LG has an important range of differentiated products in various sectors. How could it be otherwise, sound also has its place in this sector. The South Korean firm has lent us its Tone Ultra and Tone Active retractable headphone models so that we can take a look at them and tell you all the details they contain. Stay with us and get to know in depth the LG Tone Ultra headphones with which you can drive and also the Tone Active for the more adventurous, a typology of products that seem a bit stagnant after the popularity of the True Wireless models. Let's go there with these foldable headphones.
LG Tone Ultra - HBS 820S
As for the design, little to say that you have not seen already. We are facing two collar headphones with a retractable system, that is, inside the collar is where the headphone cables are located that we must deploy at will. In essence, the sound mechanism is traditional, through earbuds that are inserted completely inside the ear. We simply grab the headset and its retractable system will allow us to place it in our ear. The advantage is that we will not suffer jerks, so they basically should not fall out of our ears.
- Sizes: 155.5 x 167.5 x 17.5 mm
- Weight: 49 grams
We are facing plastic headphones, so they weigh barely 49 grams, they are light and comfortable, with good construction. The autonomy (210mAh) of the headphones reaches Up to 11,5 hours playing music and Up to 14,5 hours in conversation using the dual MEMS microphones that have given us good performance in calls in the tests, for this we used the microUSB charging port, a very notable negative point in the era of USB-C, especially since connectors of this style tend to break. The autonomy is undoubtedly decent, and we find a notable difference to that of any TWS headset (if we do not take into account the box, of course), so autonomy is not a problem.
We have headphones that They have a built-in mono speaker, this has earned it the DGT certification so they are suitable for driving. Regarding noise cancellation, we have a passive system that carries out the silicone of each of the headphones. We found good earbud isolation, but nothing beyond traditional. To connect with our mobile device we have Bluetooth 4.2 (we miss Bluetooth 5.0), we did not notice any notable cuts or losses.
In terms of sound quality we have the technology Qualcomm aptX so the sound is clear and we do not have abundant losses in higher volumes. We have Enhanced bass that shines with current music, however we miss a bit more absolute volume power to be such a headset. We have on the right side with a series of multimedia controls in the form of slide and push buttons: switch the sound from headphones to speaker and vice versa; another slider used to move between songs and another to pause or play songs. How can these headphones be otherwise? Two spare parts are included in the package to adjust the size of the hearing aids.
Additional functions LG Tone Ultra - HBS 820S
- Vibrate mode
- SMS reader
- Voice notification of incoming call
You can buy them at your usual point of sale, or from 99,99 euros in THIS LINK.
LG Tone Active +
We now analyze the LG Tone Active +, some retractable collar headphones but which on this occasion are designed for the more adventurous. We find the same retractable system and the advantages it offers, especially when doing large movements or sports, where these LG Tone Active stand out for two things: We will not suffer jerks or falls of the headphones and we will not lose them since we carry them in the neck. Definitely this alternative is postulated as the most suitable for those who do outdoor activities such as trekking, hiking and of course also for runners. In my tests I have used them mainly running on a treadmill, but I have not dropped them even once, it is one of the best solutions for this type of headphones, and that is that True Wireless usually suffer in that regard.
- Sizes: 141x140x16.1 mm
- Weight: 60 grams
In this case, the device is made of flexible rubber / silicone, it is quite comfortable and obviously we have resistance to sweat and water so we can use them without any fear. This time we have around 10 hours of mixed use thanks to its two batteries of 90 mAh each (music playback and phone calls) and a single MEMS digital microphone so that they hear us clearly on calls. Perhaps this microphone response is one of its weaknesses along with the incorporation of the microUSB charging port.
As an advantage we can connect two mobile phones at the same time despite having Bluetooth 4.2 instead of Bluetooth 5.0 as well as the audio codec aptX from Qualcomm. Definitely we have a fairly clear sound, which has no notable losses but which once again lacks some maximum volume to completely isolate ourselves from the outside, although taking into account that they are headphones designed for sports, perhaps that was precisely the intention when configuring this product by LG.
Additional functions of the LG Tone Active +
- Vibrate mode
- External speakers
- Microphone mute
- Voice notification of calls and SMS
- Four independent multimedia control buttons
- IPX4
We have obtained good results with these headphones, they offer good performance when it comes to doing sports mainly, which is where we have tested them the most, they have not been dropped or caused discomfort thanks to their design. You can buy these LG Tone Active 850 at your usual point of sale or from 129,94 euros at THIS LINK that we leave you to make the purchase easier. Without a doubt, the price is somewhat high and there is a lot of competition, they are headphones designed for a very specific audience.