Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm going to write the review that I wish I had seen in making my decision. First of all, my main pair of in ear phones is the UE 11's, custom fitted, pro musician phones that set me back $1,000 a number of years ago. I have long given up trying to compare anything to them. However, I travel a lot and was looking for a good set of bluetooth earbuds and narrowed it down to these two - the Samsung Level U Pro and the LG Tone Infinim 910, both their latest offerings. Unfortunately, because they are in ear, nobody will let you test them. I kept getting "go ahead and buy them and if you don't like them, return them." So I bought both and am returning one pair. I have taken these both through the paces of airports, hotels and home. Other than walking the hood, I did not have a "fitness" BT in mind. I wanted something that sounds good, and has a decent battery life. So, I didn't even look at the fitness BTs that may get you 5-6 hours, if you're lucky. Here are my thoughts on them: Design: Both are pretty sleek, but my first concern with lots of traveling was throwing these in my "man bag." The LGs retract so their are no loose wires. The Samsungs hang all over the place and I ended up finding a Bose headphone bag to put them in so they didn't get tangled and damaged by other wires and chargers that I carry. LG won this round. Fit: Most of the time I like some substance to earbuds so they don't slip out. I figured that the Samsungs would seal better with their earbud design. What I found instead was that I couldn't get a consistent seal - they just wouldn't insert far enough. When I would move I found myself having to poke my ears to push them back in tightly. Then, the poles seemed helter skelter on my ears - looking weird at times. That's the problem with these, even after trying all three sizes of ear buds. The LG, on the other hand, surprised me. With the installed ear buds I got a very good fit and seal. They didn't move around, and I found I had to tug a bit to get them our of my ears. Great seal, fit and consistency. LG wins this round. Bluetooth range: I didn't think there would be a big difference, but there is. Both at home and in the hotel room, the Samsungs never cut out when I went into the master bathroom at home which is going through the bedroom - with the phone on the kitchen counter. The distance is at the top of the rated range and Samsung never skipped a beat. The LG's, however, would skip a bit in both areas. I'd put the phone on the desk and go to the other end of the hotel room into the bathroom. They skipped there, as well. It wasn't horrible, but I repeated this several times with different phone locations. The Samsungs consistently outperformed the LGs in Bluetooth range. LG was good, but not as good as the Samsung. Samsung wins this round. Volume: Now we're getting into something subjective. I ran the same songs on the same phone settings and it was difficult to tell. I think the LGs were slightly louder, but I can't bet on it. Both headphones have decent volume, but in a busy airport or on a noisy flight, I pushed them pretty high. They are not going to BoomBox your ears, but they have nice volume, but not overpowering if that's what you are looking for. (More on volume boost laster). This category is a toss up. Sound: This is where your mileage may vary, since we all like different bass levels, high frequency response, etc. I'll try to be as objective as I can. I tried the Samsungs first, and was surprised by the level of bass in the buds. I read reviews that the bass stunk on both of these. It's all about the seal folks. You don't have a good seal, you won't have good bass. Period. Without any EQ the Samsungs can give you a thump at higher levels. The problem for me it is a muddy thump that you can feel, but not discern the actual instruments well; be it bass drum or bass guitar. However, let me say, though, that the quality of sound in both of these surprised me - and pleased me. The Samsungs have good clarity in the mid-range and high frequencies. Then I put the LGs on. They don't have the thump, but they have good bass that is articulated. I listen primarily to Singer-Songwriter music, so I'm not looking for hip hop bass. A number of the songs I listened to would have a stand up or acoustic bass. I could actually hear the dynamics where the Samsungs just gave me another bass thump. I was also impressed with the brightness and clarity of the highs. Although the Samsungs have clarity too, I think the bass thumps overwhelmed the sound. I spent hours doing an A/B on these ear buds, including different EQ's, and to my ears, the LG's are clearly better. You don't feel the bass, but you can hear the instruments loud and clear. After a number of hours in airports and airplanes, I came away with a strong impression of the LG's. For my ears, they are the clear winner here. Battery life: I didn't push the limits on this because I wanted them charged before my travel. I know that in the testing process, I put about 9 hours on each of these, and they didn't run out of battery. LG's web site says 10.5 hours, while the listing for the Samsung says 9 hours. I can't prove the specs, but they are both winners. The LG sound won me over. I was already leaning their direction because of the fit and the fact that the ear buds retract, making them better for travel. They are both decent headphones that will make most of you pleased. If bass thumping is your thing, look to the Samsung. However, I returned the Samsungs and am very happy about the LG purchase, despite the fact that they are newer and are not as deeply discounted. The LG's cost me about $40 more. If price is important the Samsungs won't disappoint. However, this is my first bluetooth ear buds purchase, and with so much travel, the extra money was a good investment for me. A note about volume and EQ. If the volume is not sufficient for you (which I don't think will be the case for most), and you don't like the stock Apple EQ settings, let me recommend a couple iOS apps I use - EQ 10 and n7player. Running your phone music library through them, they automatically boost the level, and do it cleanly. However, they both have a 10 band equalizer that you can use to fine tune the sound. You can add bass, or accentuate the mids and highs - or do all three. I recommend them. The n7player is a bit more transparent, but EQ 10 allows you to widen the stereo (or narrow it for mono) and adjust the L/R balance, which can be nice at times, especially in noisy surroundings. One more thing. I didn't rate the phone calling ability of either of these. I had phone calls on both and they did fine, but I wasn't outside in windy conditions and never did get a call while at the airport. Perhaps someone else can weigh in on this. It's not a big deal to me, but my wife couldn't tell the difference between them when I called, and said the call quality was good. I hope this helps in your decision. The one thing I'd like to see added to both of these phones is the ambient feature that the Bragi Dash has. At the touch of a button you open the mikes so you can hear your surroundings. Very nice for gate and flight announcements, and would be good for those walks around the neighborhood to provide a better level of safety. I rated the LG's as a 5 star. Not perfect, but it's what I was hoping for. The Samsungs I rated as a 4 star because of the fit, dangling chords and muddy bass.