Tribit’s latest true wireless earphones, the MoveBuds H1 ($89.99), are notable for two reasons: they have a waterproof IPX8 design and offer an impressive 15 hours of battery life on a single charge. Neither of those qualities would matter if they didn’t sound good, but fortunately, we also like their robust audio and rich bass. That said, the included charging case is huge and the in-app EQ was somewhat buggy in testing. Ultimately, the MoveBuds H1 don’t unseat our current Editors’ Choice winner in the sub-$100 range, the Anker Soundcore Life P3. For $79.99, the Soundcore earphones are slightly more affordable, offer active noise cancellation, and deliver a more polished experience overall.
Impressive Water Resistance and Battery Life
The black-and-gray MoveBuds H1 feature a hook-style design, with fasteners that extend up and over your ear. They fit securely, but you might not like the chunky casing, especially if you wear larger-frame glasses (like me). The box includes six total pairs of silicone eartips, which is a generous array for any price, but especially in this budget-friendly realm.
The MoveBuds H1 are compatible with Bluetooth 5.2 and work with the AAC, AptX, and SBC Bluetooth codecs, which is again impressive for in this price range.
The outer earpiece panels sport a turbine-like etching and handle the on-ear controls. One problem is that, because you must grip the earpieces to place and reposition them in your ear, it’s easy to trigger the controls accidentally.
Once the earbuds are in place, the controls are easy to operate. A single tap on either earpiece controls playback; double taps handle track navigation (left for previous and right for next); and triple taps either summon your phone’s voice assistant (left) or toggle the Ambient mode (right). Hold down on the buttons for a second or longer to adjust the volume (left for lower and right for higher). Press down for 10 seconds on either to power down both earpieces. The phone controls are similar—a single tap answers an incoming call and a double tap ends it.
The IP rating is either IPX7 or IPX8 depending on whether you trust the box or the website more (both say something different), though Tribit reps say IPX8 is the correct one. Either rating means that the earpieces are fully waterproof and ideal for exercise—you can rinse them off, expose them to sweat or rain, and even submerge them up to a meter for 30 minutes without worry. The charging case isn’t waterproof, however, so make sure to dry the earpieces fully before you dock them.
The massive clamshell-style charging case is very large and too bulky to fit comfortably into most pockets, but the design is necessary because of the size of the earpieces. The case sports a slippery surface and an eggshell-like plastic finish, which is neither attractive nor easy to grip. An LED on the front indicates how much charge is left and a USB-C charging port sits on the back. The box includes a relatively long USB-C-to-USB-A charging cable.
Tribit estimates that the MoveBuds H1 can last roughly 15 hours on battery and that the case provides an additional 50 hours of charge. These numbers are exceptional for a pair of true wireless earphones, but shouldn’t be a huge surprise given the size of the charging case. Whether you get those results in practice depends on your typical volume levels.
Some earphones ship with thin stickers that cover the charging contacts. The MoveBuds H1 arrive with these stickers, but they’re the first ones I’ve encountered that leave a sticky residue behind. The placement of the contacts and ear hooks means this goo will eventually come into contact with your skin, which is an unfortunate design decision. In any case, the waterproof rating comes in handy for when you need to clean off this residue.
Tribit App
The Tribit app (available for Android and iOS) is a one-size-fits-all solution for several Tribit products. For the MoveBuds H1, it unlocks access to various EQ presets, including a customizable one. The default preset is heavily sculpted, so this feature is useful for dialing in a more accurate or transparent sound signature.
Unfortunately, the 10-band EQ didn’t work very well in testing, even after a firmware update—sometimes the fader moves simply didn’t take affect. One workaround I discovered was to make changes to the custom EQ preset, switch to a different preset, and then to select the custom one again.
Beyond the EQ, the app allows you to update the firmware and reset to factory settings.
Powerful, Bass-Forward Sound
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the earphones deliver a powerful thump without neglecting the highs or the rest of the frequency range. And at top, unwise listening levels, the bass doesn’t distort.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, better reveals the sound signature. The drums on this track can be overly thunderous on bass-forward models, but here, the lows sound full and measured. The drivers add a bit of extra thump, but not to the point of distortion. Callahan’s baritone vocals benefit from plenty of low-mid richness, but could use a little more high-mid presence. The acoustic strums and higher-register percussive hits are bright and clear. Again, the sound signature leans toward the low-mids, but still stays balanced. You can always tweak things with the EQ if you don’t like this tuning.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives just enough high-mid presence for its attack to remain punchy, but a bit more high-mid presence could help with detail. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat come across with a solid deep bass rumble, though not quite to the point that you feel like a subwoofer is in your skull. The vocals on this track sound clear, but again, we’d like a little more presence in the high-mid frequencies.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound rich and full through the MoveBuds H1, with the lower-register instrumentation getting a bit more low-mid presence. The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals don’t suffer from the slightly recessed high-mids, either—they retain their bright place in the spotlight.
Audio aside, Ambient mode lets you heard your surroundings and makes it easy to conduct conversations without removing the earpieces.
The mic sounds fine. We had no trouble understanding every word from a recording via an iPhone’s Voice Memos app and didn’t notice any Bluetooth audio artifacts. That said, the signal is weaker than with some other mics we’ve tested, which results in a bit less detail. Regardless, call clarity shouldn’t be an issue.
Excellent Battery, Uneven User Experience
The Tribit MoveBuds H1 deliver a robust sonic experience, sport a waterproof build, and offer excellent battery life. Unfortunately, the EQ doesn’t work consistently, the charging case is too big to fit in a pocket, and the residue left from the stickers on the charging contacts simply feels a bit careless. For $10 less, the Anker Soundcore Life P3 earphones offer active noise cancellation and a more reliable EQ, making them our Editors’ Choice. For the same price, we also like the Jabra Elite 3 earphones, which have a much more compact build and a more balanced sound signature than the MoveBuds without the need for EQ.
