Noise-Cancelling TaoTronics SoundLiberty 94 Truly Wireless Headphones [Review]

The TaoTronics SoundLiberty 94 Genuinely Wireless headphones are truly wireless noise cancelling headphones. They’re well-made, lightweight, and do an excellent job of filtering out background noise, even in noisy areas. On mobile devices, they have a pretty comprehensive control structure and low latency. Unfortunately, their continuous battery life isn’t particularly lengthy, and some users may be turned off by the fact that their dark, boomy sound profile can’t be customised.

Style

The TaoTronics SoundLiberty 94 are truly wireless headphones with a traditional appearance. Unlike the gold plastic accents on the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 79 Truly Wireless, they have a compact body constructed of matte-finish plastic with no evident branding or flamboyant ornamentation.

Comfort

These headphones are a good deal of fun to wear. They’re comfortable to wear and don’t protrude from your ears. While they don’t put too much strain on your ear canal, their deep in-ear fit may not be suitable for everyone. If you’re searching for genuinely wireless headphones with a less obtrusive in-ear fit, check out the Mpow X5 Truly Wireless, which has a similar design.

Controls

The touch-sensitive control scheme on the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 94 is excellent. It largely relies on multi-touch inputs, but it’s still rather simple to use in general, thanks to little indents on the buds’ faces that help you find the controls. With a single, double, or triple tap on the right bud, you can boost volume, pause and play media, and skip tracks. You can also use it to activate your phone’s voice assistant by tapping and holding it. The left bud works in a similar way, with multi-tap inputs allowing you to reduce volume, turn the ambient mode on and off, and skip to previous tracks. The ANC function of the headphones is activated by tapping and holding this bud. Except for stopping and playing media and skipping tracks, the controls are responsive and provide audible feedback for most inputs.

Case

These headphones come with a decent carrying case. It’s built of durable plastic and includes four LED lights that show how much battery life is left. It’s a little taller than the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 79 Truly Wireless case, but it has magnets in the cradles to keep the buds in place.

Build Quality

The TaoTronics SoundLiberty 94 is a sturdy device. They’re composed of tough, solid plastic and appear to be able to withstand a few drops and bumps. They’re also IPX5 rated for water resistance, though we don’t test for it right now. Unfortunately, their ear tips are thin and prone to tearing.

Stability

TaoTronics SoundLiberty 94 headphones provide a secure fit. They don’t feature stability fins, but their lightweight design and deep in-ear fit help them stay in place well. Even during relatively strong workouts, if you’ve achieved a good seal with the given tips, they shouldn’t fall out.

Sound Profile

The SoundLiberty 94 from TaoTronics has a dark, bass-heavy sound profile. Their booming bass range works well in genres like EDM and hip-hop, but it can muddle voices and lead instruments. Because of its uneven, underemphasized treble range, some higher-pitched harmonics, such as cymbals or sibilants, might sound dull and lispy. You can’t modify their sound profile to your liking because they don’t have a companion app or built-in presets.

Bass Accuracy

The bass accuracy of the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 94 is adequate. In genres like EDM or hip-hop, their somewhat underemphasized low-bass response might result in a modest loss of thud and rumble. Their over-emphasis on the mid- and high-bass ranges adds a lot of punch and boominess, but it can make certain mixes seem muddy.

Mid Accuracy

The precision in the middle is excellent. While the overemphasised low-mid range can make vocals and lead instruments seem muddy and congested, the neutral mid and high-mids should keep them prominent and detailed in the mix.

Treble Accuracy

The treble precision of these in-ears is terrible. The transition from low to mid-treble can obscure voices and lead instruments, while higher-pitched harmonics such as sibilants and cymbals have a dull, lispy character.

Peaks/Dips

The performance of the peaks and dips is satisfactory. The protracted bass bump gives mixes a boomy, muddy quality, and it clutters voices and lead instruments. Vocals and lead instruments are pushed to the rear of the mix by a dip in the mid-mids. The low-to-mid-treble range’s alternating peak and abrupt decline makes some upper notes seem harsh and dulls sibilants and cymbals.

Imaging

The stereo image capability of the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 94 is amazing. Their weighted group delay is completely below audibility, producing in tight bass and transparent treble. The phase, frequency, and amplitude responses of the L/R drivers are also well-matched, ensuring that items such as voices and footfall are precisely placed inside the stereo image. However, these findings are just applicable to our test unit, and your own experience may differ.

Passive Soundstage

These headphones, like most closed-back in-ears, have a horrible passive soundstage. The outer ear’s interaction is critical for producing an open, spacious listening experience. Sound is more likely to be interpreted as originating from inside your head rather than speakers placed around you since they bypass any connection with the outer ear.

Noise Isolation

The noise isolation capability is outstanding. Their active noise cancellation (ANC) mechanism is especially effective in the bass range, where it aids the headphones in filtering out sounds like bus or jet engines. While its ANC technology offers little to increase their passive noise isolation capabilities in the mid and treble range, they nevertheless perform a fantastic job of blocking out background chatter and the high-pitched hum of an air conditioner.

Leakage

The audio leakage performance of the TaoTronics SoundLiberty 94 is excellent. Even in relatively peaceful surroundings, you should be able to listen to audio at high volumes without disturbing those around you.

Recording Quality

The recording quality of the built-in microphone is adequate. Speech that has been recorded should sound natural and free of distortion, albeit it may sound thin and muted.

Noise Handling

The noise management capabilities of the inbuilt microphone is mediocre. Even in fairly loud or packed surroundings, people on the other end of the line may have difficulty understanding you.

Battery

The battery life of these headphones is adequate. They deliver just under four hours of continuous listening duration with its noise-canceling technology turned on, which falls short of the promised figure of five hours. Turning off the ANC system, according to the manufacturer, extends the battery life to eight hours, though we didn’t test this. Their case should provide enough extra power for three full charges, so if you leave them in their case to charge every now and again, they should last you the entire workday. You can only listen to content from one bud at a time while the other charges, but you will lose access to several onboard settings. They also have an auto-off timer, unlike the Mpow X6 Truly Wireless, to assist save battery life while not in use.

Bluetooth

The TaoTronics SoundLiberty 94 Bluetooth connectivity is adequate. They have Bluetooth 5.1, but no NFC or multi-device pairing, which isn’t uncommon for headphones in this price range. While they have a significant latency on PCs, they have a very low latency on Android and iOS mobile devices, which is ideal for watching movies or streaming media. However, because different apps and devices compensate for audio latency in different ways, your actual experience may differ.

Pros and Cons

Verdict

The TaoTronics SoundLiberty 94 are suitable for a variety of applications. Their small size and light weight make them ideal for exercises, and their excellent noise isolation should help you stay focused whether you’re listening to music on the bus or on a video chat at work. Unfortunately, you can’t change their dark, bass-heavy sound profile to your taste with an EQ or built-in presets, so they might not be the ideal solution for neutral sound. Their high latency on PC renders them unsuitable for gaming, despite their minimal latency on Android and iOS devices.