Offers a decent listening experience for a relatively low price, but certainly doesn't stand out in any aspect
Credit: Tribit
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$40 List Pros: In inexpensive, reasonably good sound quality, portable Cons: Poor noise isolation, not comfortable for large ears/heads Manufacturer: Tribit
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The Tribit XFree Tune is a step up from the listening experience of earbuds for a reasonably low price. However, a lack of great sound isolation and a fit that is only comfortable for people with small ears make these headphones less than ideal for many people. Bottom line, if you have small ears and find the XFree Tune on sale, it might be a good option. Otherwise, there are probably better wireless headphones available.
Editor's Note: This wireless headphone gear review was updated on January 18, 2022. The updates include new information on what products we'd recommend.
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The XFree Tuneisn't a bad pair of wireless headphones, but it fails to convincingly separate itself from the rest of the field in any capacity. Music fans shopping on a budget, or those that don't care too much about sound quality and just want a cheap pair of headphones can
The XFree headphones are decent headphones without any truly standout features.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Sound Quality
This is one area where the XFree Tune turned in a relatively good performance, earning an average score. In our testing, the XFree Tune could produce decent clarity, with most compositions sounding relatively well defined and separated. However, it tends to muddle some finer details in more complex movements. Also, certain podcast voices do have a very slight hiss to them.
The XFree Tune sounds good, but falls well short of exceptional.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
The XFree Tune is on the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to bass power. It has enough punch to satisfyingly anchor most music, but it lacks that deep, well-defined bass that can really bring a song to the next level.
Most of the non-active noise-canceling models we've tested fall into the same bucket, providing decent noise isolation if you play music loud, but offering nothing more than a muffling effect if you play music quietly.
If you want over-ear headphones so you can listen to music while you work in a coffee shop and not be too disturbed by the noises around you, the XFree Tune will likely work. With music on a moderate volume, we could still faintly make out the clicking of our keyboards, but conversations and glasses tinkering farther away were muffled enough that we didn't find them distracting.
We could still hear our own typing when listening to music on a moderate volume with the XFree Tune, but it was quite muffled.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
However, if you're looking for noise isolation that will improve how your music sounds, the XFree Tune isn't going to pass muster. It fails to offer a secluded enough listening experience that the finer points of music can shine through. For that, you need active noise cancellation.
Comfort
The XFree Tune falls into the trap of skimping on size and padding to present a slimmer profile, resulting in too little space for larger ears.
If your head and ears fall on the smaller end of the spectrum, chances are you're going to find the XFree Tune quite comfortable. If your head size is average, chances are you might notice some hot spots on the edges of your ears and that the headband will be a bit on the snug side. If you have a larger head, your ears will likely feel scrunched on the top and bottom, and the combo of slightly more rigid cushioning and a tighter headband may lead to an uncomfortable amount of pressure.
The padding is slightly stiffer than that of most other models.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
User Friendliness
The XFree Tune offers the kind of user experience you'd expect from a pair of headphones. A long press on the power button turns the headphones on and off, and with a short press, it functions as a play/pause button. A set of volume buttons on the back of the right earcup raise and lower the volume with a single press and can skip tracks with a quick double press.
To enter Bluetooth pairing mode, you must hold the power button down for 3 seconds. We didn't have any issues pairing the Tribit XFree Tune to our various wireless devices.
Portability
The XFree Tune is quite portable, earning one of the highest scores in this metric.
The earcups of the Tribit XFree Tune fold up, creating quite a small package that easily fits into the included semi-rigid carrying case. The headphones themselves weigh just over 10 ounces, which aligns them with their competitors. The manufacturer boasts a 40-hour battery life, much longer than many competing budget models.
The XFree Tune folded up into its carrying case.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Should You Buy the XFree Tune?
The XFree Tune is oddly positioned. We would suggest most people spend a little more on the better-sounding headphones. However, if you have a smaller head and find the XFree Tune on sale, it's a worthwhile purchase. The Tribit XFree Tune is a decent pair of budget headphones, but we would only recommend buying them if you find a sale and if your head is at least on the smaller end of average.
What Other Wireless Headphones Should You Consider?
If budget is a concern and you are interested in the XFree for this reason, we much prefer the Soundcore Life Q20 with a similar price (about twenty dollars more) you get better sound quality, noise cancellation, comfort, and more. We definitely think you'll be glad you spent the extra cash to get a better pair of headphones. However, if your budget is bigger, the Jabra Elite 85h offer better performance in all tests and have a higher overall score than the Soundcore or XFree.
GearLab is founded on the principle of honest, objective, reviews. Our experts test thousands of products each year using thoughtful test plans that bring out key performance differences between competing products. And, to assure complete independence, we buy all the products we test ourselves. No cherry-picked units sent by manufacturers. No sponsored content. No ads. Just real, honest, side-by-side testing and comparison.
