MEGATech Reviews: Tesoro Tuned In-Ear Pro Gaming Headphones

Whether you’re looking for a great set of headphones to wear while working out at the gym or you want to really get into the action with Overwatch on your computer, you should be prioritizing two main considerations. First, these headphones should sound good, in whatever way that you choose to define good sound quality. Second, they should be comfortable to wear, particularly for extended listening sessions.

Do the Tesoro TS-A3 Tuned In-Ear Headphones deliver on both of these fronts? Let’s dig in, crank up the volume, and find out.

Gaming and Music Headphones

Like so many other headsets these days, this set from Tesoro is being marketed for both mobile and PC users (as well as PC). Featuring precision tuned driver technology, they promise clear sound and superior durability. Integrated into the tangle-free cord is an inline, three button controller and microphone, making it easy to adjust volume and take calls on the go.

The end of the regular cable plugs into any 3.5mm combo jack, as you might have on your smartphone, but Tesoro has also included a splitter adapter cable for ease of use on a PC where you may have separate headphone and microphone jacks. Also included in the box are three sets of ear tips and a convenient carrying case. The case has a bit of stiffness to it, so it should hold up to some abuse while bouncing around in your gym bag.

First impressions are positive. Given the affordable price point, the quality of materials and construction here are truly top notch. The drivers feature a solid metal housing and the gold-plated plugs ensure optimal performance too.

Tesoro Tuned Magnetic Convenience

For my part, nothing really beats the comfort and isolation of larger over-the-ear headsets. The trouble is that they are far less convenient, especially if you want to travel with them. In this way, in-ear headphones will always be convenient, but they introduce a different set of challenges. Those cords get tangled and the earbuds get all twisted together.

Tesoro attempts to address this problem by making the backs of the earpieces magnetic. They easily “click” together, which also ensures that the cables leading to each ear remain the same length too. Coupled with the tangle-free cord, this makes the situation much more manageable, though I would have still liked a small plastic “sleeve” that I could slide up the split cable, holding them together around the same spot as the inline controller.

A Cold Comfort Indeed

The Tesoro Tuned In-Ear Pro Headphones are very well built and I particularly appreciated the confidence that the metal housing gave me… until I put them in my ears. The initial reaction wasn’t terrible, but my ears started to hurt after a few minutes of wearing these headphones.

With most in-ear designs, the medium ear tips suit me the best. With the Tesoro Tuned, they felt too big as there was a good amount of pressure on my ear canal. No problem, I figured, since I could swap for the smaller ear tips. After a few minutes, though, they got uncomfortable again. In trying to get to the root of the problem, I zeroed in on some related possibilities.

First, the metal-housed drivers are noticeably heavier than their plastic-housed competitors. This extra weight can cause some extra strain. Second, the ear tips are shorter (shallower?) than the sets I’ve used from other companies in the past. This means that they don’t go quite as far into your ear. Third, the part that rests on the front of your ear (the little piece of cartilage that holds the headphones in place) isn’t the soft ear tip; it’s the hard metal housing of the driver. What’s more the textured metal can “rub” up against your skin to cause even more discomfort.

How’s the Sound Quality?

The good news is that the audio quality on the Tesoro Tuned headphones is very good. The bass is not exceptionally powerful, but it also doesn’t suffer from the shrill sharpness that plagues so many other in-ear headphones of this style.

The audio profile is best described as balanced, making it well suited for casual listening of music, movies and games. If you’re looking for a set that really pounds your ears with giant explosions, you may need to look elsewhere. This is clean, if not particularly powerful.

MEGATechie In-Tune or MEGATechie Tesoro No-No?

These earphones tick a lot of positive boxes. The build quality is exceptional at this price point, especially with the robust metal housing and the high quality carrying pouch. The magnetic connection is a novel solution to a common problem and the sound quality competes against much more expensive alternatives.

But they’re not comfortable, at least for me. The metal driver unit presses up against the cartilage in my ear, causing a pronounced soreness. The mark of a great set of earbuds is that you almost forget you’re wearing them. That is not at all the case here. I imagine a reworking of the design, perhaps with longer ear tips, could address this problem.

The Tesoro Tuned In-Ear Pro Gaming Headphones sell for about $35 online and are available now.