Tribit’s FlyBuds C1 Pro true wireless earphones pack a lot of appeal for bass lovers on a budget. For a reasonable $89.99, they offer a robust, full-bodied low-end response with excellent sub-bass. In terms of active noise cancellation (ANC), they perform well, but fall just short of leaders in this price range. Overall, the $99.99 Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC earbuds remain our Editors’ Choice winners since they cancel noise slightly more effectively and work with a better-designed app, though the FlyBuds are a worthy alternative if you’re all about bass.Clicky, Non-Customizable Controls The FlyBuds C1 Pro are available in a matte, off-white finish and feature a stem-style design. Six pairs of silicone eartips (two each in S, M, and L) ensure a secure and comfortable fit over long listening sessions. Internally, 10mm dynamic drivers deliver a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz.The earbuds are compatible with the older Bluetooth 5.0 standard and work with the AAC and SBC codecs. Tribit says they do not support Google Fast Pair or multipoint connectivity. For comparison, the Liberty 4 NC earphones offer both of those features and support the LDAC codec for hi-res streaming on Android.
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Each earbud has a single physical button on the front of the stem. Single presses on either side control playback and calls, double presses handle track navigation (left for previous, right for forward) or reject incoming calls, and triple presses switch between the ANC and transparency modes. You can add an off option to the latter cycle. Pressing and holding the button adjusts the volume (left for down, right for up). Finally, a two-second press-and-hold turns an individual earpiece on, while holding the button down for 10 seconds puts both earbuds in standby mode. The buttons are simple to use and the control layout is fairly intuitive. That said, it’s easy to accidentally skip a track when you mean to adjust the volume since those controls rely on the same button. More problematic, however, is that you can’t customize the controls in the app.
An IPX4 rating is typical for noise-cancelling earbuds but not overly impressive. It means that they can withstand sprays of water from any direction and that they are safe from sweat and rain. You definitely shouldn’t rinse them off under a faucet or submerge them for cleaning.
(Credit: Tim Gideon)
The non-waterproof case is fairly nondescript. It has a matte surface, rounded edges, and a flip-top lid that reveals the charging cavities. Four status LEDs on the front show the approximate remaining battery life and let you know when the earbuds are properly docked. A pairing/hard reset button sits below these, while the bottom has a USB-C port for the included USB-A-to-USB-C charging cable. Tribit estimates that the FlyBuds C1 Pro can last roughly 8 hours per charge with ANC off or 6 hours with it on. The case holds up to 28 hours with ANC off or 22 hours with it active. Of course, your real-world results will vary based on your typical listening volume level. For comparison, the Liberty 4 NC earphones last 8 hours per charge with ANC on and store up to 32 extra hours in the case. The FlyBuds take about 1.5 hours to charge fully, while the case requires two hours to reach capacity.Tribit FlyBuds C1 Pro App ExperienceThe Tribit app (available for Android and iOS) shows the remaining battery life of each earbud on its main page, though not for the case. The Mode Setting section below that lets you switch between Noise Reduction (ANC) and Transparency modes. You can toggle Normal mode (everything off) if you want to add that option to the app and the on-ear control cycle, but there’s no way to adjust the levels of any of the main modes.
(Credit: Tribit)
Four tabs sit at the bottom of the app: Personal Sound, Earbuds (the home screen), Equalizer, and Settings. Tap the Personal Sound section to create a custom listening profile with the Audiodo service. The process takes roughly three minutes but is completely optional.In the Equalizer section, you can choose between several genre-focused presets such as Jazz or Dance, as well as create a custom EQ profile. The process for the latter is less graceful than with other apps, however. You get 10 bands between 31Hz and 16kHz to work with, but only six faders fit on the screen at one time, so you have to swipe left or right to adjust all of them. It’s also far too easy to scroll the screen up or down when you mean to adjust a fader. Changes you make have a noticeable effect on the sound, which is the desired result; I simply wish the interface was better.Head to the Settings menu to download firmware upgrades, as well as to reset or rename your earbuds. As mentioned, there’s no way to adjust the on-ear controls in the app. Average Noise Cancellation In my noise cancellation tests, the FlyBuds C1 Pro performed reasonably well for their price. They noticeably dialed back powerful low-frequency rumble and cut back the lows and mids from a recording of a bustling restaurant. That said, a significant amount of high-mid and high-frequency noise from the latter recording made it through. The Liberty 4 NC earbuds are about as effective against higher frequencies but handle deeper rumble better.
(Credit: Tim Gideon)
The Transparency mode works well. It adds a hint of high-frequency presence to improve conversation intelligibility and the levels sound relatively natural.Accentuated BassWith the default EQ setting (called Default EQ Sound), the FlyBuds C1 Pro sound noticeably bass-forward, a choice that might divide listeners. As mentioned, you can use the EQ to dial back the audio signature to something more neutral, but I stuck with the default setting for my evaluation. On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the drivers produce a powerful low-frequency response. The bass sounds robust and boosted at moderate volumes, and I don’t hear any distortion or loss of depth at higher levels.The earphones have no trouble reproducing the sub-bass at the 34-second mark of Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty,” and deliver the very deepest of the sub-bass notes with serious rumble. The various vocals on the track are generally clear, though the bass depth overwhelms the mix at times.
(Credit: Tim Gideon)
Drums on Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass, sound heavy, though never unnaturally thunderous. The drivers readily deliver boosted bass when it’s in the mix, but don’t go overboard on songs without it. Callahan’s baritone vocals receive a pleasant blend of low-mid richness and high-mid presence, though some listeners might wish for a brighter presentation. The acoustic strums and higher-register percussive hits are never dull, but could also benefit from more high-frequency attention. On orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, the earphones sound a bit bass-heavy and less crisp than I prefer. The higher-register strings, brass, and vocals still take the lead, but the lows are too forward. Purists will want to tweak the response here.The voice mic array works fine, and I could understand every word from a test recording on my iPhone without issue. The signal has more low-frequency body than is typical, however, which leads to slightly less clarity.For Bassheads on a BudgetThe bass-tuned Tribit FlyBuds C1 Pro deliver respectable audio quality and noise cancellation for less than $100. We just wish that the physical buttons were less prone to misfires and the in-app EQ was a bit more polished. Although these issues are minor, they mean that Anker’s Soundcore Liberty 4 NC earphones remain our Editors’ Choice winners for budget-friendly true wireless earphones. They cost slightly more, but they offer better codec support, suppress low-frequency noise more effectively, and have a more sophisticated app.
The Bottom Line
The true wireless Tribit FlyBuds C1 Pro earbuds deliver potent sub-bass, support EQ adjustments, and cancel noise fairly well for less than $100.
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