Wireless earbuds are seemingly all the rage right now. Every manufacturer has their own version, and there are companies out there that have been created just to cash in on the new tech trend. Libratone aren’t one of them. They’ve a long, Danish history in wireless speakers and more traditional headphones. So of course, already being in the audio game, they’d make their own set. And WOW, do they look pretty spectacular.
The Libratone Track Air+ headphones look very sleek with a wing type shape coming from the bottom of them. They use rubber earbuds to ensure some decent noise isolation from the outside world, and there are a number of sizes to choose from for optimal comfort. One key feature here is that the Libratone Track Air+ headphones use smart noise-cancelling technology too where as the standard Track Air headphones don’t. This is a huge bonus if you love uninterupted music, or if you’re like me who gets train to work every morning, the droning noise of the track is hugely reduced.
There are two touch buttons on either headphone, which are small and quite hard to get right if you’re not used to where to find it. Being touch sensitive and flush to the earbuds don’t help either. Two taps on the left earbud switched between play/pause, and the right changed the noise cancelling technology from ambient to manual. Notice I mentioned smart noise cancelling earlier – this gives users to chance to set their noise cancellation manually, or for the headphones to record any ambient noise and set that in place instead.
To be honest though, the noise cancelling isn’t the best and is a far cry from that of over-ear headphones like the Bose QC35 IIs. There’s also a Wear Detect sensor, which detects when you remove the earbuds and shuts off the music. This will save you precious battery in the long run. There’s a six hour battery for the earbuds, and 24-hours worth of battery for the case, which will give you three fresh charges.
Setup was simple enough, but does require the Libratone app which is available on iOS and Android. We’re using a Google Pixel 4 XL here for this review. I logged in using Facebook, though you can set up a separate account if desired. As soon as I logged in, the app detected the headphones right away and added it as a tile on the homescreen. Note that you can control other Libratone devices using the same app like their wireless speakers.
I was prompted to hit the pairing button just underneath the indicator light on the case, which made the white light rapidly flash, and clicked next on the app. I was then told to first pair the left earbud from my Bluetooth menu, which followed by my phone automatically pairing to the right earbud. And this is where it hung for a while and nothing seemed to happen other than my phone telling me it was “Pairing…” to the headphones. I restarted the app, went through the steps again and it worked.
In terms of audio quality, the Libratone Track Air+ are missing some pretty essential mid-range frequencies. Generally speaking, the upper tones are all nice and clear. Snare drum hits are pretty powerful, while vocals shine through over the top of music. Slash’s solo at the end of November Rain mixed in with Axel Roses cries were well separated. And the Beastie Boys’ Intergalactic bass line once it drops in the intro comes in strong. But it almost feels as if the low and high frequencies muddy the mid-tones. Vocals feel very sharp, especially at higher volumes and aren’t as full sounding compared to other wireless earbuds on the market. There’s presets for the EQ as well, in which we were switchign between Neutral and Bass Lift. Personally though, Bass Lift here is the best for sure.
The case isn’t bad and is one of the smallest wireless headphone cases on the market. It unfortunately lacks some refinement that we’ve seen from true wireless headphones of late like the JBL True 120 TWS. It’s made from plastic with a soft to touch coating, and there doesn’t seem to be much magnetic force to seal for the door. It’s enough to keep it closed at least, but maybe not enough to keep it sealed if dropped.
The headphones themselves sit inside very nicely and secured with magnets though. There is a single indicator light to tell us how much charge is left in the case, but this is positioned on the inside and will flash when charging, or show a solid white light when it’s charging the earbuds.
The Libratone Track Air+ headphones are an alright pair of earbuds, but they’re not mind blowing. There’s some decent clarity to your music, and for specific genres like Classical or even maybe some Jazz, this could work quite well. Even the bass is thumpy enough to satisfy bass heads. But if you’re wanting a little more mid-range detail, there are other headphones on the market that can satisfy your needs. For more information, then head over to the Libratone website.
