Treblab X5 Review

Affordable true wireless earbuds with solid battery life.

If you’re looking for more affordable true wireless earbuds and don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on AirPods, then these might be a good choice.

They come with a sturdy carrying/charging case, quality materials, and comfortable fit (suitable for sports). But they aren’t perfect.

Read the full Treblab X5 review to find out what’s the issue.

What’s in the Box?

• Treblab X5 true wireless earbuds
• Charging & carrying case in one
• 3 pairs of memory foam ear tips (S, M, L)
• 3 pairs of silicone (regular) ear tips
• 3 pairs of ear wings (ear hooks) for stability
• Short micro-USB charging cable
• User manual

Comfort & Fit

4.5 Almost Perfect

How comfortable are the Treblab X5 TWS earbuds?

Due to lightweight design, a wide selection of eartips, including foam, and silicone ear wings, the earbuds feel truly stable and comfortable for hours. You can easily use them for running or other activities.

The X5s weight only 15 grams, which is really low, so they don’t drag on your ears.

You might think that keeping them in ears would be difficult due to their size, but that’s not the case.

Sure they do protrude out of ears, but it doesn’t seem to have an impact on stability.

You can choose eartips from 6 different pairs, including memory foam eartips which are common in higher-end headphones. These are a budget option (in the TWS-true wireless category), so it’s a bonus.

So, if you’ve been thinking about using these for sports, you can easily do so. They’re suitable for running, cycling, lifting weights and everything in between (except swimming). Just like the best workout headphones.

Want something for swimming? See the best waterproof headphones for swimming.

Probably the only thing you’ll have a problem with is figuring out how to fit the ear hooks properly.

Thankfully, there are the size and side markings on each wing, so you know exactly how and which ones fit together.

Noise Isolation

4.0 Great

How effective is noise isolation with Treblab X5?

It all depends on what eartips you use, but with tight-fitting memory foam tips (in the package) you get high noise isolation that blocks most of the background noise.

Keep in mind you need to pick the right size of eartips for your ears.

If you pick smaller tips, they won’t block much noise. For most people, medium size works best, so you should try these first.

Another thing worth knowing is that memory-foam eartips are much better at passive noise isolation and comfort.

Thankfully, you get 3 pairs of foam tips to choose from (S, M, L), so you’re bound to find the right ones for you.

High noise isolation means you can use them to block unwanted ambient sounds on your commute or in a noisy office.

Just keep in mind this is different from active noise cancellation. You can find the best noise cancelling earbuds.

Bluetooth

3.5 Almost Great

How strong is the Bluetooth connection in Treblab X5?

They don’t come with the latest Bluetooth (4.2), and while the wireless connection is stable most of the time, it has occasional problems like random interruptions that take away from experience.

Now, that doesn’t mean the Bluetooth distorts all the time. Most of the time it works perfectly fine, but we found some loss of signal occurs at a random time.

It might only happen a couple of times, but it does take away from the otherwise remarkable impression.

There is a problem with the Bluetooth connection that appears unexpectedly.

Of course, the connection also disrupts if you separate the earbuds too far away, but that’s normal for all true wireless earphones.

Also, we tested how strong the connection is through a well, and worked fine.

Still, you get the standard 33ft (10m) of range without obstacles, and you can easily hold your music device in a pocket.

As for Bluetooth codecs, they come with basic SBC only. Not aptX or LDAC or other fancy names.

Most users won’t notice any difference in sound quality, but audiophiles might object.

Is there a delay when watching videos?

There’s some delay when listening carefully but isn’t annoying. You’ll enjoy YouTube watching just fine.

Battery

3.5 Almost Great

What’s the battery life of Treblab X5?

If you listen to half volume, which is pretty loud, you’ll get around 4 hours of battery life. After that, you’ll have to charge them in the case that holds 4 more charges (but the last one isn’t full).

At 20% battery life, a voice prompt will tell you “battery low” which indicates the battery is depleting. It repeats itself a couple of times, and then they turn off.

You can usually still turn on one of the earbuds, but that’s useless of listening to music.

How do you charge them?

You can charge the earbuds by putting them in the charging case that works as a carrying case. If you have any power left in the case, the buds will fill up automatically.

At full capacity, the case holds about 4 charges, and you fill it up with a standard micro-USB cable.

It takes under 2 hours, so it’s standard. But keep in mind the last, 4^th charge, isn’t full, at least not in our testing.

Durability

4.5 Almost Perfect

Are the Treblab X5 true wireless earbuds waterproof?

While these aren’t waterproof Bluetooth headphones, they are sweatproof. With an IPX4 rating they’re protected against sweat and rain. But you shouldn’t dip them in water or wash them under tap.

First of all, immediately after taking them out of the box, you’ll notice they feel high-quality with a sturdy design and materials.

It’s impossible to tell these cost under $100, which is an affordable price for truly wireless earbuds.

Furthermore, the IPX4 rating means you can use them for working out, as well as use them for everyday occasions. Just like the best workout headphones.

The truly wireless earphones have a sleek plastic finish, and built-in controls give solid feedback, so you always know when you’ve pressed them.

Plus, you get a 1-year warranty if you register the product with the company. Not shabby for the price you pay.

Features

2.0 Acceptable

The X5 true wireless earbuds support the Siri/Google Assistant voice commands as well as phone calls and remote controls.

How’s the call quality?

There is a built-in mic on each side so you can use 1 earbud only for making calls if you wanted to. The battery life stays the same.

But you should know that the call quality isn’t the best. In our tests, we always got muffled calls, and the person on the other side could know we weren’t using a phone.

So, don’t expect to hold long calls with these.

On the other hand, built-in controls are solid. You can easily distinguish between the buttons on each side and know exactly which one you’re pressing.

There are 2 buttons on each side, 4 altogether, and it takes some learning to figure out which one does what. It’s a combination of pressing and holding that gives you different functions (all explained in the user manual).

Volume control is on the right and song selection on the left earbud.

Accessories

Inside the Treblab X5 package you get the true wireless earbuds with 6 pairs of eartips.

3 sizes of silicone and 3 sizes of memory-foam tips which is a nice bonus in this price range.

Additionally, you get a hard, rectangular carrying/charging case. It comes with LED lights that tell you if the buds are charging.

It feels well-made, and you can use it for storage and protection.

In the end, the micro-USB charging cable is really short and doesn’t fit into the case, so you’ll have to carry it around or use a cable you already have (like your smartphone or Bluetooth speaker cable).

Sound

4.0 Great

How do the Treblab X5 sound like?

Considering these are true wireless earbuds with an affordable price, they get top marks for their sound quality. It’s clear, loud, and slightly bass emphasized and is comparable to more expensive earbuds.

If you’re looking for good sounding earphones for casual, daily use, the X5 are a great choice.

The audio quality is prominently bass emphasized and can produce a lot of deep, punchy bass (though best bass earbuds are more powerful).

Emphasized bass and recessed mids without too much distortion even at higher volumes.

It’s perfect for hip-hop, dance, and other bassy music. But classical won’t sound as good as with best audiophile headphones.

Now, comparing these to higher-end headphones wouldn’t be fair because these are lower-priced and true wireless (both reasons for lower expectations).

Just like with similar wireless earbuds, there is a constant static noise present in the background.

But it’s only audible at lower volumes and with calmer (classical) music. You can only hear it if you are listening carefully.

At half the volume and blasting pop or rock songs, you won’t hear a thing. I guess small issues like these come with a price.

Furthermore, these can get really loud (which is also great for damaging hearing), so you can “outblast” the background noise.

The soundstage or positional accuracy is about average for in-ear headphones, which means it’s pretty poor.

You won’t get the surround sound feel, but hey, these are wireless in-ears after all.

Also, sibilance and distortion are minimal even at higher volumes. Compared to alternatives in the same price range, these sound clearer and with more detail than most.

In the end, the sound quality is thoroughly enjoyable for daily, on-the-go use and is perfect for an average consumer who wants a bit more “oomph” in their music (more bass).

Why Buy Treblab X5 True Wireless Headphones?

If you’re looking for an affordable Apple AirPods 3 alternative that is sweatproof, sturdy, comfortable, and sounds good (bassy frequency response), then the Treblab X5 is a great choice.

As long as you keep in mind, they come with average battery life (4h), mediocre call quality, and occasional but not deal-breaking signal interruptions.

What are better alternatives?

• Best cheap earbuds
• Best true wireless earbuds under $50

Specifications

Matija Ferjan

Matija Ferjan is a seasoned audio enthusiast reviewing headphones since 2015. He has personally tested hundreds of headphones and earbuds. He’s an active member of the Headphone Audio community and a true nitpicker, always looking for the “best-value-for-money” headphones.