VERSUS SELF-CLEANING BUDSBoth have bacteria-zapping ultraviolet lights in their cases, but
which of these pairs of fitness-fresh in-ears sounds the cleanest?
A UV kind
of love
[ WordsTom Wiggins ]What’s the story?
With similar UV cleaning tech, an ‘ambient
sound’ mode that lets you hear cars
coming, a ‘find my earphones’ function
and automatic pausing when you take one
out, these LGs pack in pretty much all the
extras you could want (well, except maybe
active noise-cancelling) and leave Philips
trailing in their wake for features.
The audiophiles at Meridian have been
enlisted to engineer the audio, plus there’s
an app for iOS and Android that lets you
customise the touch-sensitive controls
and tweak the EQ.Are they any good?
With a snug fit and decent sound isolation,
LG’s bug-blitzing buds keep you nicely
cocooned during runs without worrying
about them falling out. Ambient mode
exaggerates wind noise a bit too much
for our liking, but it’s handy if you like to
know what’s going on around you. While
the controls are a bit picky about where
you touch them (aren’t we all?), the
auto-pausing is reliably responsive when
you take one out.
And the sound quality? It’s solid rather
than spectacular: everything’s well
balanced and there’s a decent amount
of detail. Our main gripe with the LGs, in
fact, is their annoying case (see panel).Price £100 / stuff.tv/LGFN6
Tech 6hrs battery + 12hrs case ● IPX4
● Bluetooth 5 ● USB-C and wireless
charging ● 54g (buds and case)Stuff says ★★★★I
A nifty bunch of extras, but average sound
and connection quirks spoil the partyWhat’s the story?
Aside from the UV lights in the case tasked
with killing any bacteria trying to set up
home on the speaker mesh, the ST702s
are fairly pared-down on features. They’re
IPX5-rated against water and sweat, but
there’s no app for fiddling with the EQ and
no proximity sensors, so they’ll just carry
on playing if you take one out. They use
old-fashioned microUSB and there’s no
wireless charging either.
Perhaps as a result, battery life is pretty
good, with four LEDs on the case to show
how much juice is left inside.Are they any good?
Without a bacteriologist on hand we can’t
say how many nasties are being killed by
the UV blasts, but when it comes to sound
quality the ST702s do deliver. They dig
out plenty of detail and sound pleasingly
spacious, although not quite top of the
pops in every sonic aspect.
The touch controls are OK but you need
to be very precise with your prods, which
is easier said than done – particularly
when you’re bobbing about in the gym.
The design feels distinctly out of date as
well... although with a new model on the
way before the end of the year, hopefully
these are issues that will be addressed by
the ST702s’ eventual successors.Price £180 / stuff.tv/ST702
Tech 6hrs battery + 18hrs case ● IPX5
● Bluetooth 5 ● microUSB charging
● 64g (buds and case)Stuff says ★★★II
Fitness-friendly, but if you’re not fussed
about the UV thing you’ll find better for lessPhilips ST702 LG Tone Free HBS-FN6
● Philips’ plasticky
charging case is
a whopper – well,
about the size of
a salt shaker – and
we experienced no
problems with the
buds going safely
to sleep when
stowed inside. It
goes to work with
its UV lights every
time you close
it, not just when
it’s plugged in to
charge, so your
earphones should
stay as clean as an
extra-clean whistle.●The LGs come in
a highly pocketable
puck-like case
that looks almost
too tiny to house
its contents. It
supports wireless
charging... but the
UV cleaning only
works when you
plug it in with a
USB-C cable. More
problematic is the
fact that the buds
don’t always turn
off automatically
when put away,
which can drain
their batteries.THE CASES
FOR THE
DEFENCE