[james444]

^^ They claim 24/96 Snapdragon Sound but list Codecs as SBC/AAC so would need to conform this.

Now up on the US site too. List of codecs in the specs is SBC, AAC and apt-X Adaptive(Snapdragon):

https://www.lg.com/us/headphones/lg-tone-t90q-white

 

[C_Lindbergh]

Insane specs on those new LGs, will have to check them out! I have no experience with any LG tws tho, hopefully I the ANC/SQ/Ambient/App will impress me!

 

[cresny]

Are they mostly useable without the Huawei app?

Some Freebuds pro 2 of updates/corrections.
1. Turns out that the earbud ANC control is ANC -> Ambient -> Off, so I misstated that.
2. They sound good with ANC off, not thin like the Gemini.
3. Multipoint is well implemented, can smoothly use phone simultaneously with laptop, media pauses when switching. Just 2 devices though.

Sorry, one last update. It turns out you need the App to turn on LDAC decoding. I got mine working and it's noticeably better, at 96hz 32bit, was on AAC before. Of course, if you have an iPhone this won't matter. Otherwise, if you are in USA scan the barcode when VPN'd to anywhere else.

 

[helmutcheese]

Now up on the US site too. List of codecs in the specs is SBC, AAC and apt-X Adaptive(Snapdragon):

https://www.lg.com/us/headphones/lg-tone-t90q-white

Cool looking now but they list them as BT 5.2 in the main specs then in battery specs list as BT 5.3, I wonder what chipset it uses as it has to be QUALCOMM for Snapdragon cert AFAIK.

 

[FSTOP]

Sorry, one last update. It turns out you need the App to turn on LDAC decoding. I got mine working and it's noticeably better, at 96hz 32bit, was on AAC before. Of course, if you have an iPhone this won't matter. Otherwise, if you are in USA scan the barcode when VPN'd to anywhere else.

Cresny,
I got my FreeBuds Pro2 as well (from Amz UK), sound and fit pretty good. Downloaded/installed latest apk for app from Huawei. Connected immediately, paired, started playing. But when i hit the Tab for the FBp2 it does nothing, cant open settings at all, so cant control ANYTHING. Any suggestions? Tried rebooting phone, app, etc with no success. Bluetooth connects immediately with buds, works fine but no control whatsoever in app.

 

[cresny]

Cresny,
I got my FreeBuds Pro2 as well (from Amz UK), sound and fit pretty good. Downloaded/installed latest apk for app from Huawei. Connected immediately, paired, started playing. But when i hit the Tab for the FBp2 it does nothing, cant open settings at all, so cant control ANYTHING. Any suggestions? Tried rebooting phone, app, etc with no success. Bluetooth connects immediately with buds, works fine but no control whatsoever in app.

If you're iPhone I don't think I can help, buton Android, there are different ways of installing. You can download their app store and install it or you can VPN to England or wherever and simply download the APK by scanning the QR code on the box. In any case, I would at least try deleting and reinstalling.
Nvm, I see that you're Android. One of those methods should get you going. Also it's worth noting that when you install the AI Life app, the headphone tab shows up first, then it downloads the config. Maybe you got stuck there.

 

[FSTOP]

If you're iPhone I don't think I can help, buton Android, there are different ways of installing. You can download their app store and install it or you can VPN to England or wherever and simply download the APK by scanning the QR code on the box. In any case, I would at least try deleting and reinstalling.
Nvm, I see that you're Android. One of those methods should get you going. Also it's worth noting that when you install the AI Life app, the headphone tab shows up first, then it downloads the config. Maybe you got stuck there.

Thanks! Deleted&reinstalled, finally got it to work.
How did you change the codec to LDAC?

 

[cresny]

Thanks! Deleted&reinstalled, finally got it to work.
How did you change the codec to LDAC?

Toggle high res decoding. It's hidden in sound effects

 

[FSTOP]

Toggle high res decoding. It's hidden in sound effects

Guess im still not getting all of the app settings, dont even see a sound effects tab (no eq, presets, etc).

 

[Juturna]

Can somebody explain to me a bit how the codecs work in regards to one thing? So, I mainly use my Android phone for music listening, and I've heard people say that AAC isn't that good/reliable on Android in comparison to iOS devices.

But I mostly use Apple Music when I stream music, and from what I understand, it outputs the music in AAC format. Am I losing more on using SBC over AAC when the app itself outputs files in AAC format? Also kinda confused how AAC is both a file format and a codec? So in the end it might not matter that the track is AAC because it's not the codec itself.

 

[Caipirina]

This looks interesting . but I have no clue about Final, nor whatever this limited edition is based on ... since there is no ANC, I am not super interested (other than the looks)

 

[Juturna]

I need to do a more in-depth review of the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro now when I've had it for awhile.

The L3P is honestly my favorite TWS that I've used so far, honestly both overall and sound quality-wise specifically.
Listening to them on LDAC is just an excellent experience, because the sound stage is honestly pretty fantastic for a TWS in comparison to the many other buds that I've tried before, it really has excellent depth and width to it, better than anything I've heard before in TWS's.
It's the first time with TWS's where I was listening to a track that has a guitar line that pans around your head, and it's the first time I feel like I can hear sounds coming straight from, not only in front of my eyes, but at a distance quite a bit in front of me. I feel like I'm listening to over-ear headphones (but obviously not open-backs because that's unrealistic to expect tbh) at times.

They also respond so well to EQ, they do sound a bit doo-doo just out of the box, but using Wavelet it really turns into something else. I thought they were extremely hyped up by some of the reviewers who put them at the top of the mainstream earbuds, but I honestly understand it now. The mids are beautiful and so clear where vocals just sound so damn good, and it doesn't sound "metallic" to my ears like some people have stated, but possibly it lacks a liiiittle bit in organic warmth around that section, but it's not something I think about much.
The highs are also really nice and detailed, and I feel like I've been able to reign in the peaky areas that originally had plenty of sibilance. I'm very treble/sibilance sensitive and I have basically no issues with it now.
I've gone back to my Galaxy Buds Pros and now they sound muddy and lacking clarity after me singing their praises just a few weeks/months back on here.
I've dialed back the bass quite a bit, and despite being able to bring some serious oomph, it's possibly the part of the earbuds that I find the weakest, because I would want the bass to be just a tad bit faster and more... tactile, is that the right word? I miss some definition in real bass guitars where you really hear the character of the bass notes, in other words it's kinda bloated... but I hate using that word hear because it's not that the bass bleeds too much into the mids or anything, it's still a warm, round bass. It's just slightly too warm for my taste when I'm listening to more instrument-based music. For electronic music the bass is pretty much perfect though.
I think I could possibly EQ some more and get more of that though, but I'm so happy right now that I don't want to mess with the sound any more.

I honestly think they could sound good for pretty much any genre of music, but they definitely shine more on modern music in comparison to old jazz and blues records. Listening to "Kind Of Blue" by Miles Davis right now and it sounds VERY good, but I could see something like the B&O EX POSSIBLY making that type of music shine even more but I still feel like it would maybe be 5-10% better, not more than that. But otherwise it's really great for electronic music like Drum & Bass, Garage, EDM, Pop, R&B, Hip-Hop, Death Metal, Hardcore, Post-Rock, Indie Rock, Folk, and yeah that's just a small assortment of genres that it definitely does sound great with.

Other good things:

• Phone calls seem very stable and nobody seems to have issues hearing me, which has been an issue with Galaxy Buds Pros that also seems to get worse with time. Not sure if it's skin and ear wax blocking the mics but I've looked at them and tried to use a light little brush to clean all the mics and that seems to not have helped.
• The App is really good and I like how many things you could change in it, they really tried to make it as decent as possible so you could change the sound to your liking (well, I still found it lacking compared to Wavelet but that's a different story), but I would argue that there are almost too many options that you can play around with.
• Comfort is really good to me, I still use the included L eartips that came in the packaging and they feel and sound great.
• The case has wireless charging which I haven't used to be fair, and is fairly lightweight and fits easily in a pocket, I would've liked for it to be smaller but it's not a big issue.
• ANC is pretty good for the most part, it seems a bit inconsistent in how well it works though and sometimes decreases sounds that I wouldn't expect it to by a lot, and sometimes lets through sounds that I would expect it to cancel way better.

The things I don't love:

• Battery life on LDAC - I think it's a crying shame that it's really this low. Because to my ears LDAC is a CLEAR and obvious upgrade on SBC or AAC. LDAC makes the sound go from a 7/10 to a 9/10 pretty much to my ears. To my ears it expands the soundstage and overall ups the resolution and clarity especially in the mids and treble, so I would never go down to SBC unless I REALLY REALLY have to conserve the battery life when I'm out and about basically, but even then I tend to stick with LDAC.
  I think battery life is ALMOST a deal breaker and I wish they would've included AptX (Adaptive? Not sure which one is the best if you exclude all the newest AptX Lossless talk) just as a middle ground. I would want 8 hours of battery life at least, but I could deal with 5-6 hours. But on LDAC I get 3 hours-ish which means that I almost always run out of battery before I put the earbuds down of my own volition.
• ANC - It's decent, somewhat good. But I think I read either here or on reddit that if the ear sensors are covered it can't provide ANC properly, which impacts the efficiency by a lot. The ear hooks tend to really slide and glide on the earbuds and they can end up blocking the ear sensors in that case, which means that it won't block any noise at all. I really wish the ANC was better at decreasing more mid and high frequency noises as well, but it's definitely not bad.
• Codecs. Well, I already mentioned it in the battery part. Wish they had more options than just SBC/AAC and LDAC.
• The design. They certainly aren't beautiful. Better than the biggest earbuds a la Bose QC Buds and Sony WF1000XM3, but sure as hell not pretty in the ears, and they don't exactly look especially luxurious either even if they're not necessarily cheap-looking either.
• The wingtips. I'm of the opinion that wingtips can be helpful to make earbuds fit better in the ear for sports and so on, but I don't like the fact that these earbuds were designed in a way where it doesn't make sense to wear them without any wingtips (sharp edges and looks/fits weird), which to me feels like a flawed design from the start. Either do the wingtips a la Beats Fit Pros where they're actually integrated to the earbuds completely, or have them be complementary if you really need it for heavy sports.
  Doesn't help that some people say that their wingtips kinda disintegrate with time (or well, gets all loose and don't fit anymore)
• The crackling sounds - Some songs do get a slight crackle to them, at least on LDAC. I don't really understand why it happens, and I wish something could be done software-wise to make sure it doesn't happen, but since it hasn't happened yet, I don't really see it happening. It's not on all tracks either so it's a minor inconvenience imo.
• The transparency mode is slightly weaker than I would've liked. I could with some effort have a conversation with it on, but it's not as strong as I would've liked. I much prefer the Galaxy Buds Pro/Airpods Pro way of being able to really dial in a lot more sound even if it means it sounds less natural. Would I wish the sound was so natural that I didn't know I was wearing earbuds? Yes, duh. But what I prefer in any way is having transparency on so I can actually hear my surroundings and what people are saying to me when I activate it, 100%.
  
  

Look, so they are most likely not better than the Fokus Pro's of the world for sound quality, and maybe the B&O EX could school them in clarity (maybe) and luxurious design/feel, but for the price difference? I paid $79 for mine, and they sound better than some earbuds I've tried for about 4x the cost and is also an overall good earbud as well with good mics and good for sound quality, decent case, good features, and really good all-rounders but with the added benefit of being at the top of the game for sound quality if you really mess with Wavelet and EQ them to your hearts desire.
If you get them for a cheap price and you're willing to mess with Wavelet, they're such a good set of earbuds. If you find them for full retail... I'd honestly say in hindsight that they're worth that price as well, at least to me. Your mileage may vary, though.

 

[cresny]

Guess im still not getting all of the app settings, dont even see a sound effects tab (no eq, presets, etc).

Yeah that happened to me. The headphones are recognized as the old Freebuds Pro, not 2. I wish they would come up with better model naming! Anyway, what you have to do is delete it, pair manually, then choose the "2" one.

 

[Bhelpoori]

Can somebody explain to me a bit how the codecs work in regards to one thing? So, I mainly use my Android phone for music listening, and I've heard people say that AAC isn't that good/reliable on Android in comparison to iOS devices.

But I mostly use Apple Music when I stream music, and from what I understand, it outputs the music in AAC format. Am I losing more on using SBC over AAC when the app itself outputs files in AAC format? Also kinda confused how AAC is both a file format and a codec? So in the end it might not matter that the track is AAC because it's not the codec itself.

You are confused because there are actually two encodes and decodes going on:
1. Encoded by the Studio or the Music Service e.g. Spotify or Tidal or Warner etc. This is an encode that is the best the encoder can give and is often heavily managed today in the music production chain.
2. This is then decoded in your device into a lossless format that is then mixed with other sounds e.g notifications
3. The lossless mix of your music and other sounds are then encoded in real time into the format the headphone desires e.g. SBC, AAC, LDAC and sent across the Bluetooth radio connection
4. The radio connection stream is then stripped of the wrapping and sent to the decoder where it feeds the amplifier of your headphone.

Apple Music is (1) and your SBC/AAC is (3).

AAC is not the file format. You can encode music from e.g. CD using AAC but if you do that it typically goes into an MP4 type file container.

Also, AAC is a 20 year+ set of encoding tools so it is a generic codec name like BMW is a generic car name…

Android does have a great encoder and decoder in most modern builds. The encode efficiency at (3) however, is often compromised by the energy management system policy of Android as set by the device manufacturer, and the reluctance to pay license fees for more modern AAC tools.

 

[Ceeluh7]

I need to do a more in-depth review of the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro now when I've had it for awhile.

The L3P is honestly my favorite TWS that I've used so far, honestly both overall and sound quality-wise specifically.
Listening to them on LDAC is just an excellent experience, because the sound stage is honestly pretty fantastic for a TWS in comparison to the many other buds that I've tried before, it really has excellent depth and width to it, better than anything I've heard before in TWS's.
It's the first time with TWS's where I was listening to a track that has a guitar line that pans around your head, and it's the first time I feel like I can hear sounds coming straight from, not only in front of my eyes, but at a distance quite a bit in front of me. I feel like I'm listening to over-ear headphones (but obviously not open-backs because that's unrealistic to expect tbh) at times.

They also respond so well to EQ, they do sound a bit doo-doo just out of the box, but using Wavelet it really turns into something else. I thought they were extremely hyped up by some of the reviewers who put them at the top of the mainstream earbuds, but I honestly understand it now. The mids are beautiful and so clear where vocals just sound so damn good, and it doesn't sound "metallic" to my ears like some people have stated, but possibly it lacks a liiiittle bit in organic warmth around that section, but it's not something I think about much.
The highs are also really nice and detailed, and I feel like I've been able to reign in the peaky areas that originally had plenty of sibilance. I'm very treble/sibilance sensitive and I have basically no issues with it now.
I've gone back to my Galaxy Buds Pros and now they sound muddy and lacking clarity after me singing their praises just a few weeks/months back on here.
I've dialed back the bass quite a bit, and despite being able to bring some serious oomph, it's possibly the part of the earbuds that I find the weakest, because I would want the bass to be just a tad bit faster and more... tactile, is that the right word? I miss some definition in real bass guitars where you really hear the character of the bass notes, in other words it's kinda bloated... but I hate using that word hear because it's not that the bass bleeds too much into the mids or anything, it's still a warm, round bass. It's just slightly too warm for my taste when I'm listening to more instrument-based music. For electronic music the bass is pretty much perfect though.
I think I could possibly EQ some more and get more of that though, but I'm so happy right now that I don't want to mess with the sound any more.

I honestly think they could sound good for pretty much any genre of music, but they definitely shine more on modern music in comparison to old jazz and blues records. Listening to "Kind Of Blue" by Miles Davis right now and it sounds VERY good, but I could see something like the B&O EX POSSIBLY making that type of music shine even more but I still feel like it would maybe be 5-10% better, not more than that. But otherwise it's really great for electronic music like Drum & Bass, Garage, EDM, Pop, R&B, Hip-Hop, Death Metal, Hardcore, Post-Rock, Indie Rock, Folk, and yeah that's just a small assortment of genres that it definitely does sound great with.

Other good things:

• Phone calls seem very stable and nobody seems to have issues hearing me, which has been an issue with Galaxy Buds Pros that also seems to get worse with time. Not sure if it's skin and ear wax blocking the mics but I've looked at them and tried to use a light little brush to clean all the mics and that seems to not have helped.
• The App is really good and I like how many things you could change in it, they really tried to make it as decent as possible so you could change the sound to your liking (well, I still found it lacking compared to Wavelet but that's a different story), but I would argue that there are almost too many options that you can play around with.
• Comfort is really good to me, I still use the included L eartips that came in the packaging and they feel and sound great.
• The case has wireless charging which I haven't used to be fair, and is fairly lightweight and fits easily in a pocket, I would've liked for it to be smaller but it's not a big issue.
• ANC is pretty good for the most part, it seems a bit inconsistent in how well it works though and sometimes decreases sounds that I wouldn't expect it to by a lot, and sometimes lets through sounds that I would expect it to cancel way better.

The things I don't love:

• Battery life on LDAC - I think it's a crying shame that it's really this low. Because to my ears LDAC is a CLEAR and obvious upgrade on SBC or AAC. LDAC makes the sound go from a 7/10 to a 9/10 pretty much to my ears. To my ears it expands the soundstage and overall ups the resolution and clarity especially in the mids and treble, so I would never go down to SBC unless I REALLY REALLY have to conserve the battery life when I'm out and about basically, but even then I tend to stick with LDAC.
  I think battery life is ALMOST a deal breaker and I wish they would've included AptX (Adaptive? Not sure which one is the best if you exclude all the newest AptX Lossless talk) just as a middle ground. I would want 8 hours of battery life at least, but I could deal with 5-6 hours. But on LDAC I get 3 hours-ish which means that I almost always run out of battery before I put the earbuds down of my own volition.
• ANC - It's decent, somewhat good. But I think I read either here or on reddit that if the ear sensors are covered it can't provide ANC properly, which impacts the efficiency by a lot. The ear hooks tend to really slide and glide on the earbuds and they can end up blocking the ear sensors in that case, which means that it won't block any noise at all. I really wish the ANC was better at decreasing more mid and high frequency noises as well, but it's definitely not bad.
• Codecs. Well, I already mentioned it in the battery part. Wish they had more options than just SBC/AAC and LDAC.
• The design. They certainly aren't beautiful. Better than the biggest earbuds a la Bose QC Buds and Sony WF1000XM3, but sure as hell not pretty in the ears, and they don't exactly look especially luxurious either even if they're not necessarily cheap-looking either.
• The wingtips. I'm of the opinion that wingtips can be helpful to make earbuds fit better in the ear for sports and so on, but I don't like the fact that these earbuds were designed in a way where it doesn't make sense to wear them without any wingtips (sharp edges and looks/fits weird), which to me feels like a flawed design from the start. Either do the wingtips a la Beats Fit Pros where they're actually integrated to the earbuds completely, or have them be complementary if you really need it for heavy sports.
  Doesn't help that some people say that their wingtips kinda disintegrate with time (or well, gets all loose and don't fit anymore)
• The crackling sounds - Some songs do get a slight crackle to them, at least on LDAC. I don't really understand why it happens, and I wish something could be done software-wise to make sure it doesn't happen, but since it hasn't happened yet, I don't really see it happening. It's not on all tracks either so it's a minor inconvenience imo.
• The transparency mode is slightly weaker than I would've liked. I could with some effort have a conversation with it on, but it's not as strong as I would've liked. I much prefer the Galaxy Buds Pro/Airpods Pro way of being able to really dial in a lot more sound even if it means it sounds less natural. Would I wish the sound was so natural that I didn't know I was wearing earbuds? Yes, duh. But what I prefer in any way is having transparency on so I can actually hear my surroundings and what people are saying to me when I activate it, 100%.
  

Look, so they are most likely not better than the Fokus Pro's of the world for sound quality, and maybe the B&O EX could school them in clarity (maybe) and luxurious design/feel, but for the price difference? I paid $79 for mine, and they sound better than some earbuds I've tried for about 4x the cost and is also an overall good earbud as well with good mics and good for sound quality, decent case, good features, and really good all-rounders but with the added benefit of being at the top of the game for sound quality if you really mess with Wavelet and EQ them to your hearts desire.
If you get them for a cheap price and you're willing to mess with Wavelet, they're such a good set of earbuds. If you find them for full retail... I'd honestly say in hindsight that they're worth that price as well, at least to me. Your mileage may vary, though.

Nice job man! Great write up. Couldn't agree more too