Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

With a simple earbud tip modification, the Samsung IconX earbuds are a game-changer. Here’s my experience with them after one week. I’ve been using many different earbuds over the years - Bose, Samsung, Apple, Sennheiser, Sony, etc., and am active in the gym every day, putting any earbuds through hell. Biggest reason I wanted to try these is for freedom of the cord - I can't tell you how many times I've accidentally ripped earbuds out of my ears in the gym or while running. It's infuriating, but those days are GONE. The Samsung IconX's are a valiant 1st Gen effort by Samsung. EASY MODIFICATION (see pictures): Let’s go through this first. For me, the basic provided rubber earbud tips always seem to put pressure on my eardrums, which is very uncomfortable and can be painful. Also, I can never seem to get a great seal, so all low-end frequencies are non-existent most of the time. The only time I could get a somewhat full sound with the provided earbud tips was while laying down doing push-ups - probably because of the way they were situated. Once I stood up, they lost all sound quality. So, I purchased the Comply Premium Replacement Foam Earphone Earbud Tips - Isolation T-400 (Black, 3 Pairs, Medium), and modified them slightly to match the original earbud tip size. The material of these earbud tips allows for MUCH better sound isolation and frequency response. I cut 1/8" off each with a razor blade (very easy to cut through) and popped them on. NIGHT AND DAY difference. I could now hear the full spectrum and the seal was almost perfect. You'll have to experiment with what size works for you, but Medium seems to have done the trick. Sounds isolation is greatly improved with these as well, so you can focus on the music without effort. Also, they don't fit quite as nicely in the charging case, but certainly good enough, and the case shuts fine with a little extra pressure. See images. The IconX's are now worth keeping. SOUND QUALITY: This is an interesting one, because we're relying heavily on Bluetooth to handle everything. Surprisingly, after the above modification, the IconX's sound great. I've used them for 6 days in the gym, running, sleeping, working, etc. I'm hearing things that I haven't before using past earbuds, better high-end response than a few wired earbuds I have, but of course not close to a good pair of wired headphones. My current reference headphones are my beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 ohm Studio Headphones, and, while the IconX can't compete with these, I'm surprised on how well they handle certain low frequencies after modification. I do hear distortion at higher volumes, and I do wonder what type of compression is involved, as it competes with the music sometimes, but it's subtle enough to disregard. BUILD QUALITY: Impressive. These have a nice weight to them, no moving/loose parts, and fit nice and snug in the provided charging case. The overall shape seems to wok very well with most ears, so I think Samsung has done a nice job here. BATTERY LIFE: Just OK. Yesterday, I used them (fully charged) in the gym for about an hour and fifteen minutes, and they started to die. It'd be nice to get a solid two hours out of them while connected to bluetooth. SOFTWARE: Limited right now. One gripe I have is that the IconX's won't recognize folders of music in the internal storage that I've copied over. They force you to just dump songs in one main music folder. This needs to be fixed with a software update. I really need to be able to organize my music by playlists, so when I'm running I can listen to certain songs at tempo, etc. So, I'm not really happy with the way music is stored internally. Maybe I'm missing something? TOUCH CONTROLS: Overall these work very well - they're just too big. It's very easy to advance the song, raise volume by swiping either direction, pause songs, etc. But, due to how large the touch surface is, it's very easy to accidentally send a command without wanting to. For instance, if I take one out really quick to talk to someone, it usually causes me to accidentally pause or skip a track. This can be frustrating, but I think Samsung could possibly issue a software/firmware update to allow users to lessen the active touch area. I think if they reduced it by 30%, it would be easier to manage accidental commands. PROS: Complete, wireless freedom Great sound quality (with above modification) Build quality and solid construction Price - I actually think $199 is pretty reasonable for 1st Gen Charging case - works perfectly, and can charge the earbuds several times CONS: Battery life when connected to Bluetooth Touch pad is too large and sensitive Provided earbud tips degrade sound quality No playlist configuration - can't save folders OVERALL VERDICT: There's so many good things going with these, and once you realize that you have completely wireless music, you'll wonder why you've been dealing with cords all this time. It's really a game-changer. I'd recommend to buy them, along with the above Comply Earbuds Tips, and put them through some their paces. I bet you won't look back. I haven't tried The Dash by Bragi, but with the IconX's being $100 less, it was an easier decision to make. Four stars. Samsung should provide additional foam earbud tips (like many other companies) so people like me don't possibly give up on them too quickly. Also, I'd recommend Samsung really work on updating the music-organization software to allow users to use playlists. We have to have these. Thanks, Samsung for a really great product. They're with me wherever I go.