At CanJam NYC 2026, I met with a gentleman from STATUS who gave me a set of their STATUS PRO X TWS IEMs, presumably to review. As this was the third such product I received for review in as many months, it clearly is an area of growing demand. Unfortunately, with two Audio Shows, back-to-back, it has taken me a while before I had time to perform the review (2 months actually).

The STATUS PRO X TWS IEM

Like the SOUNDPEATS H3 TWS IEM mentioned above, the STATUS PRO X TWS IEM is a three-driver Hybrid with a 12mm Dynamic Driver and two Balance Armature Drivers (Knowles in the case of the PRO X), which sadly belies the STATUS claim of being the only wireless earbuds with three speakers, not to mention the Noble FoKus Pro TWS IEM, which came out over four years ago.

Other features of the PRO X are a claimed -52dB of Active Noise Cancelling, which includes an Ambient Mode, IP55 Water & Dust resistance, Voiceloom AI speech enhancement, an Optical Wearing Sensor (“Intelligent detection”), the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously, and 8 hours maximum playback per charge, with a charge case capable of three charges.

The full list of advertised features is as follows:

Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling
Block out distractions with over 52db of powerful noise reduction.

Optical Wearing Sensor
Auto-detects when they’re in your ears.

Voiceloom AI Speech Enhancement
Clear calls, even in noisy environments.

Six Beam-Forming Microphones
Radically improved ANC, Transparency Mode, and Call Quality.

Bluetooth® 5.3 with Advanced Codecs
SBC, AAC, and LDAC — delivering 24-bit/96 kHz audio at bitrates up to 990 kbps.

Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast Support
Future-proofed for the next generation of Bluetooth, with LC3 codec support.

Triple Driver Acoustic System
12mm Dynamic Driver + Dual Knowles Balanced Armature Drivers.

Transparency Mode
Let in ambient sound with a click. Stay aware, stay connected.

IP55 Water & Dust Resistance
Handles sweat, splashes, and dirt.

Long-Lasting Battery Life
8 hours per charge, 24 hours total with the included charging case.

Status Hub App
Fine-tune your sound, manage your earbuds, and more in the Status Hub app for iOS & Android.

Superior Connectivity
Multipoint Connectivity. Android Fast Pair. Microsoft Swift Pair.

Wireless Charging
The Pro X support Qi Wireless Charging.

Sidetone Feature
External mics amplify your own voice during phone calls, so you don’t have to yell.

Find Lost Earbuds
GPS Tracking of lost earbuds with sound notifications.

The first thing that came to my mind was what is Voiceloom, which apparently is a system using three microphones and AI speech enhancement to make your voice come across clearer to people on the other end of a call.

Interestingly, the Optical Wearing Sensor detects when the IEMs are actually in your ears, I assume this is to extend battery life

Probably the most unique feature is the ability to locate your PRO X using the STATUS HUB App, which also includes an 8-band EQ.

Living with the STATUS PRO X TWS IEM

Burn-in took a little time as I only got about four hours playback with each charge, but that wasn’t really a problem because I had so much other work to do at the time. When I downloaded the SATUS HUB app, I used that to pair to my phone, which worked pretty seamlessly and then I tested out the locate function which can bring up a map location which might be useful if you left them at a remote location but doesn’t appear to work if they are in the case as the app won’t open if it can’t connect to the IEMs. Once connected, you can locate the individual IEMs by sound or map location, but again, the map location only tells you what you already know, which is that they are within range of your phone. While I don’t see a use case where you would misplace the IEMs out of the case, it does work. I think it would be a helpful software update to allow you to open the app to the device when it is not able to connect, so you could use the locate function to at least know where the IEMs last were.

One nice feature of the app was the ability to turn off the touch controls. One of the annoyances of TWS IEMs is the touch controls activating over and over while you try to seat them in your ears.

The ANC works pretty well, though it is accompanied by a pretty loud hiss, which is much louder in the Ambient mode. Other than the background hiss, the ANC had no effect on the tonal balance, which is a plus.

I began my listening test with Advent Horizon, a band that was recommended to me yesterday by Bruce Ball of B.A.D.A.S.S. HiFi, locating their newest album “In a Lone and Dreary World” (16-bit/44.1kHz – Qobuz) on Qobuz, I selected the 19-minute eponymous track. My first task was to cycle through the different EQ settings. Interestingly, the “STATUS Signature” is the all flat setting, which I guess makes sense as this is the base voicing of the IEM. I found the “STATUS Audiophile” setting, which has a dip in the mid-bass (176Hz) and the mid treble (5.8kHz) with a slight peak at 1kHz, to be much more pleasant to listen to. With great reluctance, I returned to the neutral settings for the rest of the review.

The basic tonal balance had a solid bottom end edging into the boomy, a suppressed midrange, and slightly bright highs, though not painfully so. The soundstage was definitely in your head.

My next choice was “Di Hotel Malibu” (24-bit/44.1kHz – Qobuz) by Thee Marloes. The kick drum offered a heavy, dull thump, and the rim shots were crisp. The vocals were recessed, and the bass guitar was fat. The keyboards had a definite 60’s R&B vibe.

The nylon acoustic guitar for Pedro Mizutani’s “NOVA BOSSA: aquele abraço aos ratos vivos” (24-bit/44.1kHz – Qobuz) was ukulele-like, especially on “Colchão”, while the soundstage was very intimate. As above, the bass was heavy and loose.

The soundstage expanded a bit for “Franz von Suppè: Fantasia Symphonica & Spanish Dances” (24-bit/96kHz – Qobuz) as performed by Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt, Ernst Theis conducting, showing the advantages of higher resolution recordings. The orchestra was blended together as a whole, the timbre of instruments a bit generic.

For a closer look at tonal balance, I reverted to my HiFiAudio.Guru playlist (https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/10673532) to select a few of my better-known tracks. Starting with “Can-Utility and the Coastliners” by Genesis (“Foxtrot” – 16-bit/44.1kHz – Qobuz). The guitars were very forward, and again the vocal was a bit behind the band; the bass had a bit of depth, which is exceptional in an IEM in this price range.

The piano for “The Song Is Over” (“Who’s Next” – The Who – 24-bit/96kHz – Qobuz) took a bit of a back seat and again was a bit generic, and as before, the soundstage was wider than with the 44.1kHz tracks.

As a last test, I made a few phone calls and went out into the noisy world outside to test the noise suppression techniques applied to outgoing voice, and the PRO X performed beautifully.

Conclusions on the STATUS PRO X TWS IEM

Overall, the performance of the STATUS PRO X TWS IEM is excellent for a product in its price category, it provides a mainstream Rock & Roll sonic profile, but can be tailored to finer tastes via the EQ setting in the STATUS HUB app. As a Bluetooth headset, which is its primary function, it is exemplar, the only note being that if you listen in “Ambient Mode” while (something I find makes talking with TWS IEMs more comfortable), your own voice is quite amplified, while this is preferable to not being able to hear yourself at all, it was a bit disconcerting.

As to comfort, that becomes a bit personal. The PRO X is quite small and light, though not the smallest of all TWS IEMS I have tested, but the nozzles are quite large, and my ear canals are oval with a quite thin aperture, meaning that long-term use of the PRO X was a bit uncomfortable.

While not the best value, the STATUS PRO X TWS IEM is quite a good value and does offer some unique features. As noted above, the sound is generic enough that it will satisfy for listening when on the go, or in an environment where you would not wish to risk a more expensive alternative, and I have no issue recommending them to anyone needing a product in this price range.

Price: $199

Manufacturers Website: https://www.status.co/products/pro-x?srsltid=AfmBOoo3y-YxdlCCTi_PDG1ksYmuZiK4q4kF4pHxnct8jNWL2l448TH8

Specifications:

None Published,

Colors: Black Alloy – Moonbeam