X2T Wireless Earbuds - Review (Final Thoughts)

For just the review, scroll until the review section,

The X2T's, taken from Amazon.com

How long has it been since I've done a review on tech? Quite a long time, and that has to be because of how long the tech I have on me lasts. Remember the Avantree Auditions? Yeap, they're still alive and kicking. But it has been 2 years since I've posted that review and technology has come a long way since then. And the most expected advancement after the bluetooth headphones are bluetooth earbuds. Like just the earbuds and nothing else. That's the future of bluetooth headphones. The first glimpse we've had of these miraculous devices happened around early 2015 but after Apple announced the Apple Airpods, wireless earbuds were going to take off.

While I'm not personally a fan of Apple, this is one of the few times I'm actually happy they did this. What they did with the headphone jack, ...is another story.

Thank you, Marilyn

So back to my bluetooth headphones, yeah they're great and all, but not exactly comfortable to wear if you're sweating a lot. Not only does you head feel a thousand times hotter, but you think of all the sweat just collecting in the ear cups, that's not a pleasant thought. So having the same thought process every single time I want to do heavy work while wearing headphones was discomforting to say the least. And then my thoughts shifted to the Apple Airpods, then to the fact that surely companies now are manufacturing their own versions of Wireless Earbuds, and surely some of them would be in the price range I would be comfortable spending money.

And after window shopping, day in and day out, I actually stumbled across a pair that was relatively cheap, and looked quite attractive (according to me, my tastes, and I). And like c'mon, the whole sweating story, was just one reason why I wanted to buy them, I mean, this is the stuff we dreamt of when we were kids, and now they're becoming a REALITY.  We are living in the future people and we often forget that, but just look how far we've come. Behold! The X2Ts~

Oh, those perfect circular designs, not ergonomic but who cares they look great!

Me, when I saw them in the mail

Gone are the days where I have two cups collecting head sweat attached to my ears, bathing my ears in the excretions of my skin glands. No more pesky wires getting in the way so let's head on to the review:

X2T Wireless Earbuds Review

Getting a pair of these earbuds comes with,

The carrying pouch, the earbuds, the charging case and a USB to microUSB cable (which I forgot to take a photo of)

They also include replacement ear tips in different sizes so you can be sure you'll have the perfect fit no matter how big, or small you ears are. It's just a shame you only get one of each size so make sure they last!

First off, let's discuss Sound Quality:

These earbuds handle sound really well! Since these were relatively cheap, I went into them just assuming they would sound just mediocre or unimpressive. But far from that, there's clarity in each note, the sounds are separated well so music doesn't just sound muffled together, you can hear each instrument clearly, with a bass that was a bit too strong for me, I had to reduce it in the equalizer. Speaking of bass, the bass is very strong and produced well, they aren't over saturated with a satisfying, very deep thump and a very pronounced lower bass rumble. The ones that induce rumbles in your chest kind of lower bass. There isn't much to say about the treble though, it isn't bad per se, in fact, these earbuds produce wonderful higher tones, but there isn't anything special to talk about unlike the bass. The mids are clear with an intensity I can appreciate, given how small these earbuds are. There's also a very nice amount of sound stage, not as closed as the Audio Technicas or the Avantrees. Which makes me wonder, are headphones meant to have a smaller sound stage because most of my earphones and these earbuds have wider sound stages than those gigantic headphones. If you're judging these earbuds solely on Sound Quality, I'd swear by these straight away. 

Unfortunately, these are wireless earbuds so there's also the connection aspect. Which is the most disappointing part of this whole experience. Half the time when I was listening to music, the left bud would die out for half a second only to go back to producing sound after. And this occurs quite frequently throughout the listening experience, to the extend it becomes annoying.

Is this thing on? Oh, ok (my thought process during that half a second)

On good days, both earbuds produce sound equally and consistently, but only for around 1 hour and 30 minutes, after that the battery life starts to fall off, then you'll have skips and stutters coming from either earbud. This, however, I'm not really complaining about but it's something you should note if you want to get these earbuds. In terms of tether range, these earbuds don't have that much range to them either, simply putting your phone in you trouser pocket is enough to cause some inconsistent music playback. My solution to this is to place my phone somewhere close by that has some height to it, I've realized when my phone is on higher places there's less connection problems. Or else, the earbuds only play music smoothly while within an arm's reach of your phone, which isn't that much to work with. Even then, on bad days, the left bud will just decide every now and then to stop playing music for half a second. To demonstrate how weak the bluetooth connection of these earbuds are, if you ever get them, just covering one earbud, while in your ear, with your palm can already start causing some connection issues.

How about Comfort and Ease of Use?

These earbuds are light and can sit comfortably in your ear for long periods of time (by long period, I mean around an hour and a half). During which I used them as long as they remained consistent, and I didn't suffer from ear fatigue even though these earbuds are mostly held by the ear tip in your ear cavity. While I can't speak for everyone, the circular form factor sits well in my ear, but those with smaller ears might find them too big. These are in-ear buds so the noise isolation is top notch, depending on how deep and well you've plugged your ears, you can easily shut someone off or continue having a conversation with them. Either way, they continue to sit comfortably in the ear. The earbuds feature a single button, on either bud, and a single press plays or stops the current track depending on what's happening. A long press turns the earbuds off if they were already connected. One of the features that actually surprised me, because of how seamlessly both earbuds turned off at the same time. Given that both earbuds were on and connected in the first place. A long press while the earbuds are off turns them on with an audio queue to inform you they're on. Although it's recommended you turn on one first, get it connected and then turn on the other one, they should both pair to your phone with no issue if done so. A longer press with put them into pairing mode, which is done when you're just connecting for the first time.

I should also note that each earbud registers as a different device in your bluetooth menu. So it's good to keep one side as the primary bud (the one you always turn on first) and the other as the secondary bud (which you turn on next). And also I've tried reversing this to check the connection issues with the buds, and it actually became worse. So I can't speak for all X2T earbuds, but for me, the left one is certainly the troublemaker of the pair.

Earbud capacity: 85mAh, Case capacity: 1500mAh

The charging process is pretty seamless, simply insert the earbuds into the charging case and leave them undisturbed for a second, the charging progress is indicated by the LED light in the earbud, orange meaning charging and blue meaning at full capacity. The buds are held in place by magnets so it's really impressive to experience for the first time. It's like the bud pulls itself into the case effortlessly once in close proximity. The charging case is basically a glorified powerbank which you can charge using microUSB and you can keep track of how much juice is left by the blue LEDs on the charging case.

These earbuds definitely look futuristic, with their material choice and minimalist design

Additional Features, or lack thereof,

Even though both buds have buttons, they function the same regardless of which bud you press. From a design standpoint, it makes sense to give the user the choice to start with either bud. But on the other hand, the lack of a way to differentiate the left bud from the right makes me think they simply used the same mold to make either bud and just change the internals for the left and right channel. Which is a shame given that they could have included forward and back controls on these. Instead you're left with the bare bones, Play and Pause. They also don't have any NFC support for easy pairing but that's just a minor gripe. For the most part, you're getting quite a classy package here, bare bones, yes, but classy looking.

The entire product is meant to impress visually, but the user experience speaks differently

Verdict

The X2Ts definitely delivered in the looks department, its initial impression also left me with wonder and amazement. But as you continue to use the earbuds, the cracks will start to show. And they're very ugly cracks. The sound quality is impressive for a pair of earbuds at RM80, and wireless ones at that, but the connection issues you're likely to encounter and the difficulty you'll have differentiating right from left will pull away from that seamless experience we've come to expect from technology nowadays. The fact that the manufacturers managed to overlook a simple design element to help distinguish the two buds baffles me, and that either bud can function as the primary bud, adds to this confusion. I've seen other earbuds that clearly assign the right bud as the main driver and the left as the secondary bud which makes the experience less confusing and frustrating. The overall package is built to please and catch the eye, but note that these earbuds are temperamental and can deliver inconsistent performance as you continue to use it. If you're okay with those caveats, feel free to get yourself a pair, or else, look for other brands and perhaps, be prepared to shell out a couple more dollars for that assurance of quality.

After Thoughts

Honestly, I've still been using these earbuds, there's no denying the convenience of wireless earbuds, these don't heat up my head, and it's as if I'm not wearing anything but earplugs. Most of the time, if I don't want to encounter connection problems, I'd just connect the right bud. Which is much better in those cases where you're talking to someone or still have to use you sense of hearing. Putting your phone at a higher place does improve the connection range and can allow you to move around the room freely, my reasoning why this works is because there are less objects that can interfere with the weak bluetooth connection. Or else, I'd just try my luck with the temperamental left bud. Sometimes, I'd be:

Or else, most of the time, it'll just be like this:

Why are these two shirtless? There were literally no other gifs that had the right expressions so yeah.

Have fun and keep looking for those perfect buds!