First, tips. Try out all the supplied ear tips to find one that sounds the most accurate first. The ear tips you select determines how soft, bassy, bright these earphones are. Secondly, on the Soundcore app, switch the profile to “Piano.” I tried all of the profiles, and this sounds much closer to my reference system. It’s pretty muffled otherwise. Also, aside from sounding superb with piano music, it’s a good all-rounder preset.
Unfortunately, I can’t customize the “Piano” EQ and save it as my own. I would take the highs down a tad and boost the 200-300 Hz region. Reason being that these earphones have this ever-present coarseness in the mids. It’s kind of edgy, hissy, screechy, and resembles static at times. These adjustments would hopefully close the micro-caps and hopefully smooth over the grain.
If you’re a tone snob, the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro is the most naturally colored TWS earphones I’ve heard so far. In fact, it has better color than most multi-thousand dollar sound systems I’ve heard (seriously). It also has an impressive amount of bass output. It’s tight and doesn’t bleed into the other frequencies – which is uncommon in a TWS earphone. This, in turn, promotes more depth and dimension to the sound. Now, the problems are in the upper regions. Almost every consonant has sharp sibilance, especially “S” and “F”s. And the treble sizzles and comes off metallic at times – but somehow still “truthful.”
Aside from a more jagged midrange, there’s not much to complain about here. It has plenty of resolution and the best representation of timbre out there. It also has timing that is very impressive. This solidifies instrumental placement on a soundstage. Anything from a kick drum to a harp is played out with a believable will and character. This makes the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro a great reference piece to keep around for “artistic intent.” Not just for headphones, but for stereo systems as well. So, if you want a better idea of how a voice or instrument really sounds – grab one of these.
Aside from the somewhat strong sheen in the upper-mids (which could use a little soul injection), I can’t complain. I mean if they sort those two things out, these TWS earbuds will be too good. I have a feeling a pair of Comply tips may be able to cut the edge and add some meat to the sound. We’ll see!
If you’re sensitive to sibilance or rougher mids, this may not be for you. However, I’ve experimented with some Comply foam tips, and it seems to mitigate this. That said, the onslaught gets pretty sharp at times – revealing itself with mostly vocal recordings. Of course, this depends on how you EQ the sound. The reason why the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro is at the top of this list is that it’s a chameleon. It has the capacity to be tuned to whatever you want you. It has so much dynamic range and adjustability without having to sacrifice much tonal quality.
However, if your sound quality non-negotiable is tonality – the Liberty 2 Pro gets you there the closest. Aside from a more heightened signature, thinner and rougher midrange, there wasn’t much to complain about. However, If you’re looking for a fuller, weightier, and meatier sound, there are plenty of better options. Aside from these tradeoffs, my intuition says that this earphone probably gets you closer to what the musicians wanted you to hear.
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Very nice article and I tend to agree with most if not all your assessments. I own most of these headphones and am a headphone addict. Clearly sound and headphones reviews are very subjective. I appreciate all your efforts here! Well done!
Thank you for your support, David. Gonna keep pushin' forward!
Try huawei freebuds 3, they could be the best, they shock me how good r they.
I think this is probably the best audio review comparison for a buyer that I've ever read. No. Not probably. Actually it is the best. That's because you've written the good AND the bad about every product. Never said one item is better absolutely. Explained what you liked and why, which is VERY important as I might like something that you don't. Though most importantly, you compared the items at the end with both the good and bad points in a comparative way. This grouping of descriptions and comparisons actually makes your ranking list not very useful and confusing, BUT! makes the whole review useful and informative and can help a person decide which product THEY would like. I still like my old Wf-1000x buds but was looking for something, probably by now, better. By reading your reviews I might actually rank the new Sony buds as number one (though I'd have to hear them of course). The beauty of your reviews is that I can actually get some idea of what I WOULD actually like and what to try first. Awesome writing and well thought out.
Thank you, Mark. It's interesting because some days, I don't mind having something further down the ranking list for the "unique" qualities it presents. It's sometimes about the mood or about the appreciation of a certain type of sound. Although I prefer a more natural sound, I sometimes still enjoy the "fantasy" that some of these headphones provide. It amazes me how much information is capture by the microphone - which I don't think even the performers or engineers knew about. I did perform this experiment for my own record keeping. Figured it'll give me a good reference point for things I hear in the future. Everyone enjoys music differently and I'm glad I was able to help.
I'm going to doubt this product is better than the Sony it was compared to.
Great review. I have settled on 3 sets of earbuds for my everyday use.
1. Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro - For home use. I agree wholeheartedly about your remarks regarding these earbuds, and now Soundcore has added a 7 band EQ allowing you to custom eq them, so that's fantastic. Their relatively weak IPX rating and substandard call performance keeps them from being my "go to" phones, but when I am at home, these are the ones I pick up.
2. Sony WF-1000XM3 - Although not as good sounding as the L2P, The sublime ANC of these buds makes these my default travel gear, edging out my Bose QC35ii over the ear cans. The sound isolation on these is actually better than my Bose. And the portability of them is self evident. No IPX rating makes them strictly for plane trips and similar use cases. Definitely a niche product, but once you travel with ANC, there's no going back.
3. Soundcre Liberty Air 2 - These are my default "out and about" phones. The slight trade off in sound quality is more than offset by the smaller case, stronger water resistance and call quality. The soundcore app allows you to EQ them quite a bit, so I can get good sound even in environments that are not conducive to it.
Have you tried the lypertek tevi?
I've bought a pair before. I don't think it's worth comparing to the ones up here. Not super great in my opinion
I have been looking for exactly such an analysis. I have been looking for a TWS for exactly the same purpose as yours except that call quality is a semi-important factor. I mostly use iFi xDSD for Bluetooth receiver with JVC FD0X or Sony MD855. Anyway, it would be interesting if you could rate Galaxy bud live that has an open design with a bass duct and 12mm driver. My interest in it for its call quality and I heard it is better than galaxy bud+. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your review man!!!! I tried many earbuds and the M&D MW07 GO is a clear win on sound quality in my opinion! So detailed, precise, layered, immersive and just beautiful sound in all genres. I can hear many new sounds in the same old songs and music that I listen over and over again. I have been a Bose fan for so long but M&D will be my new faith on sound quality. Thank you for such a professional and honest review!!! Appreciate it!!!
My pleasure :)
This is has become my go to reference source - the care and attention to detail that went into this is amazing; so, Thank You! I have always struggled with pure ranking lists and have been skeptical of kickback bias. I have been on a quest to find the highest call/mic quality without sacrificing my music preferences. This has served as a good cross-reference. I was generally happy with the Momentum TW's call-wise; however, was never a big fan of how music sounded through them (although I really wanted them to be good). That combined with the flaws ("volume min / volume min / volume min") drove me away. I am on the phone all day for work and like to listen to music in between. I'm currently using Jabra 75t's and they seem pretty good for both purposes - the extra bass doesn't bother me too much but heavier music tends to sound a little muddled to my liking.
Has anyone else had good experiences with TWS with the right call quality / musicality balance? Always open to opinions and suggestions.
Thanks!
You had me with how you arranged and photographed the boxes.