Expert rating
Advantages
- Amazing sound for the price
- Very comfortable
- Non-microphone braided cable
- Mic and dB cut switch
The inconvenients
- dB cut switch in a place where children can change it
- TRRS to TRS adapter not included
- Wired connections only
Our opinion
These wired headphones are an absolutely incredible bargain and are said to be at a multiple of the $19 price tag. Exceptional sound, dB limitation and excellent comfort for a ridiculous price.
Price when reviewing
$18.99 (Tribit model number TR-KH01)
Best Prices Today: Tribit Starlet01 Kids Headphones
$18.99
Free
First of all, the Starlet01 children’s headphones (Tribit model number TR-KH01) sound much better than a $19 headphone (there’s a microphone) has any right to sound. Indeed, the sounds are comparable to many products costing five times as much. Best of all, the Starlet01s are exceptionally comfortable. Color me impressed.
Design and feature set Tribit Starlet01
As for their color palette: I claim the ultimate sacrifice for wearing a broken pink helmet around the house during testing. The company didn’t send me the more masculine mint green helmet, but I persevered. (The neighbors had a good laugh.) And if you’re studying gender studies, don’t bother, I don’t care.
Something you should know upfront is that the Starlet01 is actually a headset with an in-line microphone (and a dB switch) on the captive cable. Said cable has a TRRS (Tip/Ring/Ring/Sleeve) connector, so the microphone output is available on the headphone jacks. It will work well on most cell phones (those with jacks, that is), tablets, PCs, and similar hardware. But without a TRRS-to-TRS adapter (i.e., a normal stereo tip/ring/sleeve), you might run into trouble.
There is however a 3.5mm auxiliary connector on the opposite cup which can be used for normal stereo connections as well as for daisy chaining multiple Starlet01s. You will need to provide your own 3.5mm stereo cable. Since you’re only spending $19 to get started, you can afford some good ones. (Make them long, unless you want a good laugh at the kids’ expense.)
Unfortunately, using the aux port you will lose the 94dB/85dB switch/resistor on the captive cable which limits headphone output to 85db for children listening. You might want to save it after setting it to 85 dB, as any normally curious child will play with it. Don’t stick to the multi-function button, though, as it’s used for phone calls (answer, hang up), as well as playback control (play/pause and track forward/backward).
Like the equally inexpensive ThinkWrite Ultra Durable Pro, the Starlet01 uses a straight cable with a braided cable. Unlike ThinkWrite’s product, however, this cable is not microphonic. This means that knocking or scratching it will not create any noise in the headphones.
Performance of the Tribit Starlet01
If I had heard the Starlet01 before reviewing the ThinkWrite, I might have used weaker adjectives for the latter. While the ThinkWrite headphones sound great, the Starlet01 sounds as good or better. I’m sure at least partly because of the non-microphonic cable. It’s close, but I call it in favor of Tribit because of the lack of microphone artifacts.
As for the specifics of “it sounds good”, I mean there’s a decent amount of bass and it’s tight, not floppy like with some cheap cans. The mid-range is reasonably well-defined, and there’s enough top-end that you don’t get the feeling of boredom that so many cheap headsets suffer from.
The Tribit Starlet01 are no match for the Marshall Major IVs, or the Edifier Stax Spirits, but I had no problem listening to them for a good hour. Indeed, I found them to be more sonically pleasing than the headphones I’ve heard from major audio interface vendors in their podcasting packs. If I’m picky, I’d like a bit more definition and separation of instruments in the midrange. But for $19? Hush.
There’s no wireless Bluetooth, so obviously no battery life to report. Revisiting comfort for a moment: there’s plenty of padding in the ear cups and on the headband. Considering they are sized for smaller ears and skulls, I feel comfortable wearing them is a testament to that. There was just enough extension in the foldable earcups to allow for this.
The Tribit Starlete01 doesn’t sound or feel cheap
I was absolutely amazed by the sound and comfort of the Starlet01, even though they are designed for smaller heads and ears. It would be nice if they put a TRRS to TRS adapter in the box, but $19? I would buy these for any child in a heartbeat.
