The Package

The OVC TC20 budget earphones come in a colorful box. There is a lot of information on the box, too bad almost everything is in Chinese, so good luck with extracting information. On the back of the box all of the usual stuff is listed like impedance, sensitivity and so on.


Even though these earphones only cost $39 they come with a quite handy bundle. You get both a carrying bag, a cable manager and three different sized single flange tips. To be honest I was not expecting anything else than a pair of earphones for only $39, but it is always nice to be surprised in a positive way.
Besides the bundle you also get a quality control spec sheet. The earphones themselves look quite good and the rest of the bundle is also pretty well made.


Size wise these in-ears are pretty average, not too big and not too small. Their shape is cylindrical and that is actually a good thing because it means that they are relatively easy to insert no matter how your ears are shaped.

Closer Examination

The first thing that came to mine as I had them in my hand was functional, the design has a somewhat industrial look, which can be a good thing. The build quality is really good compared to the price. I was expecting a much more flimsy cheap plastic finish, but the OVC TC20s were anything but that. A rock solid functional design without a lot of non essential detailing.


From the back you can clearly see the rubber cable entrance. It is extremely durable and quite bulky. All of the joints between the plastic parts are made in a highly durable way. The rubber cable stress relief is extremely durable and I cannot imagine how one could tear the cable apart at that location. Even when you yank the cable, the rubber just gives way a bit.


When you look at the earphone from the bottom you can see the cylindrical shaped body of this in-ear. It is actually a good design comfort-wise because the part of the in-ear that sticks out usually does not conflict with the exterior parts of one’s ear. The tips supplied with the OVCs are pushed on the nozzle of the earphone just like all the other ones I have had for review. Because the tunnel part of these in-ears is a bit bigger than usual, removing and applying tips is a really easy task.


These in-ears feature the same type of grills as the R02-PROs. Instead of having a filter there is a metallic grill that prevents ear wax from entering the ear piece. The grill should not have any influence on the earphones' performance. In other words they should be acoustically transparent.


Another great little detail on the TC20s is the colored rubber piece that indicates whether it is the left or right earphone you are looking at. Red is right, blue is left. This is great if you are in a hurry because it makes it easy to spot which earphone goes into which ear.


The mini-jack connector on the TC20s is straight and is iPhone compatible. It feels quite sturdy and has a relatively well constructed rubber stress relief.


In comparison to the Sleek-Audio SA6 earphones the TC20 is a bit bigger, but with a less complex exterior design. I like the fact that they are so simple designed and well made. The build quality is really good price considered and it is definitely on par with a lot of the more expensive in-ears on the market today.