17 Dec
Blog

Shure Aonic Free Review: True Wireless Studio Monitors

Shure Aonic Free True Wireless Earbuds.

Shure Aonic Free Trial: True Wireless Studio Monitors

RRP $ 199.00

"Big in size, comfort and precision are these buds for critical hearing."

benefits

  • Clear, precise and detailed sound

  • Very convenient

  • Very good transparency mode

  • Easy to use, customizable controls

  • Great EQ settings

  • Good call quality

disadvantage

  • Big buds, big charging case

  • No ANC or auto pause

  • No wireless charging

  • No watertightness

Shure is no stranger to high-performance audio. The company's in-ear monitors (IEMs) and microphones have been the first choice of musicians and audio professionals for decades. But when it comes to the true wireless earphone market, Shure has only just stepped into the ring with its $ 199 Shure Aonic Free. Was it worth the wait? And how do these new buds compare to products from more established brands like Sony, Jabra and Apple? Let's check them out.

A larger set of buds

Shure Aonic Free True Wireless Earbuds.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Let's talk to the elephant in the room: The Shure Aonic Free are big. They use a very similar design to Sony's previous flagship, the WF-1000XM3, which places the electronics, battery, and other goodies in a diamond-shaped gondola that sits fairly prominently outside your ear.

Shure's design is even bigger than Sony's, making the Aonic Free one of the biggest buds we've ever tested. Fortunately, these nacelles look pretty sleek, with a relatively thin profile and a satin gunmetal finish that gives the plastic a high quality, sophisticated look. If you really want to get noticed, they are also available in red. But despite their size, they are also remarkably light and in fact weigh a gram less than the Sony XM3.

There's a lot of precision and detail, especially in the mids and higher frequencies.

And while there's no denying that these buds are really big, the design has two distinct advantages. First, with all of the bowels of the buds outside of your ear, the part that actually fits in your ear is tiny and extremely comfortable. Shure uses memory foam earplugs instead of silicone, which increases comfort by reducing pressure points.

Not everyone loves the sometimes squishy feel of memory foam, but I'm a huge fan. Once inserted, the fit is very secure, but it won't withstand vigorous activity, as well as buds designed for this purpose. Expect to need regular readjustments as you walk. In fact, you might want to avoid using the Aonic Free for exercise: they are some of the only earbuds on the market that do not offer official protection from water in relation to an IPX rating.

Second, the large outer gondolas make pressing the multifunction button located on the top edge very easy. Accidental presses are almost completely eliminated, and you probably won't accidentally remove an earbud while using these buttons.

The Aonic Free comes with an equally large charging case to match the large buds. It absolutely dwarfs the tiny package of the AirPods Pro case, and I doubt a lot of people will think of it as pocket money. It also lacks wireless charging, which is an unfortunate shortcoming at this price point. Nevertheless, it is robustly built, the lid can be easily opened and closed using a large study hinge and the Aonic Free is really easy to plug in and out of the charging sockets.

I like the sound

Man with Shure Aonic Free True Wireless Earbuds.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

In keeping with Shure's reputation for stage and studio equipment, the Aonic Free has a neutral and very clear sound signature. There's a lot of precision and detail, especially in the mids and higher frequencies. A track like Dire Straits ’Six Blade Knife and Mark Knopfler's unmistakable Stratocaster work becomes a haptic experience – you can almost feel the strings under his experienced hand.

The bass reproduction is strictly controlled, is only displayed when necessary and never overwhelms the other frequencies. Such a conservative approach to bass can make the Aonic Free sound cold when you're used to headphones or earphones like the Sony WF-1000XM3 or XM4.

Shure Play app screenshot for iOS.This is how things sound right out of the box. But the Shure Play Companion app can completely change the personality of the Aonic Free with its EQ adjustments. Shure gives you seven presets to play with, including Bass Boost, Bass Cut, Vocal Boost, and Loudness, but if you really want to get the most out of the Aonic Free, you need to try the manual EQ option. Here you will find a graphic EQ that can be adjusted more precisely than I have ever seen it before. You get four control points on a frequency spectrum from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Each of them can be raised +/- 10 dB in 0.5 dB steps, and you can even adjust their bandwidth from 0.2 octaves to 4 octaves in 0.1 octave steps.

If all of this is Greek to you, suffice it to say that this is an unmatched level of EQ control for a set of true wireless earbuds, and those who love to mess around with the sonic weeds will love it.

It's worth noting that the Aonic Free doesn't generate as much volume as a percentage of some other well-respected earbuds. In other words, at 50% volume on my iPhone, the Aonic Free were significantly quieter than the Jabra Elite 7 Pro or the Technics EAH-AZ60. I don't see this as a problem – they can still get really loud – but you may find that you have to run these earbuds at a higher setting than you are used to.

It's also worth noting for Android users that Aonic Free supports the aptX codec, which can be helpful in situations where audio delay (latency) is an issue.

Total control

Shure Aonic Free True Wireless Earbuds.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The Aonic Free do not have Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), but thanks to these foam earplugs they are excellent at blocking outside noise passively. There have been a couple of times when I felt like ANC was blocking a bit more, but not many. What they have is a very good transparency mode that you can set in the Shure Play app to let in little or a lot of the noise around you. In fact, at the maximum setting, it amplifies some of these sounds, so some careful adjustment is required.

I love that Shure has built in a feature called PausePlus that allows you to automatically turn on transparency mode when you pause your music. With too many earbuds, you'll have to pause first and then switch to transparency, which can be annoying when someone tries to talk to you.

Shure Play app screenshot for iOS.

Shure Play app screenshot for iOS.

The Shure Play app also gives you complete control over the multi-function buttons. You can assign up to three different commands per earbud, including play / pause, skip forward / backward, transparency on / off and access to the voice assistant. In addition, you can choose whether you want to control the volume with a fourth gesture. It's a bit awkward, admittedly – you have to press and then long press – but it's a handy option nonetheless. The only thing Shure left out is wear sensors, which can automatically pause if you remove one or both of the earbuds – another surprise considering how many other earbuds come standard with them at this price point.

Your phone call options include muting the microphone and switching between two calls, both of which are rare features. You can also use each earbud independently for music and calls.

Avoid the wind

Shure Aonic Free True Wireless Earbuds.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Call quality on the Aonic Free can be excellent, but you need to avoid windy or very noisy situations. The microphone does a great job of capturing the full tone and resonance of your voice, with little to no distortion, but struggles to maintain that quality under adverse conditions. They're definitely not the earbuds you'd want to use on the phone while you bike through heavy traffic, but they will work admirably on Zoom calls or anywhere you find relatively calm conditions.

Speaking of Zoom calls, the Aonic Free are the first headphones I've come across that can automatically turn on a red LED light when you're on the phone to let others know that just because you're not speaking, you aren't yet to be interrupted. It's a look back at the early days of Bluetooth, but I think it's brilliant – all true wireless earbuds should have a similar option.

More performance please

Shure Aonic Free True Wireless Earbuds.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Shure claims that the Aonic Free can last for around seven hours on a single charge, and as far as I can tell, that's correct when you're listening at 50% volume. But as mentioned above, because these Buds run quieter than other models, you'll likely hear at 60% or more, which will reduce battery life a bit.

I agree – six to seven hours is still enough for most people. But what I can't understand, given their huge charging case, is why you can only charge the earbuds twice for a total of 21 hours of playtime? If the Aonic Free were really small – say, AirPods Pro small – I'd happily accept that (although even the AirPods Pro have a longer total time of up to 24 hours), but the Aonic Free have no such excuse.

Our opinion

Although the Aonic Free are larger than most true wireless earbuds, they are very comfortable and offer exceptionally clear and detailed sound. For the discerning listener, this may be worth the price of admission, but given the many features that are lacking at the price, most people will likely be happier with other models.

Are there any better alternatives?

When it comes to sheer clarity, attention to detail, and EQ control – that so-called studio sound – you will hardly find a better set of true wireless earbuds, even if you are spending well over the price of $ 199 on Aonic Free. But considering how many features Shure has left out, here are two options worth considering:

$ 200 Jabra Elite 7 Pro: At the same price as the Aonic Free, the Elite 7 Pro has it all: Great sound, great ANC, great transparency, tons of customization options, long battery life, wireless charging, and an IP57 rating that makes it effectively waterproof. Oh, and they're much smaller too. Audio purists will still prefer the incredibly precise sound of the Aonic Free, but I also think the Elite 7 Pro sounds pretty good.

230 $ Technology EAH-AZ60: For a slightly larger investment, the AZ60 offers fabulous ANC and sound quality that rivals the Aonic Free, but with a slightly warmer standard signature that will appeal to people who don't love the sometimes overly accurate Shure sound. The Technics also have Sony's LDAC codec for wireless hi-res audio and Bluetooth multipoint to connect two devices to your earbuds at the same time.

How long will they last?

Given their total lack of water protection, this very much depends on how careful you are with the Aonic Free. The build quality seems to be excellent, however, and Shure backs it with a two-year warranty, which is unusual in this product category. That might be a good sign that they'll be better off in the long run, but like all true wireless earbuds, it's likely that decreasing battery life is what is keeping them from still being in your audio arsenal 10 years from now.

Should you buy it?

Yes, but only if you're looking for what Aonic Free has to offer – a highly detailed, precise, and customizable sound with very few other bells and whistles. For everyone else, you can find better options for the same price or less.

Editor's recommendations



10 Nov
Blog

Urbanista Los Angeles Review: Free Power On Sunny Days

Man wears Urbanista Los Angeles.

Urbanista Los Angeles

RRP $ 199.00

"As long as you spend a lot of time in the sun, the solar-powered headphones from Urbanista Los Angeles will free you from charging."

advantages

  • Solar charging really works

  • Secure fit

  • Real-time power meter in the app

  • Huge 80 hour battery

disadvantage

  • Only works under optimal conditions

  • No EQ settings

Urbanistas $ 199 Los Angeles – the very first set of solar powered wireless headphones – are here. And yes, they actually charge up when exposed to natural and electric light. But what is it like to use them and how much light do they need? We tried them to see them.

Power meter

Urbanista makes several models of wireless headphones and true wireless earbuds, but the company never felt the need to develop a companion app for iOS or Android. Due to its ease of use, no app was required. But if you decide to sell the world's first solar powered headphones, you really need a way to show people how this whole solar thing works. So Urbanista made their first mobile app, and it's, ahem, brilliant.

Once you've connected the Los Angeles to your phone via bluetooth, the app allows you to switch to a screen that has a huge power meter on it. On the left side of the display, the amount of energy that the headphones sip from the ambient light is shown in yellow. On the right, the amount of electricity that the cans consume is shown in red.

In an ideal world there would be a constant balance between yellow (your profit) and red (your consumption), so if you started your day on a full battery, you'd end the day just like that. In theory, you could then repeat this balancing act every day and never have to plug the Los Angeles into a charger.

Mad Dogs and English

Urbanista Los Angeles.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Oh, and as you may have guessed, this is easier said than done. Noel Coward famously wrote that only crazy dogs and English people go out in the midday sun, and if you follow that behavior too, you will not only keep the battery from draining, but you will end up harvesting more energy than you use. But unless this describes a typical day for you, the more likely you will break even or end up in a performance deficit. That's because the Los Angeles solar panel – completely hidden in a perfectly normal-looking headband – needs a lot of direct light.

As I type this in my home office, I am sitting about three feet directly under a light fixture powered by a single 100 watt equivalent LED lamp. And while the frosted glass of the lampshade scatters the light laterally, the underside of the shade is actually a clear lens that tends to concentrate the amount of light that is aimed directly at my head. Nevertheless, the Urbanista app shows that the Los Angeles can hardly draw 0.1 mA of current, while the power consumption of the headphones is 2.3 mA. In other words, I use 23 times more energy than I absorb.

Urbanista Los Angeles is held under a light.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

It could be worse. Right now I'm not using Los Angeles Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) or Ambient Sound Modes and I'm not listening to any music. If I were to activate these functions, the current would jump up to 7.5 mA or up to 10 mA depending on the selected volume etc. At this speed, the headphones' impressive 80-hour battery capacity would last for exactly 80 hours and no more.

To significantly increase the power drawn, I had to hold the headphones directly under the light and even then the power meter indicated I was barely running on a break-even basis.

None of this is a criticism of Los Angeles' solar technology or their Powerfoyle solar technology – I don't know of any solar module that could deliver significantly more power with the same area. But it is a reminder that Urbanista's promise of “virtually infinite game time” should be seen as worthwhile rather than fully achievable. It's worth noting, however, that on a bright October day in Toronto I got a 45 minute walk with ANC and tunes at 50% volume, and when I returned (after trying a little bit to stay on the sunny side of the street) I still had as much battery life as when I left.

Sunny sounds

Urbanista Los Angeles seen alongside Urbanista Miami.Urbanista Los Angeles (left) and Urbanista Miami. Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Urbanista based the Los Angeles on its Miami wireless headphones, and the two models share more than looks. Her sound signature is very close, with very good clarity about the frequencies and with a slightly forward approach that works well on beat-heavy tracks.

I think it's very good that Urbanista has found a way to keep this balance across the entire volume range. There is no distortion as you approach the top of the dial. As long as you are in a quiet place, even the lower volumes will provide good overall sound quality.

Of course, if you don't like the Los Angeles vote, there's not much you can do. Although Urbanista created the app for these cans, it didn't add any EQ adjustments.

But one big change from Miami to Los Angeles is Urbanista's decision to remove the 3.5mm analog input jack from the right ear cup. Perhaps more room was needed for the Los Angeles' larger battery, or perhaps it was a cost-saving measure. Regardless of the reason, it's an odd choice for a socket set that is meant to free you from worrying about a power outage. Should the 80-hour battery ever run out, the lack of an analog input means no more melodies until you find some sun or a socket.

Stands still

Man wears Urbanista Los Angeles.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

One of my favorite aspects of Los Angeles is how safe they stay in place. I have a pretty small head and I find that some headphones just don't clamp tight enough to keep them from slipping. But the Los Angeles are impressively stable and haven't moved the entire time I've been wearing them. I don't recommend exercising with full-size headphones, but if that's your thing, the Los Angeles will be happy to keep you company.

The only thing missing in the comfort department is more space for the ears. The ear cushions are deceiving: They enclose a large part of the ear cups and make them look plush and deep. But they're really incredibly flat, with only a few millimeters for your ears. Over time, I found that this created bruises.

The controls are easily accessible, with buttons on the side of each earcup so your thumbs can quickly find them. However, the play / pause, volume up / down, and skip track controls on the right earcup are very small, very close together, and quite difficult to distinguish. I have no idea how you would use them with gloves on.

Ordinary ANC

Urbanista Los Angeles.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The best noise-canceling headphones can pretty much eliminate external noise, but don't expect this level of performance from the Los Angeles. Instead, think of it as noise reduction. When activated, ANC takes away the annoying background noise such as traffic or the constant roar of a fan or aircraft engine. But it's just a respite from the very lowest frequencies – the higher pitches will still come through.

Transparency mode (or ambient noise, as Urbanista calls it) is similarly effective – it definitely brings in the outside world, but it doesn't quite destroy the feeling that you're still wearing headphones.

My biggest criticism here is that the Urbanista app lets you decide whether you want to use the ANC button to turn ANC on and off, turn ambient noise on and off, or let ANC on> environment on> cycle off. But you can't set it to just jump back and forth between ANC on and Ambient on, which are arguably the two most important settings.

Good for calls

Urbanista Los Angeles.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Urbanista Los Angeles.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Urbanista Los Angeles.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Urbanista Los Angeles.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

As with most full-size headphones, the call quality is pretty good. It's not great, but it is perfectly adequate for speaking, even in moderately noisy environments. Sometimes the ambient noise cancellation circuitry can lower the volume of your voice when it tries to silence the other noises, but this will only be an issue if you insist on answering calls at busy intersections.

Who are they for?

The Los Angeles are essentially a good set of wireless headphones that happen to have a solar panel built into the headband. If you spend most of your listening time outdoors, in sunny or even partly cloudy conditions, you will enjoy the promised benefits of unlimited performance. But for most of us, this benefit is fleeting at best: we might not have to plug in the headphones that often (especially given the impressive 80-hour battery), but we still have to plug them in. Is this? Worth the $ 50 premium Urbanista charges over the similar $ 149 in Miami? Sun seekers would probably say yes.

Editor's recommendations



30 Jul
Blog

LG Tone Free HBS-FN6 Review: Self-cleaning Buds Disappoint

LG Tone Free earphones

"The LG Tone Free lags behind the competition in its price range"

  • Comfortable design

  • Neat self-cleaning function

  • Great sound quality

  • Below average battery life

  • Hypersensitive touch controls

There doesn't seem to be a better time to launch a product that kills bacteria as part of its functions than it is now. For this reason, LG should really get recognition for its excellent, if random timing for the release of the Tone Free HBS-FN6.

Of course, it's never a good time to launch a product that can't keep up with the competition in critical areas, and LG also deserves recognition for whether it wants it or not. The $ 150 Tone Free HBS-FN6 can do some things that most other real wireless earbuds don't, but has had no effect on the areas that mattered most.

Before I summarize it, a brief explanation: There are three different clay-free models, the HBS-FN6, the HBS-FN5W and the HBS-FN4, each with incremental differences. I will review the HBS-FN6 and, for the purposes of this story, describe this product as clay-free unless otherwise noted. Okay, let's go ahead.

Out of the box

Everything about the LG Tone Free earbuds is small except for the packaging they arrive in. The buds and their housing are located under the lid of the predominantly white box. Below them is a separate compartment that contains a USB-C charging cable, additional earplugs, and a surprisingly thorough manual. I'm just saying surprise because I've seen a decent number of guides, the details of which have been largely in short. It may be a little old-fashioned, but having something tangible to guide you through the operation of these buds is a welcome inclusion, which is sometimes lost in the mix with competitors.

LG Tone Free earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The Tone Free has a Fast Pair feature similar to Google's Pixel Buds 2 or Apple's AirPods, where the earbuds seem to find your phone before they can find it, though it's limited to devices that run Android 5.0 or higher support. If you don't have a device that matches this description, you can go the more traditional way and find the earbuds in your phone's Bluetooth settings to connect.

The Tone Free had Bluetooth 5.0 technology and, like most earphones I've tested with this built-in technology, was easy when it came to solid connections. I was free to move around the house or even in the back yard while my phone remained stationary.

design

As with so many pairs before, the Tone Free was – at least partially – made after the model of the Apple AirPods. After all, Apple has made the concept of wearing golf T-shirts in its ears a hot thing, in which the competitors simply follow the trend. The Tone Free are a bit more bulky (about 5 grams compared to the 4-gram AirPods) and are currently only available in black, but the visual similarities are obvious enough.

LG Tone Free earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

I really like how compact the charging case for the Tone Free is. It's actually a little lighter (39 grams) than the AirPod's 40-gram charging case, and I personally prefer the round design of the Tone Free case. This may be an unpopular opinion, as Apple's lighter Zippo case has been copied by many manufacturers. But I would definitely take LG's circular in a stow-and-go situation about the AirPods, although neither will be a big problem in this regard.

The Tone Free are comfortable and fit snugly in my ears without putting too much pressure on my ear canals.

The Tone Free are comfortable and fit snugly in my ears without putting too much pressure on my ear canals. The only time I physically customized them on morning walks or jogging in the afternoon was to use the auto pause function of the buds when I passed other people. I could have used the earphones 'Ambient Sound mode to remove a bud, but I found that pulling them out was easier than trying to use the earphones' multi-touch controls while moving.

When I speak of these multitouch controls, I will be the first to admit that getting this control style right is not easy. Many buds that use this feature are between too sensitive to touch or not sensitive enough. I think the Tone Free are functional – with multiple print options for answering or ending phone calls, switching through music, or changing the volume – but they're erroneous closer to the "too sensitive" end of the spectrum. They're not as bad as others I've tested in this regard, but there were still a handful of frustrating moments.

properties

When it comes to their functions, the Tone Free are a bit mixed. They have the characteristic self-cleaning function that fascinates these buds on their own. However, if you expand the scope and examine the more standard but more important functions, the intrigue is almost lost.

LG Tone Free earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

First, let's work out the uniqueness of these earphones. The Tone Free are self-cleaning buds, thanks to a UV nano charging housing that, according to LG, kills 99.9% of the bacteria while the housing is connected to a charging cable. The case uses ultraviolet light that is focused on the bud's earbuds, though the process doesn't remove dirt, grime, or ear wax.

On the one hand, this is objectively cool. Especially at a time when most people are still focused on cleanliness, it can only be good to have buds that kill the bacteria themselves. On the other hand, all of this seems completely unnecessary. As I suspect, many of you, I have never been overly concerned with the amount of bacteria in my earbuds. Perhaps LG is indicting and uncovering an issue we didn't previously know was an issue, and maybe future earphones will follow in Tone Free's footsteps. On the other hand, maybe not. It's a feature the effects of which the average person can't feel, and it's the main reason why these buds cost $ 50 more than the clay-free HBS-FN4. That seems like a great deal of work for a largely invisible advantage.

When it comes to their functions, the Tone Free are a bit mixed.

The battery life in Tone Free is up to six hours. The case contains two additional charging cycles for a total of 18. They also have a quick charge function that allows you to play for an hour after five minutes in the case. It would have been solid two years ago. Unfortunately for LG it is mediocre at best. The RHA TrueConnect 2 offers 9.5 hours of playback on a single charge and a total battery life of 44 hours at the same price. Given that the Tone Free has a low battery shortly after the five-hour mark and barely approaches the specified service life of six hours, it's hard to see why you wouldn't choose a much stronger battery in the RHA .

And while the Tone Free offers IPX4 weather resistance – a fairly normal benchmark for earphones that gives them solid protection against sweat and splashes of water from every direction – the TrueConnect 2 has raised the bar by introducing dust protection with an IP55 degree of protection. You probably won't need this protection in your everyday life. But why not choose this route at the same time when it no longer costs you? That is the problem LG is facing. Their functions are fine if you don't place them next to a competitor with the same price. In this scenario, it is difficult to find an area that clearly prefers the tonelessness. Unless you wanted to limit the number of bacteria you expose your ears to.

Audio quality

Just like the latest sound bars, LG is promoting its partnership with Meridian to optimize the sound of their products. Also in line with these sound bars, LG has kept silent about the specifications of the actual drivers in these earphones. After the sound of the company's conversation topics, we shouldn't worry about the details or design of the components that produce the sound we hear. Instead, we should blindly rely on Meridian to take on the audio quality of this product and trust the company's HSP (Headphone Spatial Processing) technology to achieve solid sound.

LG Tone Free earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

What I have to admit, it works very well. Just like the sound bars in which Meridian was involved, the Tone Free offers a pleasant listening experience. According to LG, Meridian's HSP technology is said to "create a realistic soundstage that simulates the experience of hearing real speakers." I wouldn't go anywhere near this, but after looking at a selection like Led Zeppelins & # 39; Ramble On or The Rolling Stones & # 39; After listening to Gimme Shelter, I appreciate the stereo separation and vocal clarity that these earphones could produce.

With the LG Tone Free app, you can choose between three other Meridian presets – Bass Boost, Natural or Treble Boost – or adjust the sound to your taste with an in-app equalizer. Although LG's efforts to make the sound customizable for all kinds of ears are recognized and presets like Bass Boost fill the required low-end for more modern tracks, I preferred the sound of the standard "Immersive" preset.

The Tone Free did a great job of producing a pleasant sound.

However, I will say this: the Tone Free did a good job of producing a pleasant sound, but at the same time they did not produce an incredibly distinctive sound. It's hard for me to decide whether these buds sound better than, for example, the RHAs I heard last week or the Google Pixel Buds 2 that I auditioned a few months ago. The Tone Free cited the ability to kill bacteria as a key feature that just isn't that exciting and really needed their sound to set a tone. They sound very good, just not good enough to cover their other shortcomings.

The call quality of the Tone Free is sufficient thanks to the dual microphone setup that LG has integrated into the Tone Free. LG says it uses technologies known as echo cancellation and noise cancellation to detect unwanted noise and minimize what works pretty well. Just don't expect these features and the minimal passive noise cancellation created by the bud's fit to reflect the kind of experience that real active noise cancellation offers. Try anyway, these ANC replacement products don't affect the real business.

Our opinion

The LG Tone Free doesn't do anything particularly bad, they just don't do most things as well as some of the more notable competitors in their price range. It is a difficult task to reach all the key touch points when things are moving so fast in the real wireless earphone world, but if you can't keep up with the rest of the field at least, you won't be able to do the leaderboard.

Are there any better alternatives?

The Tone Free has a slight sound edge, but it's not enough to overlook everything else that makes the RHA TrueConnect 2 better for exactly the same $ 150. For another $ 50, I've become quite a fan of the $ 200 Sony WF-SP800N, which improves battery life over both the LG and RHA and offers effective active noise cancellation.

Honestly, I would probably use the cheaper $ 99 LG Tone Free HBS-FN4 compared to the FN6, as the main difference is the self-cleaning charging case where we found a limit.

How long will they last?

These buds appear to be of high quality workmanship and moderately good protection against the weather. I do not foresee that they will collapse soon.

Should you buy them

Nah. I liked the design of these earphones and their tasty sound, but there are too many options in this price range with better features to recommend the latest from LG. The Tone Free can eliminate most of the bacteria that get in their way, but they don't have the same effect on the tough competition that surrounds them.

Editor's recommendations