I’m always wary of the hype when it comes to new stuff – maybe it has something to do with my initials that make me leery of things that are supposed to be something but turn out to be something much less. So my antenna was up for the Oomo 3D Immersive Earphones, touted to produce “Movie Theatre Sound Quality” as it says on the box. But are they just another decent pair of earbuds?
The Oomo earbuds – they only have the one product – were developed & patented by Dr. James Lee of Taiwan and originally crowd-source funded by a Los Angeles based entrepreneur. The design is said to have a “three cavity acoustic structure” (misspelled on the box) with “5 channel structure design.” Whatever that means.
The claim is you’ll have a “movie theatre surround sound like experience.” Notice the word “like” there – after all, you only have two ears for the buds – not two more at the back of your head.
So I plugged them into my computer’s headphone jack and listened. Streaming parts of some movies I could hear a difference from my usual headphones – fuller with more depth is how I’d put it – audiophiles may describe it differently. Of course, it wasn’t “surround sound” or “3D” but it was more movie theatre like. Definitely different & better.
Playing music, the Oomo 3D Immersive Earphones seemed more ordinary, nothing above what my usual headphones or earbuds would sound like. Maybe it’s because the Oomo is designed to take advantage of all the elements that go into a movie soundtrack – music, dialogue, effects, etc. and music is just, well, music.
The Oomo is well designed, comes packaged with extra silicone tips for different size ear canals, and a round zippered case to keep the Oomo from tangling up in your bag or pocket. There’s a mic built into the one-button in-line control, so if you’re using the Oomo plugged into your phone, you can answer a call. Very difficult to see which bud is right & which is left, but as a life-long leftie I’ve long figured out that any controls will be on the right – and so it is – the bud with the button control on its line is for your right ear.
Bottom line: the Oomo 3D Immersive Earphones live up to at least most of their billing for movies; are affordable at $69.99 direct or currently a little less on Amazon; and the company says it donates a percentage – doesn’t say what percentage – of its proceeds to help pay for hearing aids or surgery for the hearing impaired. So if you enjoy watching movies on your phone, tablet, computer or TV and you need to keep the sound to yourself, these buds may be for you.
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