Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro vs 5 Pro Max: which to buy

Are they comfortable and secure?

I scored comfort 8.5/10 on both. The shell is compact where it meets your ear canal, so they suit smaller ears, and you get five ear tip sizes from XXS to L. They feel light with minimal suction or pressure. Security of the fit also landed at 8.5/10: two wing sizes click in (or use the smooth cover), stability is solid for gym and runs, body‑borne noise is low, and the buds are IP55 rated.

Case, battery and the new screens

Both scored 8/10 for case and battery: up to 12 hours on the buds and 50 hours total with ANC off, or 6.5/28 hours with ANC on. A 5‑minute top‑up gives 4 hours of playback, and the cases charge wirelessly. The cases are on the thicker side; 5 Pro Max is thicker again.

Screens are where they split. 5 Pro has a smaller, responsive screen for ANC/EQ/spatial toggles, Easy Chat, camera remote, Find My Buds and pairing (not customizable). 5 Pro Max steps up to a 1.78 inch AMOLED: brighter, crisper, more widgets, volume/track control, quick access to voice translation, AI note‑taker and connected devices, plus wallpaper and widget customization. Not phone‑level responsive, but handy to avoid reaching for your phone.

Controls and smart voice

Controls scored 9/10 on both. Soundcore ditched squeezes for touch with excellent swipe volume. Single/double/triple/hold can handle media, voice assistants, ambient control and more. Wearing detection is snappy, but there’s no skin detection, so a bud in your pocket can false‑trigger. There’s also no mic‑mute option here.

The standout is offline smart voice control saved on the earbuds — it’s the most responsive I’ve tested. You can also enable always‑on “Hey Anker” for cloud queries (the app needs to run in the background).

Connectivity and multipoint

Connectivity scored 9/10: Bluetooth 6.1 with SBC/AAC/LDAC, Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair. Single‑bud use works in true mono. The headline is three‑device multipoint with a choice of manual or automatic switching; it worked flawlessly for me at home on an iPhone 15 Pro, Nothing Phone 3a Pro and MacBook Pro M1. Note: when using LDAC you can’t use voice commands or AI sound enhancement; with LDAC off you can enable one of those features at a time.

Mobile gaming latency

There’s no dedicated low‑latency mode. In my quick Call of Duty Mobile tests on iPhone 15 Pro and Nothing Phone 3a Pro, latency wasn’t great — fine for casual play, not competitive.

Call quality: up with the very best

Both scored 9.25/10 after four real call tests (quiet room, crowd noise, windy city, and music in the background). Noise suppression is outstanding, even at very loud levels. The trade‑off: in strong wind or very loud noise (80+ dB), my voice picks up a slight lisp. That’s why I still rate Huawei FreeBuds Pro 5 a touch higher for natural tone, but these Soundcore mics are elite for blocking noise.

App, AI note‑taker and extras

App & extras scored 8.25/10 on 5 Pro and 8.5/10 on 5 Pro Max. Both offer simplified presets plus an 8‑band EQ, HearID sound preference, Dolby spatial audio (no head tracking on 5), AI voice translation (face‑to‑face and real‑time) and AI sound enhancement that lifts a bit more treble detail.

The 5 Pro Max adds the AI note‑taker: start recording via the case (it has its own mic) or the case screen, flag moments, save to the case then sync to the app for auto transcription and a summary. You can set speaker names, edit, export (shared link/MP3/other formats) and sync to the cloud. There’s a subscription tier for more hours and advanced features (you still get 300 minutes to start). If you already use or want a note‑taker, this lets you combine that with a strong pair of earbuds.

Noise canceling

ANC scored 9.5/10 on both — the biggest leap I’ve seen from Soundcore. It excels at voices, mids/highs and inconsistent sounds, even surpassing some big names there. In my plane‑noise simulation, a bit more low‑frequency rumble bled through versus older models, but high‑frequency engine hiss was reduced more. Wind reduction works automatically, briefly easing ANC then restoring full strength after about 8–10 seconds, which is slower than Apple and Samsung in my tests. Also note a small EQ shift: roughly a 10% treble drop switching to transparency, and ~10% bass drop when turning ANC off.

Transparency mode and Adaptive

Transparency also scored 9.5/10: much clearer and more natural than Liberty 4 Pro and Liberty 5, with low hiss and minimal occlusion when speaking. The 5 Pro is a hair clearer but with slightly more hiss; the Max is a touch smoother with slightly less hiss — the net result is effectively a tie. Adaptive transparency blends in ANC when things get loud. It’s smooth, but I’d like sensitivity nudged up; and the adaptive baseline is a bit less clear than the regular transparency mode. Easy Chat returns too, though it can trigger on loud coughs/sneezes.

Sound quality and EQ headroom

Both scored 8/10 for sound. Max volume measured 114.5 dB in my test (after EQ), so volume won’t be an issue — protect your hearing. Stock tuning is bass‑head certified: too boosted, a bit muddy, and it masks mids/treble. The good news: EQ and AI sound enhancement clean things up. I pulled bass way down; the result is punchier, clearer and still satisfyingly weighty. You can’t quite force a totally flat/neutral bass, and upper‑treble sparkle is tricky to boost without harshness, but overall these are a bit cleaner and smoother than Liberty 4 Pro/5 after EQ. Apple/Samsung/Sony still ship a more balanced stock curve, which gives them a head start before EQ.

Pricing and value

Liberty 5 Pro launches at $169 USD; 5 Pro Max at $229 USD. Considering ANC/transparency/calls and three‑way multipoint, 5 Pro is the value play. Pay for 5 Pro Max only if the AI note‑taker and the big, more capable case screen are genuinely useful to you.

THE SCORECARD

soundcore Liberty 5 Pro

• Comfort

  8.5/10

  Light feel with minimal suction; five ear tip sizes (XXS–L).

• Security of the fit

  8.5/10

  Two wing sizes or smooth cover; stable for runs and gym; IP55.

• Case and battery life

  8/10

  Up to 12h buds/50h total ANC off; 6.5h/28h ANC on; 5‑min fast charge = 4h; wireless charging.

• Controls

  9/10

  Responsive swipe volume; deep customization; excellent offline smart voice; no mic mute; no skin detection.

• Connectivity

  9/10

  Bluetooth 6.1; SBC/AAC/LDAC; Google Fast Pair; Swift Pair; mono mode; 3‑way multipoint with manual/auto modes.

• Call quality

  9.25/10

  Outstanding noise rejection; slight lisp in wind/very loud noise.

• App customization and extra features

  8.25/10

  8‑band EQ, HearID, Dolby spatial (no head tracking), AI voice translation, AI sound enhancement; smaller case screen.

• Noise canceling

  9.5/10

  Big leap; excellent on voices/mids/highs; some low‑rumble bleed; wind auto‑recovery ~8–10s.

• Transparency mode

  9.5/10

  Clear/natural with low hiss; adaptive blend works but could be more sensitive; minor EQ shifts between modes.

• Sound quality

  8/10

  Bassy stock; needs notable EQ; cleaner than L4P/5 after EQ but less balanced stock than Apple/Sony/Samsung.

THE SCORECARD

soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max

• Comfort

  8.5/10

  Same shell and fit; light with minimal suction; five ear tip sizes.

• Security of the fit

  8.5/10

  Two wing sizes or cover; stable for runs and gym; IP55.

• Case and battery life

  8/10

  Same 12h/50h ANC off; 6.5h/28h ANC on; 5‑min fast charge = 4h; wireless charging; slightly thicker case.

• Controls

  9/10

  Same responsive touch and swipe volume; excellent offline smart voice; no mic mute; no skin detection.

• Connectivity

  9/10

  Bluetooth 6.1; SBC/AAC/LDAC; Fast Pair/Swift Pair; mono mode; 3‑way multipoint with manual/auto modes.

• Call quality

  9.25/10

  Same class‑leading noise rejection; slight lisp in wind/very loud noise.

• App customization and extra features

  8.5/10

  Adds AI note‑taker (case mic, auto transcript/summary) and 1.78" AMOLED case screen with widgets; plus EQ, HearID, Dolby, AI tools.

• Noise canceling

  9.5/10

  Matches 5 Pro: strong on mids/highs/voices; some low‑rumble bleed; wind auto‑recovery ~8–10s.

• Transparency mode

  9.5/10

  Very clear with slightly less hiss than 5 Pro; adaptive blend could be more sensitive.

• Sound quality

  8/10

  Same bass‑heavy stock; responds well to EQ; slightly cleaner than L4P/5 after EQ.