Not too long ago, if you wanted high sound quality and reliability in an audio product, there were only a handful of names to choose from. Everything had wires, and the source of sound was always physical media.

Naturally, technology and sensibilities change. Which is why we now have a near infinite amount of headphone manufacturers, with brand names that appear as if someone pulled random consonants and vowels out of a hat and slammed them together.

But yet, if you are bold enough to wade through the acrid pit of headphone haberdashery, you’ll eventually come across a fairly new manufacturer that may just make a name for themselves. At first glance, it might seem like Treblab is just another random assortment of letters pumping out yet another undifferentiated chunk of headphone like so many other companies online. But Treblab has the potential to be a legitimate player in the world of electronic sound.

Established in 2015, Treblab is fairly young, but it has a solid, well-reviewed lineup of products including headphones, including the pair I most recently tested — the Treblab Z7-Pro over-ear headphones.

Price, availability, and specs

The Treblab Z7-Pro headphones are available from Walmart, Amazon, and Office Depot (as an impulse buy when picking up a pallet of copy paper). They retail for $149.97 but are often on sale since they aren’t a brand-new release, but certainly feel like it.

The headphones offer about 45 hours of playback time, charge through USB-C, and when you take them off your ears, the music automatically pauses thanks to a proximity sensor. That’s boss level right there. So, overall, great features for the price and well worth buying if you are seeking a light, terribly comfortable, and highly functional headphone.

What I liked about the Treblab Z7-Pro

Delivers on features and form

Before I dive into sound quality, allow me the pleasure of explaining why these headphones are nice to wear. Because they are strangely comfortable even for me — someone who has a bigger head, wears glasses, and usually doesn’t like over-ear headphones.

As a Floridian, I was impressed that the leather and memory foam provided support but didn’t get so sweaty that I wanted to rip them off in steamy frustration. Ultimately, Treblab has done what no other headphones I’ve reviewed have done: made a comfortable headset that doesn’t press my glasses into my skull.

I also like how they easily fold flat to fit in the case, making it easy for travel. Additionally, the earcups swivel 90 degrees, the headband expands, and they are clearly marked right and left. That last bit matters because almost everything is controlled through touch, which surprised me when I placed my hand over one earcup. It takes some getting used to, but ultimately I enjoyed not having to toggle real buttons.

Quality ANC for less than $200

I really enjoyed the Hybrid Active Noise Cancelation (ANC) feature. While in the ANC mode, surrounding noise is almost eliminated, while other frequencies such as voices are amplified with the ambient sound mode. There are little holes in the earcups to allow outside noise in, if you are so inclined.

I’m never inclined, which is why I really like the quick hand over the earcup to lower the volume to the minimum, so I can tell whoever is trying to chat me up to go away. I don’t want to be rude, after all.

Flac/Mp3 over Bluetooth

It’s not my direct intention, but I’m going to come off like sound-quality snob for a bit. It’s not my fault. I come from an era where the sound quality from cassette tapes was enough to turn speakers into wind tunnels.

Considering modern audio consumption sensibilities and the existence of smartphones, listening to (specifically) music through the Treblab Z7-Pro speakers is most viable with downloaded hi-res tracks over Bluetooth.

Flac and Mp3 files take up more phone space, but are worth it. I found that the low fidelity, high compression of actual music files delivers a clean sound through these headphones, with striking bass and relatively calm highs. There was no shaky distortion or vibration, and there was a nice, if not slightly muted, depth of sound.

EDM music with a live band provides a good test of mids with a new pair of headphones, so I listened to Bob Moses’ Tearing Me Up to really hear the “in-between” moments.

There’s a very smooth delivery here without sacrificing any of the more intimate moments in the music. Basically, what I’m looking for is being able to adequately hear the actual instruments behind the EDM, not swallowed up by the stronger electrical sound. The 40mm dynamic drivers do a competent job of keeping the highs at bay, allowing the mids and lows to shine.

The headphones also honor electronic bass with lowkey vocals along with quick raps. When listening to Take A Slice by Glass Animals, I could hear the rise and fall of the bass in conjunction with the vocals. Overall, the headphones handled the track well and pulled me into the music and leveled the depth of sound across my whole head.

Of course, super smooth bass is the epitome of a new pair of headphones. And the Treblab Z7-Pro’s noise-cancelling helps a lot to keep the bass contained and in your head, not vibrating out to every other passenger on the commuter train. In fact, overall, the headphones do a great job of containing sound, as no-one around me could hear what I was listening to.

Screaming highs also sounded great. When I listened to This Is It by Nekrogoblikon, the highs kicked in without much distortion, though I did notice that was thanks to the headphones kind of leveling everything out when they got too high.

What I didn’t like about the Treblab Z7-Pro headphones

Bluetooth makes tracks feel underwhelming

Overall, on streaming, the sound seems to be just holding back on all fronts. All the mids, highs, and lows feel like they are coming from the other room playing on very old speakers on their last leg. The swells, rising crescendos, and instrumentals just fall flat.

And it’s not the headphones’ fault — it’s just how we consume music now, and it is doing these tracks a disservice.

That aside, the headphones pulled themselves together long enough to hear probably 90% of the individual instruments playing together. This requires focus, to hone in on particular instruments, but you need good headphones to even get to that point. I reached that point and listened to an entire album in one sitting, only a few times, realizing that it was a Bluetooth connection.

I will say that older recordings such as Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield or Spaceman by Harry Nilsson sound on par with more recent recordings. Or conversely, the lack of depth on newer recordings over streaming is on par with the fade of time in older recordings.

Should you buy the Treblab Z7-Pro Headphones?

At the top level of listening quality, the Treblab Z7-Pro headphones absolutely shine. They might not be a household name just yet like Sony or Beats, but they are definitely on that path. The price point ($149.97 at time of writing) is competitive and fair considering the feature set and the touch controls, which are a sure highlight here.

And while I believe wired listening is best, the performance over Bluetooth with saved audio files was a quality and reliable experience. So for those of us who want to really listen, really enjoy music without breaking the bank, these are those headphones.