I actually picked these up looking for a center channel and sub for a very makeshift 5.1 computer setup. For that job, they weren't exactly amazing, but on their own I was pretty impressed.

Sound:
Considering their size and price, these aren't going to be the biggest, loudest, fullest or clearest speakers around. But plugging these in and queuing up Bodom Beach Terror and I was caught completely off guard.

Whether using them as center/sub in my makeshift setup or on their own as a 2.1 system, drums, vocals and other instruments all sounded fantastic. Impact and timbre were extremely realistic across drums, singing and piano recordings. Soundstage and imaging was also quite good, probably because the desktop speakers are single-driver/one-way. I even used these as studio monitors for recording, and when I played back the recorded track my friend in the room thought we had started recording again: they sound that real.

Each of these speakers is single-driver/one-way, so don't expect sparkling and endless highs, and don't expect the tiny subwoofer to spit 20Hz frequencies or shake the floor much. Bass drops off pretty sharply below 40Hz, still audible down to 35Hz but pretty nonexistent any lower than that.


Design:
The design here is a bit odd, with a narrow subwoofer designed to be tucked under a desk or similar and two small desktop speakers. The subwoofer has a volume knob (which I found had to be turned all the way up in all cases for a good sound), and there is a small 'pod' in line with the audio cord that contains headphone and microphone jacks, a volume control and a power switch. While the audio cord (which splits into both the stereo plug for sound and a microphone plug for the jack on the pod) is plenty long, the length of cord from the speaker to the pod is not so long, and I found that to have the additional jacks, volume control and power switch within reach was difficult in most of my setups.

Equally frustrating was the length of the power cord which ran into the subwoofer, as it made putting the subwoofer under my desk impossible without a power strip or extension cord. The desktop speakers are powered by the subwoofer and will only work plugged into it. In this case, I found the cord for the speakers (which is actually one cord with a standard stereo plug at the end that splits into two) just long enough, although I had to 'peel' the cord apart to get the speakers where I wanted.

Considering the amount of times I've dropped these and knocked them over, I'd say they're fairly durable.


Overall: I paid $25 for these retail—'nuff said. For the sound they give, these are a steal compared to more expensive stereo and 2.1 solutions that will only sound somewhere between muddy and average. While they're definitely not for blasting music at a party or shaking the room with movie explosions, they're great for casual music listening and even good as monitors.

First Impressions: I actually picked these up for my youngest sister, who couldn't stand the fit and sound of the Apple iPod Stock Earbuds. I was looking for value more than sound quality, and out of the box these seemed to deliver that.

Sound Quality: There's nothing particularly special here, but nothing too off-putting either. I found the overall sound signature to be dull--almost lethargic in quality, similar to the Bose IEM's but lacking the huge midbass hump and with slightly more forward highs and more recessed mids. I haven't listened to them very recently, but I don't remember anything particularly mentionable about the soundstage and imaging. With some equalization, I was able to get a more energetic signature out of these (unfortunately, the iPod Touch does not allow custom equalizer settings).

Build Quality: They feel like what I paid for them. They don't seem like they'll fall apart, but we're talking plastic and average cords.

Fit, seal and isolation: It might just be me and the fact that only 2 different kinds of tips were included, but I didn't really like the fit of these. While they were light and comfortable, they didn't feel secure. Isolation was great though, so if you listen to music during a noisy commute, these are a plus. Although almost too good--I fear that it's easy to lose focus of your surroundings while wearing these.

Overall: My younger sister was happy with them and they were only $20. I'm not particularly impressed, but I'm definitely not disappointed.

My much enjoyed Samsung IEM's died on me, and with needing something to listen to my music on and use for my audio/studio class, my parents gave me this.

First Impressions: OUCH. I never had the greatest opinion of Bose headphones, but this was plain unexpected. Upon plugging them into my Samsung Captivate, I was assaulted by extremely congested and boomy sound (after fiddling around with the fit on all 3 tip sizes for a few minutes and completely giving up).

Sound: If there's anything good about the sound of these things, I would have to say it's that they're pretty smooth. They lack any noticeable harshness in the highs and clarity seems decent for something in its price range. However, that's where the good stuff ends. While some might attribute the smoothness of an IEM to butter, these are more like a tub of frozen lard. Not a tub--a car with a really boomy sound system, full of lard. Sound is extremely thick and warm to the point of losing any balance. Treble is extremely recessed and combined with the thickness of note gives them a muddy impression. At lower volumes, these phones are congested and fatiguing. At higher volumes, the colossal midbass hump is downright painful.

After some extreme equalization, I was able to get them to sound less congested and improve the soundstage a bit, but attempting to boost the weak treble introduced a fair amount of annoying sibilance. Even after turning down bass frequencies as low as my phone would allow, they still had a fair amount of impact, although it was far more balanced.

Build Quality: I don't have much experience in the price range for comparison, but these felt pretty solid. I personally liked the cabling, having not really owned anything with better cabling.

Fit, seal isolation: I'm still confused at the design of these. I simply don't understand how these were made to fit the ears of a human, but oh well. On the upside, these things still produced a relatively full and bassy sound without needing good insertion. However, with my small ears, even the smallest tips allowed them to fall out from gentle motions. I found a complete lack of any seal: actually, the channel created around the tips in my ear canals seemed to amplify sounds around me and forced me to turn up the volume, both contributing to a headache.

Overall: If you're looking for a very thick, warm sound and powerful midbass, and you get these for cheap, they may be for you. Otherwise, I don't see much to want here.