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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want true wireless earbuds with the newest Bluetooth and real-time adaptive noise cancelling, choose Anker Soundcore Liberty 5; if you need over-ear comfort, huge battery life, and a foldable design for long trips, choose Amazon Renewed Edifier W820NB.
• Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 — biggest strength: In-ear buds with real-time Adaptive ANC 3.0, Dolby Audio, LDAC and Hi-Res Audio, plus a fast 10-minute charge that returns 5 hours of playtime.
• Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 — biggest trade-off: It's a true wireless bud, so the battery ceiling is lower than an over-ear can, and the 48-hour figure only holds in normal mode without ANC.
• Amazon Renewed Edifier W820NB — biggest strength: Over-ear design with up to 88 hours of playback (49 with ANC), a rated -49 dB hybrid ANC, and fast charging that gives 15 hours from 15 minutes.
• Amazon Renewed Edifier W820NB — biggest trade-off: It's a renewed unit with a 90-day limited warranty, and its controls are physical buttons plus an app rather than touch.
• Who each is for: Pick the Liberty 5 if you want pocketable earbuds with LDAC and adaptive ANC; pick the Edifier W820NB if you want over-ear comfort, marathon battery life and a lower-drama ownership decision on a renewed unit.
The Liberty 5 is a true wireless earbud, but it's not a stripped-down one. It's the first soundcore earbud line with Dolby Audio, and it carries LDAC and Hi-Res Audio on top of that, so it can handle high-resolution streams rather than just standard Bluetooth audio. Inside is a 9.2 mm dynamic driver with a 20 Hz–40 kHz frequency range, and soundcore pairs that with wool paper diaphragms and bass-enhancing tubes for a balanced, detail-forward tuning rather than a bass-only signature.
The noise cancelling story is where Anker has clearly spent its effort. ANC 3.0 is described as reducing human voices twice as effectively as the Liberty 4 NC, and the adaptive algorithm re-adjusts every 0.3 seconds as your surroundings shift. If you ride trains or subways and the thing that bothers you most is other people talking, that's the specific problem this design targets. There's also transparency mode through the dual-mic setup, which matters when you need to hear a platform announcement without pulling a bud out.
Battery life is honest rather than spectacular: up to 12 hours per charge and 48 hours total in normal mode, dropping to 8 hours per charge and 32 hours total with ANC on. A 10-minute top-up buys 5 hours, which is the number I'd actually care about on a rushed morning. Connectivity is Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint, so it can hold two devices at once, and the box includes six ear tip sizes (XXS through XL, with M pre-installed) — worth noting, because a proper seal is what makes in-ear ANC work at all. HearID 4.0 handles the personalization side through the app.
Who should buy it: commuters who want one small case in a pocket, people who stream hi-res audio and specifically want LDAC, and anyone who takes a lot of calls — six mics with AI noise cancellation and a wind-resistant algorithm is a serious call setup. Who should skip it: if you hate things inside your ears, or you need multi-day battery without ever thinking about a charger, this isn't the shape for you.
The Edifier W820NB Plus Gen 2 is the opposite philosophy: an over-ear headphone built around endurance and comfort. Edifier rates it at up to 88 hours of continuous use, or 49 hours with ANC engaged — a figure that makes the earbud numbers above look small. Fast charging is genuinely quick here too: 15 minutes of charging returns 15 hours of playback, which is the kind of ratio that saves a trip when you forgot to plug in the night before.
The ANC is a hybrid system rated at -49 dB, and Edifier gives you multiple modes you can flip through with physical buttons rather than touch gestures. The EDIFIER ConneX app adds scenario presets for sport, office and travel, plus EQ customization. That button-first approach is a real design choice, not a downgrade — buttons work with gloves and don't misfire when you adjust the headphones on your head. Spatial sound is included, and there's a volume guard feature that lets you cap your own maximum listening level, which I like as a practical touch for long sessions.
Physically, these are over-ear with memory foam cushions and a foldable, lightweight body that's meant to collapse into a bag. Bluetooth is listed at version 6.1 with a 30-meter range, notably wider than the 10 meters of the Liberty 5. The driver is dynamic with a 20 Hz–40 kHz range. Frequency response matches the Anker on paper, but the delivery is fundamentally different: an over-ear cup seals around your ear rather than inside it, which changes both comfort over hours and how much passive isolation you get before ANC even switches on.
The honest caveat is the "Renewed" part. This is a renewed unit carrying a 90-day limited warranty, versus the 18-month warranty description on the Anker. That's the trade you're making for the over-ear form factor. Who should buy it: remote workers on long calls, travelers who want one charge to cover a multi-day trip, and anyone who finds earbuds fatiguing after an hour. Who should skip it: if you need buds that vanish into a jeans pocket, or you want the longest possible warranty coverage.
• Best for battery life → Amazon Renewed Edifier W820NB. Up to 88 hours (49 with ANC) versus 48 hours total on the Liberty 5 in normal mode.
• Best for fast top-ups → Amazon Renewed Edifier W820NB on raw ratio (15 min = 15 hrs), but Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 is the more practical pocket option (10 min = 5 hrs).
• Best for commuting in noisy crowds → Anker Soundcore Liberty 5, because ANC 3.0 is specifically tuned to cut human voices and re-adapts every 0.3 seconds.
• Best for hi-res streaming → Both support LDAC, but the Liberty 5 adds Dolby Audio and Hi-Res Audio certification on top, which matters if you watch movies as much as you listen to music.
• Best for calls → Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 on mic count (six mics, AI noise cancellation, wind-resistant algorithm), though the Edifier's AI voice isolation is built for the same job.
• Best for all-day comfort → Amazon Renewed Edifier W820NB. Memory foam over-ear cushions and a foldable frame beat in-ear buds for long sessions.
• Best for wireless freedom around the house → Amazon Renewed Edifier W820NB, with a listed 30-meter Bluetooth range against 10 meters.
• Best for warranty peace of mind → Anker Soundcore Liberty 5, with an 18-month warranty description versus 90 days limited on the renewed Edifier.
I'd buy the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5. In my opinion, the combination of LDAC, Hi-Res Audio, Dolby Audio, real-time adaptive ANC and Bluetooth 5.4 multipoint in a pocketable bud is the more complete package for daily commuting and calls, and the 18-month warranty description is the deciding factor over a renewed unit with 90 days of coverage. I'd only switch to the Amazon Renewed Edifier W820NB if over-ear comfort and multi-day battery are non-negotiable for me — in that case its 88-hour rating and foldable design win outright. Either way, check the current price on Amazon before you commit, since the two sit in different ownership categories.
FAQ
what is ldac headphones
what is ldac support in headphones
"LDAC support" means the headphones can receive an LDAC-encoded stream, but you also need a source device — phone, player or transmitter — that can send LDAC for it to actually engage. If either end of the chain doesn't support it, the connection falls back to a standard codec.
what is ldac codec in headphones
The LDAC codec is the specific encoding method used to compress and send audio over Bluetooth at higher bitrates than baseline codecs. In practice, it's the reason a headphone can be marketed as hi-res capable, and it's the feature both the Liberty 5 and the W820NB share.
what is ldac sony headphones
LDAC was developed by Sony as a high-resolution Bluetooth codec, which is why it's often associated with Sony headphones. It isn't exclusive to Sony hardware, though — other brands license it, including both products compared here.
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