Active noise reduction
This is one of Soundcore's big promises: according to the manufacturer, the Liberty 4 Pro would be three times more effective in terms of insulation than the previous model. To achieve this, the headphones have six microphones and a barometric pressure sensor.
In use, the Liberty 4 Pro comes out with a fairly decent copy. They display the same qualities and defects as the products that try to sit at the table of the segment's leaders. Thus, the bass attenuation is really effective, constantly above -25 dB and even manages to approach -30 dB for a short time.
As a result, the attenuation of humming sounds is powerful enough to cut out outdoor traffic noise. A performance that the headphones manage to maintain until the start of the next register. From this point on, the treatment resists a little, then gives up in the upper midrange region.
Thus, the surrounding discussions seem a little more fluid and discreet, without completely disappearing. Likewise, all unpredictable sounds reach our ears further away, without being annihilated. In the treble, the good passive isolation brings a certain unity to the whole. Consequently, the highest pitched sounds remain perceptible, but they do not make us jump.
For its part, the wind reduction option proves satisfactory in its primary objective, namely to cut off the unpleasant sound peaks of gusts. However, when activating it, a sort of constant veil is heard in the background, which is not very pleasant. To be complete, note that the Liberty 4 Pro offers an Airplane mode supposed to calibrate the noise reduction according to air pressure.
-Listen to surrounding sounds
If the noise reduction is rather correct, the mode of listening to surrounding sounds is really ordinary. Reducing the treble too much prevents vocals from sounding natural. In the same vein, the bass is a little too under-represented, which harms the good sound spatialization of what surrounds us outdoors.
It is still possible to remain alert, but it is sometimes difficult to judge the distance of a distant noise. As for conversations, the headphones will be able to help you chat quickly in an open space, without being the most suitable for a prolonged one-on-one.
Finally, the Easy Chat feature allows you to lower the music volume as soon as you speak. The idea is to be able to easily buy a baguette or exchange it with someone on the fly. A useful option that works well in a rather quiet environment. As soon as the noise increased, the headphones had difficulty sorting between our own voices and those of others.
