Design is pretty rough I guess. It looks large and probably unappealing to many. Large shiny chrome plastic housing with metal plate at the back. To top it off, it comes with a cloth covered cable and a pretty nice y-split.
Build quality is expected of a 13 dollar product. While seemingly well built there are some rough edges here and there. But really, there is nothing much to complain about for a product of this price when it comes to build quality.
Isolation is mediocre because of the large housings and short nozzle (pretty much the same problem faced by the Soundmagic PL-30), which results in difficulty in deep insertion depth. Also, being a vented dynamic does not help, either. Comfort is an issue as well due to the large size of housings, but I believe one can get used to it with time. Stock tips are not very good for me in terms of fit, however I ended up using Soundmagic foam tips, which provide me the best isolation and fit so far (there are cheap foam tips on ebay as well).
Well now comes the sound quality, where most of the hype is focused on. Does it measure up to the hype received? To me, it is a yes.
Despite it being called "enhanced bass" in the product page, I would really hesitate to call it bass-heavy. It really isn't bass heavy at all. The quantity just slightly greater than the BA200, and quality of about the level of GR99. The bass to me is pretty tight and punchy, which is pretty surprising considering sets of this price are usually bass heavy. The bass just feels much more refined than other earphones at its price range, or probably 2 to 3 times its price.
The mids on the 8320 are pretty interesting as well. They are surprisingly clean for a set of this price, in fact slightly cleaner than the GR99. They offer great clarity and detail for its asking price, and probably 3 times beyond. The mids are not recessed at all, it feels in line with the bass. I think it would be slightly "vocal centric", though not as "vocal centric" as say the BA200.
Treble is impressive as well. For a 13 dollar product, it carries decent resolution matching or sometimes even outperforming other sets around and beyond its price range. It is laid back and has little sparkles, but doesn't make the 8320 sound dark at all. It is also smooth enough for extended periods of listening.
Presentation is quite unique for a 13 dollar earphone. At this price range, most earphones feel "constrained" and have little air between the instruments. However, the 8320 has this spacious, airy feeling that I would attribute to earbuds. However, while having good width, the depth isn't really good, which leads to poorer imaging. Unlike the BA200, which almost escapes stereo separation altogether, the 8320 seems to be less competent in centering the voice of the vocalist. However that doesn't mean it is bad altogether. Rather it can be said that while great in terms of space and airiness, the 8320 just matches or slightly exceeds other budget sets when it comes to imaging.
All in all, I believe the 8320 deserves its hype for being one of the most bang for buck earphones one can buy for cheap. While the above review does seem to point out some of its faults, the faults are nonetheless minor and this shows how great the 8320 is for its asking price. While shipping it alone would be pretty expensive, hitching on to a mass order would make it much cheaper in terms of shipping. All in all, while it might have some fit issues, the really cheap price and competent sound makes for a great purchase. Whether you like it or not, it hardly burns your wallet at all so one can purchase with little, if any, regret.
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