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Treblab X3 Pro are a great attempt at creating fantastic true wireless earbuds for sports under $100 but fall slightly short due to fit.
There’s no secret where Treblab draw their inspiration when designing their new true wireless earbuds. The X3 Pro strongly resemble Beats PowerBeats Pro in both earbuds and case shape. However, they cost less than a 1/3 of the Beats price.
You’re getting a completely waterproof design with an IPX7 water-resistance rating, a “9-hour battery” (that equals 7 hours and 20 minutes at 60% volume in our test) with 36 additional hours waiting in the case.
Additionally, aptX Bluetooth audio codec, besides SBC and AAC, ensure high sound quality and low audio lag.
However, their attempt to offer us a more affordable version of an otherwise premium product isn’t as successful as we hoped. Primarily because of the poor seal when using original ear tips.
Consequently, that ruins the overall sound quality and worsens the isolation. Thankfully, you can try other tips to find which ones give the best experience.
Update: Information on multipoint was corrected.
- Good stability during sports activities
- Comfortable, even for more extended listening
- Durable construction with an IPX7 rating
- 9-hour battery on a single charge
- Very good sound quality (if you get a seal)
- Great passive isolation (if you get a seal)
- Both earbuds support mono mode
- Support for aptX
- Ear tips are too short to fit everyone
- Bulky design brings wind noise
- Discomfort when pressing the center button
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What’s in the Box?
- Treblab X3 Pro
- Carrying case
- USB-C charging cable
- 3 pairs of silicone ear tips
- User manual
- 1-year warranty
- Treblab sticker
Comfort & Fit
Treblab X3 Pro offer superb comfort, with rubber ear hooks that gently grab your ears. While that prevents them from falling off your head, they struggle to secure them in place.
Treblab’s approach is a bit of a double-edged sword. They wanted to achieve excellent comfort while adding ear hooks that gently grab your earlobes. In practice, you barely feel them.
However, the lack of force required to keep the earbuds in place means they don’t sit securely. As soon as you start jogging, the seal gets looser. While you don’t have to worry about earbuds dropping on the floor, there is a noticeable difference in audio quality and isolation.
Facial expressions also break the seal. When you smile, the muscles pull your earlobes upwards. And since these earbuds have ear hooks, any earlobe movement affects their fit.
That brings us to the second problem: ear tips. At least in our case, the included tips don’t provide a proper seal since they’re too shallow.
By closely examining them, you can see that the nozzle is shorter than on regular tips. We tried out third-party ear tips to prove our hypothesis and achieved a much better seal with a more refined, tighter sound.
We even researched if we’re doing something wrong. Maybe we chose incorrect tips or didn’t mount earbuds properly. However, we found that other users experience similar inconsistencies. Some say that Treblab X3 Pro earbuds are bassy, while others claim these are very light on bass.
Apparently, we fall into the second category of users. The original tips simply can’t reach our ear canal. Thankfully, X3 Pro are using a standard tip nozzle so that you can play around with third-party ones.
Another thing worth mentioning is that these use a similar button layout as PowerBeats Pro: a volume rocker on top and a separate multifunction center button on the outside.
Since that’s a physical button, you push the ear tip directly into your ear canal every time you press it, which gets slightly annoying.
Noise Isolation
It highly depends on whether you get a proper seal. Once you do, the passive isolation is pretty great.
We already discussed the problem with the seal. With original ear tips, you get inconsistent results, depending on the user’s ear anatomy. In our case, we had to opt for a third-party solution to achieve a proper in-ear fit.
Upon doing that, the isolation is excellent, definitely on par with other in-ear headphones. Ambient sound is mostly absent, especially when you hit the play button and let the music overpower the noise.
There is no active noise cancellation or ambient sound mode onboard, which is common at this price range.
Is There Wind Noise?
Sadly, there is. It’s expected since the earbud’s housing protrudes quite a bit. So, these aren’t the best for cycling.
Bluetooth
Treblab X3 Pro are using Bluetooth version 5.0 with faster pairing and aptX support, and you can use both earbuds in mono mode. We have experienced some connection hiccups but nothing major.
With Bluetooth 5.0, you get fast and easy pairing by only taking the earbuds out of the case. Each earbud connects separately to your transmitting device, which gives you the option to use both in mono mode.
While the signal range and stability are similar to other Bluetooth 5.0 enabled devices, audio stutters occur slightly sooner.
In comparison, audio from other headphones becomes unlistenable when you pass the second brick wall. In this case, X3 Pro’s begin to stutter a few steps sooner.
One time, earbuds all of a sudden disconnected and restarted. Afterward, they didn’t want to reconnect, so we had to place them back in the case and initiate pairing all over again.
Multipoint?
No, while you can connect Treblab X3 Pro earbuds to more than just one device, earbuds don’t connect to multiple devices at once.
What Bluetooth Codecs Do They Use?
Treblab doesn’t disappoint in that regard. You get SBC and AAC, which pretty much covers Apple users. Android owners will be happy to see aptX support for high-quality audio transmission.
Is There Video Lag?
There is no visible lag when watching videos, and only a small one during gaming. Performance is similar on both Android and iOS.
Battery
These true wireless earbuds are a beast when it comes to battery life. They can last up to 9 hours on a single charge (in our test we got 7 hours in 20 minutes at 60% volume), with 4 additional charges in the charging case.
If you often take long walks or runs, these should be on top of your list. Thankfully, Treblab put a rather big cell in the X3 Pro, giving you roughly nine hours of continuous playback.
While that is very similar to what PowerBeats Pro can do, Treblab’s even excelled in total battery duration. X3 Pro have a total of 45 hours, with 36 hours inside the case.
Despite their bigger cell, these earbuds still need only 2 hours to fully charge. However, they don’t support fast charging for quickly juicing up the buds.
On the case, you’ll find 4 LEDs that indicate battery capacity and a USB type C port with an included charging cable.
Durability
With housing made of hard plastic, bendable rubber, and protected with IPX7 rating of water-resistance, you don’t have to worry about durability.
Treblab X3 Pro wireless are specially made for sports crowd, with robust plastic construction that ends with a rubbery ear hook. Housing appears very durable.
With water-resistance (IPX7), they’re adding another layer of durability, making X3 Pro completely submersible. Sometimes, after a lengthy workout, earbuds can get soaked in sweat. So it’s nice that you can clean them under water just like the best waterproof Bluetooth headphones.
The charging case is on the bulkier side, but that is to be expected. It’s made from thin plastic with a soft, rubbery finish, which prevents it from sliding off the table.
While it feels decent in hands, the lid is a bit on the cheaper side. It closes down with a strong magnet, ensuring you don’t accidentally drop them on the floor.
Features
Not much in terms of technological features. Instead, you get more practical solutions with double physical buttons.
Don’t expect any active noise cancellation, virtual 3D audio, proximity sensors, or ambient modes. These are simple “plug and play” true wireless earbuds that focus mainly on their practicality.
Speaking of that, there are two physical buttons on each earbud. The volume rocker on top and a center button underneath the Treblab logo.
There is a wide array of possible commands. You can pause/resume playback, skip/repeat songs, change volume levels, call voice assistants, and control phone calls. Both earbuds offer the same controls, which come in handy for mono mode.
Microphone Quality
These earbuds do a pretty good job in a quiet room, with just a little bit of background noise that might get annoying to the person you’re speaking to.
Switching to a noisy environment and the quality noticeably worsens, despite the cVc 8.0 technology. Depending on how busy the traffic or chatty the cafeteria is, the noise gets a bit more prominent, and the voice’s clarity drops.
Sound
The sound signature depends on the seal. Overall, the audio performance is quite punchy, with a clean midrange and relatively large soundstage.
As mentioned above, we had quite a few difficulties achieving a proper seal with original silicone ear tips. With foam ones, the sound gets way too bass-heavy and muffled.
Note: Best bass earbuds don’t have these problems.
However, plugging in some regular third-party ones revealed a much more promising performance.
The bass on Treblab X3 Pro earbuds is very tight and punchy. You can distinctly hear each beat no matter how busy the track gets. Thankfully, there isn’t too much bleed into the midrange, and the overall sound is nicely warm.
The midrange sound reasonably natural but slightly recessed. It has good clarity, and it only improves when trying out different tips and earbud positions.
The treble brings out the cymbal’s shimmer when needed but also remains more in the background.
There is no sign of sibilance whatsoever. Cranking them up might bring out some harshness, and these earbuds do reach high volume levels.
Another positive aspect of Treblab X3 Pro TWS earbuds is their above-average soundstage and good imaging. You can hear sounds slightly out of your head, which adds to the immersion when listening to live records.
Should You Buy the Treblab X3 Pro?
For cheaper PowerBeats Pro-type earbuds, the Treblab X3 come the closest. They’re durable, sound good, come with nice features and a long battery, but they have 1 issue.
They might work for you, but it’s likely you’ll need third-party eartips to achieve a better fit. At least, that’s how our experience went.
It’s possible that our ear shape isn’t compatible with ear hooks. There might be some problems with users with glasses, too, although that’s unlikely.
If you stumble across the same problems, try eartips from your old earbuds or third-party tips.
Once you nail the fit, X3 Pro’s turn into good sounding earbuds for the price. They do a great job at comfort, useful onboard commands, and hefty battery life.
In case you don’t mind playing around to find the right fit, you’re getting a lot of value for sports earbuds for a fraction of the price.
Specifications
| Type: | In-ear headphones |
| Connection: | Wireless Bluetooth |
| Back design: | Closed-back |
| Drivers: | 11 mm graphene drivers |
| Frequency range: | 20Hz – 20,000Hz |
| Impedance: | n/a |
| Weight: | 19.2g both earbuds |
| Microphone & controls: | Yes (built-in) |
| Water resistance: | IPX7 |
| Battery life: | Up to 9h, 36 h more in the case |
| Charging time: | Around 2h |
| Active noise cancelling: | No |
| Bluetooth codecs: | SBC, AAC, aptX |
| Wireless range: | 33ft (10m) |
| Microphone: | Built-in microphone (MEMS cVc) |
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.
4 Comments
Parth Patel
Are you sure Treblabs X3 pro support multipoint connection?
Matija Ferjan
We paired them with 2 devices at the same time, so that means they support multipoint.
Chetan Waghmare
It does NOT support Multipoint !
You can connect each earpiece separately to two different devices but NOT as a pair !
Peter Susic
Hello,
you’re correct. I made an error which is now corrected.
Thank you for pointing that out.