Pros:
– Enjoyable and lively sound output
– Good ANC and passive noise isolation
– Sturdy build with snug in-ear fit
– IP67-rated dust and water resistance
– UV cleansing in the case to kill bacteria
– Feature-rich companion app
– Good call quality
– Decent battery backup
– Multi-point support up to 5 devices
Cons:
– Lacks support for high-end codecs
– Bulky charging case
– Average transparency mode
– Bit expensive
Price: Rs 12,989
Rating: 4/5
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We reviewed the LG Tone Free FP9W true wireless (TWS) earbuds last year and quite liked its sound quality and some of the unique features it brought to the table. Its price was a bit of a deterrent and had a few minor shortcomings. We now have another LG wireless audio product for review that strives to address some of those issues while retaining most of its goodness, and it’s a bit more affordable too. Let’s get to know the LG Tone Free Fit TF7 better.
LG Tone Free Fit TF7: Design and Comfort (8/10)
As the name suggests, the TF7 is targeted at fitness enthusiasts and flaunts an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance. The case has a dark grey matte finish on the outside with a very fine texture. The inside of the case is lemon yellow in colour. The circular buds have a smooth grey finish with a yellow ring that matches the insides of the case. They also have perforated fins that somewhat resemble the top of a Spartan helmet; just my imagination maybe.
The angular ear tips are made of medical-grade translucent silicone gel and sit well in the ears without any discomfort. For best results, you need to put the buds in the ear and rotate them a bit to lock the fins in the earlobes for a snug fit. This setup provides excellent passive noise isolation with the right-sized tips and fins. You get two more pairs of different-sized tips and fins in the bundle. Choose the pair that works best for you. The back of the buds is touch-enabled and accepts various gestures to control different functions.
While the build quality of the buds and case is very good, the case is far from compact and it noticeably sticks out if you slip it in your pocket. The buds weigh a shade under 6 grams each while the case tilts the scale at 43 grams. The case glows blue for a couple of seconds when you open the lid, which looks cool. It has two LEDs at the front, one for power level and the other for UVnano cleansing indication and a USB-C charging port at the back.
LG Tone Free Fit TF7: Features and Specifications (8.5/10)
Each earbud hosts a 6 mm dynamic driver and three microphones for calling and noise reduction. You also get wear detection sensors to pause the audio when you remove a bud from the ear and resume when you put it back in. Touch gestures generally work well as long as you don’t tap too fast. The LG Tone Free app lets you configure the controls. You can assign play/pause, previous/next tracks, voice assistant or nothing to single-tap, double-tap or triple-tap gestures.
You can also assign volume control to one of those gestures so that you don’t need to reach for the phone to change the loudness. The ANC toggle can only be assigned to touch-and-hold gestures, and you cannot change that. Unlike the LG Tone Free FP9W, you can also have the ANC off option here in addition to ANC on and Transparency modes. That helps you save battery when you don’t need the other two modes.
The LG Tone Free Fit TF7 is Bluetooth 5.3 compliant and supports AAC and SBC codecs. Once again, support for a superior codec like aptX or LDAC is missing here. You get multi-point support, and one can pair these earbuds with 5 devices simultaneously. As I touched upon earlier, these earbuds have an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance. So you can wear them to the gym or for a jog even in the rain without a worry. But the case has no ingress protection, and it’s best to keep it away from moisture. If the buds get wet, wipe them dry before placing them in the case.
One of the unique features of the FP9W is available here too. The case has UVnano technology that uses UV light to supposedly kill 99.9 per cent bacteria on the speaker mesh inside the buds in 5 minutes whenever you put the case on charge with the earbuds inside and lid closed. That’s a neat feature to have. You also have an option of using the UV feature all the time even when not charging the case. Mind you, it consumes battery and continues to work as long as the charge in the case is above 40 per cent.
LG Tone Free Fit TF7: Performance (8/10)
These LG buds aren’t the loudest around, and you will need to push the volume up to 70-75 per cent even when indoors, and a little higher in noisy areas. The good part is that the audio doesn’t distort even at high volume. The sound has been tuned by the British HiFi audio brand, Meridian Audio, and they have done a good job with most of the presets. Three out of the available five are not just usable but actually quite good and cater to different tastes.
The sound signature is close to neutral when using the Natural preset, but the soundstage feels narrow, and a lot of users may find the bass deficient. For me, Immersive offers the best sound with a noticeably broader soundstage and a nice balance between the three frequency ranges. Brands tend to go overboard with their Bass Boost presets, but it is perfectly usable and enjoyable on the LG Tone Free Fit TF7 for those who like their sound on the warmer side. The lows are boosted, yet the bass is fairly tight and punchy. The soundstage is the broadest of the lot in this mode.
The LG Tone Free app also provides you with a multi-band equaliser to create a couple of custom presets, and you can certainly give it a go. However, the loudness drops significantly when using custom presets. For best results, it is best to stick to either of the three presets mentioned above. The overall sound output feels refined and reasonably detailed, and just like in the case of the Nothing Ear (2), I couldn’t help wondering if it would have sounded even better with a superior Bluetooth codec.
The ANC actually sees a noticeable improvement over the older but more premium FP9W. Thanks to the combination of a very good seal around the ears and those half a dozen microphones, the TF7 manages to significantly reduce low-frequency noises like the whirr of a fan or the buzz in crowded places. It also reduces certain midrange sounds like voices but does not eliminate them entirely. The ANC here is still not Sony grade but is better than what you get in competing products in the segment like Nothing Ear (2) and OnePlus Buds Pro 2.
The Ambient Sound mode (Transparency) here is serviceable but could have been better. The microphones let ambient sounds through for you to be aware of your surroundings or have a conversation without removing the buds from the ears. The app offers you Listening and Conversation modes respectively for those two use cases. The constant wind noise in both modes dampens the experience. The wireless range is good with the earbuds retaining a strong connection at 10 metres with a clear line of sight. There were no latency issues either with no perceptible lag between the video and audio when streaming videos.
LG Tone Free Fit TF7: Call quality (8/10)
The call quality is quite good on these LG earbuds. People on the line were perfectly audible to each other when indoors with excellent clarity. Even outdoors, things were pretty good when it came to voice clarity. Just that it cannot eliminate the wind noise at times. Other ambient sounds like traffic noise are kept in check reasonably well. So the TF7 is a solid option for calling too.
LG Tone Free Fit TF7: Battery life (7.5/10)
The company promises 10 hours of playback for the earbuds and another 20 hours with the charging case with ANC off; that’s 30 hours for the buds and case combined. With ANC on, LG states 6 hours of playtime for the buds and thrice of that with the case. With ANC on, I got a little over 5 and a quarter hours for the buds at 75 per cent loudness, and close to 8 hours with ANC off. The case can charge the buds twice over taking the overall battery backup in the range of 16 to 24 hours depending on your usage of ANC.
While these aren’t chart-topping figures, they are pretty decent. The LG Tone Free Fit TF7 supports quick charging too. Placing the depleted buds in the case for 5 minutes can give you close to an hour of playtime with ANC off, which is handy. The buds take about an hour to charge fully, while the case takes two. The battery level of the earbuds and the charging case can be seen in the companion app. When checked in the phone’s Bluetooth settings, the battery figures tend to fluctuate for whatever reasons.
LG Tone Free Fit TF7: Price and verdict
The LG Tone Free Fit TF7 can be purchased for Rs 12,989 with a one-year warranty. While I wouldn’t term the price exorbitant, it certainly could have been more competitive, given the level of competition in this segment. For starters, you have the Oppo Enco X2 selling under 10K which is easily the best-sounding pair for TWS earphones under Rs 15,000, and packed with features as well. Then you have the Nothing Ear (2) for Rs 9,999 which sounds better too.
And lastly, you have the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 for 12K with comparative sound but better overall battery backup. These LG buds trump them all in ANC and durability (IP67-rated ingress protection). They offer an energetic sound output with good detail and a broad soundstage, decent battery backup and pretty good call quality. In addition to that, they provide an extra level of hygiene courtesy of the unique UVnano cleansing. All things considered, the LG Tone Free Fit TF7 is a solid all-round product that ticks a lot of boxes.
