My quick (not so quick) review of my Liberty 3 Pro earbuds, i did have initial concerns regarding the fit but i explain how that changed.
Any concerns on the fit are fading – they aren’t moving – they’re just smaller and therefore not contacting with the ear so much and just with the fin so they don’t feel as present as the 2’s do.
When you take them off they just easily pop out and that was giving me this false sense that they weren’t in so well. But overall it’s an improvement on the 2’s … the pressure on the ear is lowered and therefore i can happily listen for several hours without getting any discomfort or fatigue and even in my odd ears (i cannot use any normal IEM’s without them falling out in 10s) i can use a combination of the smallest tips and largest fins and they feel great. I did switch the tips out in the end for a set of Feaulle H370 Latex tips simply because they offer a slight improvement for me in fit but had i not got these tips anyway i would have been perfectly happy to use the included ones.
The included ear tips “snap” onto the steps rather than just slide on … they have a firm plastic core which is secure and there’s pretty much zero chance of the tips falling off the stems.
I think for the same asking price as the 2’s (£15 cheaper for me) they’re a real no brainer. The HearID ANC is perfect for casual listening – it’s not as strong as some brands’ is but it similarly almost disappears and in my office the computer noise and other minor sounds are just knocked back that bit further without feeling like you’re in that heavy ANC territory.
Haven’t yet tried them in a noisy environment with full/heavy ANC enabled yet. But sitting in the same room as someone with the TV on and a fan while i was listening to podcasts was perfect. Almost no noise from the environment bled in. Similarly, these buds offer a great seal and when i was in a quiet room i asked my wife to listen to see if she could hear any bleed from my buds while i had the volume on much louder than i would normally and she couldn’t hear a thing so great for public transport and being in an office where you don’t want to annoy others with your music.
App — The Android app has been twice updated recently with these so they’re picked up straight away — I did have to wait about 3 days following purchase before the firmware was released. However, contacting support via email they did follow up when they said they would and came good on the update and were polite and helpful. So a definite plus for aftersales care.
The HeadID worked the same … the ANC test crashed a couple of times and didn’t compelte … so bugs are present in the app/firmware. This is still present … the ANC test i always have to do 2 times before it completes without fail.
I do find the HearID and EQ options inside the app a little confusing and it seems there’s a couple of ways to achieve the same thing like custom profile for HearID
Click HearID Test > HearID Sound Test then you can personalise (on) then click Advanced > Custom HearID is one way i do it.
I’ve had it erase my EQ profile without warning now twice … so that’s a little irritating … again i don’t know if this is firmware on the buds or the app messing up.
The buttons are all configurable including turning off individually – so you could turn off single-tap to prevent accidents. You can have up to 3 taps although timing takes a little practice
Multi-point is a feature a lot of people wanted but be aware that if you switch these into LDAC the option for multipoint goes dark and you cannot use it… so it’s an “either or” situation. for that if you want the best sound quality
The ear seal tests work and says they’re ok.
The sound quality is generally better … bass is less by default than it was before and a step up i think, it’s cleaner and tighter … lot less boomy and more precise.
Bassheads might find this a step back … i don’t think bass is as hard hitting on the sub-bass as the Liberty 2 Pro+ were.
Case is smaller than previous by a bit … very sleek … has white lights under them so you can find them in the dark
Package is great … 4 sets of tips and fins
Fit and finish is top notch, the brass stems looks solid and the buds feel grat … charge case is a lot smoother and more slippery in the hand than the 2Pro’s case and feels little looser at times.
Sound stage feels wider and a little more easy … ANC on adaptive mode is subtle and absolutely does not give you that locked in pressure. But i feel it isn’t quite fully stable yet (feels like it comes in and out – that could be the adaptive nature but i “feel” something every now and then)
Had a few random disconnections while listening, just feels like the buds are resetting something every 30-40 minutes … just get 2s of silence and then resumption
Am enjoying the fit and sound of these more and more as i listen more.
The fit is lighter pressure than the 2 pro design … the rubber fins are softer and hollow bubbles of rubber rather than a solid curve of rubber so they flex more and cushion
Means they feel not as secure but in a good amount of listening they’ve not once lost their seal.
Range is tremendous — i know LDAC offers less stability than lower codecs due to the higher bitrate. But i had my phone on my desk at the very front of the house and i was stood on our deck at the back of the house (so 3 rooms, a good 12 meters away and 2 stone walls) and i was still getting a signal. So that’s a win considering how tiny the buds are.
Battery life – haven’t run them to depletion yet and after a good 2 or 3 hours listening in LDAC + ANC i’m still showing well more than 1/2 battery so i think on LDAC i’d get maybe 5 or 6 hours and with Non-ANC + AAC probably closer to 8 or more hours. Case is wireless or USB-C charge so modern and convenient.
Listening to (all via Spotify) - as you can see – a various mix of genres
Gorillaz - Dare (for bass)
Marian Herzog - No Sanctuary Here (hearing the background noise and piano keys / seat creaking)
Joep Beving - Sleeping Lotus (lots of ambiance)
Terje Lsungset - Ung (bass/sub-bass)
Dominic Miller - Shape of my Heart
The Prodigy - Climbatize
Trifonic - Ninth Wave (feels nice and open with lots of positional sound and a great amount of bass which doesn’t muddy the track)
Sizzle Bird - Elixir
Ella Mai - Everything
Pantera - Far Beyond Driven (mids tight metal)
Alanis Morissette - Princes Familiar Unplugged
Rage Against the Machine - Take The Power Back (tight drums / bass but feels more airy than many iems until the beat drops)
Ursine Vulpine - Wicked Game!
Final points / pro’s & Con’s
Bugs in the app / firmware – small issue with the EQ settings getting reset and also the sound cutting out – but i know these can be fixed in firmware and it’s not too bad a problem now LDAC has been fixed
Pro’s
Definitely stronger than 2Pro’s in sound - wider, cleaner, more precise and less muddy.
Fit and finish is top notch and worthy of top-tier buds
Price! 1/2 the price of Sony XM4 - no brainer really
App - Plenty of flexibility / options / control
Adaptive ANC is nice and doesn’t add pressure or anything to wearing them
Con’s
Minor bugs remain
Bass for some might not be as hard-hitting as 2Pro’s
Slippery case
Multi-point pairing only accessible outside of LDAC mode
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