We’ve tested quite a few pairs of Sudio earphones over the last couple of years and have consistently been impressed with the commitment to understated style and balanced sound. After the recent success of their Tolv true wireless earphones, I was interested to see how their latest Tretton sport-focused earphones would compare.
I’ve been testing out the Bluetooth Tretton earphones over the last few days in daily use walking the streets and on public transport, as well as a few trips to the gym and some light running, and I’m pleased to report they held up very well.
Look & feel
Sudio have made minimal Scandinavian style part of their brand from the start and the Tretton earphones are no different. The earphones come packaged in a premium-looking white cardboard box that opens like a book, and inside you find the earphones, some extra wing tips, and a leather case to stop the earphones getting damaged in your pocket.
The earphones themselves are made from a rubberised matte black plastic, connected with with a flat non-tangle cable with two small blocks containing the battery, charging port, and control buttons. In fact, they look very similar to Sudio’s previous line of sports earphones we tested back in 2017. The main difference in looks here is that Sudio has opted for “wing loops” to keep the earphones securely in your ear rather than the previous “wing tips”. The main difference here the, is what’s inside.
Setup
Sudio’s earphones tend to follow the same setup procedure, and it’s very straight-forward – there are just three steps:
- Turn off the Bluetooth on the smartphone
- Press and hold the centre (play/pause) button on the earphone remote until the red and blue lights are blinking (around five seconds)
- Switch on Bluetooth on the smartphone and select “Sudio Tretton” and connect
That’s it.
Specifications
- Compatability: Android, iOS
- Play time: Up to 9h
- AptX supprt: Yes
- Sweat resistant: Yes
- Built-in microphone: Yes
- Range: 10m
- Bluetooth: 4.1
- Voice assistant (Siri and Google Assistant): Yes
- Weight: 16g
Sound Quality
I have always found Sudio’s headphones to produce a well-balanced sound, with tight bass and a relatively even mix, and the Tretton earphones are no different. It doesn;t matter if you’re listening to your favourite true-crime podcast or some stripped back folktronica, the balance feels natural, which is exactly what I look for. AptX support is also a welcome addition, with the earphones using Qualcomm’s advanced audio codec to produce higher quality audio than many competitors.
In use
Whether I was walking the streets or working out at the gym, the Trettons performed admirably, never once falling out of my ears no matter how many times I jumped up and down. The middle-sized earbuds and wing loops (three sizes come with the earphones) seemed to fit me well, but as ever with earphones your comfort and fit may vary.
The earphones lasted me multiple days without charge, which makes Sudio’s claims of 9 hours of play time seem to be about accurate, and the leather case is always a welcome extra, protecting the earphones from damage from my keys whilst in my pocket.
The only two downsides to the earphones really is the lack of Bluetooth 5.0 support, and while Bluetooth 4.1 works perfectly well and I found no signal drops, improved distances and dual audio (where one device can play audio to two sets of headphones) would have been a bonus. The earphones are also charged by Micro-USB, and while Sudio does include a USB-A to Micro-USB cable in the box, I would prefer everything just connect and charge by USB-C today.
Conclusion
The Sudio Tretton earphones are a good-looking and comfortable pair of sports-focused earphones that stay securely fixed in your ears thanks to their wing-loops tips. The audio mix is balanced and AptX support makes for a nice, clear sound, but I would have really liked Bluetooth 5.0 and USB-C instead of BT 4.1 and Micro-USB, but you can;t have everything!
Buy
Price at time of review: £79 directly from Sudio
We managed convince Sudio to offer our readers a 15% discount on the Sudio Niva true wireless earphones with the discount code “techsudio15”
