These super cheap noise-cancelling headphones boast a 110-hour battery, but I still can't recommend them — here's why

13 Jan 2026, 01:00 · TechRadar

TechRadar Verdict

The Tribit QuietPlus 81 are incredibly cheap and offer a whole lot of playtime, but they’re not quite up to scratch with some of the budget-friendly competition. In the end, unremarkable audio, underwhelming comfortability, and some unrefined features mean that these cans struggle to stand out.

Pros

+Exceptional battery life
+Highly customizable sound
+ANC at an ultra-low price…

Cons

-…but it’s not very good
-Unrefined audio quality
-Messy software situation

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Tribit QuietPlus 81: review

If you’re looking for an ultra-cheap pair of noise cancelling headphones, the Tribit QuietPlus 81 appear to be a very tempting option indeed. With a list price of just $49.99 / £49.99 (about AU$75), they pack a lot in – ANC, a ton of playtime, and a neat, foldable design. But are they really worth checking out?

Well, in a lot of ways, these headphones are impressive. Above all, I was blown away by their ultra-long battery life. You get 70 hours with ANC on, and a whopping 110 hours with ANC off. That means you’ll barely have to charge these cans, ideal if you’re someone that’s on the go quite a bit… or are just forgetful like I am.

Like the best headphones around, these also have pretty extensive EQ options. There are a range of genre and situation-specific presets, but you can also set your own with the included 10-band equalizer. This means that you can create the sound that works best for you – an important inclusion, given that these headphones do not sound great out of the box.

Yes, I understand that these are incredibly cheap, and I didn’t have big expectations for these headphones, sonically speaking. But still, I think there are better-sounding options in the budget category – more on those in the ‘Also consider’ section. But essentially, these cans just lack the clarity, dynamism, and detail that others offer.

When listening to Black Eye by Allie X, synth beat intro lacked the razor-sharp delivery that makes it so impactful. The drum machine that follows sounds pretty deep, but also quite bloated, leaving the track devoid of its intense, energetic character. With the standard ‘Music’ tuning, instruments in the treble range are concealed, but even with a custom setup, I wasn’t able to get the expressive sound I was chasing.

Moving over to 12 O.C Riddim by M-High – a track that’s great for testing the low-end capabilities of headphones – and the picture was fairly mixed. High-pitched percussion in the build up again lacked the vibrancy and edge I was looking for, and although the headphones could reach down to the track’s dark depths, bass wasn’t agile or clean enough for a truly immersive listen.

Just generally, these headphones lack the refined sound you’d expect from a budget model like the 1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51. With a custom EQ, you can get adequate sound when listening at mid-volumes, just don’t expect to get anything out of the ordinary for $50 / £50 headphones.

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