LG - TONE Free Fit TF8Q True Wireless Noise Cancelling In-Ear Earbuds - Black

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• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Great earbuds for working out and everyday usage

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 250 Contributor
  • My Best Buy Premier Silver Review

  These LG Tone Free Fit TF8Q earbuds offer a bunch of features, and are great for physical activities. Truly wireless earbuds that offer a charging case, with a unique UV sanitization capability built within. Another feature with the case is that you can simply plug the 3.5mm plug into a laptop port for example, and then use your headphones for listening purposes. Clever for multitasking. The Tone Free Fit TF8Q are great for working out. In my case I have been using them for various exercises in which I am jumping, moving aggressively, and sweating profusely. These earbuds have been doing the job they're meant to do. Staying in place and not falling out. These earbuds offer multiple fit accessories for the inner ear and also the wing component to hook into your ear cartilage. My main reason for this set of earbuds is for running outdoors and they feel comfortable enough to remain in place without having to adjust them over and over. They are truly made to move and LG SwivelGrip helps to hold them in place. The earbuds offer a few listening options such as ANC, which is LG's hybrid ANC for using 2 microphones to keep your music in your ear and block out external noise. I have found that the ANC is just so/so on these, but it does block out a minimal amount of external sound. LG Meridian offers a few preset sound settings such as Immersive, Natural, Bass Boost, Treble Boost, and 3D Sound Stage. All of these features can be found within the LG Tone Free app. And if those sound styles don't suit you there are 2 custom settings that you can tune to your preference. Overall the app is well built and offers a nice guided tour of the earbuds and settings. IP67 dust and water resistance means that you'll be able wear these on those rainy day runs without worrying about damaging your investment. Up to 30 hours of playback ability should be sufficient for travel or exercise needs. 3 microphones for phone calls will help to make sure you're heard clearly when you're on the phone. Being outside on a windy day can cause some challenges to be heard as the microphones tend to pick up the wind noise and make it hard for your caller to hear you. The unique built in UV sanitizer is an added bonus for me. Killing 99.9% of surface bacteria within 10 minutes of being placed into the charging case. Helpful for keeping your earbuds clean and ready for the next usage. The multi point and multi pairing ability of these earbuds is a welcome addition for using them in multiple settings. At one point I can be working out and pair them up to my phone, and at another moment I'm watching my Smart TV and listening on my Tone Free Fit. Excellent feature and easy to switch between devices. PRO: Great for active athletes Sanitization feature Compact CON: ANC technology could be better

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  Posted 2 years ago by JKinSYR

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Wonderful, Noise Cancelling Workout Ear Buds

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  Finally, a set of workout ear buds that do everything I need and more! I was previously using an older set of wired, exercise earphones which connected with a wire and could clip to my shirt, to prevent the wire bouncing around. While music sounded good on them, they were not noise cancelling so most of my footfall on a treadmill or other turning was part of the soundtrack too. Additionally, they would sometimes work their way out of my ear and I found myself routinely pushing them back in or adjusting while I ran or exercised. The LG TON -TF8Q throws down the gauntlet, as soon as you get it unpacked. In a neat little charging case that holds enough charge to recharge the buds on its own a couple of times, it can also kill most bacteria that might gather on the earbuds after use – more on that later. The ear buds come with extra ear gels and ear hooks of various sizes, but I was lucky and found that the default gels and hooks fit just fine and I have yet to have an ear bud fall out. They also ship with two cables – a USB Type-C charging cable for the case and a USB-C to Aux cable, to connect the charging case to an aircraft stereo or treadmill with the appropriate connection. Connection to my iPhone was simple via Bluetooth and I was rocking music from various iPhone sources within seconds of unpacking them. You can touch the earbuds themselves to control some basic functions, such as play/pause (one touch) or next track (three touches). Depending on the context, these gestures will do other things too like answer phone calls or mute/unmute so they are quite useful. Volume control would have been nice but I can still do that off the source device so not really a problem. LG has an app called “LG TONEFree which is useful for managing the earbuds. It will detect the earbuds and show things like battery left as a percentage, as well as let you set the equalizer settings. There are five presets (Immersive, Natural, Bass Boost, Treble Boost and 3D Sound Stage), with Bass Boost being my favorite and then you can set up two custom settings of your own to pick from as well. You can also manage the ambient sound or active noise cancelling levels in the app. I tend to just keep noise cancelling on, but it is possible to turn that off (saves some battery) or go to ambient sound which would be safer if you run on the road or ride a bike with these on. The multi-point and multi-pairing feature in the app is useful if have multiple devices you will use these with. Two devices can be connected to the earbuds at the same time and the app will remember and show you the five most recently connected devices. You can then quickly switch between them from the app, rather than mess about unpairing/repairing and the other troubleshooting you end up doing when the wrong device is auto selected. Software updates for the earbuds are also handled in the app but I have yet to see an update since receiving these. They shipped with 1.10.1 which is so far current. Another notable, useful app feature is the ability to locate your earbuds by having them emit a loud chirping sound, triggered from the app. It even lets you pick if you lost the left or right and then just chirp that one. The playback quality on the earbuds is great and I really enjoy rocking out with them on, usually while running but sometimes while just doing chores around the house or yardwork. They are dust, sweat and water resistant so are great for these kinds of activities. While the active noise cancelling does not match up to my over-ear (and twice as expensive) headphones, it is really very good for earbuds and noticeably cuts down on outside noise. It was surprising how often my wife needed to wave to get my attention and then let me know that yelling at me was not working! At the same time, with the great equalization, I find the original sound is not too distorted and still matches what I expect for playback. So long as the charging case is connected to power, when you put the earbuds back in for safekeeping and charging, the UVnano feature will disinfect them by bombarding them with ultraviolet light, killing most bacteria that may have gathered there while in your ears. It’s not a feature I would have sought out but it does no harm and makes me feel better about not getting an ear infection. All in all, this is a feature-packed set of workout earbuds and definitely worth the investment for all that you get with them.

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  Posted 2 years ago by Pilgrim007

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Solid Activewear Buds - Great Sound and Comfort

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  • Top 25 Contributor

  I’ve had a chance to try out the new LG TONE Free Fits for about a week. I’ve tried to use them wherever possible - at the gym, walking my dog, listening to music, gaming and phone calls. These are true wireless buds that are focused at active/sport users, while have a couple neat perks not found elsewhere. The buds come with 3 rubber tip and Swivelgrip sizes for you to choose from. There is also the included USB-C charging cable, a USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable, and the case. The box and packaging are all recyclable, which is something that is nice to see on new products. Features The TONE Free Fits are an ‘in-ear’ bud with swappable ear tips and Swivelgrips. The Swivelgrip design helps to hold the buds in place while the overall shape makes it easy to hold. These buds carry an IP67 rating which is more than what is typically necessary for an active wear bud. With the IP67 rating you could wear these in the shower or casually swimming – probably not for doing laps though. The interface for each bud is tappable surface that responds to different numbers of taps or presses. The material used on the buds is a soft and smooth plastic that provides a nice amount of grip. The Swivelgrip fins twist into place and basically lock into the cymba (upper part of the concha - I had to look up the names) part of your ear. As the Swivelgrip fin locks into your ear it presses the body of the bud back against the antihelix (outer ridge of your ear), and really provides a solid fit. I have made myself dizzy trying to shake these loose, but to no avail. I had no issue pairing the buds to my phone or to my GF’s phone – you do need to download the LG TONE Free app to customize things. It will connect to whichever phone happens to be closest, and it does it quickly. On Android it shows me the status of each bud and the case – I think the app supports this readout even if you don’t have it running. The buds come with Bluetooth 5.3 among other connectivity standards (BLE, Google Fast Pair, etc.) I didn’t notice a reported range anywhere, but I had no issue maintaining connection across my house from my phone. The buds have a decent battery life – 6 with ANC on or 10 hours with it off. The case doubles the battery life – 12 hours total if using ANC or 20 off. The buds also have a quick charge feature where 5 minutes in the case will provide an hour of play time. Charging the case can be done through the USB C port and takes about 2 hours to fully charge from empty. The case has an indicator light for their battery status – green is 80%+, yellow is 20-80%, and red is below 20%. The case itself is reasonably sized – not super small but small enough to go unnoticed in a pocket. The buds are held into the case magnetically and fit into their respective spots. The case has a light texture and a few ridges that give you some grip for opening the cover. It has a couple of other tricks – a UV light built in to sanitize the earbud tips, which appears to operate while charging the base. Upon opening the lid the UV lights power down, so no risk of looking into the UV. Also, opening the lid of the case starts the pairing process with your phone, so everything is paired up and ready by the time you get a bud into your ear. The case has one last trick, which is to act as a Bluetooth transmitter. The small switch on the side allows you to use the included USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable to plug into a device that doesn’t have Bluetooth but has a headphone port. Examples given for this feature were for use on an airplane, or plugging into gym equipment (stationary bikes, ellipticals, etc). I actually gave it a shot with a Roku remote and my Xbox controller. Both worked perfectly well, and it’s the first time I’ve used a wireless earbud for Xbox since the Xbox 360 days. There are 3 settings for noise cancelling - noise cancelling (ANC), off, and ambient. Ambient has two modes - Conversation and Listening. I used Listening Mode for when I am out walking my dog and it works tremendously. Conversation also worked great for when I am at work and have a co-worker stop by to chat about something. As far as ANC goes I found it a little short of expectations. It works well for white noise/background office noise, but it doesn’t isolate as well as I had hoped. As good as the Ambient mode was, I expected the ANC mode to really shine but its just average. Fit/Comfort These are very comfortable buds to wear around for long periods of time. I found the Swivelgrip fins to be very useful in creating a worry-free fit, so I never really worried about them popping out. I had zero issue with these at the gym even while sweating profusely. They stayed in for circuit activities like ball slams and burpees – never even felt them loosen up. I have a pretty average size ear I guess because I always use the midsize tips for any earbud. My GF has a difficult time due to smaller ear features, and some buds she can’t wear even with the smallest tip. Out of the 6 or 7 earbuds I already have, I think she can use 1 pair. Well now she has another option because these fit her perfectly with the smallest ear tip and the smallest Swivelgrip fin. Honestly that’s a really big bonus for us because she doesn’t like having to wear over-the-ear headphones to have ANC. Controls The controls are simple and customizable within the app. You have the option to set controls based on taps (1, 2, or 3) or pressing and holding. You can also divide your controls up between L and R. Since this utilize a touch interface the buds have sort of a haptic feedback that more of a simulated click noise through the speakers. I’m kind of on the fence with the touch controls because they seem a little slow to respond sometimes, but it could be because I’m not touching the exact right spot. The domed shape of the outer bud surface kind of disguises the center of the bud when you are trying to tap. Either way I’d give the touch controls a 6/10 – I’ve used worse, but I have definitely experienced better execution of a tap interface. I tend to adjust volume and skip songs most often, so I tagged volume to the L/R single tap controls and song skip to the press and hold. These do have the nice feature of auto-pausing your music if you pull a bud out of your ear, which is great to have. Sound Sound out of the buds is honestly great. I really like ANC buds/headphones because they tend to isolate better and provide clearer sound. Sound clarity out of the TONE’s is excellent – that goes for calls and music. These are right around the best sounding buds I own and do a good job with sound reproduction. There are 5 different EQ settings – Bass Boost, Immersive, Natural, Treble Boost, and 3D Sound Stage. Immersive and 3D Sound Stage are supposed to simulate depth and act like simulated surround sound. Bass and Treble Boost are pretty self-explanatory and Natural is supposed to be closer to the source file settings. You also have a couple of custom EQ’s you can set. My gripe with the custom setting is you can’t take the Bass Boost setting and tweak its levels slightly to your liking. Instead you start with a flat EQ and have to adjust every frequency interval, which can be difficult for those not familiar with an EQ curve. I typically trend towards bass heavier settings, so I started with the Bass Boost. I found it lacking in some of the higher ranges, so I made a custom Bass+Treble EQ to find my balance, which I liked and have favored going forward. For calls I toggled to Treble Boost which helps brighten up speech and made it easier for me to hear clearly. However, I think the way to get the best sound out of these is to go with a custom EQ – the built in ones are just OK, but leave a little to be desired. That being said with a custom EQ these sound terrific, and are really good for music, podcasts, etc. Comparisons I have used a lot of earbuds over the years and all have had different functions. I try to tuck a pair in my car, my jacket, my work bag, my gym bag, my desk in my lab, and my desk at home. I have couple of different sport earbuds that hook around my ears like my JLab Epic Air Sports and Epic Air Gos that work great for the gym, but I wouldn’t want to wear all day so they stay with my gym bag. I also have some buds that are great for office work so they stay at my desk, and another that’s for jobsite hearing protection which go in my tool bag. I also have a pair of Jabra Elite 7 Pro ANC earbuds that really have been my go to earbud in almost every case and I try to keep with me wherever I go. The only place I found fault with them is during circuit workouts where they wanted to pop out of my ears (too much sweat I guess) and try to be crushed by a ball slam. The TONE’s are the only buds that I could say work just about everywhere and without detriment. The Jabra’s have an admittedly much better ANC setup, but I won’t take them to the gym anymore, or while doing things that pose a decent knockout risk. The TONE’s Swivelgrip fins really do make a difference and help set these buds apart. Overall The TONE Free’s make a really good case for themselves as an ANC activewear earbud. The Swivelgrip fin is excellent for keeping the buds in place during even the most intense workouts, and still remain comfortable hours later. The sound quality is excellent and the Ambient hearing mode is fantastic. The ANC mode is just average, which is my only real knock on an otherwise great pair of buds. The case brings several novel features that helps to set the TONE’s apart, and expand their usability.

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  Posted 2 years ago by DaveW