Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
There ’s a lot to be said for possess an inexpensive pair of earphones . If they get damaged or lose , it wo n’t hurt as much as it would if they ’d cost more . They might not voice as good as a solidifying of high - end cans do : but hey , they were inexpensive . The whoremaster to find a bent of low - price earphones that ’ll make you well-chosen is knowing how to take out the line betweeninexpensiveandcheap .
Inexpensiveallows you to shrug away all of the things that your earpiece ca n’t do . It ’s cool because they voice good enough , figure out reasonably well , and do n’t make you want to fox them across the elbow room in frustration . Cheapmeans that , even if they did n’t be you much , they ’re still not good enough . When using a cheap ware , you find yourself wish that you ’d expend more . Cheap make you require to purchase something else . Cheap terminate up with you leaving your earphones in a drawer .
Wicked Audio ’s $ 79 Arq in truth wireless earbuds are inarguably cheap — they’re half the Mary Leontyne Price of Apple ’s AirPods . However , due to a routine of shortcomings , they finger trashy enough that you ’ll wish well that you ’d spent more .
Design
Wicked Audio is fringe on the money in the achieving a honorable weight . The combined heft of the earbuds and their charging case occur to a total of five ounces . That ’s a win for anyone planning on stashing the Arq in their back pack or purse .
However , with the charge up suit ’s 5.5 x 1.25 x 1.25 in size , fit it into your coxa pocket is less than ideal . The key reason for the case ’s rotund dimensions is that it descend wad a 2,600 mAh battery . you’re able to practice this huge amount of capacity to charge their smartphone in a pinch ( using the USB - A port wine built into the case ) or recharge the earbuds up to 60 metre before having to juice the case back up .
Unfortunately , you ’re going to need those extra charges : accord to Wicked Audio , the Arq will only hold a charge for a uttermost of three hours of listening time . During the week I spent using the earphones , I found that their runtime was closer to 2.5 hours . This is well below what I regard to be an acceptable amount of time between charge . Depending on your listening habit , however , 2.5 hours could be right up your alley . Once the earbuds are completely drop it ’ll take you around 30 moment to juice them back up again .
The earbuds themselves are made out of lightweight charge plate . While they do n’t feel as sturdily - made as most of the more expensive headphone that I ’ve tested , their build timbre is such that I do n’t feel it to be a whang against them . I ’m not able to say the same matter about their set , however : No matter which of the three sets of atomic number 14 spike cup that I attached , I was n’t able to make a decent seal .
Additionally , I found that even temperate movement , such as what you ’ll put yourself through during a zippy walk , will see the Arq ready to fall out if you ’re not careful . I feel myself frequently checking to ensure that they were still in place in my ears . This is a concern echoed online by other users .
User experience
Almost none of the Arq ’s features are automated . Before pairing the earbuds with your phone , you ’ll have to mate them with each other . They do n’t automatically work on when remove from their charging case . Rather , each earbud has to be turned on by the button build into their terminal chapiter . The Arq do n’t take being grade back into their vitrine as a hint that they should charge — there ’s a button for that , too . Despite the presence a push on each earbud , you wo n’t be able to activate Siri or adapt your volume using the earpiece . you could power them on or off , take or end speech sound call , and gambol , intermission , or kick upstairs a track of your euphony . That ’s it .
Wicked Audio is agile to advertise the fact that either of the Arq ’s earbuds can be used on their own for a mono listening experience . This could be utile for those who on occasion want to share their earphones with a friend . However , I found that this feature can also make for a seriously frustrating solo listening experience .
When paired with an iPhone , iOS only tracks the shelling level of one of the earbuds . On a number of occasions , within an hour of give the Arq a full kick in their shelling case , I was left listening to a unmarried earbud , instead of a two-channel pair because their shelling were n’t draining at the same rate . With a dead ‘ bud in my correct ear , my iPhone 7 Plus was still reporting that the Arq had around a 50 % charge . On a noisy commute or times when you ’re relying on your earphones to block out the outside man so that you’re able to get some body of work done , that sucks .
Sound
If you ’re able to look past all of the defect and shortcomings of the Arq , you may be able to determine some atonement in their sound . For their price , these earphones vocalize pretty good . take heed to my earphone testing playlist , other music , and podcasts over a seven - twenty-four hours period , I chance that the sound produced by these phone was n’t too tatty . There was a sane amount of audio separation , and while listening at scurvy to average mass , I detected no deformation in the high or blue relative frequency orbit .
This was n’t the pillow slip with the book crank up to 11 , however . While mind to “ Black Dog ” at around 80 % intensity on my iPhone 7 Plus , for example , Robert Plant ’s red - raging vocals and lustful groan of Jimmy Page ’s guitar just did n’t sound as compelling as I ’ve take heed them in the past . Additionally , no matter what stage I listened at , the bass voice the Arq earbuds provide seems soft and undefined .
The bottom line
The Arq crack limited command over your music , poor battery life sentence , and a prominent variety of thorn that make them more of a task than a joyfulness to use . You ’d be adept off saving up to buy a more capable set of truly wireless earbuds or settling for a decent pair of traditional Bluetooth earbuds . Even at $ 79 , Wicked Audio ’s Arq are more problem than they ’re worth .
