LG Tone Platinum SE review: I don't care if they make me look dorky

LG Tone Platinum SE release date and price

The LG Tone Platinum SE headset is listed for $199, making it something of an expensive pleasure.

LG Tone Platinum SE design and build quality

Classic headphones are often bulky and impractical, in-ears are often very sensitive to touch and fall out of the ears easily. LG has been offering in-ear headphones for several years that are classic in-ears on the one hand but have a robust housing that can be worn around the neck and pulls in the cables if necessary.

That sounds practical at first. In everyday life, it is somehow. It's nice that the cables of the plugs don't slip back and forth so easily, and there's no control unit that hangs on one ear. The thin audio cables also don't have to be pulled out completely. After a short while, I don't feel the Tone Platinum SE anymore, but I still have a secure feeling that nothing falls off.

When it comes to workmanship, the headphones also make a good impression. The buttons have a good pressure point.

LG Tone Platinum SE software

One of the highlights is the Google Assistant button. After Bluetooth pairing, this must be set up once in the Google Assistant. That goes fast and the Assistant suggests also still to install the pertinent LG App.

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Now the Assistant button has two functions: Press the button once to tell you the time and if there are any notifications that the assistant reads to you. Practical. Pressing and holding allows you to whisper a voice command to the assistant.

This is no witchcraft and works as expected. Unfortunately, the headset itself doesn't listen to "Okay Google", which is a pity - so one always needs to press the button or the smartphone nearby.

Another useful feature is the Assistant button in an app like Google Translate. However, this requires some training until a conversation works properly. If one conversation then works, the sound carrier hears the translation in his ear, the other reads the answers on the smartphone, which can also read aloud. 

It also works, as well as Google Translate does, anyway. LG can't add anything to this. In fact, when I tried this, the translations were often quite good, but sometimes wrong or incomplete. It is enough for short and simple questions, complex debates are not possible with it. For a little more orientation in a foreign country, the feature can be used effectively.

LG Tone Platinum SE audio

LG uses Harman Kardon technology for their headphones, which is what you hear. I mainly listen to alternative rock, but I also like to listen to something calmer or a little jazz - in other words, very different styles of music. The sound is nicely clear and detailed , basses could be a bit more powerful. Anyway, the headphones sound very good, better than I expected.

Technically, the Tone Platinum SE is at the forefront. It's unclear whether it supports codecs like aptX, for example. But my Pixel 2 XL gives me the option to activate HD audio with the AAC codec - that's enough for me.

LG Tone Platinum SE

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