LG is always trying to do things a little differently. This is a company that chose to gamble on the expensive OLED technology in TVs, the one that introduced a modular phone with replaceable parts, and more in its flagship series, and the one that launched a personal cleansing mask for the general public.
The thinking in LG is different and sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn’t. And here the company has chosen to add some interesting features to its new TWS headphone series as well, and in the Tone Free FP9 model we tested this time you can find an antiseptic that comes as part of the headset’s charging box, as well as the ability to share music with non-Bluetooth products. , When it is possible to fly without isolation on the right and left.
What’s in the box?
- LG Tone Free FP9 TWS TWS headphones
- A rechargeable box for storing and charging the headphones with a USB-C connection
- USB-C to USB A cable for charging
- 3.5mm USB-C cable for music sharing
- Silicone adapters for ears in 3 sizes (including the adapter that is on the headphones)
- instruction manual
First activation and regular use
Like many of the headphones on the market, the LG Tone Free FP9 can be connected directly through the company’s dedicated app or through the Bluetooth menu on the device. I found that this functionality varies between devices, with some devices easily recognizing the headphones through the app and the link menu popped up instantly, and for some I had to pair the headphones to the device using the Bluetooth menu. Either way, this is a very quick and simple operation.
Fitting the headphones to the ears proved simple as well, perhaps the simplest I have experienced in replacing the silicone heads with the headphones. A slight push in and the heads settled into place, unlike my little wars on the subject in many of the headphones on the market. At the same time, the headphones are not very comfortable in the ears in any size I have tried and there is a feeling that they do not fit well in the ear even when they are placed in it perfectly, which causes a lasting feeling of discomfort.
The headphones can be activated using the touch buttons available in each of them (right and left) and here LG has done a smart thing. Many headphones rely on touchpads that cover a wide area of all its ears, but LG has chosen a smaller part that is also marked with a small protrusion in them, which allows you to feel exactly where you need to touch to perform the actions we want to perform. On top of that, the company has wisely added a subtle click sound that will help us understand that we have made a touch in the right place.
The volume control is done separately on the headphones and the device, a method that I do not understand to this day why it is needed. It required me to choose how I want to control the volume, since if I want to control it through the device it will probably be better to increase the volume on the headphones to the end and if I choose to control the volume through the headphones I will choose to increase the volume on the device. Whichever way I chose, the volume was strong, and no full amplification of the headphones was required to the highest standard, and I was content with about 60-70 percent of the volume most of the time of use.
A number of other features offered by the headphones include water splash resistance and light sweat under the IPX4 standard, the option of cleaning built into the charging box with power connection and the option of connecting the charging box to external products that are not able to connect directly to the headphones via Bluetooth. The issue of decontamination is not something bad we will have, put it in any model of headphones and I will be satisfied, even if not really clear the effect of decontamination – it is hard to believe that whoever buys headphones will use additional bacteria testing tools before and after using the decontamination function, but hey – there is light Such a cool blue when you put the headphones in the box.
Connecting to products that do not support Bluetooth is a very nice function. Something I would be happy to take with me on flights so I can use my headphones easily even without a third-party product like the iPad I usually carry with me on flights. It works well both in treadmills in the gym that have headphones connected to music or TV and also in the car if the kids want to hear songs that you are not through the system.
The app
The app shows the level of charging of the headphones and the charging box so that you know where you stand and there is also a complete guide with pictures of actions that can be performed using the headphones. You will also find an equalizer with 5 built-in modes plus two modes for manual setting, control of the listening mode in two levels – listening to general ambient noises or listening to speech, and also two active noise filtering modes – high or low filtering.
In addition, you can turn on or off additional functions such as stopping playback or automatically activating the songs by removing and inserting the headphones into the ears, respectively, locking the touch button to avoid accidental pressing and something that unfortunately is not seen in many premium headphones on the market – individual programming option . You can of course update the firmware of the headphones, perform their detection by sending sounds to each of the headphones separately and enable a feature that allows reading of messages you have received in apps on the phone.
Two other modes that exist in the “beta” versions of LG’s lab program are “game mode” which lowers the audio stay in games and “whisper mode”, which allows you to whisper to your right ear (only) during a call so they can hear you from the other side of the call well, but you will not Make sure bored snoopers listen to your conversations in public places. LG warns that if you speak loudly when this mode is activated the sound will not be good, and if I sum it up in one word – you are right!
This is one of the richest apps in the options and it is great, but I will note that from time to time it gets stuck and requires restart. Not something that LG can not solve with an update to the app, only that it was not fixed in the months I used the headphones.
Charging and battery life
The battery life declared by LG for the FP9 headphones is up to 10 hours on a single charge of the headphones and up to 24 hours in total along with the charging case when the noise filtering mode is inactive. In practice, for most of my use of the headphones the noise filtering mode was active and the volume usually ranged from 60-70 percent, which led to a battery life of about 6 hours, with the charging box adding another two and a half additional charges, i.e. about 15 hours.
The charging box also has the option of fast charging for the headphones you put in it, so charging for 5 minutes in the box allows you to listen to about an hour of music.
Audio quality
The LG Tone Free FP9 comes with 8mm dynamic drivers, and offers 3 microphones in each headset and a Bluetooth 5.2 connection. The sounds emanating from the headphones are very accurate and the various instruments playing in the background can be recognized quite easily. More melodic songs, the ones that do not emphasize bass, sound great, but although the bass is precise and deep, they are quite weak compared to what is available in many of the headphones currently on the market, and the additional bass mode available through the app does not add much. I will mention favorably the Sound Stage mode which provides a very interesting surround sound experience.
The noise filtering in the headphones works well both inside and out, and along with the microphones integrated in each of the headphones also get a good audio level in the call, although I got responses that I do not always sound like myself – sometimes said my voice is a bit dull and sometimes metallic, but still clear.
Bottom line – what we thought of the LG Tone Free FP9
At a price of about 900 NIS in Israel, the LG Tone Free FP9 probably prices more the nice additions that we do not necessarily need, while the audio quality is not superior to other premium headphones available in the market. The headphones are accurate in sounds at all levels and offer high volume of sound, but suffer from the high volume of the bass, which many today expect. They perform the noise filtering well and provide good results during conversations, although you will not always sound like yourself.
The app is one of the richest available on the market today, with a great many options, including an equalizer with built-in modes and two manual modes, and the option of programming any of the actions that the touch buttons on the headphones will perform.
Price: 895 NIS (One year warranty, official importer H.I.) >> Click here to purchase
What did we like?
- Active noise filtering
- Listening to the environment
- Audio quality and volume
- Feature-rich app
- Headphone operation (touch)
- AAC support
- Broadcast music to non-Bluetooth-enabled products (for example, in-flight media systems)
And what not?
- Basses not strong enough
- Comfort in the ears
- IPX4 water resistance only
- Without AptX support
- Choose the “Tone Free” branding for headphones
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