Treblab X11 Earbuds [Experience]

Some time in December last year, I was scouting for a pair of wireless buds to replace my 8-year-old earphones. I found the Jabra lines of earbuds too expensive, and so were the Jaybird products. My main concern was whether the earbuds could fit after I spent a few hundred bucks on them, even though they all claimed to provide ear tips of various sizes.

Interestingly, an advertisement appeared on my FB feed, enticing me to buy a pair of wireless earbuds from Treblab, called Treblab X11. The reviews were rather good; the reviewers talked of how the sound came out rich and how comfortable the buds were. I was not sure if the reviews were, you know, paid reviews, but I could not find a negative review of the buds, so my conclusion was that the buds were good enough.

At S$58.98 (inclusive of shipping), the earbuds were an attractive offer. The original design was in black, which was rather cool, especially with the red accent. However, I was looking for something low profile, so I chose the white pair of buds instead.

Shipping was fast; I received the buds within a week! The contents were as listed:

Is Treblab X11 Fit for Getting Fit?

This was actually my greatest concern, and so I spent a lot of effort trying to get a fit. The package comes with 3 pairs of plastic ear tips (in white) and 3 pairs of expanding foam tips (in black). I actually tried all of them, but unfortunately, none of them fit me!

The buds came with wing tips, which were supposed to help secure the buds to the ears — they were useless as well. Most of the time, the wing tips were not even touching my ears.

In the end, the buds always felt like they were about to fall out of my ears.

Sound Quality

I am no expert in sound, so I won’t go into “bass” or “treble” quality. I’ll describe it for what it is.

Across a variety of singers I listened to on Spotify, all of the songs’ music accompaniment were suppressed; the vocals were so loud and raw, it sounded bad. There was a lot of noise. My expectation was for the music accompaniment to be rich and complement the singers’s voices.

For dance remix, the result was no better. There was no oomph in the music, because the bass was missing.

And because I could not get a good fit, external noise kept interfering with my music. This is especially bad when I am outside of the bus (perhaps walking from the bus to the train station); I could not hear the music from the buds at all.

Battery Life

The listed battery life was 6 hours – and it was 6 hours the first time I used it. After that, the buds never lasted 3 hours.

Other Issues

I kept having issues turning the buds on. The procedure was supposed to be: turn the buds on, then connect to the phone. After you turn the buds on, there will be a voice to tell you the buds were On and the left bud will go “Left Channel” then the right bud will go “Right Channel”. Thereafter, it will start to pair with the phone, after which, it will say “Connected”.

There were times when, after connecting to the phone, the sound only came out from one bud! I had to reboot the buds again to start the connection process.

Verdict

I think the reviews of Treblab X11 earbuds were over rated. At best, they will be good ear pieces for speaking on the phone (which I have no opportunities to try).

If you want to use it for listening to music, I think you can spend your moolah on better stuff.

p/s: I know it sounds depressing to read about a pair of lousy earphones. Read my review of a better pair of earbuds HERE for inspiration!