

The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max are equipped with touch sensors on the back of the earphones. With the predecessors, Soundcore still relied on an operating concept that was practically identical to the Apple AirPods Pro, where you press the earpiece sticks together. With the new models, Soundcore has returned to classic touch surfaces on the back of the earbuds. A good decision, as it turns out. Because the touch control works very precisely and reliably.

The swipe gesture is fixed for volume control and cannot be individualized. In addition, the “tap once” gesture is not assigned by default to avoid malfunctions when wearing a cap, for example. A clear selection of assignable gestures is available: Double-tap, triple-tap and touch-and-hold can be assigned functions such as changing tracks, play/pause, switching ANC modes or activating the ANKA voice assistant.

One highlight is local voice control via the Thus chip. The ANKER Thus chip can process over 20 voice commands completely autonomously and locally. Commands such as “Play now”, “Next song” or “Please turn up the volume” work surprisingly reliably. The control unit actually only reacts to the wearer’s voice. As the audio data is neither sent to a cloud nor to the smartphone, the headphones respond without latency. This is not only practical, but also a real data protection advantage over cloud-based assistants.

If you don’t like voice control, you can fall back on touch control, which basically works. The case display offers a third operating level, allowing many settings to be made directly on the case – from ANC levels and EQ presets to music control with track display. The touchscreen interface works in a similar way to a smartwatch home screen. From the home screen, you can swipe left and right to control ambient sound modes, change EQ presets and manage media playback. Swiping down from the top edge opens the Control Center with settings such as Bluetooth, brightness and Dolby Audio.

One drawback with voice control: If you activate the AI voice control model in the app, the AI sound enhancement model is deactivated in return. Unfortunately, only one of these two computationally intensive functions can be used at a time.

Battery life of the soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max

Soundcore specifies a playback time of up to 12 hours without ANC or 6.5 hours with ANC activated for the Liberty 5 Pro Max. In combination with the charging case, that’s up to 50 hours without ANC or 28 hours with ANC. Five minutes of charging should be enough for up to four more hours of playback. This is a real advantage for short charging breaks in everyday life.

In practice, however, things look a little more sober. At a mixed volume of between 50% and 70% using the high-resolution LDAC codec and with ANC switched on, an average runtime of around 5 hours is realistic. With the standard AAC codec, around 6 hours can be confirmed under the same everyday conditions. That’s solid, but not outstanding. Apple AirPods Pro 3 or Sony WF-1000XM6 in particular deliver comparable or in some cases significantly better values in practice.

The case can be charged via USB-C or wireless Qi charging. The battery box of the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max is also equipped with magnets, allowing it to be easily held and charged on vertical MagSafe chargers. This is a feature that owners of the Apple ecosystem will particularly appreciate. It is worth mentioning that the case has a capacity of around 22 hours and the use of the display does not have a dramatically noticeable effect on the runtime. Although intensive screen use naturally drains the reserve faster than with a case without a display.

App connection via soundcore

The Soundcore app is one of the strongest companion apps in the entire segment. In the test, the app functions of the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max worked absolutely reliably and did exactly what they were supposed to do. Soundcore continues to offer one of the best audio gadget companion apps on the market. The range of functions is impressive: app features include HearID for a personalized EQ profile, an eight-band custom EQ with four presets, Dolby Audio with head tracking, a safe volume limiter, wearer detection and Easy Chat, which automatically switches to transparency mode and turns down the music when it detects that you are speaking. Other features include ANC in five manual levels plus adaptive mode, fit test, automatic switch-off, device search by beep and firmware updates.

The AI sound enhancement is particularly interesting. The ANKER Thus chip makes it possible to enhance low-quality audio files directly in the headphones using AI-supported audio enhancement. The corresponding model specifically analyses the details of medium and high frequencies and recognizes and enhances those that are often lost during compression. The AI does not reconstruct any missing data, but intelligently improves the clarity and sonority of the existing signal. If this function is used with poor quality audio content, the result sounds much cleaner and clearer.

An important detail: If you activate this function in the Soundcore app, the model for intelligent voice control cannot be used at the same time. So you have to choose between two computationally intensive AI functions – a trade-off that you should be aware of. LDAC support can be switched on and off directly in the app on Android. This is a small but nice detail: depending on the situation, you can switch between maximum audio quality and maximum battery life without having to dive deep into the system settings.

Audio quality, ANC and microphones

In the test, the sound “out of the box” is much more bass-heavy compared to its predecessor. Too bass-heavy for my taste. If you jump straight in without configuring the app, you get a fun but not neutral sound. The urgent recommendation is therefore to carry out the HearID test first. In my case, the bass was reduced slightly and the treble was emphasized more. Mixed in this way, the sound is really good. It is emotional, offers a defined resolution in the treble range and is simply great fun to listen to.

The soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max particularly likes electronic music such as Daft Punk: drum samples had spatiality, the bass had punch and the coarse-grained synthesizers seemed to be embedded in a balanced way. However, there is a clear limit: compared to audiophile-oriented competitors that work with hybrid driver systems, the stage width is somewhat more compact.

In a direct comparison with the Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro, which are equipped with a hybrid driver system, the high frequencies of the new model fall a touch short of its predecessor. So if audiophile listening is your main priority, you will be better served by other models. For broad everyday use with streaming services and mixed content, however, the Liberty 5 Pro Max are absolutely convincing.

ANC

The active noise canceling belongs to the absolute top class. The Liberty 5 Pro Max offer five manually adjustable ANC levels as well as an adaptive mode that automatically adjusts the suppression to the environment. At full strength and with a good fit, the earbuds reduce the perceived volume of external noise by an average of 83%.

Street noise, construction sites, PC fans and conversations next door are all reliably blocked out by the soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max. Really impressive. The Thus chip really shows its difference with adaptive ANC. Thanks to the ANKER Thus chip, the Liberty 5 Pro Max are able to react more precisely to ambient noise. While the Apple ANC gives the impression that only the general ANC level is adjusted, with Soundcore you can feel that the system can classify loud frequencies in the environment and then selectively increase the active noise suppression in precisely these areas. If sudden noise levels occur, the system adapts almost instantaneously.

The transparency mode is also at a good level. Compared to other top models, the transparency mode of the soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max is slightly better: there is no audible noise when activated and ambient noises sound more natural and less artificially processed. However, the AirPods Pro 3 remain the measure of all things here.

Microphones

The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro and 5 Pro Max have been recognized by Guinness World Records for their headset voice quality. That sounds like marketing, but I was really impressed during the test. The combination of four microphones plus a bone sound sensor per earpiece combined with the massive processing speed of the ANKER Thus chip ensures that the new Soundcore flagship headphones isolate ambient noise during calls much more effectively than any other wireless in-ears in the test. Soundcore advertises that the headphones deliver clear and intelligible voice quality at ambient volumes of up to 100 dB – roughly equivalent to the volume of a building site or music festival.

Microphone test recording soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max:

Microphone test recording soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max with simulated wind:

For people who work in production, trade, event catering or other noisy environments, this is not a gimmick, but a real game changer. For regular conversations in noisy environments, it is worth activating the “Clear Calls” function in the Soundcore app. This isolates your own voice even more thoroughly than the standard algorithm, but at the same time requires more battery power.

soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max Review: Conclusion

The soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max are a multi-layered product that cannot be easily pigeonholed. If you rate the headphones primarily on sound quality, you will find more sophisticated competitors from Sony or Samsung for 249.99 euros. However, if you are looking for a complete and powerful feature package that is nevertheless convincing in terms of sound and sets technological standards, you will find an outstanding option here.

The ANC is first-class and easily keeps up with the Apple AirPods Pro 3, and even exceeds it with the adaptive ANC. The microphone quality is simply the best currently available in the true wireless segment. The AI notepad works reliably and is a real added value for meeting-intensive users, journalists or students. And the operating system-independent local processing of all AI features is a technical approach that other manufacturers have not yet implemented in this way.

On the downside are the comparatively high price, the bass-heavy factory curve (which can be corrected via HearID), a case that is noticeably bulkier than the competition and the transcription subscription, which can become a cost factor after 24 months.