Review
Introduction
The LG Tone Pro bluetooth headset is a solid contender for the ear space of anyone who is looking for comfortable wear, long battery life and respectable audio quality.
Description
The headset consists of a thick, C-shaped cable worn around the back of the neck, with a slightly thicker control unit on each side of the opening in front. Each control unit contains a button and a slide switch, with the power switch on the right-hand unit. A small magnet on the front of each control unit holds an earbud in place. Each earbud includes a medium-sized ear gel. Thin wires connect each ear bud to its corresponding control unit.
In the Box
The box contains the headset, a bag of extra ear gels, a micro USB charging cable (without an AC adapter), the manual and some additional inaccessible paperwork.
My Experience
With an iPhone 7 on the way, I realized I would need to cope with its missing headphone jack. In addition to purchasing a charging case and lightning dock from Apple, I decided a Bluetooth headset might also be a good idea.
Since I needed to pick up an urgent IT product for our business anyway, I decided to check out the headsets available at our local Best Buy. I was looking for a pair of headphones with a sufficiently long battery life and short charging time for music, radio and podcast listening while going to sleep and doing housework.
When I go to bed, I plug my iPhone into its charging cable and listen to the headphones. They are surprisingly comfortable despite the cable behind my neck. When I start the early-morning part of my day, I continue listening while doing housework and working on my computer. During the day, while I am spending time with my baby daughter, I keep the headphones plugged into their charging cable, so they are ready for the next bed time.
Conclusion
After using the headphones for four days, I am pleasantly surprised with their comfort, range and reasonably good sounding audio quality. Although I am new to Bluetooth headphones, I have to say that my first experience has been quite positive with this product.
I would recommend the LG Tone Pro Bluetooth headphones for most people, especially those who want a reasonably priced way to listen to their iPhone 7 while charging its battery.
Someone said the iPhone 7 would be a boon to accessory makers, and, after spending just over $200 so far, I am inclined to believe them.
Best Buy Price (as of Sept. 15): $69.95
Pros:
- Comfortable.
- Long battery life.
- Self voicing of battery, connectivity and pairing status.
- Sufficient wireless range to listen around the house.
- Surprising audio quality in a Bluetooth headset.
Cons:
- Latency, especially when interacting with iOS while listening to VoiceOver.
- Excessive beeping while editing or typing text with VoiceOver enabled.
- Confusing way of interacting with Siri by pressing, rather than holding, a button on the headset.
- Inaccessible paper and PDF product manuals.
- Potentially complicated Bluetooth pairing process when connecting to another device.
Comments
I had the 700 model, and the
I had the 700 model, and the voiceover lag was unbearable. Could only use the headset for listening to media, not any voiceover activity. I have the 800 model now, and it works great with voiceover. Basically no lag. Really great for household work and commuting. Also, you can get slightly used headsets on amazon for cheaper. I got both of mine for less than $40. I have had no issues with either of them malfunctioning.
Bluetooth VoiceOver lag
Interesting that two different models from the same company exhibit different latency behaviour with voiceover. I wonder what the difference between the 800 and the 810 is. It's a gamble trying all these earbuds. We can't return Ear buds to most stores for sanitary reasons.
I live in Canada the selection of products is quite different otherwise I'd order from Amazon because we can return earbuds .
1100 has no lag or beep
I've the Platinum (HBS1100) and it has no lag or beep
Other advantages of the HBS-1100?
Hi Kevin,
What are the other advantages (or disadvantages) compared with the HBS-770?
Thanks,
Darrell
I'm not familiar with 770, so
I'm not familiar with 770, so cannot compare it to 1100.
Bluetooth spec
The lag is caused by the version of bluetooth used. 3.0 and lower will lag, while 3.0 +HS and up will not. It's as simple as that. The only thing to keep in mind is that both devices (your device and the headset) must support the later Bluetooth versions in order to be free of the lag.
I had a 910
I had an LG HBS 910, similar design with an updated Bluetooth specification. I absolutely loved it... until it broke after three months. The left earbud cable shorted out without warning.