Tribit has rolled out their FlyBuds C2, a totally wireless set of headphones that pack in a laundry list of every feature you could possibly want from some earbuds. They’re sleek and stylish with no compromises on the hardware.
But a spec sheet doesn’t necessarily make a good pair of headphones. Let’s dig in and see how the FlyBuds C2 hold up.
Strange design choices
I’m generally a pretty big fan of Tribit. We’ve reviewed several of those headphones and speakers, and I’ve enjoyed pretty much all of them. I don’t love the design of the FlyBuds C2 at all.
Here’s what I do like; they’re lightweight, compact, and look very sleek and modern. The case fits in your pocket easily, and the earbuds themselves seem like they barely weigh anything, so they’re not hard to wear for longer periods of time. There’s USB-C port on the back to charge the headphones, but Tribit has jumped entirely to USB-C for some time now.
It’s not all rosy, though. Despite a solid construction and lightweight feel, I just do not like these standard AirPods-style design, and Tribit seems like they’ve made some of the worst that I’ve used so far. The material picks up a ton of smudges and fingerprints, and they just do not fit in my ears very well.
This is somewhat of a subjective gripe. There are definitely perks to going with an earbud design that doesn’t sit in your ear like in-ear monitors; you get more transparency to the noises around you, and they can be more comfortable for some people. I generally don’t love that style of headphone anyway, but I’ve used a few that I can deal with. Unfortunately the FlyBuds C2 don’t fall in that group.
The case also has a baffling design where the left earbud slots in on the left side, and vice versa. I constantly accidentally put these in their charging slots backwards. They couldn’t have reversed this somehow?
Great sound
Design aside, these headphones do sound pretty great for their size. They utilize a very capable 13mm driver and feature a very balanced sound profile. The lack of a fitting tip means you’re not going to get the best bass response, but they do an adequate job of keeping up with thumping music and action movies.
They’re tuned pretty well for dialog and phone calls, which seems pretty intentional. These are great options for podcasts and taking lots of calls.
If you’re looking for technically advanced headphones, the FlyBuds C2 also deliver. They use Qualcomm’s latest QCC3040 chip, which means you’re getting AptX connectivity. Long story short, it’s more efficient Bluetooth compression that delivers better sound quality and a more stable connection between your headphones and smartphone, if both devices support it. That also means that it’s a Bluetooth 5.2 set of earbuds.
Additionally, that newer Qualcomm chip uses four microphones for noise cancellation, so your phone calls should be extremely clear for whoever’s on the other end of the call.
Solid battery life
Tribit has managed to create a pair of earbuds that do pretty much last all day. You’ll get an entire 8 hours off a single charge, which will get most people through their entire work day. The included case adds an additional 24 hours of playback, giving you a net total of 32 hours. Pretty solid for a pair of earbuds.
Nothing special about the charging capabilities, however. No wireless charging, so you can’t use reverse charging on your smartphone to top these up; they’ll also take about 2 hours to fully recharge the case, which is fine but nothing to write home about.
Worth it?
I’ll gladly admit that I’m a big fan of Tribit’s stuff, and not just because I get to play with the review units. They make great speakers and headphones that sound fantastic, and while they still managed to do that with the FlyBuds C2, they didn’t put together the full package this time.
For $79 these headphones do sound great, and the AptX and and Bluetooth 5.2 support are great additions. But these headphones just don’t have the design to back up that sound quality.
There’s certainly some subjectivity there, so keep that in mind. Someone that’s frequently taking phone calls during a busy work day that needs this particular design and those four noise-cancelling microphones, this might make a lot of sense! There’s definitely a market for that.
But if you’re looking for a good pair of headphones to listen to music and play games with, you’ve got a lot of other better options, including some from Tribit themselves. Maybe if you’re just an avid podcast listener who doesn’t have a music subscription, but I don’t imagine that describes very many of our readers.
If you think these make sense for your routine, don’t count them out. But for most people, shop around before you make that decision.
Tribit FlyBuds C2 | $79 | Amazon, Tribit
