update: 2024 ok Apple won this round (almost)

Airpods Pro (better buy new = small batteries that wear out fast 🙁 can be used with any Graphene powered Android device just fine (stop song (click on button once) works, next song (click 2x times fast) works, answer call… does not work:

  • how to pair them: open the case and hold the very small button on the back until the front led blinks white
  • reliability AirPods Pro are way better in terms of stability and reliability (software and hardware) than LG’s earbuds 🙁 (c’mon LG! u can do better!)
    • example:  “Throughout the 2 years I’ve had my pros, I’ve put them through a whole wash cycle and they came out fine” (src)
    • can support that, the user can LITERATELY drop the AirPods Pro into  the toilet (the earbuds NOT THE CHARGING CASE!), recover them 5min later + dry them off + desinfect and chances are pretty good they will work 😀
    • weak point of every earbud: small batteries (someone figured out how to replace them) that wear out fast (~6 months of hardcore usage will be reduced)
  • riding a bike? noice canceling pretty good of AirPods and LG DFP9
  • telephony = microphone: Airpods Pro better but still not perfect
  • usability: imho LG DFP9 better, because there is no need for a firm grib on the handles to “push a button” and change the song as with the AirPods Pro, just a gentle touch will do it
  • call answering also works with Android phones (“double click”) also with GrapheneOS 😀 (excellent! thanks all involved!)

after 5 months of hardcore testing:

imho the BIGGEST problem with the DFP9 is: reliability, thus this user is back to cable: Panasonic HJE125 (excellent audio quality (check em out on eBay))

happened twice:

  • for some strange reason the case “crashes” get’s stuck and then the playback stops again and again. the user presses play, stop, play, stop, play stop (try this reset method first, but it will not help when the case crashed “properly”)
  • what also happens pretty often: the ANC of one or two earbuds goes “amok” and produces a low pitched (thanks god) noisy sound

how to unstuck? put the earbuds in the case overnight WITHOUT charging the case.

the case will charge the earbuds (get pretty warm!!!!) until it’s batteries are drained.

next day: charge as normal, LED green = everything fine and dandy X-D

also: the music sound quality is decent:

  • audio quality of microphone is worse then loudspeaker mode of most Samsung phones (which also can do noise cancelling)
  • noise cancelling kind of malfunctioned with left earbud producing some kind of low frequency noise, it goes away when switching between different ANC modes

please LG fix those issues! thanks!

unable to pair?

  • before feeling like a fool, because it won’t pair:
    • fully charge the device (front led is green)
    • Bluetooth pairing only works if the USB-to-analog mode is off via the switch on the side of the case:

then keep the case open and gently touch one of the earbuds for 5 seconds until the green-blue-orange-red charging led on the front of the case starts blinking blue.

Nowhere in the manual it is listed, that this switch needs to be on the left side for pairing to work X-D

earbuds vs headphones?

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okay first and foremost: the user might still remember the rant about Apple’s earbuds and that small batteries that are hard to switch suck, and this is still true and the user has been using cable based headphones for the last 3 years and will recommend doing so (the sound of the Panasonic RP-HJE125 is just excellent (check em out on eBay))

But luckily there are alternatives to Apple’s earbuds now, but the question remains: how good is the quality of those alternatives?

another reason to use cable based headphones: Wifi interference: Bluetooth seems to be using Wifi frequencies, wtf why?

  • “UHF radio waves in the ISM bands, from 2.402 GHz to 2.48 GHz” (Wiki)
  • “Bluetooth operates in the 2.4 GHz range.” (src)
  • this is mitigated by:”Bluetooth LE uses Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) when in a connection. This involves using an algorithm to determine the radio channel to transmit and receive on. The selected channel is changed frequently such that data is transmitted over a wide selection of channels. This helps make Bluetooth communication work well in busy radio environments.” (bluetooth.com) (so it automatically hops around less used Wifi frequencies 😀 quiet amazing)

All these concerns are STILL true… so let’s say something positive first:

But the Panasonic & Apple engineers surely took the concept further, design wise and wireless and in 2022: AirPods have become a $20 billion annual business

  • usually the user buys as much second-hand as possible, but because of the small and hard to exchange batteries: Don’t! buy earbuds second hand
  • unless the user is very technically skilled in replacing tiny tiny batteries which is a pain on the AirPods and Airpods Pro (not very “innovative” Apple, they surely don’t care about sustainability, cradle-to-cradle or right-to-repair and recycing in general)

will do LG better?

really hope so. for below 100 bucks the user can get multiple versions of the LG earbuds which rival the Airpods in many ways.

Because for some “undercover music addiction” reasons the user had to buy wireless earbuds and went for the LG TONE DFP9 W which unlike Apple’s products don’t cost a fortune and will test them from today in terms of:

  • comfort in wearing
    • pretty good
  • sound quality
    • pretty good but imho the Panasonic RP-HJE125 are still better 😀
    • there is a app that allows to use equalizer settings such as bass boost but also custom settings
      • WARNING! using the equalizer might reduce per-charge-runtime! (as it requires the chip to do computational tasks on the audio signal)
    • Active Noise Canceling (ANC): it seems to work X-D)
      • imho the ANC mode is very important during running or cycling… as wind noises are massive otherwise X-D (which is a bit strange because Panasonic RP-HJE125 has no such problems)
      • what is strange: take the earbuds out of the case (both) and hold them together… the user will hear a high pitched “peeeep” sound for a short time = the microphones are on and caused a reverb (endless self amplifying loop… why are the microphones ON even if there is no call in progress? (does not make sense eh? X-D)
      • WARNING! using ANC will reduce per-charge-runtime! (as it requires the chip to do computational tasks on the audio signal, but the overall sound is definately better)
      • it is pretty usefull if the user has noisy lawn mowing neighbours 😀 etc.
  • battery runtime (imho next to repairability the most critical part with those tiny tiny hard to replace batteries)
    • ANC off: pretty good 5h of music straight per bud 😀 (confirmed also by this guy)
    • fun fact: Yes you can playback music WHILE having a phone call BUT the sound quality will massively be degraded as it seems that the Bluetooth codec goes into “low quality” mode during phone calls for whatever reason.
    • no it is not possible to be connected to more than 1x device at a time (like phone A playing the music and phone B doing the phone call… does not work can only be either connection to A or connection to B)
  • usability:
    • Bluetooth 5.2 = amazing range!
      • the Bluetooth 5.2 signal of for example a Samsung phone (S8 or newer) was able to reach the DFP9 through 2x WALLS! 😀 holy cow! Like WIFI but said to use not more power! (not more EM radiation)
      • yes since Bluetooth 5.0 signals can travel up to 120 feet = 36.57m
      • could not find a single statement about “limiting output power” as it is with Wifi currently limited to 200mW
    • what also works well:
      • detach detection: when the user puts the earbuds on the table, the music automatically stops
      • “handover”: have only L earbud in the ear, put the R earbud in the ear, put the L earbud in the charging case… music or call non stop 😀
  • how to use them:
    • touch earbuds once: start / stop music playback / take call
    • touch 3x times fast: next track
    • touch and hold (toggle ANC on/off)
    • touch 2x times end call
  • durability & water resistance
    • newer Samsung phones are actually “water tight”
    • imagine standing over a sink and this earbud decides to take a dive… (no good)
    • the DTF7Q are not as stylish but also more durable when it comes to water
  • repairability

confusing amount of different models…

While the Korean company LG is associated with high quality and affordable electronics, there are already a confusing amount of different versions of earbuds by LG:

inside Earbuds LG Tone DFP9 W

because of heavy use and sometimes dropping, the left earbud “unglued” and that’s what it looks like inside:

yes its going to be near impossible to change the batteries on this device 🙁 (all foil and glue?)

the App:

the App can “remote control” settings of the earbuds:

DFP9 specs:

Key Features

    • Meridian Audio: Yes
    • Active Noise Cancellation (ANC): Yes
    • Microphone System: 3 MIC
    • Medical Grade Silicon Ear Gels: Yes
    • Water Resistant: IPX4
    • Fast Charging: Yes (5min-1hr)
    • Voice Command Compatibility: Google/Siri
    • Ambient Sound: Yes

SOUND QUALITY

    • Speaker Unit: Dynamic
    • Surround Sound: Yes
    • Codec: SBC, AAC

CONNECTIVITY

    • Google Fast Pair: Yes (Supports Android™ 6.0 or higher)
    • Multi Paring: Yes
    • Swift Pairing (PC): Yes

HEALTH & HYGIENE

    • UVnano: Yes
      • LG says it kills 99.9% of all bacteria 😀
      • it is still advised to regularly clean with alcohol and dry cloth
    • Medical Grade Silicon: Yes

CONVENIENCE

  • Plug & Wireless: yes (what? :D)

VERSION

    • Bluetooth Version: 5.2

BATTERY

    • Earbud: 68mAh
    • Charging Case: 390mAh

BATTERY LIFE

how much “runtime” with one charge of the battery?

with ANC off and on lower volumes it will last longer per charge 😀

    • ANC Off: Music Play Time Earbuds: Up to 10h
    • With Charging case: Up to 24 hrs
    • ANC On: Up to 6, using the case to recharge: Up to 15 hrs

CHARGING TIME

    • Earbud: x <= 1 hrs
    • Charging case: x <= 2 hrs
    • Fast Charging: x 5 min charge 1 hr music play (what?)

DIMENSIONS Size(WxLxH)/WEIGHTS(oz)

    • Earbud Dimensions: 0.84″ x 1.12″ x 0.92”
    • Earbud Weight (one earbud): 0.183 oz
    • Charging Case Dimensions: 2.15″ x 2.15″ x 1.18”
    • Charging Case Weight: 1.294 oz

IN BOX ITEM(including headset and manual)

    • Extra Ear-Gels: Yes
    • USB Type C Charging Cable: Yes
    • AUX Cable: Yes

PS: to be as neutral as possible the author bought the device with hard earned money is in no way associated or sponsored by LG or any other vendor.

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