Tribit QuietPlus 50 Bluetooth ANC Headphone Review
There are a lot of headphones out there, many of them Bluetooth enabled, and even more are active noise canceling. But what drew my eye to the Tribit QuietPlus 50 Active Noise Canceling headphones was the ability to connect wirelessly to two different devices. In this age of Covid, many are working from home and trying to juggle phone calls and zoom meetings, notifications from our phones and our laptops, all competing for our attention. Too often I’ve found myself running around the house helping my wife or my kids switch headsets between their computer and their phones, or have heard them complain that they missed something important on one device because they were plugged into a second. I hoped that the Tribit QuietPlus 50’s dual Bluetooth capabilities would remedy this situation
Unboxing the Tribit QuietPlus 50
The QuietPlus 50 headphones come with the standard array of accouterments. Velvet storage bag, ludicrously short charging cable, 3.5mm cable for a direct connection, and a user manual. While the provided charging cable is short, it is a USB-C type. If you don’t have at least half a dozen of these lying around, you own too many Apple products. The QuietPlus 50’s fold nicely for a compact package for transport. The headphones are black on black making them as hard to photograph as they are to see. As you’ll likely be doing most of your controlling by touch, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Author’s note: Out of the box, these headphones need very few instructions. If you’ve ever used a Bluetooth headset of any make, you’ll probably be able to control these with no problems. They did try to give you advanced functions, like redialing a number, but these take dual, simultaneous button pushes. You can technically do these without taking off the headphones, but it takes both hands. For that “convenience,” I’ll just unlock my phone thank you very much.
QuietPlus 50 Fit and Finish
Speaking of touch, the Tribit headphones have a velvety finish on the plastic that is quite pleasant. The ear cups and headband pad are soft and plush, and the fit of the headphones is snug but not overly tight. I have smallish ears so I would describe them as over-ear but many would experience them as on-ear. Either way, long listening sessions with these shouldn’t be a problem
The volume controls are near the bottom of the left earcup. Below them are the charging port and the 3.5mm port. Above them are a noise-canceling switch, an all-purpose button, and a grate (presumably for the external mics for the noise canceling function). The buttons protrude a bit making them easier to locate. The grate above the all-purpose button and the ports below the volume controls mean you can’t just slide your finger up (or down) and know that the first thing you feel is the button you want. With a little practice, this became less of an issue.
Comfort was no issue with these headphones. At first, the QuietPlus 50 felt a little stiff. I’ve reviewed a lot of headphones, and I’ve felt worse. After just a few minutes, the Tribit became part of my head. I barely noticed them. At seven ounces, they are comically light. At the same time, they don’t feel cheap or poorly constructed. While I don’t run unless chased, these feel like headphones I’d consider using when exercising.
QuietPlus 50 Dual Bluetooth
The main reason I reviewed the Tribit QuietPlus 50 headphones was because of the ability to connect to two different devices. The setup was easy. Hold down the all-purpose button until the light starts flashing (pretty standard there) and connect your first device to headphones. Then, go into your device’s menu and disconnect the headphone. Repeat the setup for the second device. Now, go into the first device’s menus and reconnect the headphones.
Easy. Dual Bluetooth connections achieved!
The dual Bluetooth worked flawlessly with my desktop and my Pixel 5. I started streaming music and settled in for some tests. The Tribit QuietPlus 50’s picked up my phone when I got a call and switched from the music on my computer to the call on my phone with a button push on the headphones. After the call, with a slight delay, the music kicked back in. Volume control worked quickly and flawlessly and playing and pausing functioned as promised.
My only concern was that I wasn’t getting audio notifications from my phone through the headphones. Even text messages wouldn’t beep through the headphones. Most of my Bluetooth devices allow so many notifications through that I’m usually wishing I could turn them off. Here, I actually wanted more. With some research, it turned out that the headphones prioritize the first device paired with it. If you pair your phone first, the dual Bluetooth connection defaults to that audio. If you connect your computer first and then your phone, you get computer audio primarily. To switch the primary to the secondary device, you need to disconnect and then reconnect the primary by turning off and then back on the Bluetooth. This will switch the primary to the secondary.
For example, if I was streaming music from my computer, I could take calls from my phone but I couldn’t hear the notifications. I also couldn’t pause the music on the computer and then start music on my phone. I could see that the music was playing on the phone, but I couldn’t hear it until I disconnected the computer. A slight inconvenience, but one that isn’t hard to workaround. It would have been nice if Tribit had more detailed information about the dual Bluetooth connection in the manual, but I could find no such information.
Author’s note: I was impressed when the QuietPlus 50’s remembered all my devices in order after being powered off. That was very convenient. What wasn’t convenient was that the Tribit’s didn’t have an auto-off function. I put them down and forgot about them for a few hours. Came back and found them still powered on. I suppose with all the notifications coming from my computer/phone, that makes sense. But you’ll want to remember to power them off manually when you are done to conserve battery.
Sound Quality and Noise Canceling
The noise-canceling functions of the Tribit QuietPlus 50’s worked great. The low hum we all forget we have in our houses disappeared when in use. Simultaneously, I could still hold a conversation with my wife with her voice only slightly affected by the function. These would be great on a plane if any force on earth could get me on a plane during a pandemic.
To say a pair of headphones are bass-heavy these days is almost redundant. It’s more unusual to find headphones that aren’t bass heavy. The Tribit QuietPlus 50 have a tip up in the bass but it isn’t too egregious. There is also enough top-end to sort of balance it out. Overall, I found the sound to be pleasant. I wouldn’t use these for critical listening, but they are certainly good enough for casual listening for long trips or for Zoom and Skype calls.
Calls came through clear and by all reports, my voice sounded natural. I was able to connect and disconnect from calls easily with the all-purpose button.
Conclusion
At $60 retail and often on sale, the Tribit QuietPlus 50 tick all the boxes. They are comfortable, sound good, and have dual Bluetooth capabilities. Being able to connect to two devices at once and switch seamlessly between them is pretty handy. With some careful planning on which device you connect as the primary, this can be the goto set for all your audio needs. With all-day comfort, tons of convenience features, these have quickly become my daily headphones. Recommended!
