LG TONE 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

The best headset I ever bought wish they still made 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.

Perfect for me and my use

I feel forced to buy these multiple times per year. They're the only decent quality retractable earbuds on the market that tailor to contractors and field techs. I need them for protecting my hearing while working on engines and listening to music and audiobooks. They last about 6 to 8 months with daily use and then the wires in the flex band break and the headset must be tossed. If they were around $60-70 this would be expected but they don't deliver good value for the price. The audio quality and sound level is better than any previous model (I've pretty much owned them all) and the battery will last all day. If you forget to charge them then a simple 15 minute top off will last you a couple hours.Calling is excellent in a silent environment while wearing a tee shirt. Background noise will make it hard to hear you, you must speak loudly if calling while driving and if you are wearing a collared shirt or a jacket the other party will have trouble hearing you (obviously - the mics need to be totally exposed).The catastrophic failure of this design is without dedicated back and forward buttons these just aren't great for listening to audiobooks. When you lose your place in your book, you'll have to whip out your phone and use the on screen controls because the multifunction volume buttons are just inadequate for seeking in 15 second intervals.The 32bit up-sampling is a bit of a bizarre marketing gimmick. Being able to change to lower latency codecs in phone settings or the app would be amazing for games or videos; nobody cares about 32 bit audio - it's literally a wireless headset not audiophile gear.There are no longer structural issues near the screws, that has been solved with the flex series. They're also AMAZINGLY water ingress resistant. I don't have to fear when wearing these outside in the rain.Parting wisdom: Just because they flex doesn't mean you should. Treat them with the same care you did the platinum plus models and they'll do okay. Electrical tape on the band is no longer required. Also good luck warrantying these. The serial number sticker fell off my second week wearing them.