You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/drown-tactile-earphones.1458/

Drown, like many of the companies I’ve come to experience through reviewing hardware, were until recently a complete unknown to me. Based in Scotland, their “game-changing tactile earphones” just began shipping to the public after an Indiegogo campaign last year, and we’ve been fortunate enough to be sent a pair to check out. Amidst a wall of PR buzzwords and clutter on their site, I can’t deny my initial skepticism. Though I couldn’t place it specifically, something felt off. After a month of extensive use, however, I can say I’m glad I didn’t let early impressions cloud my better judgement.

There’s a few specific elements that go into making these earphones special, but from the perspective of perhaps not an expert in this field, I’ll simplify them to two points: the acoustic seal, and some mild bone conduction. I’d say it sounds fancier than it is in reality, but it’s interesting all the same. The acoustic seals, of which three different sizes are included, fit effortlessly atop each earbud, and are designed to, in turn, fit effortlessly in your ears. These weirdly shaped buds take some getting used to, especially when it comes to putting them in your ear quickly. Where your normal buds are a simple case of pushing them in and off you go, Drown’s design require more of a twist and lock motion, supported by a short mouldable cable to wrap behind your ear. They stay in well. I shook my head to the point of dizziness to real shift in position. On top of this, when there’s no audio playing, or the audio isn’t particularly loud, you can hear your surroundings with surprising clarity. Though likely just a side effect of them not being pushed into my ears like stoppers, it’s something I haven’t had in earphones before, and it’s certainly nice.

In essence, the seal and vibrations from the bone conduction are there to mimic how your ear detects sound naturally. In mimicking this, the aim of the earphones is to relay game audio back to you with a degree of accuracy somewhat comparable to real life; the most bizarre thing for me is just how well they work. Now, I’ll preface this by saying to get the most out of the Drown, you want to be playing a game designed with 3D audio in mind. On hand, I had two: Minecraft, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Minecraft has always been a game I can pick up and play for a few days excessively, then put down for a few months. Over the years, I’ve spent several hundreds of hours crafting, building, blowing things up. The whole Minecraft experience. I’ve had the game for years, and yet it’s never felt so new to me. With these earphones, I’m hearing details for the first time. I’m feeling the impact of an explosion and find myself able to pinpoint its location. I’m hearing sheep, cows, mobs, all before I have a chance to see them. I’ve never felt more horrified as an Enderman screamed down my ears, a certain dread of feeling it approach and knowing there was little I could do about it with my current gear. There was a magic and sense of immersion to it all I’ve never experienced before, and this extended into Counter-Strike also.

I’m not really the kind of person able to play first person shooters effectively, so for CS:GO, I decided to try something a bit different. With the assistance of a friend, I set up a game against bots. The catch is that I had no control of the player character, and I had no way of looking at the screen. I was blind, and my goal was to pinpoint the bots as they moved and shot. One by one, I could locate and call out their movements, their actions. I could hear bullets flying around me and I could hear footsteps in the distance. Not just in front, not just to the side; I’d point and I’d be right, time after time.

After a full night of closing my eyes and pointing in both games, I couldn’t help but be impressed. Though I did struggle to pick up on sounds originating directly above me, the other results were staggering–enough for my friend to buy a pair on the spot. But that’s where a large issue with this kind of product will constantly lie; it’s in these tests, the hands-on and trying them for yourself, that really sell them. It’s not something so easily put into words, and unless you’re happy to throw down £155 to try for yourself, it’s perhaps something I’ll struggle to convince you on. Though somewhat supported by a 30-day trial period where you can return them free of charge for a full refund, you still have to put down the money in the first place.

Having used these extensively for just about a month now, I’ve had ample time to find the kinks and quirks that come with long-term use. The worst of these early on came from using the earphones for extended periods of time. Where the seal grips the ear, I felt a noticeable pain for 10 to 15 minutes after wearing the earphones. It’s worth noting the earphones are light, even with the detachable microphone accounted for, and I felt no discomfort when wearing them. This was only something I felt after the first 9+ hour session I had with them, and it’s not something I’ve felt since. Because of this, I might give a general reminder to take breaks in your media consumption or gaming sessions, but really that’s common sense.

Outside of gaming, I’ve been using the Drowns in a more general setting, generally music and films. While they don’t quite stand out in the same way as playing games designed for such technology, they performed admirably for a good majority of the time. With music, live performances and musicals were the standouts for me. Depending on how they were originally recorded, you can get a real sense of stage presence and positioning, letting you experience the music instead of just listening to it. That said, this presence in one album only goes onto highlight the very lack of itself in a different one, resulting in something that ends up being quite hit and miss. Going from the Jekyll and Hyde 1997 Broadway cast recording to the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Concert, I was shocked to find the more modern recording sound so flat in comparison. Of course, there’s only so much you can attribute to the earphones themselves, but to get the most out of them, you might find yourself reorganising your library and making playlists for a sense of consistency in listening.

Films are a similar story, with a few additional quirks of their own. The earphones are fine most of the time, but do struggle slightly in scenes where a lot of people are being loud at the same time. In the rowdy office scenes of The Wolf of Wall Street, audio would almost crackle in my ear, this appearing to stem more from the vibrations than the speakers themselves. It’s a small quirk, and one that can be solved in large by turning the audio significantly down for these scenes, but again it’s not ideal. Having said that, these are really the only faults I could pick with them. It’s difficult to overstate just how impressed I’ve found myself the more I use them.

To touch on the microphone, I decided it’d be simpler to record a brief clip using it than try to describe the quality in detail. I’ll include the tech specs below, but really I’m quite impressed with the little thing. It’s incredibly convenient to plug in and detach as needed, and the incredibly streamlined design means it doesn’t get in the way when in use; I struggle to notice it most of the time. The material used for the mic’s cable is mouldable to have it positioned just how you like it, and feels high quality and well-put together. It’s nothing extraordinary in my eyes, but in ticking the box to make this an ideal gaming headset, it does everything you’d want admirably. The earphones also come with three buttons attached to the cable of the left earbud with your standard volume control and play/pause button. 

All in all, Drown’s tactile earphones have served me phenomenally in the time I’ve had them, and they’re a pair of earphones I can only see getting better as more and more games are released with continually ambitious audio design. Whether you can justify putting the money down without first trying them is an issue for you to decide yourself, but I really cannot recommend them enough.