First up, there’s nothing truly exceptional about the Liquid Ears Long Play or Wire Free headphones – they do their job with workman-like tenacity and at a more than reasonable price at $59.95 and $39.95. But while there’s nothing to gush about, there’s nothing to complain about either.
Designed in Australia, they’re very comfortable and aesthetically engaging in their blue hue, but also sleek looking in the more traditional black. The best thing they have going for them, though, is the fact they’re perfect if you’re taking advantage of the freedom to travel again. They’re good for up to 60 hours on a single charge of two hours in the blue, and 40 hours in the black, with a 400mAh battery and micro USB charge port in the black, and 500mAh battery and USB-C charge port in the blue.
Both juice up in two hours, though there’s also the benefit of fast-charge for the blue, which will pump you up for two hours in just 10 minutes, though with standby time of 300 hours here I never found the need to test that out. The black still has a very substantial 100 hours of standby.
Strong enough but not overpowering in the low end, I personally found they engaged better with guitar-based tunes than electronic-edged music, even at maximum volume, where they held their own, keeping delivery crisp and clean, especially in the mid-range.
All up, these provide a very balanced delivery that’s suitable for everyday use. Subtler jazz styles, however, saw these headphones come into their own, with superb separation and sharp delivery of horns.
Impedance in both sets is 32 Ohm plus or minus 15 per cent, and frequency response is from 20Hz to 20kHz, all pumped through 40mm drivers.
You’ve also got a built-in mic on hand for making calls, which is a cool add-on for the prices you’re looking at, and you can answer calls direct through the onboard controls.



