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With a wide array of washing machines in its product portfolio, LG knows a thing or two about cleanliness, so it makes a lot of sense to see the inclusion of a UV cleaning mechanism with the FN6. Sure, the feature is nothing new, but this is one of the first times a big brand (Philips also has a pair of self-cleaning earbuds) has jumped on the technology. Bass sounds (of which there are plenty here) are textured and carefully hefty, with more than enough detail available to make the difference between actual instruments and machine-derived sounds obvious. There’s plenty of control on display, too, so the tune rumbles forward at the correct sort of pace – there’s no overhang and, as a consequence, the tempo is convincing. The included charging case also boasts a minimalist aesthetic, but there’s an almost unexplainable yet alluring quality to its circular chassis.
On a typical workday, I managed to get through just over seven hours of semi-constant use, with the headphones connected at all times. That’s in addition to the FN6 being used to send and receive audio during a Zoom call. That’s pretty impressive, and while it might not see you through to the end of a full day on a single charge, LG’s got you covered with speedy charging in the case. Wireless connectivity here is via Bluetooth 5.0 with SBC and AAC codec compatibility. That’s fine for handling even the biggest high-resolution audio files from any of the streaming services that offer them, but nevertheless, it’s not quite at the cutting edge. To make the digital assistant available, you’ll have to go into the Touchpad settings in the companion app and select ‘Voice Command’ on either the left or right earbud, or both. When enabling the feature on my Android smartphone, I was met with responsive and speedy results. The results were practically the same on macOS with Siri pulling up Apple Music and calendar requests with ease. LG Tone Free review: App and special features
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In terms of design, the LG Tone FP8 borrows a few pointers from the Apple AirPods Pro. Both sets of buds use silicone eartips that fit snugly into the ear canal by way of an ear-conforming shell that extends out to a small nub that runs outside the ear. Aesthetically there are a lot of similarities – but not enough to make them exact replicas of one another. According to LG, the case kills about 99.9% of bacteria on the earbuds between uses – which is kind of comforting if someone in your house, say a girlfriend, likes to borrow your earbuds without telling you and doesn’t ever clean them.
Without a rhythm to get tripped up by, the LGs are a confident and poised listen. They're far from the most dynamic-sounding pair of earbuds around, mind you – both the ‘crescendo’ stuff and the more subtle harmonic dynamics in both of these tunes are handled with great subtlety (if you like the LG style) or are rather understated (if you don’t). For our money, this reticence makes the HBS-FN7 a less engaging listen than they otherwise might be. How they’ll hold up to higher decibel sounds like an airplane engine remains to be tested – another unfortunate downside of the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic – but so far we’ve been relatively impressed with the FP8’s noise cancellation chops next to our overworked air conditioner – the next best environment for a noise cancelling test.On top of everything else, the earbuds are IPX4 water-resistant that makes them fine companions for the gym or a light sprinkle and they offer upscaled spatial audio – similar in some respects to Creative’s Super XFi technology. We’ll get more into the weeds with that in a minute but the effects are fun… though maybe not as immersive as we’d like them to be.
We’re always happy to see aptX Low Latency involved if for no other reason than a lot of us tend to consume video content while on the move – but LG hasn’t quite got around to it yet. The charging case itself has a party piece, of course: it uses UV light to clean the earbuds free from bacteria when they’re inside and the lid is closed. Until we see a wireless speaker with an integrated hand sanitiser dispenser, this is the product feature that’s most appropriate for the times. The other issue you’ll encounter is that the buds might drop the connection every so often. It happened less frequently after we updated to the latest software, but right out of the box the buds might cut out on you every once in a while should you choose not to update. Battery lifeWhen placed into the charging case – and only when said case is connected to a power outlet – the FN6 earbuds are subjected to a 10-minute UV light cleaning process that supposedly eliminates 99.9% of bacteria. Don’t expect a car-wash level cleanse, but it is reassuring to know the FN6 lead a much cleaner lifestyle than most earbuds – particularly at a time when hygiene is at the forefront of everyone’s minds.
While it’s a great idea on paper, I found very little distinction between these modes. For example, bass boost felt as though it was simply minimising the mids and high as opposed to providing the bass with any real oomph. Only the custom modes gave way to any discernible difference, but in the end I stayed with the default mode as it offered the best level of clarity. Battery life, with active noise-cancelling switched on, is an entirely unremarkable 16 hours or so, all in – that’s five hours in the earbuds themselves and another couple of charges in the case. That figure rises to more like 21 hours if you turn noise-cancelling off. However, not everything passes the eye test. You have to commend LG for trying something different by integrating UV lighting into the charging case, but there’s no ordinary way to determine whether the feature effectively sanitizes the buds. Something that we do know doesn’t work properly are the touch controls, which are highly sensitive to touch and often misinterpret commands. Granted, while I did grow more accustomed to the quirks of the touch sensors and the expected amount of time needed for a touch to register, it still made for an imperfect system. And even though music is supposed to stop playing when you remove the earbuds, I never found this to be a guarantee.The Tone Free app offers you the opportunity to rearrange the touch-surface settings if you fancy. It’s also where you’ll find a selection of Merdian’s EQ settings (‘bass boost’, ‘treble boost’‘natural’ and ‘immersive’, none of which need much explanation) plus the place to store a couple of your own. With the Meridian EQ set to ‘natural’ (who doesn’t want their music to sound natural, after all?) and a Qobuz-derived 24bit/88.2kHz file of A Tribe Called Quest’s We The People…playing, there’s more than enough sonic talent on display to make the HBS-FN7 a decently engrossing listen. It all sounds great on paper, but here’s the problem: there’s no way to see the actual results. You’re basically taking their word for it, and while the certifications do instill some sense of trust, there’s no practical way for the average consumer to determine whether the buds are indeed a germ-free after a 10-minute charge. LG Tone Free review: Sound quality So take your time to really understand the sort of product you’re looking for. Think about the sort of features that you need. Which ones are “nice-to-have” and which ones are absolutely critical. If you’re looking for a cheap option then don’t even consider the products that are all signing all dancing because you’ll be paying for features that you don’t need. Choose your retailer wisely
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