The OnePlus Icons are a pair of earphones from a company known for making phones rather than audio gear. It is also the priciest in their earphone line, but many are not fazed by that fact. The company does produce some of the best-value smartphones in the world. They even suggested that this pair of earphones sound better than the Sennheiser IE80. That’s pretty bold talk considering the Icons’ price point is still leagues away from the IE80.
Do the OnePlus Icons Really Have Amazing Audio Performance?
When it comes to its design, the OnePlus Icons does make an impact in managing to look and feel more expensive than what it really costs. Most earphones at this price range are made entirely of plastic, but the Icons do have some areas that make it have a more premium outlook. The elements that do stick into your ear are made of plastic, but it has an outer metal portion which is the highlight of the unit (in terms of design anyway). The attached cable is braided as well, which is common in cheaper earphones but it does make a good impression.
The OnePlus Icons earphones use 11-millimeter drivers, which is the largest as opposed to other earphones within its price class. These are dynamic drivers but are off the “normal” kind. Also, there’s a lot to like about its sound performance.
Users will be able to get a wide stereo field, good clarity, and good bass and sub-bass response. The mids are up-front and energetic at the same time. This gives it a sound which is lively and exciting rather than having a relaxing appeal.
For the most part, it is able to emulate audio found in higher-end earphones. Perhaps the best part about it is the stereo width. Bass response is easily and reasonably well-managed. This means that there is a “kick” in the audio but it’s not overpowering as to drown every other frequency out.
However. there is a serious concern about this pair of earphones. It does push the upper-mids and lower treble to increase detail way beyond what the drivers can handle. This becomes obvious when certain content is played, and when it does, particular tracks will get poor audio representation.
The OnePlus Icons do cover a lot of ground in terms of positives, but its tuning is ambitious and it is only truly compatible with a certain array of music. It does offer a classy design and some great audio properties, but these are sometimes overpowered by unnatural sounding upper-mids.