Looking for new earbuds that aren’t Earpods? I road-tested the Status Pro X.

When Apple decided that iPhones would no longer have a headphone jack, I tried a series of wireless earbuds from manufacturers like Sony (Terrible; Bluetooth kept dropping when I went jogging) and Beats (I’d never buy Beats, but I tried a pair all the same; glad I didn’t pay for them because they were unnaturally bass-heavy).

Eventually, I settled on a set of Earpods, which is what I still use today. They’re pretty good, although when I’m exercising, I have to keep adjusting them in my sweaty ears. And I still think it looks like I have a couple of Virginia Slims sticking out of my ears. But they work.

However, I am open to suggestions, which is why I wanted to try Status Pro X. Things like a triple driver configuration, an “optical earing sensor,” and noise cancellation (their term is Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation), and great water resistance made them sound pretty good.

So what were they like?

Frustrating at first because I couldn’t get them to pair. This was fixed with a quick email to the company who pointed out that the metal contact points were shipped with protective tape. Once I peeled that off, the Pro X paired in seconds.

The charging case is very nice: flat-bottomed with a rounded metal hinged top; the whole thing felt well-made.

Since I was travelling on several ultra-long-haul flights, The Pro X’s first task was noise cancelling. That was impressive, certainly better than the EarPods. It helped that the Pro X comes with multiple silicon earpieces for a snug. (I need two different sizes because apparently my left ear canal is freakishly large.) They fit really, really well. Even after falling asleep on the plane for five hours, my ears didn’t feel sore from pressure points. Overall build quality feels very good.

When I landed, I set things up using the Pro X app–the “Status Hub” that I downloaded from the App Store. Once the firmware was updated, I was able to create a custom EQ setting (eight bands!) for my music. You’ll definitely want to do this because the standard presets aren’t great with bass and high end.

The app also allowed me to switch noise cancellation on and off and switch to an “ambient” mode (so I could hear more over the music; that’s adjustable, too). I found this worked well when I was walking the bull terrier.

Hint: “Wind noise reduction” is off by default. You’ll want to switch that on because the noise reduction circuitry actually amplifies wind noise. Why would it be off by default?

The “optical wearing sensor” can be seen on the back side of each bud. It basically tells the unit that it’s in your ear and that it should play. I should point out that the sensor does differentiate between the skin of your ear canal and, say, a table, when you take them out and put them down. Not that this is an issue, but I did find it interesting.

I listened to a variety of material, ranging from Judas Priest, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, U2, and Bob Marley. Perhaps it was because they fit better than my EarPods that I had to give the Pro X the nod. This was especially true in the gym. Because they stayed put, I didn’t have to constantly adjust them, meaning my workout music sounded better. And they’re apparently the only earbuds on the market with three drivers. Nice.

Touch controls are available for both years. It’ll take a bit to get used to the pause/stop/FF/RW gestures, but once you get the hang of it, things are fine.

I made a couple of phone calls. No issues. The Pro X “Voiceloom” feature uses AI to enhance your voice and your caller’s voice. I’ll try these the next time I do a Zoom interview for radio or TV.

Battery life? A little lacking. I ran out of juice in just over six hours. That would be my biggest complaint. Make sure you have the case handy, because that will extend listening to 24 hours.

Better than EarPods? Quite possibly, but with Amazon listing them for $329 (that’s Canadian), they aren’t cheap. But if you’re looking for good-sounding earbuds with plenty of customizations that will stay in place, I’d give them serious consideration.

Oh, and you can choose between black and white, too.