TWS true wireless earphones - under $50
FOUR STARS - Despite some connectivity issues, the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 88 are pleasant warm sounding half-in-ear wireless earbuds, delivering excellent call quality too.
Specs of the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 88:
Bluetooth 5.0 with AAC codec
3,5 - 4 hours listening on a full charge
Charging case can charge earpieces fully 3 times
Comes with USB-c cable
$45-50 on Amazon US or Amazon Germany - check new price!
Below this TaoTronics SoundLiberty 88 review, you will find comparisons between the SoundLiberty 88 vs SoundPEATS Truebuds, Xiaomi Mi Air 2 SE and Fiil CC.
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Design, comfort and battery life
With its stem-design and small AirPods-part that goes into your ears, the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 88 is comfortable to wear. Dependent on your volume, the earpieces will deliver up to 4 hours of playtime - which is a decent score for half-in-ear designs.
The square charging case will recharge the earpieces four times fully before needing power via USB-C itself. You can see the charging status with four LED-lights on the front. The lid feels sturdy, too: it doesn't close by accident when you lift or shake the case.
While they're both prone to fingerprints, the case and earbuds feel sturdy and look well - with TaoTronics' logo's very subtly on top of the earpieces stems, and a microphone-setup underneath that looks a bit like a shower-head. 'Design' may be too big of a word, but it separates the SoundLiberty 88 from cheap AirPods clones, which is welcome.
Connectivity and controls
Unfortunately, connectivity is a bit of a weak spot on the SoundLiberty 88. It can be cumbersome to pair the two earpieces together when you first connect the earpieces to your Bluetooth list - definitely check the flashing white LED-lights on the inside of the earbuds to see if they pair with each other.
Once that's settled, connection strength stays sub-par. There are sound distortions and hiccups when you have the earpieces more than three meters apart, or away from your phone. Once during the test, the earpieces lost stereo connection completely while listening to them. Putting them in the case and taking them out again, restored the issue.
Another thing is that the sound prompts are very loud on these. Pairing and connecting prompts, battery cues, and the activation of the voice assistant are shockingly loud. It's a great feature that the SoundLiberty 88 automatically pauses music when you take one earpiece out of your ears, however. It works well.
The control scheme is simple but controls can be challenging to use. The 88 can miss your input even when you just double-tap the sides to play or pause the music - it is a timing game.
Control options are great, though. Skip a song by triple-tapping the right bud, return a track by doing so on the left side. You can change the volume too: increase by holding the right side three seconds, decrease by holding down the left stem. As the voice assistant on your smartphone is activated after 2 seconds (hold after the beep to change the volume), you will need some time to adjust the volume.
Calling and video playback on SoundLiberty 88
Call quality on the SoundLiberty 88 is great. Your voice comes through like a typical telephone voice - loud and clear. It's perfectly doable to have a phone call in a quieter indoor/ school/ office area and when people are talking around you, or when you start walking.
It's also possible to take a call with these outside. Of course, wind noise appears challenging, but even loud background noises from construction sites or nearby traffic, are reduced wonderfully. The focus is entirely on your voice.
The SoundLiberty 88 handles videos well too. Audio-video synchronization is great on both Android and iPhone apps, including lipsync on the always challenging YouTube-app. As almost always on wireless earphones, there is a noticeable delay when playing games.
Also read: The best true wireless earphones under $50
Sound quality of SoundLiberty 88: warm
With the SoundLiberty 88 as a newcomer, there's something to choose between affordable half-in-ear wireless earbuds. The TaoTronics has a warmer sound than most half-in-ears, but still offers plenty of detail.
The warm sound starts with a steady bass-slam, and at times even a gentle rumble from the sub-bass. The levels of bass-heavy fully in-ear earphones can't be reached, but that's always the case with half-in-ears. Due to their design and slight distance from your ear canal, it's hard to transmit the same full warm sound in your ears.
Still - warm and full are the right words to describe to the SoundLiberty 88 sound. Apart from the engaging bass-slam, lower-mids are heavily elevated. Darker electronic tones and drums are boosted, and the lows drag some instruments and male vocals towards them as well, making the sound a bit dark, but smooth - full.
Upper frequencies are toned down on these TaoTronics. Some female vocals and higher-pitched male voices manage to weigh above the mid-tones, but more often, vocals and higher mid-instruments like guitars, violins, and cymbals are recessed. The highest vocals can sound thin; the lowest ones can disappear in the darker tones. There's an upside to this: the 88 never strikes as harsh or bright, which is an achievement since it can go real loud.
Within its warm and full sound, the SoundLiberty 88 manages to reveal plenty of detail from songs. The sound is rather spacious and places instruments and sound effects on your left and right, while vocals appear in your head mostly.
The recessed mids make the SoundLiberty 88 too dull for more traditional genres, like jazz and rock. Its smooth warmth does work great for background listening, however - and also for dance, ambient, and electronic genres - further helped by the fact that this TaoTronics can go louder than most other half-in-ears.
SoundLiberty 88 comparisons
TaoTronics SoundLiberty 88 vs Xiaomi Mi Air 2 SE
Xiaomi's great half-in-ear wireless earbuds are longer than the SoundLiberty's. As the ear-part is a bit further removed from the stem, there's more room to 'hook' them in your ears, making them more comfortable. The Mi Air 2 SE has similar call quality, and musically it has more opened-up upper-mid tones and more extended highs. Vocals and higher-pitched instruments sound more prominent, without making the sound too bright. The bass is well-represented, but the 88 delivers more of it, with a thicker slam and more body in the other lows.
TaoTronics SoundLiberty 88 vs Fiil CC
Reviewed at $80, the Fiil CC now can be had for $60. It offers a slightly shorter battery life at 3,5 hours but compensates on other aspects. It looks sleek, with very small, stylish dark-grey stems, and offers amazing call quality both indoors and outside - better than the SoundLiberty. The TaoTronics sounds warmer and fuller in the lows, whereas the Fiil CC is more balanced, offering more spacial details and nuances in the mids, clearer vocals, and more refined bass. The SoundLiberty 88 has more controls; the CC wins on connectivity.
SoundLiberty 88 vs SoundPEATS Truebuds
The SoundPEATS Truebuds is the opposite of the SoundLiberty 88 when it comes to sound. It focuses on the upper-mid tones and highs, making them sound a lot brighter than the warmer and bassier TaoTronics. It has clearer vocals with more detail, but the SoundLiberty 88 has a stronger bass and juicier lower-mids, delivering a smoother and less tiring sound. The case of the Truebuds is twice as big and can charge a smartphone, but the SoundLiberty 88 earpieces last a tiny bit longer on a single charge.
—> See all TWS reviews and ratings here
Verdict
Despite some connectivity issues, the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 88 are pleasant warm sounding half-in-ear wireless earbuds, delivering excellent call quality too.
FOUR stars - very good
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I received the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 88 from TaoTronics 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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