Can $100 earbuds sound better than $300 earbuds? We ran tests to find out.

If you want wireless earbuds that sound great, you might think you need to spend hundreds of dollars on premium earbuds, but is that really true? We recently tested and reviewed the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 ($129.99 at Amazon) earbuds, and our sound quality tests might surprise you, especially when compared to earbuds that cost hundreds of dollars more such as the Sony WF-1000XM5 ($298 at Amazon).

MDAQS test results

The first test we use to evaluate the sound quality performance of earbuds is the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Score (MDAQS) algorithm. This test rates sound quality on a scale from 1-5, based on the listening preferences from a study of hundreds of people. If a product receives a score of 5, that means that most people will enjoy the way it sounds. With a 4.7, the Soundcore Liberty 5 earbuds pass this test with flying colors. So, what about the Sony WF-1000XM5?

With an Overall score of 4.9, the Sony WF-1000XM5 unsurprisingly perform well in this test. That said, comparing a 4.9 to a 4.7 is not a big difference, and means your preferred sound will mostly come down to personal preferences in this head-to-head.

Frequency response

We measure the frequency response of products to see how much emphasis they place on bass, mids, or treble. Compared to our SoundGuys Curve, we can see that the Liberty 5 have more emphasis on bass below 150Hz, and on treble from 4-8kHz. They have a noticeable dip around 200Hz, which leaves the fundamental notes in some vocals and piano parts sounding quieter than they should. In comparison, the Sony WF-1000XM5 place more emphasis on mids, though they still amplify bass more than our curve.

Customizing the sound

While it’s important for earbuds to sound good out of the box, it’s also very helpful if they include a companion app with a custom equalizer to tweak the sound. Thankfully, the Liberty 5 have a ton of sound customization features in the Soundcore app.

The HearID Sound Test measures and compensates for any hearing loss you might have. On top of that, you can take the Preference Test, which builds an EQ profile suitable to your preferred amount of bass, mids, and treble. If you still aren’t happy with how the earbuds sound, you can try out one of the dozens of EQ presets, or build your own using the eight-band custom equalizer. You can also enable the Dolby Sound feature to add spatial audio effects to any sound source.

These features go toe-to-toe with the Sony WF-1000XM5. In the Sony Sound Connect app, you’ll find a custom equalizer, as well as Sony 360 Reality Audio, though the latter is limited to supported streaming services.

Streaming quality

A key component of attaining good sound quality with wireless earbuds is to ensure the earbuds support high-res streaming. The Liberty 5 connect over the latest Bluetooth 5.4, with support for SBC, AAC, and LDAC. This is the same array of codec support that the Sony WF-1000XM5 has, though the Sony earbuds use the slightly older Bluetooth 5.3 technology. In my time testing both, neither had any connection issues.

Verdict

So do the Soundcore Liberty 5 have better sound quality than the Sony WF-1000XM5? Maybe not, but it’s closer than you might expect. Ultimately, your decision here comes down to your personal sound preferences. According to our testing, the XM5 have a slight edge out of the box, but the Liberty 5 have enough features and customization to make up for that. If you really want exceptional sound quality without breaking the bank, we recommend you check out the Creative Aurvana Ace Mimi or the Nothing Ear.