Status is back with another headphone solution, marking its fourth model to date and its (now) flagship earbud product. It is the Status Pro X triple-driver wireless earbuds, and they bring with them some new enhancements that the company hopes to lift it up a few tiers and into that hi-res territory.
I find it fascinating how compact, yet feature-filled, some earbuds have become. Small packages used to mean entry-level and basic features. But the new Pro X earbuds prove that size doesn’t matter when you still want everything.
When we first started opening the package, we felt that the presentation was decently simple. No flashy ribbons or felt-laced compartments. All of it was thin paper/cardboard construction for each section that contained things like the additional tip sizes or the charging cable. One might think this is a sign of what the product might be as well, but not everything is about packaging as long as it keeps things safe. What matters is that the money goes into the product and only the product. Why pay extra for pretty packaging you are just going to throw away?
That was the hope, and as we dug deeper and reminded ourselves of the specifications that come with the Pro X buds, we realized that everything did seem to be in the product and only the product (and that was nice).
These buds really do come in a small package. The charging case with both buds inside is one of the smaller models we have come across. Making it incredibly simple to store away, even if it’s in your pocket. The above image provides a great representation of this, as it sits next to a US quarter.
Yet, even though it comes in such a small package, it doesn’t lack much at all when compared to some of the better options out there. It’s almost as small as something like the JLab JBuds Mini (the smallest earbud solution we’ve seen), yet it has features and performance more similar to the Apple AirPods Pro or better.
Features like smooth touch controls (the face of each bud), wireless Qi charging, ANC, adjustable EQs, sidetone, AI-driven (Voiceloom) speech enhancement, and multiple drivers.
That’s right, this one comes with three separate drivers to help balance the delivery of the various frequencies. This includes one 12mm Dynamic Driver and two Knowles balanced armature drivers.
Via Bluetooth 5.3, they offer LDAC and LC3 codec support for hi-res streaming, as well as the normal Bluetooth codecs that have been around forever now.
After giving these a charge, we immediately started rotating various models in and out of our ears to compare and contrast how these sound in comparison to them all. It beat out various options from companies like Tribit, HELM Audio, Creative, and JLab. They stood out thanks to their crisp highs and balanced mids, and lows. The lows (bass) were not muddy and overpowering, while not being underwhelming in any way either.
We started tossing models to the side that didn’t make the cut as we narrowed it in closer to things like the Apple AirPods Pro, 1MORE EVO TWS, and Creative Aurvana. All of this helps to add weight to their performance. It was a very clean and smooth listening experience.
We moved between general MP3s and basic streaming sources (ie, Pandora), to higher-res formats like various FLAC files and premium streaming sources like Qobuz and Amazon. All resulted in a decently balanced listening experience. This is something that can sometimes be hard to find, as some models generally lean into one direction or another when it comes to best performance, limiting your use of them to these sources if you want good sound. But we were happy with everything we heard.
Was it the best we’ve heard in our ears? No. But the performance was more than notable, and it didn’t stop there. Comfort was also something that really stood out.
It can be so difficult to find the best earbuds for your ears when it comes to comfort, since everyone’s ears are so different. Did you know that each person on earth has a unique ear pattern? Because of this, one person may find a specific model fits perfectly in their ears, while another complains that the same model keeps slipping out or causes pain.
Because of that, this can be a slippery slope when it comes to describing comfort. As your ears may be drastically different from my own. However, based on feedback from my co-workers here, I’d say things lean into Status’s favor with the Pro X.
We found that these buds offered excellent comfort levels, even after long periods of listening. In addition to this, we found that we didn’t have to keep fiddling with the buds to keep them in our ears. The average person, including myself, didn’t even have to adjust them at all outside of general fidgeting or taking them in and out as we moved from one test to another.
This includes the touch controls, as they don’t pass any bothersome noise to your ears as you touch the face of the buds to pause/resume playback, adjust volume, or control the tracks. Controls that can be customized within the Status hub app (iOS and Android). We find that a lot of buds/brands suffer when it comes to this, as most pass a lot of noise to your ears, which can become distracting or uncomfortable.
Speaking of the app, Status has a general app that works with all of its products. It is the, as mentioned, the Status Hub app. From here, users can keep an eye on battery life, adjust the various EQ options or create a custom one, switch between the given listening modes (ANC, Ambient, and Off), customize the touch controls, enable/disable sidetone (for calls), multi-point connection, and trigger the location settings (in case you misplace them).
It’s similar to most apps that act as sidekicks to headphone/earbud solutions, and provides a user-friendly experience when it comes to adjusting everything. In that, you aren’t having to second-guess what anything means.
The only thing the app was missing was the ability to adjust the level of ANC, as some do. Although this didn’t really seem to be much of a miss this round, since the ANC didn’t really need to be anything less than it is. If anything, it would have been nice to see a stronger ANC. If you need less, you can simply turn it off.
As for the desire for a stronger ANC, we decided to put the Pro X buds through some serious paces to see how well ANC performed. We visited some typically noisy environments where there were a lot of people walking around and talking, but we wanted to do so much more since most ANC buds can help with the basic stuff. We wanted to know how well they would perform in more demanding situations, and just to our convenience, F1 was in town.
So we took these buds to the track, along with a few others, to see if they could protect our ears while allowing us to clearly listen to content. At the track, there was plenty of music, announcements, and people all over (and, of course, race cars).
The Status Pro X buds did a decent job when it came to the general environmental noise all around us. But when the music and the cars came in, the ANC didn’t have much to offer. To be fair, this is incredibly difficult for earbuds to make a difference in a situation like this, when comparing them to bulky over-ear headphone models (ie, Bose QuietComfort series). But it doesn’t mean you don’t have options that still stand out. We found that the Bose QC buds and the 1MORE EVO buds did a better job at canceling out the sound around us, with the 1MORE EVO buds killing it. Although (even) they were still letting a lot of sound bleed through.
Taking the buds back to the office, we dug out our endless supply of silicone tips to see if we could acquire a tighter fit. However, we found that it either didn’t help much or resulted in pressure/scratching. So it did seem to be more about the shape of the buds as the tips created a nice fit, but the body of the buds doesn’t (completely) fill in the ear space for that added seal experience. This is where we believe the 1MORE EVO buds did a better job with ANC, as they really create a seal with both the bud body and the silicone tip.
We might have gone a little overboard when it came to testing ANC this round, but we really wanted to give it a shot since they advertise up to 52dB of noise cancellation (else, we wouldn’t have done this). So, although we didn’t dock the buds too much for not protecting our ears from the noise of the cars or bands (since that was a little over the top), we did dock the score a little for not (noticeably) impressing us when it came to ANC performance overall. The performance is absolutely there, but it didn’t seem anywhere close to 52dB worth.
We were also a little surprised to see that spatial audio support was missing this round. Not everything has been jumping on that bandwagon, but due to the price point, we were kind of expecting it since everything else in that range does.
When it comes to phone calls, these buds do great. This is becoming more of an expected result when it comes to medium to high-end earbuds, thanks to beam-forming microphones and AI. This is something that the Status Pro X buds excel at in both of these categories, thanks to their six beam-forming microphones and Voiceloom AI Speech Enhancement.
We couldn’t find a single thing to complain about when it came to taking phone calls or jumping into video chats. The audio was nice and crisp for both parties.
Our Conclusion
A great option for all-around sound. The Statuc Pro X buds are feature-filled when it comes to audio performance, crisp/clean phone calls, and adjustable EQs. The ability to add sidetone really helps to keep your voice down when you have them in your ears. The overall phone call experience was great.
They are incredibly comfortable and seem to keep in place. This includes long periods of listening and making use of the touch controls. This goes a long way when it comes to this price point for us, as it can be pretty difficult to find comfortable buds at times.
The only thing we could point out was that ANC could be better, and spatial audio support is missing. At $299 (MSRP), things get dangerous as there is a lot of competition out there, so every point counts when it comes to trying to inch ahead of the rest.
Additional Images:
Specifications:
- Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling: Block out distractions with over 52db of powerful noise reduction.
- Optical Wearing Sensor: Auto-detects when they’re in your ears.
- Voiceloom AI Speech Enhancement
- Six Beam-Forming Microphones: Radically improved ANC, Transparency Mode, and Call Quality.
- Bluetooth: 5.3, SBC, AAC, and LDAC — delivering 24-bit/96 kHz audio at bitrates up to 990 kbps.
- Triple Driver System: 12mm Dynamic Driver + Dual Knowles Balanced Armature Drivers.
- Transparency Mode: Let in ambient sound with a click.
- IP55 Water & Dust Resistance: Handles sweat, splashes, and dirt.
- Battery Life: 8 hours per charge, 24 hours total with the included charging case.
- Status Hub App: Fine-tune your sound, manage your earbuds, and more in the Status Hub app for iOS & Android.
- Connectivity: Multipoint Connectivity, Android Fast Pair, Microsoft Swift Pair
- Wireless Charging: Yes (Qi)
- Sidetone Feature: External mics amplify your own voice during phone calls, so you don’t have to yell.
- Find My support: Yes
Co-Authors: Ryan S.
Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.
