Available from Amazon for £125
House of Marley are a brand who produce all of there audio products from sustainably sourced materials and the latest creation the liberate air truly wireless earphones. They have been made from a combo of bamboo, FSC certified wood, recycled aluminium, plastic and fabrics. So these who are eco- friendly this company has to be considered for you. However, let’s take a closer look at the liberate air true wireless.
House of Marley has done a really good job on the design of these earphones they look really stylish the buds are a combo of bamboo and black rubberized material. The buds use the bamboo on the outer housings and are mainly used to just look good but with the curved grooves on the front of the buds that is where you tap to bring the likes of your smartphone assistant, take calls and change tracks the only thing you are not able to do is to change the volume without your phone.
The recycled products are not just saved for the buds as they come with a black charging case that has used recycled plastic and recycled fabric. The case is also a really nice design that has a nice strip of faux leather followed a small aluminium clasp with the House of Marley logo on it. This clasp helps you open the case with ease. On the front of the case, you have the 4 LED lights which indicate the battery life.
On the back of the case, you have the USB-C charging port covered with a rubber cover and you also have a button that will force pairing mode. However, this was not something I needed to us. In addition to the case and earphones, you get a quick set-up guide, USB-C and 2 pairs of ear tips if you require a different size.
Moving back to the buds they are IPX4 rated meaning they are water-resistant so if your travelling to work in the rain or working hard in the gym these buds will not let you down.
As mentioned earlier in this review the buds have a curved groove which is where you have the controls such as voice assistant and that can be prompted by tapping twice on the left bud and you tap twice on the right bud you can play and pause your music or videos your watching. Last but not least if you want to go back to a song tap 3 times on the left bud and tap 3 times on the right to move to the next track. To take a call tap twice on the right earbud and to cancel a call tap the left bud twice. This does take a bit of time to remember everything but once you do it quite easy to do.
If you want to transfer all the controls to one bud you can by listening in mono mode. This mode also transfers all the sound into one bud which is great if you just want to use one bud. This could be useful when travelling down a busy road and you want to concentrate on your surroundings.
When you take these buds out for the first time they start pairing mode instantly and then when testing these the second I opened the case and got them out they were paired every time.
My one negative of these buds are the fact if you want to change the volume get your phone out or use the smart assistant. This is a little disappointing considering the cost they are over £100 and I have reviewed buds in the £50 mark that have all the controls including the volume seems like a trick missed by House of Marley.
Moving on to how they sound and these are very bassy now if your like me and listen to a lot of Youtube videos and the sound is very loud and to much echo. These are better for listening to music but am just not a massive fan of the sound quality they are to bottom-heavy and this really affects the music quality. I found listening to “Dreamlover by Mariah Carey” the higher frequencies in this song did not hit every time.
Now if you listen to “Boasty by Wiley” this is the type of music these buds are made for they are punchy and lively and the vocals of Sean Paul sound ace.
Battery wise you get 9 hours playtime and 32 hours of playtime with the case which is quite good and did cover me for the weekly commute and found I only charged the case once a week. Bluetooth on these buds are version 5.0 which you very rarely get any cut-outs which every consumer would be happy about.
Overall, these buds look really great and if your looking for the eco-friendly design your be happy. However, If the sound is more important I feel the bass does not do these any favours unless your listening to grime artists like Stormzy or Wiley you will enjoy these but for anything a bit more pop or RnB with a more natural sound profile you won’t like these.
I also find it very surprising for a pair of buds over £100 mark the volume control falls to your phone or smartphone assistant. I could get used to Seri changing my volume but am a little old fashioned and would like to do this myself on the bud.
Personally, I feel there are much better buds on the market at this price range but I do like the style and design and the battery life is very good and at 9 hours per use or 32 hours with the case charge they compete up with the best buds in their price range. So you’re looking for the eco- friendly buds to join you on your extinction rebellion match these are a great find and your eco friends will give you a pat on the back. However, considering most of us buy earphones for the sound quality the bass just lets these down but if you like bassy songs give these a shot.