Review: LG Tone Free FP8W

LG surprises positively

With the Tone Free FP8W, LG proves that they should be taken seriously when it comes to sound.

Published 2021-12-26 - 8:00 am
LG Tone Free FP8W
Geir Nordby

Tone Free FP8W has a fixed case that cleans the earplugs with UV rays after use – and kills 99.9 percent of all bacteria, if we are to believe the manufacturer.

Battery life is stated at an impressive 24 hours from the earplugs themselves and an extra 15 hours from the case if the active noise reduction is turned off. When turned on, the battery life drops to ten and six hours, respectively, which is still more than respectable.

In the app, you can select two-step noise reduction or ambient sound, or you can turn it off entirely. Ambient sound mode gives – quite surprisingly – lower sound leven on the music. The very best sound, with firm and fine dynamics, you get if both are turned off.

Noise attenuation at the highest level provides slightly ugly digital artifacts around the noise floor, which are thankfully less audible when playing music. But set the noise reduction to Low if you want to hear as little of it as possible.

LG Tone Free FP8 lifestyle(3)
(Photo: LG)

The sound of LG Tone Free FP8W

Without tone controls turned off, the LG earbuds sound perfectly okay. Nice treble on female vocals that do not get sharp, and an energetic bass that is unfortunately a bit dull and disconnected. As a slightly ill-tuned subwoofer.

There are some preset audio options, signed by Meridian. They both sound louder and give much larger stereo sound. Especially 3D Sound Stage, which unfortunately otherwise sounds quite poor. But Bass Boost provides much of the same great soundscape and is significantly better balanced. Here, the guitars on Billie Eilish’s “Your Power” float around her head, while Billie’s voice is clearly and naturally in the center.

LG Tone Free FP8 lifestyle(2)
UV light inside the case kills almost all bacteria on the earplugs. (Photo: LG)

I think the best sound is acheived by setting the EQ manually, but unfortunately it is at the expense of the big sound image that you only get if you choose one of the Meridian settings.

In the good eight-band EQ in the app, I turn down the upper bass a bit, where the coloring is. I raise the midrange and treble, and to get everything loudn enough, I finally raise all the frequencies a notch.

Now the sound is cleat with a big, solid bass and a really good reproduction of both male and female voices.

The voice quality on telephone calls  is a bit reminiscent of telephone voices from the 90s, with a sharp midrange and a bit of treble. Nothing to brag about, but it works.

LG Tone Free FP8 LG Tone Free FP8 white LG Tone Free FP8 lifestyle(5) LG Tone Free FP8 lifestyle(4)
<
>
(Photo: LG)
Karakter
LG Tone Free FP8W
Premium

We think

Good and user-friendly app, okay noise reduction and the possibility of acheiving really good sound on music. The noise reduction has digital artifacts in the noise floor. The fit is not as tight as with certain others. Mediocre call quality.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Buy the previous version instead

Lossless at last from Bose

Good news from Bose

Listen to your music for the first time

Jabra's best by far - but not for everyone

Earbuds with a telly

Scroll to Top