Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been putting the Dudios Tic Bluetooth earbuds through their paces. Music, calls, Teams Calls. Honestly, we’ve been through a lot together.
I’ve spent more money on cheap bluetooth earbuds than I’d care to admit (those Wish products are going to be decent one day, right?!), so when I saw the price point of these on Amazon (approx £32), I thought they might just be another of the low-end earbud brigade.
Particularly because I can’t say that I’ve ever come across Dudios products before. Thankfully I was wrong!
Look/Comfort
As Bluetooth earbuds go, the Dudios Tic are pretty par for the course. Black and tiny, with a pocketable charging case. They’re not going to change the world, but they don’t look bad, and I didn’t feel like an idiot with them in.
Branded with the Dudios name, and coated in a semi-gloss plastic, they look the part and when in the case, I genuinely thought that they looked a touch more premium than other earbuds I’ve bought.
The packaging was fine. Not looking for anything other than a box and a label telling you what’s in it, and that’s exactly what you get. But the smooth, rounded edges of the charging case and the small form factor helps to elevate them from being deemed “low-end”.
Thanks to the small form-factor, of the earbuds themselves, they’re not an issue to have in your ears for several hours at a time. Hitting those charge times of 4.5 hours was fine. I’ve literally had them in my ears all morning every morning for a week and had no discomfort at all. Very light, and the rubber tips are super-comfortable.
Shaped to fit comfortably (although a little annoying for charging…), Dudios impressed me a lot here. I have a tendency to “feel” earbuds in my ears after a while, to the point of distraction. But not with these little gems! Good work here from Dudios to be honest.
Audio
The main attraction!
Sure, they look ok, but do they actually bring any level of audio quality with them? With the Dudios Tic being relatively cheap, my expectations were pretty low to be honest. Often, you find that cheaper earbuds sometimes over-compensate with the bass, and lose out a lot of that middle-ground. Focusing on just the higher and lower registers.
Not the case here! The audio coming out of the Dudios Tic was actually very very good. I’ve listened to hours and hours of music, podcasts and taken part in plenty of calls. Never have I felt myself listening harder to try and pick up missing elements. Listening to tracks that I know inside-out, knowing where drum fills are, or where specific hi-hat hits come in. Those basslines and chord changes that can be subtle if you’re not familiar. I was able to pick everything out with ease.
Sure, you’re not getting the richest bass and treble that money can buy, but I’d rather take a good swathe of everything, than having specific elements overpower others. Surprisingly good and consistent audio without the need to add any third-party equaliser straight out of the box.
Build/Microphone
Wireless earbuds tend to come in one of two categories. Cheap and light, or robust with a reassuring weight and build. Again, I was surprised to find that these don’t feel like the cheap £8 Wish purchases I’ve made in the past. There are a solid, matt black plastic and some really comfortable rubber in-ear cushioning.
The Dudios Tic earbuds come with the standard charging case that you’d expect. Not with the style that copies the Apple Airpods but a horizontal case whereby you lay the earbuds down. The case itself is great, it’s small, smooth and it charges your earbuds for 4 full charges (it’s true, I’ve had 4 full charges out of it, no problem.). It is weird though, because of the shape of the earbuds and the need to connect the two metal points in the stalk, for charging. Considering those things, though. The Dudios Tic earbuds need to be laid at an odd angle.
Every single time I go to put them in, I put the wrong one in the wrong. I mean, it’s not a big problem. It’s just a minor inconvenience. The battery life is reported to be 4.5 hours. And between music, podcasts, calls and using them for video conferences at work, I’ve been squeezing a very healthy 4-4.5 hours out of them Very impressed!
Speaking of calls, I’ve been using the built-in microphone a lot. I’ve asked a few people how well they can hear me, and everyone has reported that it’s clear. There have been no issues on conference calls, and I’ve never had any comments or complaints. Great work here Dudios! The Tic earbuds are solid, last a long time and people can hear you nice and clearly.
Rating
What’s not to love here? Comfortable, nice-looking and functional thanks to decent battery life. These are important factors in and wireless earbud. Better still, the audio quality isn’t crap. Sure, you could get much greater audio with better drivers and fine-tuned equalisation etc, but for daily-drivers, these are a great.
If you want a decent set of earbuds that won’t break the bank, but the quality won’t break your ears. You’re in the right place! Hours of battery, the ability to have conversations without issue and a low cost? Sign me up! The Dudios Tic earbuds aren’t the best earphones you’ll ever have. But damn, they’re a good budget set, that will keep you going for some time.
This review was written by Ben from NinjaRefinery, check out his site by clicking HERE. In the meantime, you can find these earbuds on Amazon right now, click HERE to buy them on Amazon Smile and some of your funds go towards your chosen charity. And whilst you wait for them to arrive? Just read more of our hardware reviews by clicking HERE.
