DECEMBER 2019 MACWORLD 131The True Evo boast the largest charging case
we’ve ever seen.cushions that usually mean richer bass
and better noise isolation. However, after
spending a week with these earbuds, I can
tell that, while they do indeed offer a
reasonable audio experience for the price,
the number of dramatic build quality issues
has left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY
It’s not often that I have to start a review by
warning of quality control issues and
shoddy workmanship, but here we are. In
order to write this review, I was forced to
call in two different pairs of the True Evo.
With the first pair, I didn’t notice anything
wrong... at first. I set them up in their
charging case to juice up overnight. In the
morning, I went to use them and
discovered, upon opening the case, that
the plastic in in the left earbud’s ear cap
was cracked all the way through. I was
able to remove the plastic rim of the ear
cap with my finger.
In and of itself, this was not cause for
alarm: where mass produced products are
concerned, it’s unfortunate, but not
uncommon, to run across a defect. That’s
what warranties are for. What was cause
for concern was the fact that the other
earbud’s end cap was not well-glued to
the rest of the earbud. I was able to flick it
away with my thumb, exposing the
electronics inside. I informed Altec Lansing
of the issues I was seeing. In a few days, a
new set of True Evo showed up at my front
door. At first, the replacement earphones
appeared to be working fine. However, the
default foam ear tips weren’t a great fit. As
I changed them out, the same piece of
plastic that I’d found unglued on the first
set of True Evo broke away from the
earbud as well.
The True Evo’s charging case also has
its problems, not so much in the area of
build quality as in its design. It’s huge.
From lid to base, it’s about the same width
as a Double Quarter Pounder With
Cheese. You won’t be able to stick it in the
hip pocket of your jeans on your way out
the door. If you stash it in your jacket