As video games steadily become bigger and more cinematic, so too has audio become an integral part of the experience. With competitive shooters like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare demanding precision to determine where enemies are, and games like The Last of Us 2 using immersive sound effects to create a realistic world, sound is more important than it's ever been before.
Drown is attempting to capture both competitive gamers and those looking for high-fidelity, cinematic audio with its Tactile Earphones, which boast a lightweight design and 3D audio to drive an immersive experience. It's a noble goal, especially in a market where smaller size usually correlates to lower audio quality. And while Drown successfully introduces high-fidelity audio to compact earbuds, the rest of the experience is lackluster.
The package itself is fairly standard, coming with a travel case to keep the headphones in, a detachable boom mic, and four different "acoustic seals" that are different in size and shape to better fit an individual's ears. Those seals can be changed freely, and finding the right one is key to the general experience of Drown's earphones. Pick one that's too big or too small, and they simply won't feel right.
Drown has managed to pack rich depth into a small package, particularly where the 3D audio is concerned. They have some of the most accurate placement on the market for earbuds, the exception being when something is directly in front of or directly behind the user in a game, which can get a little confusing. This normally isn't a problem, though anyone using it for FPS games will undoubtedly find it annoying, as it can lead to some deaths in-game that otherwise would've been avoided.
Outside of audio itself, though, the earbuds struggle. Overall, the build quality doesn't quite feel up to snuff, with a light plastic design seemingly intended to promote portability, but instead, it makes it feel like a pair of budget earphones. They effectively come in two parts, with the main earbuds connecting through a USB-C output into a separate 3.5mm adapter, which fits into PCs, controllers, the Nintendo Switch, and so on.
The USB-C port is likely a necessity for the level of audio quality Drown is striving for, so it can't really be faulted for that, but the 3.5mm cable is comically long, stretching a little over 6 feet without the earbuds connected. This would be welcome if the device was running into a USB port on the back of a computer, but a 3.5 jack will almost never be further than 2 or 3 feet from the user. This leaves a mess of cord dangling around pretty much the entire time, which is endlessly frustrating and awkward.
In fact, the cable was so long that we ended up wrapping it up and tieing it with a cable tie to cut down on the excess. With so many interchangeable earbuds included with Drown's setup, a shorter 3.5 cable included in the package for versatility would considerably improve the experience.
The headset's detachable microphone is one of the peculiar aspects of the design. Anyone considering streaming with them will want to check out a standalone microphone like the El Gato Wave:3, as the audio quality out of the Drown isn't great, though it will most likely suffice for those just looking to communicate with teammates in a lobby or chat with friends over Discord. It features the best build quality out of anything in the package, with a sleek look that contrasts heavily with some of the other, bulkier built-in microphones featured on certain gaming headsets.
The microphone doesn't add a ton of weight, either, so users moving about with it in their ears don't have to worry about it falling out. That's in part due to how well the acoustic seal earpieces fit into ears when using them the right way and the wrap-around design, which does keep everything in a comfortable position while gaming. Fiddle with them too much, though, and they'll likely cause some irritation inside the ears.
With how quickly flagship phones are dropping the headphone jack as people move to wireless options, the Drown earphones aren't all that great for music because of how hard it'll be to find a phone that supports them without an additional adapter. Even those with phones that still support a 3.5 jack can find wireless earbuds at similar costs, or wired earbuds with high-quality audio for less.
With so many design issues, it's difficult to recommend the Drown Tactile Earbuds with the amount of other competitively priced headphones on the market. While they do sound great, that comes at a sizeable cost due to the length of the 3.5 cable included with them, which adds unnecessary bulk to the setup.
There are two instances where the Drown earbuds work exceptionally well. The first is for VR users, especially those with an Oculus Quest or similar wireless headset. With the Drown earphones offering a lightweight package and a stable fit while moving around, they make for one of the finest options for available for VR enthusiasts. The earphones are especially useful when playing through games like Half-Life: Alyx, which blends horror elements with cinematic audio to keep players immersed, something that the Drown Tactile Earbuds are essentially built for.
The other is for Nintendo Switch owners looking for headphones to take on the go. Drown is a great option for anyone with a daily commute or that flies frequently, assuming they're able to manage the audio cable without issue. The earbuds play well with games like Breath of the Wild and Dead Cells, and that should carry over to numerous other games as well.
The Drown Tactile Earbuds are available now for $165. Game ZXC was provided a pair for this review.