Tribit FlyBuds C2

When looking at the stylish black Tribit FlyBuds C2, various similarities to Apple’s AirPods catch your eye, whether it’s the conical shape of the driver holder or the long shaft. Thanks to their glossy finish, they look very high quality but can slip out of your hand easily. The earbuds are charged in a plastic case, which is included; in contrast to the earphones, the case lacks a bit of sparkle in two respects. Four LEDs on the front indicate the charging status of the case as well as that of the headphones.

Battery life and other tech specs of the Tribit FlyBuds C2

The manufacturer puts the battery life of the Tribit FlyBuds C2 at a respectable eight hours, and for the case, it is as much as 32 hours, and I found that both lasted well in my test. When the earpieces are exhausted, they can be recharged in the case to reach their maximum playing time in less than 90 minutes; the case needs 30 minutes longer to be fully recharged.

There is a lot of technology in these small earphones: aptX, AAC and SBC codec support, Bluetooth 5.2 and CVC 8.0 noise-cancelling for phone calls without distracting background noise.

Comfort and functionality

With their shape and size, the Tribit FlyBuds C2 have to be accommodated by everyone’s ears, and they can do so to a certain extent. Ultimately, the lightweight earpieces fit well, very comfortably, but for me, a little too loosely. Personally, I missed the feeling of support and security that would allow me to use the earphones for sporting activities. Subliminally, there was a feeling that they would slip out of my ear due to their smooth surface, but this did not actually happen in my test.

Pairing the Tribit FlyBuds is intuitive: simply remove the earpieces from the charging case, and the two red and white flashing LEDs above the shaft and an audible announcement indicate that they are ready to be paired. Then all you have to do is acknowledge the FlyBuds C2 on your smart device’s Bluetooth list.

Using sensor buttons, both earpieces respond to touch commands, in some cases different ones: Volume control, start/pause or skip for streamed music and activating the voice assistant. In addition, phone calls can be accepted, ended and rejected. I found the operation convenient and pleasantly straightforward, as the sensors reacted to a light touch and gentle tapping; this was not transmitted to the headphones and was thus not disturbing in the ear canal.

Individual sound customization via app

Although Tribit does not mention it in the manual or on their website, the FlyBuds C2 can be customized via the Tribit app (iOS, Android). First selecting the headphones in the app and connecting to it, the battery status is then displayed and the firmware can be updated if desired.

With 25 sound pre-sets, the sound pattern should definitely match the individual listening habits. The options are classified as “Jazz”, “Heavy Metal”, “Dance”, “Ballad”, “Rock”, “Rap”, “Electronic”, “Classical” and “Blues”, but can also be adjusted according to sound preferences (soft or strong bass). The app even has the appropriate setting for podcasts or “read aloud”. If you don’t like the pre-sets, you can play with the frequency sliders of the 10-band EQ. In my opinion, the users do not need to adjust the sound.

How do the Tribit FlyBuds C2 sound?

Tribit promises powerful stereo sound thanks to the built-in 13-millimetre dynamic drivers, an up-to-date Qualcomm QCC3040 chip, high-resolution aptX audio decoding and a frequency response up to 48 kilohertz. You won’t get too carried away, but you will get a lot of sound in your ears. A wide-ranging and unadulterated sound reveals itself and promises naturalness in the details that are brought out. I would have liked a bit more bass, but due to the design of the buds, they do not completely close off the ear canal, and the bass diffuses outwards. However, if you press the headphones into your ear, you can hear what the bass is capable of. Mids and highs fitted into the sound image in a very balanced way so that lead sounds and vocals presented themselves appropriately on top of the very distinctly stated groove. Compared to other headphones, I noticed more details and the stereo imaging was not concentrated in the middle but unfolded further away from the ears with the appropriate depth.

Musically, these headphones can take on all genres. My frequent reference track Bob James’ “Westchester Lady”, excelled with transparent organic jazz instrumentation on which the triangle sparkled to life. With electronica like Moderat’s “A New Error”, the drivers can even handle the booming sequencer in a disciplined and clean manner.

Phone calls

Thanks to four built-in Qualcomm microphones, the person on the other end of the line can hear their voice very clearly when making a call, even in noisy environments, thanks to Clear Voice Capture 8.0 technology. It filtered out disturbing noises by up to 90 per cent, which you can also hear, or rather, not hear.