FIIL T1XS Ceramic White True Wireless TWS Bluetooth In-Ear Earbuds
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Headphone jacks are a dying breed.
Ever since Apple decided to be “courageous” and remove the headphone jack on iPhones to sell their average-sounding Airpods (and the various Pro/Max iterations), the rest of the mobile manufacturers followed suit like spineless sheep. It’s an entire rant that I’m saving off for another day. Ah well…
Back to the topic of discussion: FIIL T1XS TWS IEM. That’s a mouthful. FIIL has been pretty popular among wireless/true-wireless IEM users lately, and while I’ve been pretty much “TWS averse” for various reasons, the overall feature-set got me intrigued. This is the first TWS that I’m gonna officially review, but more will follow (incl. both the Galaxy Buds). The wireless market is practically flooded with options and FIIL seems to have grabbed attention. I will look at it from a “sound-quality first” perspective though, so I guess this review will be a bit different from the existing ones out there. Ride along.
Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. FIIL was kind enough to send the T1XS TWS as a review unit (thanks Sophie!). Disclaimer.
Sources used: LG G7, iPhone SE
Price, while reviewed: $50. Can be purchased from Amazon.
Build: The entire housing is ABS plastic, which is also a requirement in this case since the housing needs to be RF-transparent. There is a vent hole on the inner side (a bit above the nozzle). The charging contact pins are also there. The back face-plate is touch-sensitive and has a glossy finish. I do wish it was matte however. Speaking of the charge+carry case, the case is moderately compact size. The magnet is pretty strong, and clasp is well-built as well. The type-C port is at the back and the status LED is on the front. However, the case is also gloss-finished, which isn’t the best option IMO and fingerprints show up a lot due to the piano-black finish. The entire housing is splash-proof to nicely round things up.
4.5/5
Accessories: The T1XS comes with 3 pairs of spare tips and 3 pairs of “wings” to help with the fit. I’ve found them to be a bit of a hit-or-miss in terms of ergonomics but the inclusion is welcome. Finally, there’s the type-C cable. Nothing too fancy, but nothing is missing or unusable as well.
4/5
Comfort/Isolation: True Wireless IEMs, by the very use-case, need to be comfortable and fit snugly (no strings attached after all). The FIIL T1XS does have a snug fit, however, the driver flex can be a bit of a bother. The “wings” does help with fit so try and see how things fare on your part. Isolation is very good. A fun thing is that you can press-and-hold the touch panel on any side to trigger “monitor mode”. In this mode, the surrounding noise is fed through the IEMs (alongside any music track that’s being played). Very handy if you just need to listen to the surroundings (e.g. while crossing a road).
4/5
Now, on to the sound and other features. The T1XS has an 8mm single-dynamic driver, has BT 5.0, and supports the AAC codec. No “high-res” LDAC or AptX HD support unfortunately. The general sound is V-shaped with a strong sub-bass focus.
Bass: The sub-bass is the star of the show here. It’s still not quite bass-head level but for almost every genre this amount of sub-bass is more than enough. Might even be an overkill if I’m being honest. The mid-bass is slow and slightly bloated, at times congesting the lower-mids. Bass texture is middling, but the punch/slam is quite good and does provide a nice rhythm. Not my favorite kind of bass but given the price and the codec compression — expected.
3.5/5
Mids: The lower-mids are recessed and upper-mids are boosted by ~6/7dB compared to the lower-mids. This thins out male vocal in some tracks and makes female vocals almost shouty in others. However, I didn’t feel that the shoutiness or thinness was too distracting. String instruments do have a nice “bite” to them, and the vocals itself sound alright. Timbre is also pretty decent given the V-shaped nature of things.
3.5/5
Treble: The treble is mostly inoffensive barring a peak ~6/7KHz that can cause some listening fatigue if you listen your music very loud. Bass rolls off pretty sharply after this peak. Cymbal hits are distant, there’s also some splashiness to it (not that distracting IMO).
3.5/5
Soundstage: The soundstage is mostly closed-in. Most of it is due to the aforementioned lower-mids congestion. Instrument separation is decent, nothing groundbreaking vs the wired competitors.
3/5
Imaging: Imaging is surprisingly good. It’s not the so-called “holographic imaging” but the FIIL T1XS does have better imaging than most TWS I’ve heard until now. It’s not the class-leader, but it does get very close.
4/5
Connectivity: Bluetooth connection was stable throughout. The touch-sensitive buttons can be a bit of a pain to navigate though. Once connected and paired, reconnecting them was pretty straightforward and won’t poste a problem unless you have too many BT devices around. In low-latency mode there is minimal lag and I kept it on all the time (mode configurable via the fiil+ app on App Store/Play Store). Call quality was also decent. The three mics positioned around the housing suppressed outside noise fairly well.
4.5/5
Battery Life: Battery life is very good and there’s also some form of fast-charging. I got ~5hrs out of them on a single-charge and the case itself holds charge for 24 hours more (rated). At this rate, you will need to charge them perhaps twice a week for moderate to heavy usage.
4.5/5
App: The fiil+ app is handy for customizing the gestures and applying EQ etc. I use it mostly for changing modes though as I find the stock EQs to be very aggressive in nature. The app itself is quite buggy and can crash randomly at times or misbehave (e.g. no response). I wish this app gets better but since I only use it sparingly that’s not too much of a bother.
2.5/5
Bang-for-buck: The FIIL T1XS is built well, has a lot of extras and features, got good battery life and priced accordingly at ~$50. I wish the tuning were as refined as some of its wired counterparts (e.g. Final E1000/E3000, the good ol’ BLONs) but it’s understandable that FIIL had to make some choices given the constraints of wireless tech itself. The Samsung Galaxy Buds and Lypertek Tevi are both superior IEMs in terms of sound, but they do cost ~$30 more.
4/5
Select Comparisons
vs Samsung Galaxy Buds ($80): The Samsung Galaxy Buds has come down in price recently, making it more comparable to mid/lower end offerings. The Galaxy Buds has a more balanced tuning with more mid-bass focus and sub-bass roll-off. It also doesn’t have as stable a connection as the FIIL T1XS and lacks the extras that the FIIL T1XS offers (e.g. monitor mode, low latency mode etc.). However, I prefer the midrange and treble tuning of the Galaxy Buds to that of the T1XS. Those who prefer a more balanced/mid-centric presentation will do well with the Galaxy Buds. Those who prefer V-shaped/bassy tunings should lean towards the FIIL T1XS.
vs KZ S2 ($25): KZ S2 is a 1DD + 1BA configuration and has quite a lot of features for a competitive price. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound refined at all. There’s just too much bass and treble and mids are completely buried between the two. It’s too much of a heavy-handed V-shaped signature, in comparison to the more reigned in V-shaped tuning of the T1XS. The FIIL T1XS does justify the price increase over the KZ S2.
Conclusion
True Wireless/Bluetooth IEMs are still not as good as wired ones, and my audiophile (!) self yearns for more fidelity and finesse with nearly every single TWS out there. I am still swayed by those dangly cables after all.
FIIL T1XS isn’t perfect. The app is a letdown and the midrange/treble tuning could definitely be executed better. The sub-bass focus might also put those off who want a brighter/neutral tuning.
That being said, the FIIL T1XS offers a lot for the price of admission. It’s a v-shaped tuning that plays nicely with most modern, bass-driven music and ticks nearly all of the boxes for most people. It does what it says on the can, and I guess that’s more than most out there.
Overall rating: 3/5
Update: better options exist now in 2023.
RC014
How I review: (See Previous Reviews)
Instagram: regancipher
YouTube: regancipher
Model: FIIL T1XS
Price: £54 (reduced for 11.11)
Vendor Website: FIIL
Review Reference: RC014
Manufacturer Specifications:
1 x Charge Case (Micro-USB)
2 x Earbud
1 x USB-C cable
1 x User Manual
1 x Quick Guide
3 x Tips (pairs)
3 x Wings
Real Life Experience
FIIL may not be a household name in the consumer audio market - their website doesn't even have an 'about us' section, and googling them is eerily footprint-free, but in the chifi audio world they have been one of the best kept secrets for some time.
FIIL were founded by Chinese rock-star Wang Feng in 2015, aiming to emulate the successes of Dr Dre in the US, and is heavily involved in R&D and tuning. Bringing in Leon Wu as CTO from Plantronics was part of this journey, and the $30m+ ploughed in by VC seems to have pushed them in the right direction so far. After their Diva Pro succeeded on Kickstarter and received rave reviews across the board, they became the top selling mid-range headphone manufacturer in China within 2 years of their foundation and have won various design awards - IF Dot and CES, to name but two.
In 2020 they attacked the TWS market fiercely. The T1XS were the first of a number of excellent releases from FIIL, and paved the way for the success of their T1 Pro, later OEM'd as the Earfun Free Pro, and in 2022 they updated the portfolio further, with the popular T2 Pro succeeding the T1 series.
The Unboxing - 8/10
If you've ever purchased FIIL earbuds before, you'll know the score with the packaging. It's definitely at the premium end of budget, with a hard cardboard box displaying the key features on the front and back. Because I'm impatient, I ordered from two different sellers on Aliexpress. It didn't help, they arrived at the same time!
The FIIL branding is immediately evident on the impressively finished case and padded insert which holds it in place. It is a step up from the 'crate' approach usually adopted by budget vendors, and makes for a rather pleasant experience.
The overall unboxing is a similar experience to most 'semi-premium' chifi earbuds. The charging case nestles into a soft foam insert, underneath is the plastic insert within which a charging cable (USB-C), a choice of three sizes of eartips and wing-tips, an easy enough to follow quick guide (in English and Chinese) and a manual (completely in Chinese)
The Case - 8.5/10
The T1XS improved upon the previous FIIL case by going portable, glossy, and high quality. The outside of the case is finished in a very premium-looking glossy white, with the FIIL logo screen printed on the top of the lid. The rounded edges give the case an even smaller feel to it than it actually is, and it has escaped scratches very well due to the finishing.
The case achieves its portability goal, and is also well-designed, with a nicely weighted hinge that does not look like breaking any time soon. The lip at the front makes them ideal for single handed use - flipping it open is very straightforward and pain-free, unlike many cases at this price-point. At just 29g it is one of the lightest I've ever tested - 30% lighter than the original T1X case, and over 40% smaller. It is marginally taller than other 'semi-premium' chifi offerings, but they are unquestionably pocket-friendly. You could easily walk around all day with these in your jeans or trouser pocket and not look like you're pleased to see everyone!
They've settled on a slim, bar-shaped design that is similarly proportioned to the Tronsmart Onyx Free (without the placebo-esque 'UV' feature). Helpfully, if you prefer to use third party tips, the box closes and charges fine with, for example, the ikko i-planet TWS foam tips, as well as a number of other OEM offerings (Spinfit CP1025, Dekoni, etc).
The light at the front denotes the level of charge in a red/amber/green configuration that is a handy pointer if you're leaving the house and want to know whether you need to grab a cable or not. FIIL don't specify what percentage each light corresponds to, but if it's red - give it a blast via USB-C.
The case is powered by USB-C. It gives you a total of 24 hours playtime, and the earbuds charge fully in 40-45 minutes. There is no wireless charging for this model, but they do support quick charge, giving you an hours playtime from around 15 minutes of juice.
The Ergonomics - 8.5/10
Firstly, the finish is clearly very high quality. The T1XS is available in a satin white or piano black finish, with grey wings that match the eartips, and they come in several sizes to suit almost all ear sizes.
The driver surround is metallic rather than the usual plastic, giving it an IEM feel, but this does not detract from the comfort. The battery connectors are located at the top, with a pressure release hole on the inside, and this is quite important, as the fit is rather invasive.
A voice mic is located on the bottom to maximise call quality for this form factor.
Another mic, a feedthrough or ambient mic, is situated on the top, in order to facilitate the noise reduction they advertise. As can be seen above, they differ from other popular models at this price point - the Tronsmart Apollo Bold and Edifier TWS NB2 - in both size and design. FIIL have gone for a brief that suits exercise, with an IP rating of IPX5 a little low compared with many that support between IPX6-IPX8, but making them more versatile - back in 2020 it was rare to see quad-mic array buds with a higher IPX rating than this, so FIIL have made a compromise allowing them to exist as practical all-rounders that won't break down if you break a sweat, but don't lose compromise on call quality, and are thus suited to a variety of applications.
When comparing the shape to similar designed earbuds, the closest equivalents are probably the Tronsmart Free and Whizzer E3. The design perhaps aligns closest to the Whizzer, due to the 'right-angle' connection into the ear canal. This sort of design really relies on wing tips to keep them in place, so it was a smart move by FIIL to include these. They tuck into the top of your antihelix and keep the buds secure very well, and the borders are rather thick, so no danger of them coming loose.
The straight nozzle is not especially conducive to the modus operandi FIIL intimate - they are meant to worn at a slight angle to best suit the mic design (pictured above). Had they angled them down a little like the Tronsmart, it would facilitate a better fit for the average ear size. These are certainly more suitable for smaller ears.
The smallest wing tip struggles here in the orientation FIIL recommend, so you either need to use the large, or tilt them slightly. Unfortunately I found the large to be rather uncomfortable.
Above shows the fit with the larger wingtips, which increased their stability, but I wasn't as happy with the sound or the comfort - within a very short time I was struggling with ear fatigue. I recommend people with larger ears use them in this way:
On the plus side, they seal magnificently with foam tips, giving excellent passive noise isolation. On a windy day here in the UK I couldn't hear any wind or passing traffic, which was similar to the Whizzer. The app supposedly allows you to manage how much ambient noise is filtered through.
My recommendation is to just fit them how you think will fit best rather than following FIIL's guidance - I went back to silicone after a while and the seal was very tight.
Sound Quality - 8/10 (for the price paid), 7.5/10 (raw score)
It is always a difficult balance reviewing raw sound quality against intermediate sound quality (i.e. sound quality against price). These were particularly difficult to judge, because whilst their sound signature is not my favourite, I cannot argue against how balanced and smooth they sound for a v-shaped set of Bluetooth earbuds.
The frequency range is advertised as 15Hz to 22KHz, and objective testing revealed that they do notch a little later than the majority of earbuds, but without the nasty spikes you hear on some budget options, which bring screechy vocals and sibilance to the high hats.
Low and high mids are delivered pretty well by Bluetooth TWS standards, no matter how complex the track, with decent imaging albeit at the expense of an expansive soundstage - the T1XS are deep fitting, which makes it nigh on impossible to give them an airiness through auditory masking. This results in them definitely sounding more 'intimate', but their clarity is still very good by 2020 standards.
I put them to the test with a variety of different music styles and vocal ranges, and I couldn't get female vocals to wash away, although with tenors and mezzo-soprano you may not be so fortunate. Typically at this price point you get a very clear V with recessed, muddy mids, but some mid-bass bleed aside (expected at this price point) they don't perform too badly. They get even better with improved tips, where the soundstage seems to expand a shade. With FLAC testing on Windows - again, they did not disappoint, delivering very decent sound, albeit nowhere near the tuning of a similarly priced wired IEM.
The FIIL+ app gives you lots of control over EQ, and you also have the option of Wavelet on Android.
Call Quality - Indoors - 7.5/10, Outdoors - 6.5/10
There is clearly some noise cancelling going on with the mic array. They are much better at filtering out the low end. Ambient adult voices indoors are evidently muffled, children's voices not so well.
Outdoors, whilst wind is not prominent, you can clearly hear passing traffic, but your voice is natural and audible with no connectivity drops.
I took them out in my 'test of the extremes' recently where I tested call quality in wind, rain and traffic. FIIL performed very well considering the shape keeps a distance between the ear and your mouth compared with the stem based designs.
Connectivity, Controls and Other Features - 8/10
Connectivity is strong. No issues at all whether indoors or outdoors. They are Bluetooth 5.0, and it is possible to use them in single mode.
There are 'gaming' modes and a number of other features available. When I first reviewed the T1XS some features were limited but now they are fully integrated into their feature-rich, if a little sketchy, FIIL+ app, with lots of EQ presets, as well as a custom 10-band equaliser, the ability to change the default control mode, and yes, changing the default language to English (see my instagram video for details) FIIL made the odd decision to ship these by default in 'easy' mode, which only allows you to skip tracks with the touch controls, so remember to switch it in the app to facilitate volume control.
They support auto-pause when removed from your ear, adjustable sensitivity modes, low latency mode, and battery saver mode, which reduces the sound quality, but keeps them alive a little longer.
Bluetooth Tweaker revealed some oddities. On SBC they have lowered the Bitpool differential by reducing the max bitpool from 2 to 8. This meant that I was able to achieve the lowest latency I'd tested to date - 170 ms source to destination - so ideal for casual YouTube viewing. Interestingly, these do not support MPEG-4 AAC LC - only MPEG-2 AAC-LC. This means they are able to up the bit rate to 393,216 - roughly the equivalent to AptX.
Battery Life - 8/10
The T1XS advertise 6 hours. I got just over 5 on one earbud, the other drained slightly quicker. This was with the odd phone call and listening at around 70% volume, which will be more than suitable for most.
The charge case gives you around 24 hours in total, and real-life was not too far short of this, but bear in mind the more phone calls or features you use, the less battery you will get.
It supports quick charge as stated - 40 minutes to charge the headphones fully, and 15 minutes gives you around 1 hour. This can be extended by choosing power saving mode, but will be more than adequate for most users - revisiting this review in 2022 shows we haven't moved much in this area.
Final Comments
The T1XS are a really solid release from FIIL that massively improve on their original offering. I didn't try the T1X until quite a long time after they were released - they were pretty good, but not as good as they were hyped up to be. I'd expected a really clear sound signature and got a more dynamic sound, which is fine, but the T1XS are far more to my liking, adding clarity to the trademark FIIL punchiness.
The audio performance is, for the price, very good, and unlike the Apollo Bold and Edifier TWS NB2, they are great all-rounders - you can use them for sport with no fear of them popping out with the array of tips, as well as a daily commute. They are good for YouTube videos and not bad as a headset for calls, provided you aren't subjected to lots of chatting and other ambient noises.
Absence of ANC is the only negative, but the passive noise isolation is not that much worse than Edifiers ANC! The tight seal ensures little noise gets through outdoors and unlike others in this price bracket, such as the Ugreen Hi-Tune, 1More Colorbuds and Tranya T10, they combine excellent isolation with thoughtful ergonomics that suit all ear shapes and sizes.
Releasing them at the same time as the T1 Pro means the latter will inevitably get more attention, but FIIL didn't do a bad job at all with this release.
SEP 21:
I have added a score bringing the review up-to-date for 2021 and 2022, as it seems like the T1XS are still popular. The Earfun Free Pro or if you're feeling adventurous, the FIIL T1 or T2 Pro, are available for a similar price offering better features and sound. I'd favour those models over this, since technology moves at such a fast pace.
Price Weighted Score: 88%
Raw Score: 84%
2021 Score: 81%
2022 Score: 80%
FIIL Review Inventory:
CC Pro
CC2
T1 Pro
T1 XS
About FIIL:
FIIL were founded by Chinese rock-star Wang Feng in 2015, aiming to emulate the successes of Dr Dre in the US, and is heavily involved in R&D and tuning. Bringing in Leon Wu as CTO from Plantronics was part of this journey, and the $30m+ ploughed in by VC seems to have pushed them in the right direction so far. After their Diva Pro succeeded on Kickstarter and received rave reviews across the board, they became the top selling mid-range headphone manufacturer in China within 2 years of their foundation and have won various design awards - IF Dot and CES, to name but two.
How I review: (See Previous Reviews)
Instagram: regancipher
YouTube: regancipher
Model: FIIL T1XS
Price: £54 (reduced for 11.11)
Vendor Website: FIIL
Review Reference: RC014
Manufacturer Specifications:
- Brand Name: FIIL
- Model Number: T1XS
- Control Button: Touch Control, two modes
- Active Noise-Cancellation: No
- Chipset: Airoha Luoda AB1536
- Communication: BT5.0
- Volume Control: Yes
- Auto ear sensor: Yes
- Codecs: AAC, SBC
- APP Support: Yes (of 3.3.13)
- Number Of Drivers: 2
- Driver Diameter: 6.1mm dynamic
- Frequency Response Range: 15Hz - 22KHz
- Microphone: Yes, Dual mic with ENC
- Charging Method: USB-C Charging case
- Charge Time: Earbuds 45 mins, Case 1 1/2 hours
- Quick Charge: No
- Single Use Playtime: 6 hours
- Playtime with Charge Case: Up to 24 hours
- Case weight: 29g
- Item weight: 9.6g
- Water Resistance: IPX5
1 x Charge Case (Micro-USB)
2 x Earbud
1 x USB-C cable
1 x User Manual
1 x Quick Guide
3 x Tips (pairs)
3 x Wings
Real Life Experience
FIIL may not be a household name in the consumer audio market - their website doesn't even have an 'about us' section, and googling them is eerily footprint-free, but in the chifi audio world they have been one of the best kept secrets for some time.
FIIL were founded by Chinese rock-star Wang Feng in 2015, aiming to emulate the successes of Dr Dre in the US, and is heavily involved in R&D and tuning. Bringing in Leon Wu as CTO from Plantronics was part of this journey, and the $30m+ ploughed in by VC seems to have pushed them in the right direction so far. After their Diva Pro succeeded on Kickstarter and received rave reviews across the board, they became the top selling mid-range headphone manufacturer in China within 2 years of their foundation and have won various design awards - IF Dot and CES, to name but two.
In 2020 they attacked the TWS market fiercely. The T1XS were the first of a number of excellent releases from FIIL, and paved the way for the success of their T1 Pro, later OEM'd as the Earfun Free Pro, and in 2022 they updated the portfolio further, with the popular T2 Pro succeeding the T1 series.
The Unboxing - 8/10
If you've ever purchased FIIL earbuds before, you'll know the score with the packaging. It's definitely at the premium end of budget, with a hard cardboard box displaying the key features on the front and back. Because I'm impatient, I ordered from two different sellers on Aliexpress. It didn't help, they arrived at the same time!
The FIIL branding is immediately evident on the impressively finished case and padded insert which holds it in place. It is a step up from the 'crate' approach usually adopted by budget vendors, and makes for a rather pleasant experience.
The overall unboxing is a similar experience to most 'semi-premium' chifi earbuds. The charging case nestles into a soft foam insert, underneath is the plastic insert within which a charging cable (USB-C), a choice of three sizes of eartips and wing-tips, an easy enough to follow quick guide (in English and Chinese) and a manual (completely in Chinese)
The Case - 8.5/10
The T1XS improved upon the previous FIIL case by going portable, glossy, and high quality. The outside of the case is finished in a very premium-looking glossy white, with the FIIL logo screen printed on the top of the lid. The rounded edges give the case an even smaller feel to it than it actually is, and it has escaped scratches very well due to the finishing.
The case achieves its portability goal, and is also well-designed, with a nicely weighted hinge that does not look like breaking any time soon. The lip at the front makes them ideal for single handed use - flipping it open is very straightforward and pain-free, unlike many cases at this price-point. At just 29g it is one of the lightest I've ever tested - 30% lighter than the original T1X case, and over 40% smaller. It is marginally taller than other 'semi-premium' chifi offerings, but they are unquestionably pocket-friendly. You could easily walk around all day with these in your jeans or trouser pocket and not look like you're pleased to see everyone!
They've settled on a slim, bar-shaped design that is similarly proportioned to the Tronsmart Onyx Free (without the placebo-esque 'UV' feature). Helpfully, if you prefer to use third party tips, the box closes and charges fine with, for example, the ikko i-planet TWS foam tips, as well as a number of other OEM offerings (Spinfit CP1025, Dekoni, etc).
The light at the front denotes the level of charge in a red/amber/green configuration that is a handy pointer if you're leaving the house and want to know whether you need to grab a cable or not. FIIL don't specify what percentage each light corresponds to, but if it's red - give it a blast via USB-C.
The case is powered by USB-C. It gives you a total of 24 hours playtime, and the earbuds charge fully in 40-45 minutes. There is no wireless charging for this model, but they do support quick charge, giving you an hours playtime from around 15 minutes of juice.
The Ergonomics - 8.5/10
Firstly, the finish is clearly very high quality. The T1XS is available in a satin white or piano black finish, with grey wings that match the eartips, and they come in several sizes to suit almost all ear sizes.
The driver surround is metallic rather than the usual plastic, giving it an IEM feel, but this does not detract from the comfort. The battery connectors are located at the top, with a pressure release hole on the inside, and this is quite important, as the fit is rather invasive.
A voice mic is located on the bottom to maximise call quality for this form factor.
Another mic, a feedthrough or ambient mic, is situated on the top, in order to facilitate the noise reduction they advertise. As can be seen above, they differ from other popular models at this price point - the Tronsmart Apollo Bold and Edifier TWS NB2 - in both size and design. FIIL have gone for a brief that suits exercise, with an IP rating of IPX5 a little low compared with many that support between IPX6-IPX8, but making them more versatile - back in 2020 it was rare to see quad-mic array buds with a higher IPX rating than this, so FIIL have made a compromise allowing them to exist as practical all-rounders that won't break down if you break a sweat, but don't lose compromise on call quality, and are thus suited to a variety of applications.
When comparing the shape to similar designed earbuds, the closest equivalents are probably the Tronsmart Free and Whizzer E3. The design perhaps aligns closest to the Whizzer, due to the 'right-angle' connection into the ear canal. This sort of design really relies on wing tips to keep them in place, so it was a smart move by FIIL to include these. They tuck into the top of your antihelix and keep the buds secure very well, and the borders are rather thick, so no danger of them coming loose.
The straight nozzle is not especially conducive to the modus operandi FIIL intimate - they are meant to worn at a slight angle to best suit the mic design (pictured above). Had they angled them down a little like the Tronsmart, it would facilitate a better fit for the average ear size. These are certainly more suitable for smaller ears.
The smallest wing tip struggles here in the orientation FIIL recommend, so you either need to use the large, or tilt them slightly. Unfortunately I found the large to be rather uncomfortable.
Above shows the fit with the larger wingtips, which increased their stability, but I wasn't as happy with the sound or the comfort - within a very short time I was struggling with ear fatigue. I recommend people with larger ears use them in this way:
On the plus side, they seal magnificently with foam tips, giving excellent passive noise isolation. On a windy day here in the UK I couldn't hear any wind or passing traffic, which was similar to the Whizzer. The app supposedly allows you to manage how much ambient noise is filtered through.
My recommendation is to just fit them how you think will fit best rather than following FIIL's guidance - I went back to silicone after a while and the seal was very tight.
Sound Quality - 8/10 (for the price paid), 7.5/10 (raw score)
It is always a difficult balance reviewing raw sound quality against intermediate sound quality (i.e. sound quality against price). These were particularly difficult to judge, because whilst their sound signature is not my favourite, I cannot argue against how balanced and smooth they sound for a v-shaped set of Bluetooth earbuds.
The frequency range is advertised as 15Hz to 22KHz, and objective testing revealed that they do notch a little later than the majority of earbuds, but without the nasty spikes you hear on some budget options, which bring screechy vocals and sibilance to the high hats.
Low and high mids are delivered pretty well by Bluetooth TWS standards, no matter how complex the track, with decent imaging albeit at the expense of an expansive soundstage - the T1XS are deep fitting, which makes it nigh on impossible to give them an airiness through auditory masking. This results in them definitely sounding more 'intimate', but their clarity is still very good by 2020 standards.
I put them to the test with a variety of different music styles and vocal ranges, and I couldn't get female vocals to wash away, although with tenors and mezzo-soprano you may not be so fortunate. Typically at this price point you get a very clear V with recessed, muddy mids, but some mid-bass bleed aside (expected at this price point) they don't perform too badly. They get even better with improved tips, where the soundstage seems to expand a shade. With FLAC testing on Windows - again, they did not disappoint, delivering very decent sound, albeit nowhere near the tuning of a similarly priced wired IEM.
The FIIL+ app gives you lots of control over EQ, and you also have the option of Wavelet on Android.
Call Quality - Indoors - 7.5/10, Outdoors - 6.5/10
There is clearly some noise cancelling going on with the mic array. They are much better at filtering out the low end. Ambient adult voices indoors are evidently muffled, children's voices not so well.
Outdoors, whilst wind is not prominent, you can clearly hear passing traffic, but your voice is natural and audible with no connectivity drops.
I took them out in my 'test of the extremes' recently where I tested call quality in wind, rain and traffic. FIIL performed very well considering the shape keeps a distance between the ear and your mouth compared with the stem based designs.
Connectivity, Controls and Other Features - 8/10
Connectivity is strong. No issues at all whether indoors or outdoors. They are Bluetooth 5.0, and it is possible to use them in single mode.
There are 'gaming' modes and a number of other features available. When I first reviewed the T1XS some features were limited but now they are fully integrated into their feature-rich, if a little sketchy, FIIL+ app, with lots of EQ presets, as well as a custom 10-band equaliser, the ability to change the default control mode, and yes, changing the default language to English (see my instagram video for details) FIIL made the odd decision to ship these by default in 'easy' mode, which only allows you to skip tracks with the touch controls, so remember to switch it in the app to facilitate volume control.
They support auto-pause when removed from your ear, adjustable sensitivity modes, low latency mode, and battery saver mode, which reduces the sound quality, but keeps them alive a little longer.
Bluetooth Tweaker revealed some oddities. On SBC they have lowered the Bitpool differential by reducing the max bitpool from 2 to 8. This meant that I was able to achieve the lowest latency I'd tested to date - 170 ms source to destination - so ideal for casual YouTube viewing. Interestingly, these do not support MPEG-4 AAC LC - only MPEG-2 AAC-LC. This means they are able to up the bit rate to 393,216 - roughly the equivalent to AptX.
Battery Life - 8/10
The T1XS advertise 6 hours. I got just over 5 on one earbud, the other drained slightly quicker. This was with the odd phone call and listening at around 70% volume, which will be more than suitable for most.
The charge case gives you around 24 hours in total, and real-life was not too far short of this, but bear in mind the more phone calls or features you use, the less battery you will get.
It supports quick charge as stated - 40 minutes to charge the headphones fully, and 15 minutes gives you around 1 hour. This can be extended by choosing power saving mode, but will be more than adequate for most users - revisiting this review in 2022 shows we haven't moved much in this area.
Final Comments
The T1XS are a really solid release from FIIL that massively improve on their original offering. I didn't try the T1X until quite a long time after they were released - they were pretty good, but not as good as they were hyped up to be. I'd expected a really clear sound signature and got a more dynamic sound, which is fine, but the T1XS are far more to my liking, adding clarity to the trademark FIIL punchiness.
The audio performance is, for the price, very good, and unlike the Apollo Bold and Edifier TWS NB2, they are great all-rounders - you can use them for sport with no fear of them popping out with the array of tips, as well as a daily commute. They are good for YouTube videos and not bad as a headset for calls, provided you aren't subjected to lots of chatting and other ambient noises.
Absence of ANC is the only negative, but the passive noise isolation is not that much worse than Edifiers ANC! The tight seal ensures little noise gets through outdoors and unlike others in this price bracket, such as the Ugreen Hi-Tune, 1More Colorbuds and Tranya T10, they combine excellent isolation with thoughtful ergonomics that suit all ear shapes and sizes.
Releasing them at the same time as the T1 Pro means the latter will inevitably get more attention, but FIIL didn't do a bad job at all with this release.
SEP 21:
I have added a score bringing the review up-to-date for 2021 and 2022, as it seems like the T1XS are still popular. The Earfun Free Pro or if you're feeling adventurous, the FIIL T1 or T2 Pro, are available for a similar price offering better features and sound. I'd favour those models over this, since technology moves at such a fast pace.
Price Weighted Score: 88%
Raw Score: 84%
2021 Score: 81%
2022 Score: 80%
FIIL Review Inventory:
CC Pro
CC2
T1 Pro
T1 XS
About FIIL:
FIIL were founded by Chinese rock-star Wang Feng in 2015, aiming to emulate the successes of Dr Dre in the US, and is heavily involved in R&D and tuning. Bringing in Leon Wu as CTO from Plantronics was part of this journey, and the $30m+ ploughed in by VC seems to have pushed them in the right direction so far. After their Diva Pro succeeded on Kickstarter and received rave reviews across the board, they became the top selling mid-range headphone manufacturer in China within 2 years of their foundation and have won various design awards - IF Dot and CES, to name but two.
regancipher
The FIIL are much less v shaped than the Alien Secret, sound quality is far better. The Alien Secret are as good as you can get sub $20
regancipher
Black Friday deals on this fantastic set of buds
Get 20% OFF FIIL T1XS White Earbuds - $47.99, was $59.99
Valid time: Nov 26, 2020 12:00 AM PST - Nov 27, 2020 11:59 PM PST
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Valid time: Nov 26, 2020 12:00 AM PST - Nov 27, 2020 11:59 PM PST
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Get 16% OFF FIIL T1XS Black Earbuds - $49.99, was $59.99
Valid time: Nov 18, 2020 - Nov 22, 2020
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Get 20% OFF FIIL T1XS White Earbuds - $47.99, was $59.99
Valid time: Nov 26, 2020 12:00 AM PST - Nov 27, 2020 11:59 PM PST
Product link: https://t.co/zpgtB3Kbbo
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Get 20% OFF FIIL T1XS Black Earbuds - $47.99, was $59.99
Valid time: Nov 26, 2020 12:00 AM PST - Nov 27, 2020 11:59 PM PST
Product link: https://t.co/hlc0Dg8oSa
3
Get 16% OFF FIIL T1XS Black Earbuds - $49.99, was $59.99
Valid time: Nov 18, 2020 - Nov 22, 2020
Product link: https://t.co/fwDOPpfNDO
Playing with the fit didn't help...
Would the Fiil T1XS be much much better sound-wise, or am i setting myself up for another disappointment because that's the level of sound quality in U/100$ TWS land?