I use In Ear Monitors (aka headphones) 95% of the time so I rarely test products made for typical button style earbuds (think the old Apple earbuds.) A couple of readers wanted me to review the Slic-Sound product so here it is.

The manufacturer claims these enhancers will:

 

• help you hear better by sending the music deeper into your ear canal
• help keep the earbuds in place by going deeper into your ear canal
• help make your earbuds more comfortable because they will be held in place by soft silicone

 

So are any of these claims true? Read on...

The test

For testing purposes, I used a pair and distributed 4 other [pairs] to "normal" users. 

Fit

The first complaint many had was related to fit. many could not find a silicone insert that fit properly thus making it feel too tight and muffling the sound or too loose and falling out. My pair fit fairly well and the silicone inserts kept my earbuds in place even when I was jogging. 

rating 3/5

Improved sound quality

For those who could not find the "right" size, the sound quality was severly degraded. 

Those that found the right size mentioned a slight improvement in bass and a small improvement in clarity. This echoed my own experience. This doesn't convert a $2 pair of earbuds into $100 perfomance speakers but it did offer a very slight improvement in sound quality. 

It did not block out external sound.

rating 2/5

Improved comfort

The silicone is soft and comfortable. When the size was right, it also held the earbud in place fairly well.

These were nowhere as comfortable as Comply foam earphone tips but were more comfortable than using the naked earbuds.

rating 4/5

Conclusion

I love trying audio gear and accessories so I was excited to try these. Unfortunatly many in my small test group experienced fit issues which rendered the tips useless. In the rare case where it did fit properly, it offered a very very small improvement in sound quality and didn't block out external sounds. 

Overall I think this product is a pass. Better to spend money on better earbuds than on accessories like this.

 

Pictures

This is what one of the earbud tips looks like.

Here is the tip installed on standard Apple earbuds