Judging by the moniker, I was expecting quite a punch from these buds. Happily, there are no broken jaws to report from Wicked Audio's earbuds, but the output was still pretty wicked.
With a 10mm driver inside, the sound is mostly impressive. Some muddiness and distortion showed up at higher volume levels, but when listening closer to the middle of the volume knob, I didn't notice any degradation. The bass is present and bumping when necessary, and there is a fullness to tracks that require it. Also, more mellow music stays crisp and pleasant.
I wore these everywhere from the supermarket to the gym, and the lightweight design was pleasurable wherever I wore them. The in-line microphone hangs on the cord below the left earpiece, so I found myself lifting the mic to my mouth to be heard clearly at times, which disrupted that whole hands-free thing. Overall clarity through the mic was just OK. Callers on the other end asked me to repeat myself more than usual, and the crazy San Francisco wind tunnels ripped through many an important diatribe. The small design of the jack, however, shimmies into the plug on most devices – even those with poorly-placed inputs or bulky cases.
It's true $20 doesn't get you much. But for such affordable earbuds, I was sincerely impressed with this pair. The idea of buying multiple sets to leave at home, at work and at the gym doesn't seem crazy anymore.
WIRED Lightweight and able to take some abuse. Impressive range of sound. Equipped with three sizes of silicone tips – proper fit is less likely to remain a mystery.
TIRED Odd mic placement puts the hands back in play. Listeners who like to rage at top volume have to give up too much clarity.