LGTONE Flex Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Neckband Earbuds HBS-XL7 - 32-Bit Hi-Fi DAC, Meridian Audio, Black

We bought 2 of these in January 2021, the left earbud on one of the headsets broke (it cracked with wires exposed) due to the amount of use it was getting after about 2.5 years, still useable if i used the other headphone. That same headset finally broke after just over 4 years of use almost daily, with the right earbud now going through the same issue the left did. The second headset is still going strong, the battery just dies after about 6-7 hours of consistent use through the day. Other than that, both earbuds work ok, no issues like the first headset

I own a variety of headphones, each serving a specific purpose. My other headphones, like over-ear models, are bulky and require carrying a bag, which can be inconvenient. I also have battery-operated Bluetooth earbuds, which are more portable since they fit in a pocket. However, taking them out repeatedly can be a hassle, and their small size makes them easy to lose.The LG Tone, on the other hand, is incredibly convenient. Since it rests around my neck, it’s always accessible. When I don’t need it, I can simply retract the earbuds into the collar, keeping them secure and out of the way. There’s no hassle, no searching. It's just instant availability. I’m surprised more people don’t use these.

User sound is very good. Some complaints about it picking up background noise make it unusable on the other end, so I have to turn it off. I have purchased 5 of these with various issues, the older verson with harder plastic cracked and broke after a year or two of use. The new soft plastic is too floppy and I lost my last one because it fell off (lesson learned) while working on my truck, getting up and down on the ground. I like the concept of it always being around my neck so I keep buying them. Music and podcast listening is outstanding.

I've had an LG Tone Platinum in the past and I liked it for the most part but it broke pretty quickly particularly the back section. For such an expensive pair to see it break so easily is extremely disappointing. So it was nice to see this flex design solved that problem by simply having a better design.However what seems consistent is the retractable mechanism does not work well. In my platinum I'd say the left earbud mechanism lasted a little less than a year before the mechanism became extremely difficult to retract. On average it would take like 5 attempts before I could retract it because the window to trigger the retraction shrunk.Now onto this one... out of the box the left retract mechanism came out of the box with that small trigger window. And it isn't simply how it is because compared to the right one, that one actually has a substantial window to retract making every attempt take basically only once while the left one again required much more finesse averaging maybe 5 attempts to retract every time.Disappointed with this I requested amazon for a replacement... well now this other one is worse where both the left AND right retract mechanisms don't work well because of the small trigger window. I don't know what's going on but for whatever reason whatever LG has done on the manufacturing side related to this mechanism has a fairly large reject rate.Overall the sound quality I think is decent. The passive noise cancelling isn't as good as the Platinum so I would suggest replacing the silicone earbud tips with something else (memory foam?). It should be the same because the design looks nearly identical but I def have found a difference. I do think the Platinum sounds better but for the cheaper price I am happy with this.Battery life is very sufficient for what I need. It may not last as long as some of its competitors but it's long enough where I still average 1 charge a day and with the fast charge, needing a midday charge isn't that big of a deal. For reference, I tried to have it on all day even if I wasn't listening putting on Spotify or Audible. There were times it was inactive (~5%) but for the most part I was able to get it to last over 12 hours before it died. All in all I'm happy with the battery life.Connectivity is good. Bluetooth was easy and the range on this is better than the Platinum. I remember being very disappoint with the Platinum where if I left my phone downstairs in my house and walked upstairs the Platinum would not work. However this Flex can reach one end of the house to the other 1 floor apart no problem. It is even better than my router I got from Optimum Online which has trouble getting past this 1 wall for WiFi. So I am pleased I have this flexibility.I think the structure is solid. Comfort wise I think it is pretty good. I've always like neckbands for the functionality and comfort and this did not disappoint. The flex design is where I think is a huge upgrade letting it imo allow it to last much longer then the Platinum structurally. Neckbands face the problem when exercising to slip and bounce which this would as well. This is a heavier version compared to those where they are just a wire but personally I wanted this heavier design since I mostly use it outside of exercise. Moreover I can still use it doing yardwork very well without issues of falling or slipping. So again in this aspect I am happy with how this part is built.Honestly again if it wasn't for the really poor retract mechanism I would actually give this a 5 star. But being disappointed so many times (even on multiple models from LG) this is starting to get infuriating. I specifically wanted a neckband that can retract because I personally hate the dangling earbuds even if they have some magnetic mechanism. When they dangle it is so easy to get caught on something which is extremely annoying. So having the retract mechanism failing so much is a huge disappointment where I might as well get a different brand that will provide a better wire for the earbud (and arguably better quality) rather than the thin one LG needs for the retract mechanism. With this in mind I might just go for the $30 neckbands that are rampant all over Amazon rather than these $100+ versions.In the end I might just ask for a full refund from Amazon.

I’ve had mine for 14 months now and it works great !!! Once in awhile the earbud might not retract all the way back in but just pull it again slightly and it goes right back in. The price went up $20.00 since I bought mine. I absolutely love it !! The sound is good. Not like a good head phones of course but very serviceable !!