I thought the Apple AirPods Pro 2 were perfect – LG proved me wrong
I’ve made no secret of my love for Apple’s AirPods Pro 2. In fact, I love them so much I even bought my partner a pair so he could understand why I wear them every day – though I wish I’d picked them up when they were discounted, but I digress.
Being a headphone reviewer, I get to listen to a plethora of headphones and earbuds, and while I’ve definitely come across some top-performing pairs like the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, I’ve always returned to my trusted AirPods for their sound quality, noise cancellation and seamless connectivity with my iPhone. I really do believe them to be among the best wireless earbuds you can buy.
At least that was until LG came along with its latest set of flagship earbuds, the ToneFree T90S.
TechRadar’s LG ToneFree T90S review went live back in August but, at the time, they weren’t available in Australia where I’m based. I was eagerly awaiting details of their arrival as our review painted them to be a truly talented set, chock full of useful, innovative features and delivering “supremely balanced audio.” I was also intrigued by their ability to support Dolby Atmos – LG claims the buds to be the first true wireless set to support the 3D sound technology across all content and devices.
The AirPods Pro 2 support Dolby Atmos spatial audio when connected to an iOS device and with music being streamed via Apple Music, while the aforementioned Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds employ a proprietary Immersive Audio mode that also provides device-agnostic spatial audio but technically not fully-fledged Dolby Atmos. I’ve personally never been one to immediately jump on the spatial audio bandwagon, but I was prepared to give LG the opportunity to see if it could prove to me that it’s the next best thing in personal audio.
Size doesn’t always matter
One of the main reasons I love the AirPods so much is just how well they fit in my ears (I’m a bit picky when it comes to headphone comfort, which is why I also love the Sonos Ace). The whole process couldn’t be simpler: just take them out of the case and pop them into my ears, no fidgeting required. I’ve come across other pairs of in-ear headphones that either take a while to feel good in the ear, or they just feel uncomfortable no matter how much I try.
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Fortunately, I experienced no such issues with LG ToneFree T90S, which surprised me considering just how small they are. Both the earbuds themselves and the case are incredibly compact and, to be honest, I wasn’t immediately sure the two of us were going to become friends. But I found removing them from their case was easy, and placing them in my ears and achieving a perfect fit the first time was equally simple.
Music to my ears
The sound quality of the LG T90S earbuds is what took me most by surprise in comparison to my beloved AirPods Pro 2. I’d personally never really considered LG to be a particularly big player in the world of personal audio – the company makes some of the best TVs, but it hasn’t typically made our list of the best headphones or earbuds. But, boy, do the ToneFree T90S earbuds buck that trend. I’ve regularly praised Apple’s iconic buds for their clarity and balance but, when I wore the LG T90S for the first time and pressed play, I was taken aback by just how much more engaging they sounded. Bass levels were great and the whole soundstage had a greater sense of depth.
My initial listening sessions were conducted with Dolby Atmos disabled for third-party headphones from my iPhone, yet LG’s buds still managed to deliver a 3D-like soundstage. The effect was subtle, but voices and instruments were clearly placed all around my ears, as opposed to more obviously directly in my ear canal.
When I enabled Dolby Atmos via Apple Music for third-party headphones in my iPhone’s settings, it was a truly pleasant experience. That! Feels Good!, the opening track of Jessie Ware’s album of the same name features various voices speaking the track title – with Dolby Atmos enabled, those voices came from all around me. Some could be heard from out and up to my left while others sounded like they were coming from over my right shoulder. Disable it, however, and while the voices still came left and right, there was little in the way of separation, to the point where it sounded a little messy.
The AirPods did still manage to place voices, but not to the same extent. They sounded much closer to me, compared to the more expansive soundstage served up by the LG buds.
Listening to Californian Soil by English trio London Grammar revealed the LG to be the more impactful pair again. Bass beats are delivered with a lot more gusto compared to the AirPods, and while the sound from Apple’s flagship buds wasn’t disappointing by any means, it sounded a little flat in comparison.
Apple still ripe in some areas
Now, one area where Apple does still have LG beat is with noise cancellation. I used both pairs on my commute to work on a busy train and the AirPods Pro 2 were able to cancel out more external sound, even when music wasn’t being played. LG’s pair does a mighty fine job when music is playing, but as soon as there was a break in a track or I was waiting for the next one to load, I could hear what was going on around me pretty clearly.
Both have the ability to let in ambient sound, or turn noise cancellation off entirely, although I personally never use either of these settings.
LG’s ToneFree mobile app opens up a few possibilities for sound customization, including preset sound profiles tuned by British audio brand Meridian. Immersive and 3D Sound Stage quickly became my favorites, with the latter being the one I would tend to use the most as it was the more spacious of the two to my ears. The AirPods Pro 2 doesn’t have any companion app to adjust the sound profile and, instead, you need to rely on the standard built-in EQ options within an iOS device’s settings.
Another feature I love about LG’s buds – although I haven’t yet had a real need to try it out – is the ability to transmit audio to the buds from the charging case when it’s plugged into an audio source. The most obvious use case for this would be on a flight, as you can plug the case into the in-flight entertainment system and have the audio transmitted to the earbuds. LG’s buds aren’t the first to offer this feature – it’s also available in the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 and JBL Tour Pro 3 – but it’s a great one to have all the same.
And, speaking further on the case, there’s UV lights that LG claims will sanitize the earbuds when they’re placed inside. As far as I know, no other brand offers this feature and I really can’t tell if it’s effective as I’d need a laboratory to help me prove it works. It might even seem a bit gimmicky, but it’s good to have another item on the list of features.
Finally, if you’re someone who’s constantly taking or making calls while wearing your earbuds, the ToneFree T90S features what’s called Whispering Mode. With this activated, you can remove the right earbud and hold it up to your mouth to use as a microphone. As the feature name implies, you only need to talk quietly – the app even says if you speak loudly, you “may experience poor audio quality.” I can see this being especially useful when commuting, as it’s never fun having to talk loudly in a train carriage or bus, only for everyone around you to clearly hear your (one-sided) conversation.
LG comes up trumps
Until I received the LG ToneFree T90S earbuds, I would automatically encourage anyone with an iPhone to get the AirPods Pro 2. It’s a little trickier with Android devices as there are many pairs catering to all budgets that get the job done.
Since using LG’s latest set, though, I’m now firmly of the opinion that Apple has fallen a little farther from its pedestal position and I encourage everyone to give the T90S an audition. I guarantee you won’t regret it.