TWS true wireless earphones - under $50
FOUR STARS - If you can live with its 3,5 hours battery life, these eccentric AirPods-alternatives are an easy recommendation.
TaoTronics SoundLiberty 80 specs:
Bluetooth 5.0 with AAC and AptX codec
IPX8 waterproof (heavy rain, shower and sweat resistant)
3,5 hours listening on a full charge
Charging case can charge earpieces fully 5 times
Comes with USB-C cable
$65 on Amazon US, Amazon Germany or other Amazon stores
Below this TaoTronics SoundLiberty 80 review, you will find comparisons between the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 80 vs aoTronics SoundLiberty 95, SoundPEATS TrueAir 2, and Fiil CC2.
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Design, comfort and battery life
'Doesn't that belong in a Christmas tree?' 'Beam me up, Scotty!' 'That's truly appalling'... but also a few 'Where can I get that?'
When asking what people think of the design of the SoundLiberty 80 on my Twitter account, it becomes clear that TaoTronics has designed one of the most controversial wireless earbuds to date.
The TaoTronics SoundLiberty 80, with its long oval design, draped in a shiny effect from pink to purple to blue, is truly unique. It's great that TaoTronics has the guts to try this out. It's something special amidst hundreds of generic-looking earphones.
It is still a design on a proven fundament, however. In your ears, the SoundLiberty 80 has the same round, sideways-aiming speaker as the Apple AirPods. These are half-in-ears; they don't come with rubber ear-tips that fill your ears. Instead, they rest on your ear extremely comfortably - but tight enough to stay in your ears with regular movement.
The charging case has something AirPods-like too, although it's built better. It feels robust in hand, has a sturdy hinge that keeps the lid in place, and a nice soft-touch finish prevents scratches. The case recharges via USB-C and shows its battery status via a single LED-light on the front. It can recharge the earbuds five times fully, providing the earbuds around 3 - 3,5 hours playtime per charge - a below-average score in this price range.
Connectivity and controls
Don't think the looks of the SoundLiberty 80 are its only surprise. There are two ways of controlling these earbuds: via touch-and-slide controls and via... voice activation.
When you say 'Hey TT' when you're wearing them, you activate the voice assistant on your phone. You can then use the voice assistant with commands like 'volume down' or 'next song' to change the operations by voice. A nifty feature, but the voice operation is a gimmick. It's not not nearly as fast or convenient as the touch controls itself:
Tap L or R twice to pause/ play
Slide up on the right bud to increase the volume
Slide down on the right bud to decrease volume
Slide up on the left bud to restart previous track
Slide down on the left bud to skip to next track
Hold L or R two seconds to deactivate voice control
Take an earbud out to pause/ in to play again
You read that right - these may be the first budget earbuds after the QCY T3 to boast slide controls!
Sliding the volume up or down works easy and convenient on the SoundLiberty 80, but changing tracks isn't always responsive. Rather than sliding down or up to change a track, sometimes you need to hold and then slide to activate the function.
Connectivity on the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 80 is solid. It keeps its Bluetooth signal stable up to ten meters away from your device; playback automatically pauses when you take an earbud out (whether you like it or not). It's also possible to play music on one earbud while you charge the other one - to continue listening to both when putting the charged one in your ears again.
Calling and video on SoundLiberty 80
The call quality of this TWS is outstanding. Your voice sounds clear with proper telephone-like clarity. Even higher-pitched background sounds like children screaming, and vehicles accelerating nearby are greatly reduced and barely audible in the call. You will have the maximize the volume on the other end of the line, as it's rather soft on normal volume levels, but all in all, it's perfectly doable to take a phone call with these.
Video playback on the SoundLiberty 80 is great. Audio synchronizes perfectly with video on both iPhone and Android, including on the challenging YouTube-app.
There is a noticeable delay in the sound effects when playing games.
Also read: The best AirPods-like earbuds under $50
Sound quality of SoundLiberty 80: pleasant
The design of this TaoTronics may be outspoken - the sound is a friendly, warm sounding crowd pleaser.
The SoundLiberty 80 has a strong bass thump that never becomes offensive but still pumps strong enough to give music power. Next to the mid-bass slam, the bass sounds deep enough. As these are half-in-ears, it can't grasp the darkest sub-bass tones; the bass you can feel as much as hear. The sub-bass doesn't rumble, but the lows are more powerful than lots of other half-in-ears.
The SoundLiberty 80 sounds warm, thanks to the lower-mid tones. This earphone heavily boosts darker electronic tones and lower vocals but also drags the regular mid-tones with them. Guitars, piano, trumpets, cymbals, violins: they sound a bit darker than usual. Everything has a warm undertone.
As highs are rolled-off so early, you'll miss out on detail in these instruments and higher-vocals. Unlike a competitor like the Fiil CC2, you won't catch details like singers' gasps and the plucking of guitar strings on the SoundLiberty 80. Don't go looking for a big soundstage, too: music sounds a little closed-in.
That said, vocals still enjoy enough room. They are placed a little forward, so they don't drown in the instruments and lows. They may lack detail, but they never enter harsh or bright territories.
The SoundLiberty 80 lacks detail and liveliness in the vocals, but it's bassy and warm sound offers a smooth ride.
TaoTronics SoundLiberty 80 comparisons
SoundLiberty 80 vs SoundPEATS TrueAir2
The TrueAir 2 costs half of the SoundLiberty 80, yet provides up to 1,5 hours more playtime on a single charge. The SoundLiberty bass has a stronger bass thump, and the sound is both darker and warmer. The TrueAir2 sounds warm as well, including a solid bass thump, but still gives vocals and highs more space, making vocals more prominent and clear and resolving more detail in mid-instruments like guitars, cymbals, and piano. It also has better separation between instruments, such as drums coming from your left and right. It's a bit more balanced than the SoundLiberty 80.
SoundLiberty 80 vs SoundLiberty 95
TaoTronics has more half-in-ears in its lineup, of which the SoundLiberty 95 is the best option. It reaches a stellar 5,5 - sometimes even 6 - hours of playtime on a single charge, is good at handling phone calls both indoors and outside, and its musical character is a finetuned version of the SoundLiberty 80. That bass on the 95 has a tighter punch, vocals are clearer and more prominent, and more air in the music. The 80 has better controls, however, including volume operation.
SoundLiberty 80 vs Fiil CC2
The cheaper Fiil CC2 is another pair of half-in-ears with a wild design, with its stylish, ultra-thin, even formal-looking stems. The Fiil CC2 reaches up to 5 hours of playtime instead of 3,5 hours, and it almost handles calls as good too. Most importantly, the Fiil sounds better. While also delivering a steady bass thump, instruments and vocals sound more natural on the CC2, and there is a bigger soundstage and more detailed, more precise instrument placement. The SoundLiberty 80 sounds warm and smooth; the Fiil CC2 sounds detailed and more immersive.
Verdict
If you can live with its 3,5 hours battery life, these eccentric AirPods-alternatives are an easy recommendation.
Four stars - good
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I received the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 80 from the manufacturer to test and review. All my reviews are 100% honest and non-commercial. I test and review all audio products equally honest - read about it here.
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