Labex Inspiration vs. TruTone Review – What to choose?

Labex Inspiration vs. TruTone Review – What to choose?

In the digital electrolarynx world, Labex Inspiration and TruTone are often compared. Both these devices give the user not only the ability to speak but also to express emotion using variable pitch.
Although they have this similar feature, these devices are vastly different. Let’s look at them more closely:

Labex Inspiration and TruTone Review: Construction and build quality

Labex Inspiration is built with an all-around metal body that securely encloses the device. The touch panel and the head of the device are made from shock-resistant plastic. Labex inspiration feels polished and sturdy with no loose parts, scratchy plastic or squeaking.

TruTone is made exclusively from plastic. The device feels light in hand and just the right size. The plastic body makes it really easy to scratch and damage.

Labex Inspiration and TruTone Review: Features

TruTone uses a “Single button voice intonation” technology. The main button of the device can be pressed with different force to produce different pitch/intonation. While looking remarkably simple, we found it quite difficult to use the feature to articulate words and sentences correctly. The problem is that no matter what intonation you have in mind, you have to go through the whole range before you hit the right one. This makes the voice sound strange and unnatural with constant shifts of the pitch up and down. Overall the TruTone does not deliver the promised freedom of expression.

Labex Inspiration uses “Touch Technology. The standard electrolarynx button is replaced with a touch panel with an integrated LED indicator bar. The pitch can be changed in real-time by just sliding the finger on the touch panel. This solves the problem that TruTone has. Because you can touch the panel at any point you like , you can basically use any intonation curve you like, unlike the TruTone that always goes from the bottom-most pitch to the highest on every press of the button. In addition to the Touch Technology, Labex Inspiration also incorporates different modes that can be selected through the menu. Different modes let you make an adjustment to the starting frequency, overall pitch curve, special modes optimized for different languages and even an option to start the device as soon as it touches your neck, without using your finger. Labex Inspiration does cover all expressions imaginable, but like the TruTone does have a learning curve to use the feature optimally.

Labex Inspiration and TruTone Review: Battery

Labex Inspiration incorporates a built-in Lithium-Ion battery inside its metal body. The 3300mAh battery can easily last 24 hours of talk time, or up to two months in stand-by mode. That makes this electrolarynx last normal users a whole week before needing to recharge. The battery level is displayed on the front LED indicator bar on the face of the device. This way, you always know how much battery you have left, and when you have to recharge the device. When its time to recharge you can use the high-speed charger and USB cable that are included in the box. Since Labex Inspiration uses a standard USB port for charging, you can charge it with any cable and from any source (battery bank, phone charger, laptop or car charger). With the included charger the device charges to full in under 4 hours. Overall, Labex inspiration brings exceptional battery performance with fast and convenient recharging options.

TruTone uses a standard rechargeable 9v batteries. The box includes two batteries and a big “charging station.” The battery life is about 4-6 hours of talk time and up to a week in standby mode. The idea is that one of the batteries sits in the device itself, while the other is charging in the charging station. When your battery runs out of power, swap it with the charged one. While this makes it somewhat convenient for people who stay at home, we found TruTone to be extremely cumbersome for any traveling. You have to carry and extra battery, the bulky charging station and the cable for the charging station with you everywhere you go. Since the battery lasts only about a day, you have to bring everything with you for any occasion that may last a full day or more.

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