The three sets of earbuds I reach for

I listen to a lot of earbuds, but these three I actually use all the time. | Photo: John Higgins / The Verge I have been an audio reviewer for 20 years. My time as a freelance headphones panelist at Wirecutter, and the multitude of reviews I’ve written for sites like Reviewed, Digital Trends, IGN, and now The Verge, have given me the chance to listen to hundreds of earbuds. Some were truly excellent, and some were pretty hideous. Honestly, they tend to blur together as I move from new earbud to new earbud. But when something worthwhile comes around, it gets and holds my attention. These are the three sets that I reach for most often right now. Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Score: 8ProsConsIncredible call qualityGreat ANCUseful case screenDefault sound profile needs tweaking Where to Buy: $169.99 at Amazon $169.99 at Anker $169.99 at B&H Photo For ages I relied on the Apple AirPods Pro — first the Pro 2 and then the Pro 3. But the new $170 Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro have been my go-to earbuds for the past month. I’m using them to listen to Lofi Girl as I write this. Their sound quality is really good after you use the Soundcore app to fine-tune the frequency response (out of the box the bass is too high, which causes vocals to get muddy and snare hits to be muffled). They fit my ears securely, and since they have an IP55 rating, I could see myself using them on a run in a pinch — though I prefer running with my Powerbeats Fit buds (see below). And they also support the LDAC high-res audio codec with supported devices (sorry, iPhone users). Noise cancellation is also top-notch and comparable to more expensive earbuds like the Apple AirPods Pro 3 (which we’ll get to in a few paragraphs). The Soundcore buds let in a little more midrange, but handle low-end drone with no problem. But call quality is the Liberty 5 Pro’s greatest strength. I’ve never heard earbuds that block out as much ambient noise, allowing me to sound clear on my calls and in meetings. Whether it’s a squawk fro