Review of good headphones for bus or plane passengers TaoTronics Soundliberty 97

There are a couple of budget headphone brands out there that rarely disappoint. TaoTronics is one of them.

Their new TT-BH097 true wireless earbuds come in a simple small charging case with up to 20 hours of extra juice, whereas the buds themselves pack an impressive 9-hour battery life.

Great specs continue with water resistance. Earbuds can survive complete submersion (IPX8), meaning you don’t have to worry about water damage.

Also, casual users will find their bass-forward tuning quite pleasing, with deep, rumbling low-end. The aptX audio codec also helps delivering lag-free video watching experience.

But competition is fierce around the $50 price point. Are these earbuds a worthy consideration, or should you look elsewhere? Let’s review TaoTronics Soundliberty 97 true wireless stereo earbuds to find out.

Comfort & Fit

Star Rating 4.5 Almost Perfect

Earbuds are small enough to fit most ears comfortably. Due to deeper insertion, they sit securely even during sports activities.

TaoTronics SoundLiberty 97 are relatively small earbuds. Ergonomically designed housing fits nicely into your ears without poking into ear lobes.

The only thing you feel during use is the slight pressure due to deep insertion. Ear tips completely seal off your ear canal, which helps with isolation but can also cause some discomfort. Thankfully, it isn’t as bad as it sounds.

Tips also help earbuds to provide a secure fit. Therefore, you don’t need ear fins to lock them securely. We went outside for a walk and tried to shake our head vigorously. Earbuds withstood the test with flying colors.

Noise Isolation

Star Rating 4.5 Almost Perfect

Ear tips create a perfect seal, which results in excellent passive isolation. That is great for commuters but not as much for sportspeople.

As mentioned, included tips are designed to have straight sides instead of more rounded ones. Because of that, the tip touches more surface inside your ear, sealing off more ambient noise.

While it isn’t the same as with double or triple-flanged tips, it’s still quite impressive. Commuters should find this helpful during bus/airplane rides.

Of course, active noise cancelling might be better for everyday commuting. See best noise cancelling earbuds.

In contrast, the lack of background noise could be dangerous to people who perform outdoor activities. Even without listening to music, the isolation is above average. As soon as you press play, the outside world goes away completely.

Is There Wind Noise?

Earbuds don’t protrude much, which is why they don’t produce as much noise. While walking or running outside is fine, we still can’t recommend them for cycling.

Bluetooth

Star Rating 4.0 Great

Connection with Bluetooth version 5.0 is strong, even surpassing a second brick wall. You can also use either earbud in mono mode and enjoy low latency with aptX codec.

With TaoTronics Soundliberty 97, you get a stable Bluetooth connectivity. The pairing process is straightforward. You take the buds out of the case, and they appear in the Bluetooth’s menu on your smart device.

You can use them in stereo or in mono mode, seperate from each other. That way, you still hear everything around you while extending overall battery life.

What Bluetooth Codecs They Use?

SBC, AAC, and aptX. At least that’s what it says on the website. In the developer options, we can’t choose AAC audio codec, which leads us to believe the SoundLiberty 97 don’t support it. That would be a bummer for Apple users.

Multipoint?

No, you can’t jump from one device to another without initiating the pairing process.

Is There Video Lag?

No. Thanks to aptX, you can’t tell if there’s lag. Even the SBC codec can sync up the audio quite nicely, so you don’t have to worry about that.

Battery

Star Rating 4.5 Almost Perfect

You receive a long 9-hour battery life on a single charge (8 hours and 49 minutes in our test). Another 20 hours are waiting in the case, which supports quick charging via USB-C.

The long battery life (29 hours in total) is rather impressive for the size of these buds. It manages to power them for around 9 hours before requesting a refill.

That is among the best contenders out there, albeit some can do even better (Beats PowerBeats Pro with 11 hours and Galaxy Buds+ with 13 hours).

You don’t get fancy features like Qi wireless charging with SoundLiberty 97, like with similarly priced Aukey EP-T31 and EP-T32.

Durability

Star Rating 4.5 Almost Perfect

These are very sturdy buds, able to withstand a fair amount of daily abuse. With an IPX8 rating of water resistance, earbuds themselves can even survive complete submersion.

If you need a durable pair of true wireless earbuds, these are a worthy contender. Construction is mostly plastic, but it doesn’t feel cheap. You can rest assured these will survive a couple of drops.

With a high rating of IPX8, you can splash or dunk them in water as much as you like. Sadly, you can’t use them for swimming due to Bluetooth signal limitations.

The charging case is also fully plastic, but it doesn’t feel fragile. The lid is okay, and it closes with a satisfying click.

Features

Star Rating 3.0 Good

Apart from touch controls, there are no extra features to talk about, which is fine. Nevertheless, this is still a budget product.

It’s cool to have some extra features. However, if they’re implemented poorly, it’s better not to have them at all. SoundLiberty 97 keep it simple and only provide what they can do best.

Commands via touch control are reliable and respond well. Actions are fixed, and you can’t customize them. At least there’s an option to change the volume.

The latter is extremely helpful when you don’t want to constantly reach for your phone.

Earbuds also lack a companion app or at least the option to tweak settings. But then again, for under $50, you can’t expect that much.

Controls

Play/pause – double-tap on either side

Volume control – on tap on either side

Next track – triple tap on the right side

Previous track – triple tap on the left side

Answer call – one tap on either side

End/decline call – press and hold for 2s

Summon voice assistant – press and hold on either side

Sound

Star Rating 3.5 Almost Great

TaoTronics Soundliberty 97 offer a relatively good audio quality with an emphasis on low-end. The mid-range is good, but the treble energy is somewhat missing.

Soundliberty 97 true wireless earbuds have a similar tuning as many other truly wireless earbuds in this price range.

They stay safe in their presentation, giving you a warm, rumbly bass, which is slightly boosted (but no as much as with best bass earbuds).

There’s a bit more upper bass than sub-bass, but you can still feel it when a song calls for it. Thanks to excellent isolation, you don’t lose that much low-end when using them outdoors.

Low-end from a PEEK + PU dynamic driver is punchy but not that well defined or controlled. However, for casual listening and genres like hip hop or pop, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Due to boosted bass, the midrange is warm and fairly natural. The instruments and vocals sound good, with a decent amount of detail.

The treble is where these earbuds lack a bit of sparkle. It’s there when you ask for it, but in general, there isn’t enough energy to balance out the bass.

Because of that, the presentation appears somewhat dark, without airiness that would open up the sound. Just don’t expect Hi-Res audio quality from these, and you’ll be content with their performance.

The soundstage is rather small, with most sounds happening in your head or your ears. Imaging is good, but we’ve seen better in Aukey EP-T32, which sells for a similar price.