REVIEW – You gotta love a company like Tribit. Why? The reason is simple—Tribit makes products that perform exactly as advertised, are reasonably priced, and just plain work. I’ve reviewed 8 different Tribit audio products and my favorite is also the least expensive—the Tribit StormBox Micro2 speaker. This little wonder, as do most of Tribit’s products, sounds way better than it should. The Tribit FlyBuds C1 True Wireless Earbuds are the first in-ear headphones I’ve reviewed from Tribit. Do they live up to my impressions of what Tribit is capable of producing? Yes . . . and no.
What is it?
The Tribit FlyBuds C1 True Wireless Earbuds are a good-sounding and nicely-priced pair of earphones that visually mimic Apple’s AirPods (the stem isn’t considered weird looking anymore), except black in color. They have the usual features one expects in this price range.
The Tribit FlyBuds C1 supports the new Qualcomm aptX decoder. Qualcomm states this allows for 16-bit audio support with a 48Khz sampling frequency, which translates to CD-quality listening. Note that in order for this tech to work, it needs to be an end-to-end solution, meaning that your smartphone must support this new Bluetooth codec as well as your headphones. Currently, lossless aptX is being rolled out in 2023 so it’s not available yet on most Android phones. Notice I said Android. Apple has its own AAC Bluetooth codec. It has never supported aptX of any kind. I am an Apple snob and only use iPhones, so I can’t speak on aptX. However, I can say that AAC sounds just fine to my ears and this review will deal with that.
The FlyBuds C1 earbuds have 5.2 Bluetooth—not the newest version, but darn close. 5.2 has increased range and uses less power than previous versions while maintaining audio quality. Bottom line: you won’t be disappointed with how your music sounds.
The Tribit FlyBuds C1 True Wireless Earbuds come in a plastic matte black case (no fingerprints!) that doesn’t quite have the solid and secure feeling of Apple’s AirPods case, but hey, they are less than half the price, so . . . The case can be opened one-handed, which is appreciated and not as common as you might think.
Tribit supplies many silicone ear tips (Tribit calls them eargels) for the C1 earbuds. As usual for me, the largest ones fit my ears the best. Once inserted, they do a good job of staying in place.
Battery life is rated at 12 hours of playtime on a single charge with four recharges from the case before it needs recharging. Those are more than respectable numbers. Note that battery life is dependent on the audio source, volume, and other factors, so take the numbers with a grain of salt. The earbuds can be fully charged in 1.5 hours.
Specs
- Bluetooth 5.2
- Range: 32 ft.
- Charging time: 1.5 hours in case
- Playtime: Up to 50 hours with the charging case
- 12 hours of playtime on a single charge
- 4 full recharges from the charging case
Design and features
Tribit has done one thing to the FlyBud C1 earbuds that makes them a winner right out of the box. Each stem has a small, but easy-to-use physical button that controls everything. And they are not customizable. So how is that a winner? The controls are exactly as I would have set them! For instance: Single press pause or play; double press right earbud skips track; press and hold for volume changes, etc. For me, there was no learning curve—it all makes perfect, common sense. I’ve had to re-set countless button settings on other earbuds/earphones no matter the price. As I said—genius!
Unfortunately, Tribit decided to create an app to control the C1 earbuds. While it was easy to connect the C1s to Bluetooth on my iPhone 12 Pro Max (can’t wait to upgrade this fall!), I then downloaded the Tribit app—a major pain. First, the app kept telling me the C1 earbuds were not connected via Bluetooth. They were. After repeatedly trashing the app, deleting the C1 from Bluetooth, and rebooting the iPhone, I finally was able to get the re-re-re-re-downloaded Tribit app to see the C1 earbuds only to be told to update the firmware in order to use the equalizer (I wanted more bass).
I clicked the firmware button and . . . nothing. The clock spun and spun well beyond the 5-10 minutes Tribit said it would take to update the firmware. So I closed the app. Then we were back to the App saying Bluetooth was not connected. It was deja vu all over again. The only solution I found (quite by accident) was to download the app to my iPad Pro and start all over again. That worked! Once done, the app on my iPhone finally recognized the new firmware and I could then use the equalizer. This drama took about 1.5 hours out of my life.
Once I was able to access the equalizer, I could customize the 10-band equalizer the way I wanted. For the less adventurous, Tribit offers 25 preset EQ settings that should satisfy most listeners—but I’m picky.
After the app/firmware debacle, the Tribit FlyBuds C1 True Wireless Earbuds were easy to use in normal use—and they do sound good. The default sound signature was a bit weak on bass for my tastes but was quickly cured by my custom EQ settings. With my aged ears and years of listening to music way too loud, I gravitate to accentuated bass and mids at the expense of treble. I’m too sensitive to brighter, high frequencies.
It doesn’t seem to matter what music I listen to, from Kate Bush to Brian Ferry to Abba—it all sounds good and easy on the ears for long periods of time thanks to the C1’s comfort as much as the audio. These are some of the most comfortable earbuds I’ve used.
The one thing missing in this package is noise canceling. As earphones become more sophisticated, consumers now demand more features, and active noise canceling (ANC) has almost become a requirement. Tribit states on its website that the FlyBuds C1 earbuds have “noise canceling”. They call it Environmental Noise Cancellation (ENC) and they say it cuts 90% of external noise in noisy environments. I equate it to cutting out noise by sticking fingers into the ears. It’s about as effective. If you want real noise canceling, only use ANC, not ENC. Note that Tribit offers the FlyBuds C1 PRO model with true ANC. It costs an extra $40, but it’s worth it. Tribit even sent the Pros for comparison. While its ANC is not as potent as Apple’s AirPods pro earphones, it’s much improved over the C1’s ENC. If your budget allows it, I recommend the Pro version of the C1.
What I like
- Good sound for the price
- Comfortable
- Affordable
What I’d change
- Extremely frustrating app
- Lackluster noise canceling
Final Thoughts
Even with its frustrating app/firmware issues, I can still recommend the Tribit FlyBuds C1 True Wireless Earbuds for the budget-minded who appreciate good audio. I imagine those with Android devices will have an easier time of it. Again, if you can swing the extra $40, go with the Pros.
Price: $89.99
Where to buy: Tribit.com and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Tribit.
