Do you want true wireless earbuds with active noise canceling, but you don't want to break the bank? The Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds are exactly what you need.

Anker's Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds fill in all the gaps from the original model, adding a heap of new features, including better drivers, personalized EQ, and multiple targeted active noise canceling modes. Throw in a substantial battery life, and Anker could be onto a winner.

So, how do the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds stack up in our hands-on review? Read on to find out.

What's In the Box?

Before delving into how the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro sound, here's what you'll find in the box:

• Anker Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds
• Charging case
• USB Type-C charging cable
• 9 pairs of silicone ear tips, various sizes

Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro Specifications

Now you know what's in the box, here's what's in the earbuds themselves.

• Design: Earbuds with stem
• Color: Black, Blue, White, Pink
• Drivers: 11mm dynamic PureNote Drivers
  • Frequency response: 20-20,000Hz
  • Impedance: 16 Ohms
• Microphone: 6 microphones
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
• Battery life: 7 hours on earbuds, 19 hours on charging case for 26 hours total
  • With ANC: 6 hours on earbuds
  • Charge time: 2 hours for a full charge
  • Fast charge: 15 minutes for up to 3 hours playback
• Water resistance: IPX4 for light sweat and light rain
• ANC: Targeted ANC, plus custom options
• Weight: 2g per earbud

The Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds are also compatible with Anker's Soundcore app for Android and iOS. The Soundcore app includes a personalized EQ feature that builds a tailor-made audio experience for your ears, customizable earbud commands, and multiple active noise cancellation options.

Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro Design

The Air 2 Pro earbuds have a fairly standard style, featuring a stem with external touch controls. The earbuds themselves are nothing flashy, but they're lightweight, weighing just 5.2g per earbud, and they fit snuggly in your ear, courtesy of the nine interchangeable silicone ear tips.

There are nine different ear tips included with the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, ranging from XXS through to XL. As ever, switching the ear tips is a simple process. The inclusion of such an extensive range of tips makes it guaranteed that you'll find the perfect fit. There's also the ear tip fitting tool in the Soundcore app, but more on this in a moment.

The Liberty Air 2 Pro case is also reasonable. Again, nothing flashy, but the sliding mechanism is soft and easy to work with one hand, while the outside of the case is smooth and glossy to touch. However, it doesn't feel like it will slip from your hand easily as the exterior is slightly rubberized, and the case itself is solid enough that it will protect the earbuds from bumps and scrapes.

Both Air 2 Pro earbuds include customizable touch controls. They're responsive and easy to use, as well as easy to swap out using the Soundcore app. One thing I liked about the touch controls was that standard commands require a double-tap—no more skipping a track or cutting off an ongoing call when you readjust the earbud position.

Although Anker isn't positioning the Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds for sport, they're a good option. First of all, they're rated IPX4, which means they'll withstand some sweat and light rain, but not a dip in the pool or a sauna.

Second, the selection of ear tips means you'll find a snug fit for the earbuds that will stop them dislodging while you're exercising. Having used these earbuds for several weeks, I've had zero issues with them moving, rarely requiring readjustment during a workout.

Last but by no means least, let's talk battery life. The Liberty Air 2 Pro can hold up to seven hours of battery charge on the earbuds, dropping to six with ANC switched on. Then, the charging case holds another 19 hours of charge, meaning you'll stay up and running for more than an entire day of listening.

The 26-hours of combined audio playback put the Air 2 Pro earbuds right up there in terms of battery life.

Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro Sound Quality

The Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro delivers sound quality above what you'd expect from earbuds at this price point. They're bass-heavy on the default EQ, but the overall sound quality is excellent and well-suited to a wide range of music. They have no problem switching between stomping techno beats, melodic acoustic guitar, and precise classical compositions, handling any musical genre with aplomb.

Anker has spent some extra time on the Air 2 Pro drivers, too. The 11mm drivers use Anker's PureNote Driver Technology, which delivers a "45% boost to your bass and a 30% wider frequency bandwidth," both of which are apparent any time you pop them in your ears.

The Air 2 Pro earbuds have two additional features to boost your audio experience.

The first is active noise cancellation (ANC), which comes in four different flavors:

• Transport
• Indoor
• Outdoor
• Custom

The default options are tuned to block out external noise in those environments, but the inclusion of a custom ANC dial is a nice touch. There's also a Transparency Mode, with options to allow voices through the earbuds, or Fully Transparent, which allows all ambient noise through.

Figuring out which noise-blocking technology suits your environment only takes a moment, and you'll find the Liberty Air 2 Pro ANC implementation a worthy competitor to other earbuds, especially at this price point.

Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro Microphone Quality

The Liberty Air 2 Pro microphone quality was another great-but-not-excellent feature. Earbud mics will never offer the same quality as talking directly into the microphone on your phone, but some earbuds do it better than others.

While testing the Air 2 Pro call quality, I was pleased to find that they successfully blocked out most of the sound walking along the blustery seafront near my home, something my smartphone cannot do—so that's a major plus.

On the flipside, some of the people I called found my voice a little distant and dull compared to a regular call. That said, I was still coming through with clarity, and there were no dropouts or audio glitches.

Customizing Your EQ With the Anker Soundcore App

The second sound quality audio boost for the Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds is the Anker Soundcore app. As mentioned above, the Soundcore app allows for customizable EQs, Anker's HearID Personalized EQ, and an ear tip fitting test. The Soundcore app is available for Android and iOS.

Download: Soundcore for Android | iOS

After downloading and install the app, fire it up and connect to your Anker Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds using Bluetooth. It should only take a moment for the app to connect to the earbuds.

Once connected, select HearID and Equalizer > Personalize earphones. The Soundcore app asks how many years young you are, then advises you to find a quiet place to conduct the audio test. The test is similar to an audio medical exam, playing series of tones at variable frequencies in your ears. You hit Yes when you hear the tone, No when you don't, and Soundcore builds a unique HeadID audio profile based upon how you answer.

The whole process takes about three minutes, showing your audio profile results on completion. You can then pair your HearID profile with your favorite or most listed music genre to create the "perfect" audio profile on completion.

While it sounds a little gimmicky, the result was noticeably clearer audio, which was impressive. The ear test picked up deficiencies in my left ear, adjusted the EQ accordingly, and gave the Liberty Air 2 Pro audio profile a little extra polish. EQ customization features can be quite hit and miss, but Anker's HearID is one worth using.

You don't have to pair your HeadID with a specific audio genre, either. Sticking with Anker's Soundcore Signature works just as well, especially if you listen to a wide range of audio types.

You can also use the Soundcore app to change the earbud touch controls. From the Liberty Air 2 Pro menu, select Controls. From here, you can switch out the Double Tap and Hold for 2s controls.

Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro Repairability

As ever, earbuds are not the easiest bits of hardware to repair under your own steam. Repairs usually require specialized tools and hardware that the average consumer simply doesn't have access to.

Anker's Soundcore products come with an 18-month warranty, and repairs are processed using authorized repair centers.

Ultimately, most earbuds fall into the category of disposable audio hardware due to the lack of repairability options, plus the difficulties replacing common points of failure, such as fully-integrated batteries.

This isn't a slight on Anker; the overwhelming majority of earbuds suffer from this issue.

Should You Buy the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro Earbuds?

How could anyone not recommend the Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds? Given the range of features on offer, the extensive battery life, customizable and unique audio profiles, and decent-but-not-mind-blowing design, Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds are an absolute steal at this price point.

Right now, you can pick up the Anker Liberty Air 2 Pro for $130, which is a great deal for earbuds that deliver this caliber of audio.