escape the worlds chaos—small bird track+ noise canceling headphones

Preface ​

Music and exercise have always been a part of my life. When I run, I always have my headphones on. My body races down the road while my spirit soars in the music. As everyone knows, with the increasing awareness of health, activities like running and fitness are becoming more popular, but the safety risks associated with exercise are also becoming more prominent. To address these issues, besides enhancing personal awareness and abilities, technology also plays a significant role. Today, I want to introduce a product that combines quality and user experience—the Libratone Track+ Smart Noise-Canceling Headphones.

To be honest, this is the first time I've heard of the Libratone brand. After some research, I found out that it's a foreign brand. It was established in 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The brand name is derived from the combination of the words 'liberty' and 'tone,' aiming to liberate sound and provide users with a better experience.

Product Information

Brand and Model: Libratone Track+

Wearing Style: In-ear

Connection Type: Bluetooth

Noise-Canceling Mode: Smart Digital

Maximum Noise Reduction: Max. 23dB

Battery Life: 1 hour of charging, 8 hours of use

Others: 28 grams, IPX4 waterproof, silicone material

Unboxing and Appearance

Let's first take a look at the product's outer packaging. The white box features the brand logo, product photo, and model information on the front. The top right corner combines the Libratone name with a bird graphic to design the brand logo.

The back is labeled in English with the main features and characteristics of the product, with Chinese annotations. The bottom right corner notes that the product has received Apple MFi certification, meaning it fully supports Apple devices.

The inner box design is very simple and plain, all black with only a bird logo in the center.

Opening the lid reveals our main character today. The first impression is its slender body and elegant curves, with each part perfectly embedded in the specially designed box.

A small tab at the top reveals a hidden layer when pulled. The remaining accessories of the headphones are arranged here.

The complete set includes: the main headphones (with one pair of ear tips), three pairs of spare ear tips, one pair of ear wings, a charging cable, and a manual.

The entire headphone weighs 27 grams, which is significantly lighter than most similar products on the market.

To ensure user comfort, the headphones use medical-grade liquid silicone material, which is delicate and soft.

Both the headphones and the battery have 'L' and 'R' markings to distinguish left and right.

Based on user habits, the right side of the headphones has volume up, volume down, play, and pause buttons.

Additionally, the bottom right side has a data cable port for charging and other uses.

The power button is located at the bottom left side of the headphones, which is the only button on the left side.

Product Testing

For the first use, you need to connect the device to your phone. Open your phone settings - Bluetooth, press and hold the power button for more than 5 seconds. The Libratone TRACK+ device will appear under other devices. Click it to show it's connected, and your phone will be connected to the headphones. During this process, a prompt will appear, which is the dedicated software for the headphones. It's important to download it.

This product focuses on smart noise-canceling, so many settings are done through the companion app. Let's see what unique surprises the app brings us.

Open the app and first connect and bind the headphones to the software by following the prompts. Once successfully bound, the headphone icon will appear on the homepage.

The software collaborates with multiple media platforms, providing links to popular audio platforms like Douban FM, Ximalaya, Baidu Music, Uncle Kai's Storytelling, and online radio, allowing you to use them directly without downloading additional software.

The settings are arranged in the top right corner of the homepage, with only a few related options.

Clicking the headphone icon on the homepage reveals the most important settings (which can only be accessed when the headphones are connected to the phone).

Upon opening, we enter a new interface where the first thing we see is the noise-canceling system of the product. It's easy to see that it is divided into manual and smart adjustments. This is not difficult to understand. Manual adjustment allows the user to adjust the noise-canceling level according to the surrounding environment to achieve the desired effect. The software defaults to four levels:

LV1, Environmental Awareness (+6dB). This allows you to perceive the surrounding environment while listening to music, ensuring normal communication with others and heightened alertness. Suitable for places like homes and offices where occasional communication is needed.

LV2, Basic Noise-Canceling (0dB). This mode filters out some wind noise or slight external noise, suitable for relatively quiet places like libraries and cafes.

LV3, Intermediate Noise-Canceling (-12dB). This significantly reduces external noise, allowing you to hear music clearly even in noisy environments, suitable for roads, gyms, and other noisy places.

LV4, Advanced Noise-Canceling (-20dB). This maximizes the filtering of external noise, allowing you to be completely immersed in music, suitable for subways, buses, and stadiums.

Smart adjustment allows the system to automatically adjust the noise-canceling level according to changes in the surrounding environment, letting users enjoy music without worries. I did a small experiment: listening to music at home on a quiet weekend, I turned on the smart adjustment mode, and the noise-canceling showed 0dB. Using another phone, I played music through the speaker at 80% volume, 60 cm away from the headphones. After a few seconds, the noise-canceling showed -3dB, with high notes showing -9dB. Turning off the speaker, it returned to 0dB after a few seconds. This is smart adjustment, which essentially has environmental awareness. This is the core technology and one of the biggest selling points of this product.

Additionally, there is another setting in the headphone interface for individual settings, including sound effects, timed shutdown, and battery display.

For headphones, regardless of their stylish appearance or lightweight design, sound quality is their soul and value. Let's focus on its performance in this aspect.

Test Environment: Home

Noise-Canceling Mode: LV4, Advanced Noise-Canceling (-20dB)

Sound Effect Mode: Normal Mode

Player Volume: 60%

Only in an extremely quiet state can you capture every nuance of the product's performance and better distinguish its quality.

Bass: Testing bass with songs by Tsai Chin and Jang Yoon Jeong is perfect, especially 'The Ferry' and 'Zhuoma,' which have almost become standard for audio product testing. In terms of bass, the product performs well but not outstanding. The sound is deep but not heavy, clean but lacks depth. The vocals don't have that gripping feeling, but in terms of instruments, especially guitars, drums, and various DJ music, it performs exceptionally well, with great elasticity, vibrating your eardrums, making you want to dance.

Midrange: I chose songs by Liao Changyong and Jang Yoon Jeong. The vocals are clear and pure, with strong analytical power for each note and vocal, clear and natural. Whether male or female vocals, the sense of weight and crispness are vividly displayed, especially in terms of instruments, where the advantages are particularly prominent, which is my most satisfying aspect.

Treble: I chose Vitas' 'Dedication' and 'Opera No. 2.' Products that can handle these songs usually perform well. The sound is long and distant, with the treble rising without breaking, and it feels like it wants to go higher without any effort. However, when combining treble with bass instruments, the bass can't keep up, and the performance is not transparent enough. Especially when diving, the sound is slightly hoarse, with a hint of breaking.

Another point worth mentioning is that the product is more suitable for use in quiet or light exercise conditions. When running, the friction between the headphones and the body and the up-and-down movement of the headphones can cause the 'stethoscope effect,' despite the manufacturer's efforts to minimize this drawback by using medical-grade liquid silicone material. This is a common issue with in-ear headphones.

I used the headphones for about five and a half hours while running and cycling in the morning at 70% volume, and the headphones had about 30% battery left. The theoretical 8-hour battery life should be achievable.

The headphones also support calls and use a dual-microphone mode, further improving call quality. The answer and hang-up button is the same as the play/pause button.

Summary and Suggestions

Overall, this product ranks among the top in similar products in terms of weight and sound quality, especially with its 27-gram weight, good mid-range and high-range performance, and excellent smart noise-canceling technology. However, its bass depth, 'stethoscope effect,' and relatively high price are drawbacks. The 1500 yuan price tag might make many people consider other more well-known brands. Additionally, it would be better if a portable bag were included.