Review: Hama Action ON3 wireless earbuds

For budget earbuds, these are surprisingly good. The sound is the pleasant surprise: it’s reasonably balanced and doesn’t fall into the trap most cheap earbuds do of drowning everything in muddy bass.

You do get what you pay for in build quality, though. The buds feel cheap and plasticky, and they rattle around in the case like a pair of maracas when you’re walking. The case itself is flimsy too — the hinge is loose and pops open a bit too easily, which doesn’t inspire confidence with them loose in a bag.

But that’s sort of the point of earbuds like these. They’re perfect as a backup pair to chuck in a backpack and forget about until you need them. If they get lost or crushed, you shrug and move on. Judged on that basis — cheap, cheerful, and better-sounding than expected — they do the job well.