Review Libratone Track Air+ 2: What is a wireless headset with a 'minimalist' experience?

Referring to the Libratone brand, perhaps many audio players "speaker system" will certainly know the quality speakers that this manufacturer brings to users such as Libratone Bird, Zipp 2 or Zipp Mini 2.

In addition to bluetooth speakers that have appeared on the market for a long time, Libratone has also entered the market of true-wireless wireless headphones in the past few years. One of Libratone's most successful wireless headphones is the Libratone Track Air+. This headset was launched in August 2019, outstanding with advantages to compact design, high quality finishing, equipped with many attractive features for users such as active noise cancellation ANC, quality Good sound and impressive battery life.

Track Air+ is Libratone's successful wireless headset at the time of launch in 2019

Successor to the Track Air+, Libratone has recently launched the Track Air+ 2. This is a pretty powerful upgrade over the previous Track Air+ version, while retaining the advantages that made the name famous. for Libratone's line of wireless headphones.

Libratone Track Air+ 2 launched to users, the successor to Track Air+ launched in 2019 before

In the sub-$300 price segment, Air+ 2 offers many advantages that we will cover in this article

The included accessories are relatively complete: USB-C charging cable and 2 earphone tips of different sizes

2 ear tips included so that users can change depending on the size of each person's ears

Design signature: Small, compact and lightweight, premium finish

Design is one of the advantages that makes us feel impressed with the Track Air+ 2 headphones. This is not only the advantage of this year's Track Air+ 2 version, but from previous generations, the charging case of the ear line. Libratone wireless listening always follows the trend of small, compact and minimalist, completely different from many other product lines in the same segment such as Sony WF-1000XM3, a wireless headset that has an extremely 'clumsy' body quiet'.

Libratone Track Air+ 2 is an extremely compact and lightweight headset, true to the style of true-wireless headphones.

According to the manufacturer's announcement, Track Air + 2 has a charging case weight of only 44g and each headset is only 5.5g

The compact design of the Track Air+ 2 makes it easy for users to take it anywhere and wear it comfortably on their ears.

The finishing ability of the Libratone Track Air+ 2 is very good, even though it is only made of plastic. The joints and hinges do not appear to be loose. The outer charging case is also designed with a very good anti-scratch and anti-scratch matte finish

Compared with AirPods Pro, Track Air + 2 has a more compact design, not "fat" and of course, the outer finishing material eats away AirPods Pro. The charging case of all AirPods models is glossy plastic and extremely easy to scratch and stain

The design of each earpiece of the Track Air + 2 has not changed too much compared to its predecessor, still a characteristic angular design, the overall size is not much larger than AirPods Pro. The stem of the headset is also designed in a matte finish. This is also the area where Libratone's signature bird logo is placed

One point that I feel quite like on the Track Air + 2 is that the headset has up to 3 LEDs: a light in the charging port indicates whether the battery is full or not at the charging port and 2 lights on the inside indicate the battery life of each ear. listen. In the previous generation of Air +, there was only one LED inside the charging case

Wearing feeling: Comfortable and sturdy

It will depend on each person which type of wireless headset they will prefer to wear. For me personally, a user who has worn AirPods for many years, the design of the Track Air+ 2 did not take me long to get used to. Track Air + 2's default earbud fits snugly into the ear, so there's no need to replace another tip.

The Track Air+ 2's headphone design is compact and completely comfortable on the ear

The housing design of the Track Air + 2 fits snugly on the roof of the ear, so it is very firmly worn, even when exercising, users do not need to worry about whether the headset will fall out or not.

Track Air + 2 has been upgraded from IPX4 water and dust resistance standard to IP54, ie adding dust resistance, while water resistance remains the same, showing that Track Air + 2 has a water and dust resistance index. More advanced than most wireless headphones in the same segment on the market

Noise Cancellation: Not the Best, but Extremely Smart

This can be considered as one of the advantages we appreciate in Libratone Track Air+ 2. The product is equipped with ANC active noise cancellation technology with noise cancellation up to 30dB, of course not high-end. or the best at the moment, but the factor that makes Track Air + 2 so popular with users comes from the automatic noise cancellation feature based on the outside environment. That is, users do not need to do anything, just enable this mode to be able to use it comfortably.

Track Air + 2 has 3 noise cancellation modes: crosstalk (transparency mode), automatic (comfort mode) and custom (adjustable mode).

Automatic noise cancellation mode is the mode that I use most often because in this mode, the headset will automatically and continuously analyze the environment sound to activate the most suitable noise cancellation mode. For general users, this is the only mode that users need, just turn it on and use it, no need to customize much.

The noise resistance of the Track Air + 2 is also relatively good, the environmental noises with repeated frequencies such as wind, fan or vehicle noise are very well eliminated. While the mid and high tones such as human voices, keyboard and mouse sounds are partially eliminated, if the music is turned on, it will no longer be heard clearly.

To use noise canceling modes, users need to pair with a smartphone (Android / iOS) via the Libratone application (can be downloaded from Play Store or App Store).

Libratone Track Air + 2 has a decent mic quality. With 2 recording mics placed on both sides of the headset, the ambient sound is partially filtered for better conversation quality. However, according to our assessment, the very good noise cancellation effect of Track Air + 2 also partly makes the voice of the caller a bit cloudy and less clear.

Sound quality: Just good enough to match market music

Let's not talk about the technologies that Libratone equips with Track Air + 2, being a market player quite a lot as well as exciting genres, Track Air + 2 gives a slightly "flat" sound quality (almost flat in different regions). low, mid and high range). This default sound quality of Track Air + 2 when listening to light music, non-vocal music genres such as Instrumental, Psychedelic or Ambient Trance gives a rather "chill" feeling.

With Pop music with many natural vocals, the mid range of the Track Air + 2 is a bit "submerged" compared to other bands, but still gives a clear vocal voice with a decent level of detail. With good studio-processed tracks, it won't be a big problem, but with poor studio-processed tracks, the mid range will be almost overwhelmed by the bass and treble bands and less prominent. . However, with heavily invested market music genres, the possibility of a poorly processed track is very low.

Compared to the first generation, the bass has been slightly improved to suit the tastes of the market, but to have the best experience when listening to vibrant EDM music, listeners need to adjust a bit. bit inside the Libratone app. And this is also the time when users realize they cannot customize the EQ of the headset.

The Libratone application only has exactly 3 preset presets for users to use: Extra Bass (increase bass), Neutral (default) and Enhanced Treble (increase treble), there is no item to adjust EQ individually.

This is probably a drawback compared to other headphones on the market because Libratone does not provide detailed EQ adjustment for each tonal range, instead there are only 3 default presets. However, for ordinary users with the need to listen to music on the market, these 3 presets are still quite enough for most music listening needs.

Track Air + 2 meets the needs of listening to modern market songs

According to Libratone, the Track Air+ 2 is equipped with a high-end QCC5141 Bluetooth controller chip, supporting Bluetooth 5.2. In addition to the SBC and AAC codecs, the Track Air+ 2 also supports the aptX Adaptive codec - a codec that automatically adjusts the bitrate based on the source quality.

During the experience, Track Air + 2 rarely encountered unstable connection, there was only one minus point that made me not very satisfied, that was, the headset could not connect 2 or more devices at the same time. Users who want to switch to another device to listen will be forced to disconnect the current device's Bluetooth connection with the headset.

Track Air+ 2 cannot be connected to another device without disconnecting the current device

Regarding the ability to play games, Track Air + 2 still has a certain lag when playing games, easy to see in fast-responsive FPS games like PUBG Mobile or Call of Duty Mobile, but it is not significant and does not affect too much. experience. And if you are really serious about playing games or plowing the top race, a wired headset will be a more reasonable choice.

Other smart features

Track Air + 2 supports gesture operations on both sides of the headset, and users can customize each side with 2 modes (tap twice and tap 3 times). Track Air + 2 does not have a gesture for 1-touch operation to avoid accidental touches, which is a factor that makes me feel quite satisfied, unlike Samsung's headset models that are sometimes mistakenly touched and activated. the action is assigned to the action.

There are quite a few actions that can be assigned with gestures: switch noise cancellation mode, next-previous tracks, increase/decrease volume. All can be customized in the Libratone app

Track Air + 2 also supports the feature to automatically stop and play music when removing and putting the headset back on thanks to the built-in sensor in the housing area.

Battery life

As announced by Libratone, Track Air + 2 can provide up to 6 hours of battery life for continuous music playback. During the actual experience, when turning on Comfort Mode (automatic ANC) and listening to music at 70% volume, the battery life of the headset decreased to about more than 4 hours. A fully adequate battery life.

Track Air+ 2 has decent battery life

The charging case of Track Air + 2 can provide 2 more full charges for the headset, so users do not need to worry too much about battery life. If you listen to music continuously for a long time, you should charge the battery for the charging case every 2 days. In addition, the product also supports Qi wireless charging.

Conclusion

The Track Air+ 2 is available for less than $300, a price on par with other headphones like Apple AirPods Pro or Sony WF-1000XM4. This headset offers a "minimalist" experience from all elements: Design, sound quality, automatic noise cancellation to even the control application. Libratone has a product development direction quite similar to Apple in providing the most minimalist experience, but still has to go hand in hand with quality.

Track Air+ 2 is a wireless headset aimed at users who need a minimalist experience

Maybe many people will think that, with a price of 6 million VND, choosing other headphone models from Sony, Apple, Bose or Sennheiser will give a much "tasty" sound quality, however, it should be noted that for The image of Libratone Track Air+ 2 users is those who don't want to have to "hands and feet" to customize the headset, which we mentioned in the previous Sony WF-1000XM4 review.

Advantages of Track Air+ 2:

1. Minimalist, modern and premium design
2. The sound quality is suitable for the majority of ordinary users
3. Smart noise canceling mode, turn it on and use it
4. Very good noise cancellation when talking
5. Various gesture controls

Defect:

1. Can't connect multiple devices at the same time
2. The application is not very customizable for those who want to fine-tune the sound quality

Marvin Fry

Update 18 August 2021