I’m not a particularly technical guy (though perhaps I should be) so when I heard that Degauss Labs had developed a pair of earphones that contained two audio drivers per side, my interest was immediately piqued. As it turns out, it isn’t that uncommon a practice, but traditionally, sub-$100 earphones only have one audio driver in each side, which Degauss Labs say is “a reason most cheap in-ear headphones sound the way they do”. Throw in a 3-button in-line control unit customizable using an Android app as well, and I knew I had to take a look at these earphones. So without further ado, here is my review of the Degauss Labs Dual Driver earphones.
What’s in the box
Before I get too far into this review, I have to mention just one thing: the Degauss Labs Dual Driver earphones reek of quality, and you’ll start to see why soon. The box itself doesn’t give you much of a hint, but once you open it up, you get the distinct sense that Degauss Labs have poured their hearts and soul into this product. Among the assortment of foam dividers, you will find the earphones themselves, two clips to help attach the earphones to your shirt, an airplane audio adapter, a two-to-one audio adapter, two full sets of earbud replacements in assorted sizes and tiny stickers which can be used to protect the earphone openings.
It’s an extremely impressive inclusions list, one that could only have been made better by the inclusion of a carry bag of some sort. But the attention to detail doesn’t stop there – the earphones themselves are a work of art as well. From the crafted Degauss Labs logo in the back of the earphone, to the aluminium ring on the inside of the earphone, the Dual Driver earphones feel very substantial for a $79 USD pair of earphones. And as far as I can see, that makes the one of the cheapest dual driver earphones around.
The Dual Driver earphones employ the use of a flat cable arrangement that we’re seeing much more of these days, which ideally decreases cable wear and increases durability. Up on the right earphone’s cable, you’ll also find the inline control unit that we mentioned before. It houses the mic and three unmarked buttons, and that’s important because using Degauss Labs’ Android app, you’ll be able to customize the three buttons to do almost whatever you want them to do.
How does it perform
With a name that includes the words ‘Dual Drivers’, it’s hard for the focus of this review not to be directed at the audio quality of these earphones. As this is my first pair of earphones with dual drivers, I have to say that I am impressed by the Dual Driver earphones’ ability to emulate the kind of atmosphere and depth that is typically reserved for headphones. All the delicate nuances like echoes and reverb can be very clearly, something I particularly noticed while listening to my Pentatonix albums.
Those who love bass will be happy know that the bass on these earphones is intense and full and is probably the strongest range the Dual Driver earphones have. The mids and highs are great as well, and I had a ball listening to whatever I was listening to – be it John Legend or Savage. If I had a bone to pick with any part of the audio quality it would be with the treble range – more often than not, I found that lead singers would sound ever so slightly muffled. I found that this was mostly because of the intense reverb that the Dual Driver earphones are capable of, sometimes making the lead sound a little further away than they needed to be.
In terms of comfort, the Dual Drivers aren’t the most comfortable earphones I’ve ever reviewed, but they weren’t overtly uncomfortable either. Being the shape they are, they do still need to be jammed a little into your ear canal to stay in your ears, which can lead to discomfort after a few hours, but thankfully the outside of the earphones (the black part) is big enough to touch your ear and take some of the pressure. Relatedly, regarding noise cancellation, because you will be jamming the earbuds in pretty tight, the noise cancellation abilities of the Dual Driver earphones are very impressive and more often than not, people had to tap me on the shoulder because I didn’t hear them enter my room.
As it stands, this is a little disappointing as this would be a primary differentiating factor if it had worked. Thankfully, the hard-coded button functions include an answer call button which works a charm and the mic works perfectly during hands-free use.
What do I like about the Degauss Labs Dual Driver Earphones
As I mentioned earlier, I was very impressed by the attention to detail on the Dual Driver earphones. Simple things like including all accessories, and in many cases spares, really give the impression that Degauss Labs knows exactly what people can be like i.e. losing various things all the time.
Flourishes like the aluminium earphone body are also really interesting – this feature in particular was interesting to me as putting in the earphones for the first time would feel cool and metallic, almost like a reminder that you haven’t listened to music in awhile. I’m weird, I know, but it made for a unique experience for me, and in an industry flooded with so many different brands, it’s those kinds of differentiating factors that you like to see when you try something new.
The price for me is something that I like a lot. I mentioned before that the Dual Driver earphones cost $79 USD, which is a decent price for a pair of dual driver earphones, and coupled with the amount of additional extras you get, it’s a very well rounded package that should make most audio enthusiasts pretty happy.
What don’t I like about the Degauss Labs Dual Driver Earphones
Those of you who have read a few of my reviews will know that I am a stickler for carry bags, and particularly given how many extra accessories were provided with the Dual Driver earphones, I’m genuinely surprised there wasn’t a bag included, or at least something for the earphones to be wound around. Sure, this is probably a bit of a nitpick, but when the package is as complete as it is here, I have to pick at something.
The custom button configuration and app performance was also a little disappointing for me. While it worked for all the basic controls, which you could consider to be the minimum, it was disappointing to find that the advanced controls weren’t able to be activated. Maybe this could be fixed in a future app update, but as far as I can see at this moment, the inline control performs just as any other control unit would.
Final Thoughts
As I’ve said throughout this review, the Degauss Labs Dual Driver earphones are a very complete package – great sound, plenty of inclusions and premium design make this a very alluring audio product. The only real downside to the package is the app and button customization which didn’t quite work as planned. Perhaps this is easily fixed in an app update, but until then, this remains the only serious chink in an otherwise impressive suit of armour.
For more information on the Degauss Labs Dual Driver earphones, you can visit its product page here. To learn more about Degauss Labs itself, you can visit its homepage here.
