QT – YOBYBO XBoat Pro

disclaimer: As you might imagine I get bombarded with requests to review gear constantly.  I try and sift through and find the ones I think readers will have the most interest in and focus on those.     One such example is YOBYBO that recently offered to send TWS models for review.

While at first glance they might not jump out, the fact they are carried by both Amazon and Newegg and their Kickstarter sales have gone quite well give them some additional push toward our review list and then the fact they advertise being “the first open-casing true wireless stereo headphones with LDAC,” was the push over the edge.   Sony’s proprietary LDAC protocol is one of the better codecs for wireless headphones at present but is rarely found in budget models due to the cost of licensing the technology.

I have no financial interest in YOBYBO or its distributors.

 

Unboxing / Packaging:

 

Build/Fit:

The X-boat Pro does indeed sport a unique packaging with the earpieces slipping into the case from the ends and remaining visible along the top and at the ends even when fully seated.  I do find it odd that an earphone with boat in the name is only IPX 4 rated so best kept away from water.   Removing the buds immediately puts them into pairing mode and pairing goes smoothly and easily when connecting to an LDAC capable device.  If your device doesn’t support LDAC, the X-boat Pro will connect via either AAC or SBC as it does not support AptX.   My iPhone also had no issues pairing quickly and easily with the X-boat pro.

The biggest issue I had with the X-boat Pro was fit.  The design of the buds gives a fairly shallow insertion and limits seating depth which for me made it tough to find a good fit.  Even with the stems firmly in the intertragal notch, the bud itself leaves a good bit of air between it and the canal which limits low end.   Others may not have the issue, but be aware that fit may present a problem.    Drivers are a 13mm dynamic driver with the Airohoa 1565M chipset handling the decoding and amplification details.

 

Battery:

Battery life is listed as 40 hours on the website and Kickstarter campaigns but understand that is referencing the case with use time on the earbuds limited to about 3.5 hours tops in my testing sessions before battery cuts out without much warning.  This brings us to another interesting point.  The website lists the 3.5 hour time as with ANC on, but my tests show it to be roughly true regardless of ANC usage.

 

Sound:

Once I got the earpieces situated as well as I could, I started using the X-boats and the sound is a departure from a lot of bright V shaped TWS models. Bass is big with an emphasis on the sub-bass before dropping back through the mid-bass range.  There is some bleed into the mids that warms the sound but also thickens and obscures a bit of the lower mids.   Male vocals have good weight but do not cut through the mix as well as hoped.    Upper mids have a bit more presence but still don’t rise to the level of the sub-bass and treble is very polite.

Using ANC poses a bit of a challenge in itself as the touch controls on the X-boat are a bit tricky to figure out.  Some worked as advertised while others did not and I suspect the instructions need some corrections to correctly reflect what those functions are.  At times I’d be attempting to change volume and be left in dead silence in either one or both ears.   This may be that the touch controls are listed incorrectly in the manual or it may be they are overly sensitive and a single tap is sometimes registered as multiples.  Either way the controls were a bit frustrating for me.

 

Thoughts / Conclusion:

Positives for the X-boat pro include easy pairing, LDAC and AAC support, good looks, and reasonable battery life.   Negatives were some fit issues and fiddly controls.    Those willing to take a chance on fit get rewarded with decent sound and features for the price as most $119 models don’t offer ANC in the mix, but the controls still need some work before I can wholly recommend the X-boa