Customer Ratings & Reviews

LG commands respect for innovating; especially creating a new market segment. LG builds several versions of personal, wearable speakers. These TONE Studios are curious boomerang looking devices that cling to your neck. The TONE Studio HBS-W120 is the current Top-Of-The-Line personal speaker. The sleek aluminum design is a work of art. The DTS logo leave no doubt: Only Clear Audio is spoken here! LIKES: 1- The ability to listen to personal sound without inserting anything in, on, or around your ears. 2- The speakers produce sparkling clear high and mid frequencies. The earbuds are also clear, but the speakers are in a class by themselves for clarity. They do not sound tinny; sounds are transparent & are in your face. 3- Very long battery life: (Music: 6 hours with speakers / 35 hour with earbuds; 61 Day Standby time; Telephone: 16 hours with speakers / 40 Hours with earbuds). 4- Sets you apart from the crowd - these are Distinctive! TONES are COOL & feature a Beautiful, Futuristic Design. See photo: even "King Tut" rocks out with TONES! 5- Logically placed controls are intuitive and just make sense. 6- LG premium build quality. 7- Recharges using readily available USB (Micro USB cable included). 8- Longest range Bluetooth Version 4.2 connection allows roaming around your house without carrying your phone. Full 33 feet range. 9- Easy on / off slide button = 1 touch turn on; no Bluetooth fussing each time you use them. 10- Telephone calls are super clear & easy to manage. 11- Extremely practical for travel: carry one device & use speakers for hotel room; earbuds for air travel. 12- Two of these LG TONE Studios can even be paired to enjoy music or a movie together. Just buy 2) so you & a friend can share the experience. 13- Turn your head right or left and the sound follows the direction of your head! The further you turn your head in either direction, the louder the speaker on that side plays & it is completely variable. This adds to the realism of active participation in your environment. 14- Charge time is very fast: less than 2 hours. 15- Compelling DTS 3D soundstage. The more I listen, the more enjoyable I find these. My first impression was a "2 Star" product, because of the lack of bass. After hours of enjoyable listening & comparing, the only reason I do not rate them a full "5 Star" product is the lack of bass. 16- Lightweight & Comfortable: 4.4 oz. & soft body - it is easy to forget you are wearing them for hours. 17- Bluetooth direct connection to late model LG TV's allow for great night viewing without disturbing others - see photo taken in my Theatre. 18- 3-Position equalizer onboard with voice identification of the setting: "Normal / Treble / Bass". 19- No latency detected; excellent lip sync on movies. 20- Separate buttons to control iPhone Siri ; Play / Pause; Volume Knob / Equalizer; Power On / Off; Speakers / Earbud Selector; Fast Forward / Reverse. DISLIKES: 1- Weak bass through the speakers, despite subwoofers that transmit haptic vibrations to your collar bone / neck. That just does not translate to hearing bass frequencies. 2- No carry case provided. This is significant, because TONES are not collapsible, so they are an awkward shape to store / carry on a plane & are subject to damage when not being worn. I am searching for an aftermarket case for these now.

The setup for the LG TONE Studio HBS-W120 Wireless In-Ear Headphones was simple. As you turn it on for the first time, it starts looking for a device to pair. If you have your phone or other bluetooth device in pairing mode, you device will find it as LG HBSW120. A unique feature of this wireless pair of headphones is that it also doubles as speakers. This functionality seems redundant at first, but it’s actually quite useful and you will find yourself using headphones in places you normally wouldn’t. The headset also has an auxiliary port so that you can connect to non-bluetooth electronics. If you plan on using the headphones portion more often, a nice feature on those is that they are retractable and not magnetic. This means that they won’t randomly fall off and dangle while your are doing activities with motion. They are, however, heavier than your average neck-resting headphones. The headphones’ performance is simply put, superb. The headphones themselves have comfortable round gel ear-tips. The ones that came by default fit me perfectly, but smaller gel ear-tips were included. They block out enough noise for you to hear your audio. I used them as a passenger on a road trip and my driver had the radio full blast and she was signing, yet I could still hear my audio. The performance of the speaker is also good for when you don’t want to block out sound. A good example of this is when you are bike-riding and need to listen for traffic around you. Also, I can see this being a solution for people whose car radio may not work but don’t want to block out all outside noise by wearing headphones. These wireless headphones meet my expectations. The fact that I can hear them as speakers or headphones is a big plus. The added bonus of an auxiliary port extends the number of electronics I can connect these to. The price for the wireless headsets in terms of value is acceptable depending on what you intend to use them. If you only plan on using the wireless in-ear headset, then LG sells other less expensive but equally good products. However, if you can see yourself using the speaker option as well, then you should definitely invest in these. I highly recommend this product for people own multiple bluetooth and none-bluetooth electronics to meet your needs. These quickly became my new favorite wireless headphones for use with everything except exercise. Because of the intended resting location of the speakers, high amounts of moisture can definitely damage the speakers. Also, when you use the auxiliary port, the sound can only come out via the speaker functionality. The two reasons mentioned above are why I am deducting 1 star. It is still an excellent product, but if the auxiliary port had allowed sound to come out from the in-ear headphones as well, I would have given it the full 5 stars. This is now my main headset for when using the Nintendo Switch, as they comfortably rest on my neck and the sound is coming out from the speakers closer to my ears, so I struggle less in hearing what is happening in the game.

I like to exercise in the gym and go on runs - one thing I've noticed about a lot of headphones is that if you want really good workout headphones, you lose almost all bass and they deliver almost all treble. I've got another collar setup that I use when I want a richer sound experience, but the collar keeps moving - it's basically not weighted enough to stay in one place. So I was curious to try the LG Tone setup because it looked like a meatier collar setup - and I was also curious about the surround sound option LG touted. Basically, you can pair this headset and there's 4 speakers on the collar and you can play music or calls through that instead of having to use the earbuds. There's a switch on the collar to go from speakers to earbuds. This is also my first collar that has retractable earbuds, with my other ones, the earbuds were attached to fixed-length cords. I was a little nervous since the earbud cords are very thin, but the earbuds come out and retract pretty easily, just make sure you don't yank on them too hard. I worked out at the gym with the earbuds and was surprised that the collar didn't move near as much as my other one. It passed the workout test, so I took it on a run. Collars will always bounce around a bit when running, but I was also pleasantly surprised to see the LG hung pretty well. I paired it with my PS4 and played some games using the surround sound - it was cool to hear the sound closer to my ears, but it didn't sound as good as when I used the earbuds - unless you have the occasion to work from home, or a private office, I have a hard time imagining a situation where you'd use the surround sound option versus the earbuds. So in all, my only 2 gripes with the LG collar are the surround sound doesn't sound near as rich as the sound in the earbuds and the lack of noise cancelling function. My other collar setup has noise cancelling built in, so that makes for a better sound experience. From a utility stance, I like that the LG collar's earbuds are housed inside the collar, so I don't have to worry about pulling the collar out of my gym bag. If you like collar setups and want something with a bit of utility, then the LG Tone Studio is something you should check out.

Last week I received the LG Tone Studio HBS-W120 Wireless In-Ear headphones for review. I’ll be honest in saying that I wasn’t expecting much from these headphones, but I am quite surprised at how well they perform! First off – they are in-ear headphones that can be used for both music and phone calls. The work great for that – good sound quality, comfortable. You wear the ring around your neck full time – but is it comfortable enough that I don’t even notice they are there! Second – you can have them play out loud over the 4 speakers built into the neck band – so you don’t have to use the in-ear part! That is an awesome feature that also produces good sound and allows you to hear your surroundings if needed – like if you’re out on a walk. The subwoofers don’t thump like your car stereo, but you get a tingle of bass on your shoulders to feel the music a bit more! Third – I was skeptical of the sound quality when used as a telephone headset. Usually I would sound tinny or distant to the remote caller, but I tested it both ways – with me wearing the headset and calling someone and with someone else wearing it and me calling them. Very impressed! I actually thought the other person was talking directly into their phone – I couldn’t tell a difference. It has some noise reduction capabilities helps in those conference calls as well! Nice Job LG! Pairing the headphones with Bluetooth was a breeze. There’s a 1/8” audio jack to plug in auxiliary players as well if your device doesn’t support Bluetooth. Battery length has been super too – 4-6 hours externally and more when using the in-ear headphones! The only con I have come up with is the fragileness of the retractable earbuds and the cord they are tethered to. I can see people pulling on these too hard and eventually breaking. To retract the earbuds, you pull once again and it rewinds. I have found that it didn’t rewind completely a few times already – so you must pull it out and try it again. That could be a little frustrating for some. Overall – great sound, comfortable fit, awesome phone calls but a little fragile. If you can be delicate with your electronics, these might be just the thing for you. If you are a bruiser – you might want to stick with over-the-head, corded headphones.

I can't really say that I'm a huge fan of these. I've never really been a big fan of earbuds as they typically get uncomfortable for me after a short time of use. These are definitely not the most usable if you're a much larger person. The biggest issue for me is that the speaker placement is behind my ears. I'm not sure if this is to emulate the surround experience but it only felt like I was listening to Stereo Sound. The added Micro Subs that are supposed to "Vibrate" to simulate LFE don't really do anything, again this could all be due to my larger frame. I would say if your over 250lbs with a large neck, you will probably not enjoy these at all. I did use the speaker mode with my TV, an older Vizio XVT423 with bluetooth, aside from there being latency, the tv uses a much older BT profiling version, and I will say they did a decent job. I didn't get any bit of a surround effect feeling at all from them, but they were clear, again though, nothing really there for low end so it was mostly just the high's coming through. Audio Quality wise, the earbuds lack depth, I listened to a variety of music over them and everything was just really bright with not much in the low end to replicate any bass whatsoever. For a pair of earbuds that are over $250, I expected a lot more and was disappointed. The earbuds and speakers do not work at the same time, they are controlled by a toggle, which makes sense, however it would have been nice had they word in conjunction to provide some low end response. If LG can figure out how to get a more even sound out the speakers and the earbuds and maybe make it where the neckband is adjustable to some degree they would have a real winner, but these at the current MSRP at $300 is big bite to chew on.

Eagerly awaited the opportunity of experiencing a wearable personal speaker featuring DTS Three Dimensional Surround Sound, Haptic User Technology, and adapted for Bluetooth and 3.5MM audio cable. What really intrigued me was there is little else on the market offering DTS Surround Sound and only a few headphones and sound devices with Haptic User Tech. I wanted to be engulfed by this fresh combination of sound reproduction and enjoy the new 'future-wave' of technology for music enjoyment and entertainment. As an audiophile, for over fifty years, I am thoroughly excited how our listening pleasure has evolved and transformed by digital tech over the last few decades. The LG engineers are on the cusp of dynamic advancement of digital tech with this LG TONE HBS-W120 Wearable Personal Speaker. When I received this complimentary, LG wearable speaker I devoured the included instructions while charging the unit. Couldn't wait to try them out. I visited the LG website and downloaded the entire 'User Manual', which is much easier to read and includes more comprehensive information and illustrations. I also registered the product for updates and such. At first the various controls and their location was a bit confusing, but now, after two weeks of daily use, they are a piece of cake. I consider my self 'active' for my age, and, walk, run, or bike every day. I live in a rural area of North Florida, which has the kind of weather all year 'round, which, enables me to exercise daily and enjoy outdoor activities. After two weeks of using this unique concept in alternative headphone technology, I am just absolutely astonished. First, I want to explain how this device fits into my daily 'activity' routines. This LG features voice audible information whenever you activate the operation buttons. After two weeks of using the all the various controls I am much more comfortable of how to operate them. For walking, running, and biking the LG-W120 is very easy to wear and comfortable as long as the unit does not touch my bare skin. It is lightweight, just a tad over four ounces. However, I live in a very humid climate, which is very unforgiving when man-made materials come in contact with your flesh. After the very first day I found wearing a neck-kerchief, or polo type of shirt prevented the unit from coming into contact with my bare skin. Jogging over five miles, biking over bumpy trails, and walking for two hours or more easily irritates the back of my neck if I don't have a natural fiber like cotton between my neck and the LG wearable speaker. Please keep that in mind if you are going to get into heavy aerobic activities. But, the huge Plus, Plus is that I don't have to wear uncomfortable, spongy, synthetic ear buds using this awesome LG wearable speaker. WooHoo! Now, for the sound quality. This baby is one of the newest pioneers in music delivery, reproduction, and pleasure. As an audiophile, who loves quality sound, I truly appreciate the combination of DTS Surround Sound coupled with Haptic Tech, the 'new-wave' of the future in music processing. Until recently, you needed a home theater receiver or preamplifier with a built-in DTS decoder, connected to five or more speakers, (front, sides, and back) to truly enjoy DTS Surround Sound. However, LG engineers have built-in DTS to their four speakers in this versatile, wearable speaker configuration device. At this writing I understand this is the only unit on the market with DTS Surround Sound Technology. The other exciting, avaunt-guard tech is Haptic User Technology. What is Haptic Tech you ask? Simply stated Haptic User Tech is technology that communicates with a user via sense or touch, or 'touchy-feely'. If you have a health watch that enables a vibration when you need to exercise more, or, a 'nudge-vibration' from a Smart Phone that you have a message, etc. that is Haptic Tech. It can be combined with audio sound to create a whole new atmosphere of sensory experience. The pair of vibrating speakers on the bottom of this unit actually vibrate and touch you, neck surface area, and collar bone. WoW! Pure listening pleasure. Since I live in a quiet, rural area, I realize the full effects of the DTS Surround Sound and Haptic User Tech while connected to my Smart Phone during my daily activities. I can only surmise that a busy city environment would be less then what I am able to experience, but still deliver incomparable Surround Sound quality. The DTS feature makes the Bluetooth capability a leader in wireless sound technology. What really blew me away is when I connected a 3.5mm audio cable (not included) to my receiver. Audiophiles, like me, prefer the wired connection for more dependability, clarity, and reliability. The replicated sound was three dimensional and alive. It reverberated from everywhere and I could not tell where the sound was coming from. Although this LG wearable speaker already has DTS decoding, the dynamics of the receiver and EQ were absolutely astounding. I now have a new 'best-friend'. YooHoo! Keep in mind that when you connect the 3.5mm audio cable to an auxiliary device the internal power is shut down on the HBS-W120 and the volume is only controlled by that particular auxiliary device. The mid-ranges of sound dimension are outstanding. The volume/control wheel button is the EQ mode of change – Bass is default, Normal is general, and Treble is high notes. You can change the mode by depressing the volume/control wheel once for each type of mode. Pressing the volume/control wheel twice mutes the sound. The versatility of this unit allows your Smart Phone's assistant to activate voice command operations. How cool is that? Siri can make phone calls for me and even read text messages, and your Android Assistant can do the same. You can receive a call by just depressing the dedicated call button for two seconds. I only use the retractable ear buds for receiving calls in privacy. You activate the earphones through the Speaker/Earphones mode. Don't get met wrong, the earphones are great listening quality too, I just don't like them in my ears, which is an outstanding reason to buy this kind of device. There is an indicator lamp, which tells you when the power is ON or OFF and flashes accordingly – voice activation also confirms this action and tells you what battery power is left when you first turn the unit ON. The LG HBS-W120 has also Advanced Audio Distribution (A2DP), Audio/Video Remote Control (AVRCP), which allows you to use the Play/Pause/Previous/Next Button on audio devices. Keep in mind that when you connect the 3.5mm audio cable to an auxiliary device the internal power is shut down on the HBS-W120 and the volume is only controlled by that particular auxiliary device. Another cool feature is the ability to connect two units utilizing Dual Play. This may be handy if two folks using two separate LG units want to share the same source of music or listening venue. The charging time is just a tad under two hours. The speaker use time is around six hours and the earphone mode is around thirty-five hours. In the box you get the LG Studio HBS-W120 Bluetooth Wearable Speaker unit; micro USB charging cable, extra set of ear gels (small); and User manual with Warranty Card. The unit build is of composite materials. The back of the unit, which fits around the back of your neck is flexible, whereas the main body is some sort of plasticized material. I love these wearable speaker headphones, but, now, for the I wish it had: Would have been nice if it included a carrying and storage case; Wish it had an adjustment to make the unit smaller or larger, one size-fits-all may not be for everybody; The retractable, self-storing earphones are too fragile and could easily be damaged or broken, so this unit is NOT made for young children; Would like to have separate volume controls for the main, top, and bottom, vibration speakers. Overall, this is the 'cutting-edge' of personal, Surround Sound, digital music coupled with Haptic, Touchy-Feely sensory technology. The sound quality is extraordinary. If you are one of those folks, who like bass, ear blasting sound, this may not be for you. However, if you like all kinds of music genre and appreciate all the nuances and subtle backgrounds of total Surround Sound - this is what you need to have. I highly recommend this LG HBS-W120 even though it may be a totally different concept of music delight to your ears then you have ever experienced before. Take the plunge, undergo a whole new world of listening joy and delight. You won't be disappointed.

The first thing you notice about this headset is how big and bulky they are. I am a bigger person so it does not bother me as much. A more petite person may find them bulky. They sit on the back of the neck but tend to slide a little more than I would like. They have never fallen off though,just a minor nuance. The sound from the earbuds is very good, nothing amazing but better than most. They are about what you would expect from earbuds. They could probably use more lows but that is uncommon with earbuds anyways. The earbud cable is very thin, almost flimsy but everyone I know who has LG Tone headsets say they don't break. Hopefully these are no exception. The retracing mechanism is very smooth and works like a charm. The speaker feature is what sets these apart. Sound comes from both the top and bottom of the headset and surrounds you with great sound. I played many different types of music just to submerge myself in sound. I even could not help but show these off to anyone who would walk by my desk at work. Most could not believe that such sound was coming from a bluetooth headset. The buttons are pretty easy to find and can be memorized very easily after 2 uses. They are placed very well on the headset. I like the on/off switch rather than a button you have to hold to turn the unit on or off. You can visually see if it on or not by the switch. No more guessing if the unit is on, off, or dead. Overall I love this bluetooth headset and I cannot wait for every opportunity to use the speaker feature as I have to make sure I am not disturbing anyone around me. I highly recommend.

I was excited to try out the LG - TONE Studio HBS-W120 Wireless In-Ear Headphones and I ended up liking them but not loving them. First what I don't like. The sound is hollow and tinny. If you've ever used the free headphones on an airplane to watch an airplane movie, they kind of sound like that. Like the sound is coming from the other end of a tube or something. There is absolutely no bass to speak of, and the haptic feedback (vibration during bass moments) would be nice if combined with actual bass, but by itself doesn't do the trick. Another thing I wasn't crazy about, and it is admittedly a minor thing, is that in order to change from ear buds to outward play or vice versa, you have to flip a switch on the unit. I wish that if you extended the ear bud cables it would automatically switch to ear bud mode and if you retract the ear bud cables completely, it would switch back to outward play. As for the what I like, it is a new and interesting concept for me to be both a speaker and an ear bud in one product. I like things that are multifunctional. Wearing it around my neck is not uncomfortable at all. It feels like a necklace in the back of my neck and I don't notice it in the front. It does a good job of separating channels to give a surround sound effect. Also, what is loud to my ears while wearing it is not so loud to others around me. They can still hear it, but the sound is more immersive to the person wearing this. I can see these as being a good fit for someone that's hard of hearing for watching movies or t.v. by themselves or for those that are in an area that can't have loud sound from speakers but still want a theater type experience. Overall, these miss the mark of having theater quality sound (or even good headphone quality sound), but they can be useful in certain instances.

The LG Tone studio is a Bluetooth surround sound with ear buds. It has the ability to answer calls, stream music or sound from your Bluetooth enabled devices. Sound comes from ear buds or speakers above and below the bands that wrap around the back of your neck. Sound technology that includes DTS, Real 3D, Virtual Haptic (vibration). The concept itself is an intriguing idea. In order for me to get the best sound from them I had to turn the unit way up. Then adjust the level from the device that I was streaming from. Anything less and you may be disappointed with the sound quality. With the sound all the way up you get the 3d DTS surround sound effect. At lower levels the speakers do not do justice. They sound like cheap AM speakers. The sound from multiple devices that I connected at lower levels sounded muffled. When I removed the unit and held it up in front of me the sound was a little better. I believe this muffle comes from the mid tones coming from the bottom speaker that sit on your collar. Maybe a design change can fix this issue. The ear buds when activated sounded a lot better. These are retracted after use by pulling all the way out and letting them snap back in. Except it is more of a slow roll back in. The feel of this is cheap. I have no doubt this will eventually fail and leave you with dangling ear buds. Like I said this is a neat concept but it is my hope that a great company such as LG would go back to the drawing board and redesign the neck area speaker Muffle. It needs more mid tones and bass. Which are really low unless you use the ear buds. This unit is has virtual haptic sound vibration. Which the unit vibrates during movies where there may be explosions or loud bass. I would tell friends and family to research and test this unit before buying to make up their own minds about it.

I just got this in the mail yesterday. At first glance, the Wireless HBS-W120 looked very stylish w/ the grey color and grey buttons (which help hide the buttons). It's very thin and doesn't take up a lot of space when you put it on, you might have to adjust your collar if you are wearing a polo T or a dress shirt. I want to say that the sound is amazing. I've never heard "3D" sound before, and it must say it sounds really full and clear. I was playing pandora through my phone, put some Bach and wow. I could hear everything. I could hear violins coming from the back, cello from the sides, and piano from the front. The 6hr battery life(playing music) while on speaker isn't too bad, if it had 10 hrs life i would be better. The cons of this wireless headset would be the headphone cables. The cables themselves are very thin. It feels like if you pull the headphone cables hard enough they will easily snap apart. Especially w/ the way the headphone are adjusted and used. And for that reason i won't be using the headphones and that's why i took one star off. My manager liked them soo much that i gave it to him for a retirement present. He has a hard time hearing(losing his hearing) and he says they are perfect for him. He uses a hearing aid, so he has trouble w/ in ear headphones and over the ear headphones, w/ these he doesn't have that problem anymore. He can keep his hearing aid on now without having to remove it and put it back on. He cannot stop raving about them now. Although these are not as stylish as the over the head headphones these are right up there when it comes to sound quality. I forgot to mention, the button opposite side of the answer button, has an option for siri too. The call quality is great too. I would recommend to anyone.

A wearable bluetooth speaker that sits around your neck seems like a funky concept to me, but it actually is pretty cool. I am very impressed with the sound quality of the external speakers and also with the ear buds. LG has nailed getting the stereo effect with the external speakers. They aren't very loud, but they do sound really good. I was able to sync it with my phone very easily. Phone calls sounded clear and the other person heard me just fine as well. I also have an LG WebOS TV and I was able to connect these to my TV via Bluetooth and use them as speakers, which is a nice feature to have when my wife is trying to do some homework and I want to watch TV...now I can without the sound disturbing her (LG says the TV has to be a 2015 or later model). I am hopeful that the battery will last a while, so far I have used them for about 6 hours and its still good on charge. The retraction mechanism for the ear buds seems like it might be the first thing that would end up breaking on them so be sure to be careful as you pull them all the way out to retract them, other than that, the build quality is really good. I look forward to using these as my daily headset when I am out and about or when I am doing some chores around the house.

When it comes to headphones, I’m usually a traditional user. I either want headphones that fit over my ears or earbuds. I’ve never been one of those users that wears them around my neck, but apparently it’s a new trend with headphones. What intrigued me about the LG Tone Studio was the fact that it’s not just earbuds attached to a neck band — it’s a personal speaker that you wear around the neck. They have earbuds that can stretch up to your ears if you want to listen to something little more privately, but the around-the-neck speaker is what really intrigued me. First of all, the Tone Studio is packaged pretty simply. The outside box is branded with LG’s standard color/look. There is a pretty extensive explanation of what the device has to offer. The idea is to give users surround sound wherever they go. It comes packaged with a simple user guide (complete with illustrations), replacement ear gels, and a Micro USB cable. If I were to grade the packaging, it would get a C- because it was a little hard to get the inner box out of the outer branded packaging. When you pull the speaker band from the box, you will notice that is has several different controls on it and the aforementioned earbuds. The buds are retractable and to be honest, while they aren’t uncomfortable, I’d much rather use the Tone Studio as a speaker. That said, you can switch between the earbuds and speaker seamlessly. I did this several times and never missed a beat of the music I was listening to. Connecting to your phone isn’t difficult. The device I had needed a charge before I could use it, but once it was charged, I was able to connect with no problems to my iPhone. I tend to listen to streaming audio most of the time, so I went directly to Pandora and started up some 90s hip-hop. That’s usually what I turn to to gauge bass. I have to admit, that for the speaker, the sound was a little hollow. The earbuds had a little more depth, but I’ve heard a lot better quality from other Bluetooth speakers and headphones. Because I was curious about the surround sound aspect, I pulled up Netflix and turned on Doctor Strange. I felt like the speaker feature did a good job of amplifying the voices, but I couldn’t really tell a difference in the surround sound. Plus, I had to turn the volume to max on both my phone and the Tone Studio. So, next I pulled up Pirates of the Caribbean, which has a pretty strong sound mix. Again, I didn’t really get much of an impact as far as surround sound, but I could hear the audio well. One question I had with the Tone Studio was how much another person could hear from the speakers. As it turns out, pretty well. If you want a private audio listening experience, you will need to use the earbuds. I actually hung the Tone Studio on my headphone stand and kept playing music from the speaker. All in all, it’s an interesting audio accessory, but I’m not sure it’s for me.

These "neck phones" are unlike anything else I've tried. They fill a special need especially for people that find discomfort wearing earbuds after any period of time (myself included), or those that can't deal with the isolation that over the ears headphone bring. This product is an alternative. At first I thought the sound was a little thin, then I discovered that by pressing and holding down the volume dial fro one second you can independently control the bass, mid and treble of the head phones; a mini equalizer built in - how unusual. After doing some adjusting I found a happy medium, much better than what I started with. Speaking of sound quality, these are pretty good considering the limitations you are dealing with. These are NOT as good and many of the good echo canceling head phones that cost over $250, but you can hear people talking to you with these on,and they are comfortable, you can wear them for hours and not really think about them. They weight just over 4 oz and rest comfortably on your collar bone. The first few time I used them it took me a while to find the right volume level, but it was largely a location, location issue, When using them with no background noise they needed to be a little lower, and with more background noise (my office with computer fans) they needed to be just a little louder, and have a bit more bass. After listening to them with a variety of sources, I'm pleasantly impressed. I could listen effortlessly for hours, I'd kind of forgotten they were paired with my phone the first time a call came in and the sound muted and I could VERY clearly hear the caller (from one side); I'm told the microphone worked very well, I found it most natural. a great neck phone. With the speakers on I got over 7 hours of listening time, with the earbuds I'm told you get more than double the life. Speaking of earbuds they are cleverly builtin to the front underside and automatically retract back in (like your seat belt does, but on a much thinner wire). The were pretty comfortable, and louder than I could possibly handle (you can turn them up too loud - but don't need to). The sound quality was excellent, and I could hear the effects of the dts surround more readily than I did with the speakers alone. That being said, different sources had a much different sound with the dts, the more I listened the more I could discern the different instruments sounding like they are in different sound stage (sounded more 3D). I find any good headphones exhibit this quality, it took me some listening time to find this with the neck phones. I was originally give them 5 stars, but there are a couple of ergonomic issues that LG could improve upon to earn the additional star. My biggest issue is the buttons on the headphones look (and feel) alike. They should be different colors and different shape buttons so can associate a function with a feel/color. there are two buttons on the inside right and left, both the same color, shape and position. I found my self turning the phones off when I did not mean to and pressing an inside button when I meant to press an outside button. There a learning curve figuring out how the 7 different controls function (all are nice to have, but can be hard to use, it does get easier); but if had made them different colors and make them feel different it would be easier to keep track and remember what does what. Minus one star, not relating to sound quality, but improving the "user interface". I think I'll enjoy biking with these on, where I can't safely use any other headphones, and maybe excising on an elliptical. I think they be too heavy to really run with, but they might be great for hiking where I don't want to shut out things I need to be observant of. These are a different type of headphone, I'd not purchase them for the earbuds alone, but for the special functionality that personal speakers bring they do a good job, almost a great job. If you have the need I'd recommend them.

LG's TONE Studio headphones attempt to combine Bluetooth headphones with a personal speaker worn around the neck. It's an intriguing idea, but after a few days of use, it just doesn't seem practical to me. Here's my take: OVERVIEW: - LG has designed a large, horseshoe-like neckband that, simply put, looks absurd. I certainly have no desire to wear this in public, but perhaps it's fine at home or at work. - At each end of the horseshoe are small earphones attached to a thin wire. Speakers on the neckband fire upward towards your ears. You can switch between the earphones and speakers using a switch on the inner portion of the neckband. - A feature called Wearable Bass provides haptic feedback through the speakers to supposedly create a more immersive experience. PROS: - Despite the awkward design, the neckband is actually pretty comfortable and lightweight. It's rather flexible and doesn't push in on my neck. - Very easy set up and pairing process. I paired with my iPhone, iPad, and LG Smart TV with no issues. - Excellent battery life. After 6 hours of use (mixture of both earphones and speakers), the battery was still at 70%. CONS: - Both the earphones and speakers sound very flat and lack the "surround sound experience" that LG promises with this product. With the earphones, bass notes sound like gentle taps; vocals are clear and crisp, but surrounding music sounds hollow and tinny. The speakers don't fare much better: bass is a bit more powerful, but again, they just sound flat and lackluster. The surround sound effect from the speakers is questionable: I paired these with my Blu-ray player and listened to a 5.1 Dolby Digital track, although I would have thought I was listening through my phone speakers. In fact, I think the speakers on my iPhone 7 might be more immersive. - The Wearable Bass feature seems to do more harm that good. The haptic vibrations actually bothered the skin around my neck, so I had to disable it. - The earphone wires are extremely thin -- so thin, that I'm worried I might break them by accidentally yanking too hard. Getting the thin wires to retract properly into the neckband takes a bit of patience. OVERALL: Audio quality issues aside, this product confuses me. I can't imagine myself in a situation where I would want to listen to audio via speakers around my neck. In public, you'll look strange and you'll bother those around you. At home, I suppose you could use these to listen to music or TV without bothering the neighbors. But honestly, I think your TV's speakers, even at their lowest volume settings, would likely sound better than the LG TONE Studio. If you're looking for portable audio, I would suggest investing in a dedicated portable Bluetooth speaker. Likewise, if you're looking for headphones, you should get a pair of dedicated headphones from a reputable brand. LG has tried to combine the two, but their effort has quite literally fallen flat.

These are pretty cool and deliver just as package promised. I have found them to be my go to headphone device. *Back story* I have a ton of different headphone models. I really enjoy watching TV and playing video games (only compatible with certain models) with them on and not have to blast the TV to hear every detail or isolate myself with over the ear devices. I do find them awkward while doing certain workouts (mainly bench presses) but it is nice to set them to the side and jam while exercising. However, most other activities whether working out, hanging out poolside, or just playing Pokemon in the park, the light weight design makes them go unnoticed. I am really looking forward to using them at sporting events this fall. I like the clarity of the phone calls too. Not a bunch to say here; the headphones work (!), are durable, and deliver wonderful "Immersive" sound.

These head phones are the best. It last over 11hrs a day, and recharges in minutes. The sound quality is nice, and the speakers sound awesome. The downfall is that the battery dies quicker when using the speaker option instead of the headphones. Love them!!!!

Its a good blue tooth. I say its a good and not great is because its a little heavy and the ear peaces don't retract unless you pull and the release. Its great when everyone is sleeping and you can hook it up right to your tv. Then turn around and use it for work.

The LG TONE Studio HBS-W120 may seem a little gimmicky at first with its horseshoe design and external speakers, but I do find that it has a purpose for some. Primarily though, it's purpose is as a wireless headphone/headset so for this review, we'll start there. The headphones provide good clarity--especially for the mid and high ranges. Bass is very average and I really wanted more. I found my favorite test tracks with rumbling bass to be completely flat. With that said, you do get a different experience without all of that bass drowning the other notes out. So for headphone sound, I'd give the LG Tone Studio a 3.5 if you are looking for bass, a 4 if looking for good high end notes. I felt like the LG Tone Studio impressed as an external speaker. The four speakers (two facing upward just below your ear and two facing downward on the lower part of the unit) really provided an immersive 3D surround sound experience. It was a little unusual to have a small external speaker(s) provide that kind of enveloping sound. As with the earbuds, the external speakers provided better high and mid-range sound than low. The lower speakers (presumably for the lower notes) produced a strange tickling/vibrating sensation. I don't know if this was intentional to add to the experience or not. I really can't tell you if I really enjoyed it or not. Part of me wanted to believe it added to the experience, but with such a lack of actual bass, I found it to be odd and unnecessary. If the bass actually had some depth, the vibrations/tickling might have been worth it. Overall, the external speakers provided a nice listening environment that kept you aware of your surroundings with some pretty good sound quality. I definitely heard things that I hadn't heard with other speakers while listening in this mode. I'm not sure how many people want to walk around listening like this, but I found it useful around the house. In public? You're likely to annoy everyone and the LG Tone Studio might be wrapped around your neck in a not-so-good kind of way. The Design of the LG Tone Studio is very nice and well thought out. The horseshoe shape feels comfortable around the neck. It isn't too stiff and isn't too flexible. It's very light and I never felt like the Tone Studio was going to fall off. In fact, I slept with this on a couple of nights and woke up with it still in place around my neck. This was impressive. It also kept up with me moving around the house doing normal household chores. I found the controls to be easy to use. The one area I have concern are the very very thin retractable wires that connect the earbuds. They are so thin I feel like a moderate yank could pull them out or that they could be damaged easily. The good news is that they are retractable and didn't get in the way like my other over-the-neck wireless headphones. Those wires are too long and do get in the way. Maybe this isn't a problem, but the appearance of the wires alone make me worry they won't last a long time with frequent use/abuse. Other than that, I think the build quality is very nice and the Tone Studio looks as stylish as an over-the-neck headset can. Battery life and charge times are both excellent. The headset function (taking phone calls/using voice commands on your phone) worked very well and seamlessly with my iPhone 6s PLUS. This was very nice as I sat on the phone with an airline customer service line for over an hour in a fairly noisy environment. Overall, I think if you are wanting a solid set of wireless headphones to use at home/at the office and not interested in bass, these will serve you just fine. If you are really wanting anything resembling bass, look elsewhere. The external speakers can be useful depending on if you want to listen to it around the house, but as I mentioned earlier, anywhere in public and you'll just be a nuisance. If you are looking for headphones to travel with, these would not be my first or second choice. LG does not provide a carrying case with your LG Tone Studio purchase which is a shame. The horseshoe design does not lend itself to be transported without risk of damaging the unit and at $229, it's not something I'd want to destroy by accident. Pros: -Design -Function -Battery life -Charge time -High/mid-range notes Cons: -No bass -No carrying case -Vibration/tickling sensation provided when using external speakers

The best bluetooth headphones I have ever worn. The sound is "Awesome" whether you are using the buds or the speakers. It'll perform excellent either way! Treble and bass is "Awesome"

Pros -Great battery life -Good sound ( ear buds ) -Aux-in jack -Micro USB charging Cons -Expensive -Pinches thick necks -External speakers underwhelming -DTS is meaningless -Some controls hard to reach Overall The LG Tone series has been around forever, or at least it seems that way. The idea is great: Bluetooth headphones that are conveniently carried around on your neck and can retracted when not in use. Add some hands-free capabilities for cell phones and it's a great all around product. It seemed half the employees at my past job had one version or another. But are LG trying to be too clever now? The big feature on the TONE Studio is of course the external speaker array. Not only that but it promises DTS surround sound. Now some headphones can simulate surround sound with only two speakers fairly well. Doing it with two tiny speakers below your ears is nigh impossible. The so-called subwoofer rumble speakers on the underside of the band don't do much either. Though they're supposed to add power and punch to the audio, they're fairly weak and you can't even tell they're there if you wear more than one layer. Not only that, but the main speakers are slightly behind your ears, making everything sound as if coming from the back. Perhaps my thick neck pushed them back farther than average, but it just didn't work for me. Speaking of thick necks, the band isn't as flexible as past TONE versions. If you're a larger person, it pinches in on the sides. It's not exactly painful, but after a few hours you will notice the pinch and it's not comfortable. The controls on the inner band ( play/pause on the right, voice command/call answer on the left ) also become less convenient to use as well as you have to pull the band away from your neck to access them. Finally, the DTS support is useless. The speakers themselves, both external and earbuds, are simply not up to the quality that you could hear the difference between high quality DTS and regular stereo sound. Also, you can't get DTS quality audio over Bluetooth signals anyway. It's really just marketing and nothing meaningful in this device. The good things about the TONE studio are the battery life and convenient micro USB charging so you don't need a special wall charger to lose. The charging port also covered by a hinged flap, not a piece of rubber than can break off by bending it out of the way hundreds of times. The audio quality using the regular earbuds is quite good and you do get three equalizer settings as well. On the phone, most people can't tell you're using a Bluetooth headset, whether using the earbuds or external speakers. The auxiliary 3.5mm input is also a nice feature to use older media players and handheld gaming consoles that don't support Bluetooth audio. In the end, the price simply doesn't justify the result. You're paying over $200 for an external speaker gimmick. If you want to listen to music without headphones, a normal Bluetooth speaker gets you much better sound quality. If you want to listen with earbuds or headphones, you can get them far better and cheaper. This only appeals to the small number of people that need external speakers but move around a lot and can't carry a normal Bluetooth brick speaker with them. It may be a nice option for deaf people that can't use normal headphones or earbuds due to hearing aids. For everyone else, a regular TONE for half as much would be the better purchase.