Wires, they have been the bane of mobile music listeners since time immemorial. Always in the way, pulling on your earbuds, an angry tangled mess like a mad rat king writhing in the wild. Ok, that might be a bit dramatic, but you gotta admit, wires on earphones and earbuds can be a nuisance. The Treblab X2 wire-free earphones are looking to help set you free from that wired nuisance. Read on to see the results of my review of the Treblab X2 wire-free earphones.
Specifications
- Bluetooth: 4.2
- Bluetooth profiles: HFP, HSP, A2DP, AVRCP
- Noise-cancellation: Passive
- Connectivity: Multi-device connection
- Water resistant: IPX4
- Battery life: Up to 10 hours
- Signal range: 38 feet
What’s In The Box
- Treblab X2
- Charging Dock
- Carrying strap
- 3 sets silicone ear tips (S, M, L)
- 3 sets sound isolation ear tips (S, M, L)
- X-DROP ear fins (S, M, L)
- Manual
Design
My first impression of the Treblab X2 wire-free earphones was that they seemed rather large. They are shaped a bit like an L, with the earbud sitting in your ear, and a stem that houses the controls resting outside your ear pointed downward. Because of the size and shape, they tend to jut out of your ear rather than lay discreetly against it. They have the basic shape of AirPods, which is a shape that I don’t like. I do like the look of the plastic though; it’s a shiny “piano black” plastic that has a quality feel to it.
The controls on the stems include four buttons, two on each stem, and a mic on each as well. The right stem houses a power button (volume up) and the mode button (volume down). The left stem houses a power button (previous track) and a mode button (next track). There is also charging port contacts on each earphone as well. The charging dock is made of the same black plastic and has two holes into which you insert the stems. There are indicator lights on the units, as well as on the charging dock indicating charge level.
There is an “L” and an “R” clearly stamped on the bottom of each respective stem. The “L” and “R” are easy to read, even for those of us visually challenged, making it easy to get them in the right ear and start enjoying music. There are also left and right markings on the back of the charging dock, ensuring charging gets done properly.
Ease Of Use
Pairing the Treblab X2 wire-free earphones with each other and my phone was very easy. To connect the left to the right, just turn on the right earbud followed by the left. The left will automatically connect to the right. To connect to your device, long press the right power button for four seconds. You will hear “Power On”, keep pressing power until you hear “Pairing” voice prompt. Red and blue LED lights will flash quickly. Go into your devices Bluetooth list and select Treblab X2 from the list. You can also pair only one earbud to your device, should you wish. That’s all there is to it, easy enough.
The X2 comes with six different ear tips and three ear fins so that you can customize the fit for the best passive noise isolation possible. This is where I ran into a bit of an issue with the X2. The silicone tips were a bit difficult to attach the earbuds at first. The fit is very tight between the unit and the ear tip; this probably helps with keeping external noise out. I had an issue where one of the ear tips ripped when I attempted to remove it from the earbud. I learned quickly to be very gentle when removing the ear tips; the silicone is rather delicate.
Another issue I had was with the ear fins; the directions state to “Attach ear tips and ear fins onto the earphones.”. I did just that, in that order. Ear tips first, and then I attempted to attach the ear fins. While it is possible to do it in this order, it is much easier to put the ear fins on first. The ear fins do not fit well over the ear tips and trying to do so almost resulted in another torn ear tip. The issues with fitting the earphones are in no way a deal breaker, I was eventually able to work out how best to go about getting just the right fit. I would like to see a bit more clarity in the instructions though.
Once I had the fit just how I like it, the earphones stayed in place very well. They only came a bit loose while I was running or exercising vigorously. When that happened, a slight adjustment was enough to get them back in place.
Sound
Where the Treblab X2 wire-free earphones truly shine is in the sound. The highs, the mids, and the bass are all extremely clear and crisp. I listened to a wide variety of music, from EDM to classical to rock. It all sounded equally good. Listening to Doctor Wu by Steely Dan, I was amazed at how bright the saxophone solo sounded while the bass remained true and deep. Everything is well balanced, and while the bass never drowns anything out, you can feel the beat pounding. If you like bass, the X2 won’t disappoint.
Reception/Call Quality
Making calls on the Treblab X2 is a bit different than on any other earphone that I have tested. The sound only came through in one ear. I ended up removing the other earbud since there was no sound coming out of it and found that removing one earbud helps with the call. I sounded more normal to myself and found that I spoke at an ordinary volume. The caller said I sounded just fine, but I did have to turn the volume up all the way to hear them, and even then their voice sounded faint.
Although I never lost connection from one earbud to the other, there was a slight delay from right to left whenever a song would start. The delay was only about one second, but it was noticeable. I only lost signal from my device to the X2 once. I had to restart the earphones to reestablish the connection, but it never happened again. Treblab claims a Bluetooth range of 38 feet for the X2. I was able to move 50 feet away without ever losing signal. It was cold and rainy outside when I did this test, so I did not test the limit of the Bluetooth range. All in all, calls and Bluetooth work well on the Treblab X2.
Battery Life
The Treblab X2 has a claimed battery life of up to 10 hours. I ran a battery test with the volume at 50%, and the units never more than 2 feet from the source and was able to get eight hours and 37 minutes out of the X2. Not quite 10 hours, but probably enough for what most of us would need on a normal day. Your results may vary depending on usage.
There was another issue I ran into with the charging dock. I noticed that the earphones would not disconnect from my device as they should when I placed them in the charging dock. It turned out that the ear fins were getting in the way of the charging points between the earphones and the dock. The fins would not allow charging to begin. Therefore the units would remain on and connected to my device. I solved this by simply making sure the ear fins were not blocking the charging points. Now when I put the earphones into the charging dock, they start charging and disconnect properly.
Price/Value
The Treblab X2 wire-free earphones are priced at $249.99USD. You can currently purchase the X2 for $69.97USD on Amazon, and Treblab has them listed for $80.00USD on their website. That’s a lot of different prices, but the bottom line is that the X2 earphones are available for $69.97 on Amazon at this time. An excellent price for a great wire-free sound I believe.
Wrap Up
The Treblab X2 are a great sounding pair of earphones that fit very well and really pack a bass punch. The styling may not be for everyone, but if you place great sound above style, make sure you check out the Treblab X2 wire-free earphones.
We were sent a sample of the Treblab X2 wire-free earphones for the purposes of this review.
Last Updated on January 24, 2018.
