Tribit FlyBuds C1 Review

Tribit FlyBuds C1 are comfortable budget stem earbuds with a pleasant sound, but the lack of extra features might make you reconsider.

Nowadays, when the competition packs their true wireless earbuds with tons of features to attract potential buyers, it’s strange to see TWS earbuds that only focus on sound.

Much like SoundPEATS H1, the Tribit Flybuds C1 also only offer sound quality. Tiny 6mm dynamic drivers produce a relaxed yet reasonably detailed sound.

They also sport an excellent 9.5-hour long battery life on a single charge and a very comfortable design.

While they don’t state it on the packaging, FlyBuds C1 support an IPX5 rating. That means they can easily deflect sweat and light rain.

However, for the price, they lack additional features to make them stand out, such as ANC, Qi wireless charging, or EQ presets.

Is that enough to justify their $70 price tag? Why should you pick these over the competition? Find more information in the review below.

UPDATE 09/16/2021: In the original review, I stated that these earbuds don’t have an IP rating. The manufacturer pointed out that these earbuds have an IPX5 rating, so I corrected the text as well as changed the final rating.

Pros & Cons

Editor
rating 3.9

By HeadphonesAddict

User
ratings 3.6

User Ratings: 7

Category

• Comfort & Fit
• Noise Isolation
• Bluetooth
• Battery
• Durability
• Features
• Sound

Our rating

• 
  4.5
• 
  4.0
• 
  3.5
• 
  5.0
• 
  3.5
• 
  3.0
• 
  4.0

User rating

• 4.5
• 3.5
• 4.0
• 4.5
• 2.0
• 3.0
• 4.0

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Tribit FlyBuds C1 Wireless Earbuds Qualcomm QCC3040 – BTH93 Black

Tribit FlyBuds C1 Wireless Earbuds Qualcomm QCC3040 – BTH93 Black

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2021 Wireless Earbuds, Tribit Qualcomm QCC3040 Bluetooth 5.2, 4 Mics CVC 8.0 Call Noise Reduction…

2021 Wireless Earbuds, Tribit Qualcomm QCC3040 Bluetooth 5.2, 4 Mics CVC 8.0 Call Noise Reduction…

$89.99

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What’s in the Box?

• Tribit FlyBuds C1 true wireless earbuds
• Charging case
• USB-C charging cable
• 6 pairs of silicone ear tips (2xS,2xM,2xL)
• User guide

Comfort & Fit

4.5 Almost Perfect

Ergonomic housing feels great in your ears, ensuring long-lasting comfort. They remain stable, even during workouts.

Earbuds have a familiar design to Apple AirPods Pro, right down to stem and housing. Much like Apple’s buds, these provide excellent comfort as well.

You shouldn’t have problems wearing them for hours. Due to their lightweight construction, you barely feel them.

Furthermore, ear tips don’t go deep into your ear canal, so you don’t feel much pressure.

Stability is excellent, too. They easily endured a head-shaking test and a bit of outdoor running.

There are six pairs of ear tips inside the box. Half of them have a slightly different look from the other half. However, all are silicone tips and don’t seem to change the sound.

Picking the correct tip size is crucial since it drastically changes the way low-end frequencies behave.

Noise Isolation

4.0 Great

Earbuds isolate as expected. They don’t completely seal off your ears, but you shouldn’t hear too much surrounding noise.

Earbuds with ear tips usually do a good job with passive noise isolation. Tribit FlyBuds C1 are no different.

They provide great background noise isolation, dampening most environmental sounds.

As long as you keep playing music, you shouldn’t be bothered by passing cars or people talking next to you.

Sadly, they don’t offer any ambient mode or active noise cancellation. Sound leakage isn’t a problem with these.

Bluetooth

3.5 Almost Great

Connection is stable, offers moderate coverage and support for mono mode. They also connect via aptX codec but lack multipoint.

Earbuds use Bluetooth 5.2, which ensures good connectivity without any weird stutters when using them outdoors.

The Bluetooth range is about average. FlyBuds C1 start losing connection right after passing the second brick wall. After that point, the audio becomes unlistenable.

The pairing process is simple since earbuds automatically connect to your phone as soon as you take them out of the case.

If you’re accustomed to wearing only one earbud at a time, FlyBuds C1 support mono mode.

Multipoint?

No, earbuds don’t support multiple connections. You can only connect them to one device at a time.

What Bluetooth Codecs Do They Use?

Tribit FlyBuds C1 use an SBC, AAC, and aptX. That’s a pretty decent selection of Bluetooth codecs for the price.

Is There an Audio Lag?

Watching videos on YouTube shows no audio delay whatsoever on both iOS and Android.

Playing mobile games does introduce a minor delay. However, unless you’re into competitive shooters, it shouldn’t bother you too much.

Battery

5.0 Perfect

The battery life of 9.5 hours per charge is right up there with the best earbuds on the market. An additional 38 hours are inside the case.

If you care about the strong battery life in your earbuds, these are an excellent pick. In our test, they managed to last for 9 hours and 33 minutes (12 hours advertised).

That’s enough for an entire day of music listening. A pocketable charging case holds another 38 hours of battery life. Four LEDs indicate how much juice is still left in the case.

Earbuds also support fast charging via USB-C cable:

• You get 1.5 hours of playtime in a 10-minute charge.

The FlyBuds C1 lack Qi-wireless charging, which is already present in some cheaper models.

Durability

3.5 Almost Great

Earbuds feel well in the hand and are able to survive even the sweatiest workouts. Just don’t wash them under a tap afterward.

Overall, FlyBuds C1 look sturdy enough for everyday use. They’re made from hard plastic that’s half glossy and half matte black.

The red grill gives them a unique look. While it isn’t the prettiest, it probably helps with ventilation (preventing bass from sounding too congested).

Earbuds are put together from multiple parts but don’t seem fragile. They can survive a few accidental drops, for sure.

An IPX5 rating means you can easily use them for outdoor activities or for sports. Sweat and light rain shouldn’t pose any problems.

However, drenching them underwater might still cause them to fail, so don’t use them near pools.

The charging case is pretty bland, with an inconspicuous Tribit logo on the lid. It feels slightly rubberized for better grip so that it doesn’t slide out of your pocket.

The lid is a bit wiggly and looks fragile. It isn’t all that different from the one found on much more expensive Sony WF-1000XM4.

Features

3.0 Good

Physical controls provide complete control over music playback and are okay to use. Apart from that, FlyBuds C1 don’t have much else to offer.

FlyBuds C1 earbuds are pretty basic when it comes to extra features. They even lack a proximity sensor for auto play/pause feature, which are common with many budget models.

At least earbuds offer a wide range of commands using physical buttons on a stem. Each earbud has its button.

With it, you can control everything from music playback, answering calls, volume control, and summoning smart assistants.

Tribit FlyBuds C1 controls:

• Play/pause – One press on either side
• Next track – Double-click on the right side
• Previous track – Double-click on the left side
• Increase volume – Press and hold on the right side
• Decrease volume – Press and hold on the left side
• Answer a call – One press on either side
• Reject a call – Double-click on either side
• Activate voice assistant – triple-click on either side

Microphone Quality

Wireless earbuds cut away a large chunk of the frequency spectrum, leaving only the most essential frequencies to understand human speech.

As a result, call quality isn’t great. Your voice sounds very thin and artificial, even when making phone calls in a quiet room.

Louder places are even more problematic, as the earbud’s noise reduction struggles to keep your voice understandable.

In conclusion, use these for making cell phone calls only if there’s no other option.

Sound

4.0 Great

Expect a tastefully V-shaped sound signature with boosted bass and highs and slightly recessed midrange.

Learn how to understand sound comparisons.

Many customer-friendly headphones boost the bass and treble to make them sound energetic. However, many tend to overdo it.

Thankfully, what Tribit did with FlyBuds C1 is quite tasteful.

Bass

As mentioned, the low-end spectrum is elevated to bring out the rumble of every deep bass note. The best thing is that it doesn’t overshadow the rest of the mix.

While the bass performance isn’t the most agile or controlled, you can still find enjoyment in most music genres, from slower classical music to fast-paced rock and metal.

Due to the elevation in the bass, the overall sound is pleasantly warm and easy to listen to.

Midrange

Mids are slightly recessed and lack some energy, especially when rendering distorting instruments.

Things like electric guitars lack some bite that would genuinely make your head banging. At least the instrument separation is excellent, so you can hear each instrument nice and clear.

Vocals feel quite natural and lively but can’t quite reach the same realism level as some of their competitors, like SoundPEATS H1, not to mention more premium earbuds like Sony WF-1000XM4.

Treble

Despite a slight boost in the treble, earbuds never get harsh or sibilant.

There’s just enough high-end to bring out fine details in the upper region, but not enough to make cymbals pierce your eardrums.

Overall, the treble is reasonably detailed and has shimmery characteristics. Cymbal crashes sound pretty natural and only get lost in the mix if the instrumentation gets too busy.

The soundstage is about average, with most sounds still coming from within your head.

On the other hand, imaging is nicely accurate, giving you a good sense of where the sounds are coming from with no blind spots.

Dynamics are good but not quite as pronounced as with similarly priced SoundPEATS H1.

In conclusion, these earbuds have an enjoyable sound signature with decent technical performance.

Should You Get Tribit FlyBuds C1?

These should be on your list if you’re into a more relaxed yet punchy sound that doesn’t overwhelm the music with heavy bass.

Battery life is also one of their strong points, as it lasts for around 9.5 hours on a single charge. That’s more than enough for everyday use.

Another area where they excel is comfort. You can wear them for hours without experiencing fatigue. And with a sweat-resistant rating, you don’t have to worry about using them in the gym.

However, they lack some crucial features like a companion app for EQ adjustment or to change controls.

Earbuds also look a bit bland, although that’s subjective. All in all, they still do the basics right and are worth considering.

How Tribit FlyBuds C1 Compare to The Competition?

Earbuds carry the same design as Apple AirPods Pro, much like many other earbuds with a stem. That makes them very comfortable to wear.

They have longer battery life than most. While some cheaper models have longer total battery life, the FlyBuds C1 bests them all in playtime on a single charge.

Moreso, the earbuds lack features such as Qi wireless charging, proximity sensor, active noise cancellation, ambient sound mode, companion app, or at least EQ presets.

Earbuds have equally good sound quality as other true wireless earbuds in this price range, or even slightly better.

Tribit Flybuds C1 Alternatives

SoundPEATS H1

The SoundPEATS H1 earbuds have a more traditional shape with bulky housing that provides both comfort and a snug fit.

They have the same IPX5 rating, similarly excellent battery life (10.5 hours), and touch controls instead of physical ones.

The sound signature is slightly different on the H1, with a noticeably more powerful bass boost and neutral midrange and treble. The Tribit earbuds are more V-shaped.

Technically, they’re similar, with more natural vocals on the H1 but more tamed bass and shimmery treble on the FlyBuds C1.

SoundPEATS H1 review

EarFun Air Pro 2

Both earbuds share a similar design, but the one on FlyBuds C1 is more stable for outdoor activities.

The Air Pro 2 have a worse battery life (around 6 hours per charge), but can Qi wirelessly charge the charging case.

EarFun earbuds are water-resistant (IPX5) and have active noise cancelling and ambient sound mode.

The sound is much brighter on the Air Pro 2, and can sound a bit thin and shimmery compared to FlyBuds C1.

EarFun Air Pro 2 review

TaoTronics Soundliberty P10 PRO

The two budget earbuds have similar sound signature, however, the P10 Pro aren’t as technically capable as the FlyBuds C1.

Their battery is also similar at 9.5 hours without ANC (with ANC, the battery drops to around 6 hours). Comfort is about the same, but the FlyBuds are more stable.

On the other hand, TaoTronics earbuds are fully waterproof (IPX8) and have active noise cancellation.

TaoTronics Soundliberty P10 PRO review

Specifications

Peter Susic

From a childhood fascination with sound, Peter’s passion has evolved into a relentless pursuit of the finest headphones. He’s an audio expert with over 5 years of experience in testing both audiophile and consumer-grade headphones. Quote: “After many years, I can confidently tell which headphones are good and which are terrible.” Find his honest opinion in his reviews.