You ‘re likely all well aware already of my fondness for Zagg ‘s InvisibleShield product line. Well recently our friends at Zagg recently introduced a new product unlike anything they ‘ve done before and the real question is – have they managed to release another ‘must have ‘ product, or is this just another set of headphones that cost a lot of money but don ‘t really deliver. Well, the only way to find out how I felt about them is to click on through!
So, here ‘s something I don ‘t think I ‘ve ever done before. I mean yes, we ‘ve embedded videos of stuff in other posts, but I don ‘t recall ever embedding an actual commercial in a review. However, in order for you to fully understand what Zagg thinks is special about the Z.buds product “ I think the video is important. So click the little play button below. It ‘s only about a minute long, the music is ok, and the girl is cute. Don ‘t worry we ‘ll wait.
Alright, so did you catch all that? The basic concept is the earbuds that come with your iPhone sort of suck. I mean they ‘re pretty uncomfortable for long periods of time, the sound quality is fairly poor, they tangle up like no other, they don ‘t have inline volume control and they don ‘t hold your iPhone very securely by the plug. This is where the Z.buds come in.
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There ‘s the real rundown of all the features that make the Z.buds tick. Let ‘s start at the bottom and work our way up.
First off, you ‘ll notice the three lines on the jack instead of two. If you ‘ve got an iPhone you know what that means “ Mic input! Yes, the Z.buds will do voice “ and we ‘ll get to that in a moment. More importantly about this part though is the jack is secure. You can ‘t just point your iPhone to the ground and have the headphones come out. The fit is very snug and even trying to make the phone fall to the ground isn ‘t likely to happen.
When I first got the Z.buds (this was a long time ago before they even finalized the packaging) I for the life of me couldn ‘t figure out what that stupid little sting was for. Well, I eventually figured it out. Turns out its pretty handy I never would have thought to put something on my headphones to let me hook them onto a button, but it works.
Also notice the inline volume controls. Personally this is a great touch and a burden all at once. I love not having to reach into my pocket to adjust the volume on my iPhone, but at the same time (because the wheel is somewhat large) I ‘ve managed to unexpectedly deafen myself.
Little silvery things. Cable management. Cord management. Whatever. Love em! These things (along with the nylon cord) are what make the Z.buds better than a lot of other earbuds out there. Lets talk about cord management on the Z.buds for a minute.
Like you saw in the video, the typical earbuds (whether you consider that the Apple kind or someone else ‘s) are notorious for getting tangled like Christmas lights. (On a side note how do Christmas lights get tangled IN A BOX?!) Anyway, so earbuds are really good for making you take 5 minutes out of your life to detangle them just so you can listen to some music. Not so with the Z.buds. First the nylon cord is wonderful. Not only is it strong, it doesn ‘t stick to itself. Even if you wad everything into a ball it just slides right apart. Second those little silver balls are moveable along the length of the upper part of the earbuds. You can use them to help control tangles and keep the earbuds themselves from tying knots in the cables. Another wonderful idea from Zagg.
One other purpose for the little sliders “ looping the Z.buds behind your neck and keeping them in your ears. Big pet peeve of mine has always been that whenever you do something remotely active your earbuds tend to get jostled around and come out of your ears due to the weight of the headphone cords not so with the Z.buds. Check out the image above again to see how its done. For me, this has been the #1 selling point “ and from here on out “ if your earbuds can ‘t do this, I ‘m not interested.
Microphone? Check. Pause control? Check. Skip forward and reverse? Check. These earbuds do everything you would expect them to be able to just like the ones you get from Apple. And trust me, there ‘s nothing funnier than the look on people ‘s faces when you ‘re standing there obviously listening to music and all of a sudden you ‘re talking to yourself all without skipping a beat.
Of course all of this stuff means absolutely nothing if your music doesn ‘t sound good. Well, I ‘m not one of those people who can tell if a note is just the tiniest little bit off, but I can tell you that I haven ‘t been disappointed by Zagg. The bass response is solid and vocals sound excellent. The only thing I can pick out for sure is that the highs could be a little bit better “ as it is they sound a little too mid range. My only other complaint is that the nylon cord tends to transfer a bit of the rubbing on your shirt into the headphone “ but its a minor complaint and easily livable once you remember that the cords don ‘t make you spend extra time trying to unravel them. Long story short “ if you ‘re a classical music fan you ‘ll be happy. If you ‘re into hard rock, hip hop, or anything with more focus on play it loud “ you ‘re going to be quite happy.
So, in all “ Zagg has made a great first showing. The Z.buds have easily replaced my iPhone standard headphones for everything. Matter of fact, once I figured out the whole behind the neck slider thing “ my standard iPhone headphones have been back in the box and I won ‘t consider another pair of headphones that don ‘t support that feature. Zagg nailed the nylon cord concept and despite the long length tangles are a thing of past. Personal opinion “ if you ‘re in the market for a new set of earbuds and you ‘ve got the cash the Z.buds are definitely worth considering.
Where to buy: Zagg.com
Cost: $79.99
Specs:
Earbuds
speaker diameter: 10mm
frequency response: 20hz to 20Khz
impedance: 32 Ohms
max input power: 10mW
cable length: 1.37 meters/54 inches
plug type: 3.5mm
sensitivity: 94dB +/- 3dB SPL/mW
Microphone: Noise Cancelling Condenser
frequency response: 30hz to 16Khz
impedance: 10 Ohms
sensitivity: 42dB +/- 3dB
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