Zagg Audio Z.buds

Earphones and earbuds come in all shapes, sizes and designs - but today we have a unique earbud design to take a look at with the Zagg Audio Z.buds. These earbuds are designed to be paired with an iPhone, iTouch or other MP3 player / cell phone on the market and they boast some nifty features.

Built-in noise canceling mic and iPhone music control? Check. Tangle-free nylon cabling? Check. Adjustable cable sliders and multiple earbud fittings? Check. In-line volume control? Check. What’s left but to check out these Z.buds for ourselves? Read on.

Design

Zagg really offers a lot of differentiation from standard earbuds with the design of the Z.buds. To start off with, the nylon cable is designed to keep the earbuds tangle-free – whether they are in use or stored away in your pocket. The nylon cable and the chrome covered earbud tips give the Z.buds a trendy look that is quite eye-catching.

The built-in microphone offers noise-canceling as well as an inlaid button to control power on/off and iPod / iTouch music control. This button is additionally used to stop the playback of music when you get an incoming phone call. The adjustable bead sliders allow you to configure the length of the cable to however you want to set it up - around your neck seems to be the most comfortable and useful set up.

The in-line volume control is a nice touch that you will rarely find in a set of earbuds at this price, and the 3.5mm jack will even work with first generation iPhones. Finally, the included earbud fittings allow both girls with small ears and guys with big ears to find an optimal fit.

Specifications

Earbuds:

• Driver diameter: 10mm
• Frequency response: 20hz to 20Khz
• Impedance: 32 Ohms
• Max input power: 10mW
• Cable length: 1.37 meters/54 inches (4-1/2 ft.)
• Plug type: 3.5mm
• Sensitivity: 94dB +/- 3dB SPL/mW
• Warranty: 45 day Money-Back, Lifetime Trade-in ($20 fee applies

Microphone:

• Frequency response: 30hz to 16Khz
• Impedance: 10 Ohms
• Sensitivity: 42dB +/- 3dB

In the Box

• Z.buds earbuds
• Several extra earbud tips / fittings
• Cloth carrying pouch

Out of the Box Setup

Normally you would not expect there to be any set required to use a pair of earbuds. With most earbuds you can plug them in and off you go listening to your music. And, technically, you can plug the Z.buds directly into the 3.5mm input of any media device and start listening right away. Besides not having any indicator for ‘left’ and ‘right’ on each earbud, there is a bit more involved in getting the Z.buds set up to wear comfortably. There is also an understanding needed for how the built-in mic/phone answer button works.

First the setup of wearing the Z.buds – there are 3 silver beads built into the cable, and they are designed to allow you to slide the beads up and down the cable. Sliding them up and down allows you to hang the earbuds around your neck in the “Hangin’ Tight” configuration. This feature, along with the mic/phone answer button, allows you to seamlessly answer calls on your iPhone while you are listening to music. It also allows you to remove the earbuds and keep them “hanging” around your shoulders.

Sliding the beads up and down was easy, and it just took a few minutes of trial-and-error to get them in the right spots for the “Hangin’ Tight” configuration. The bead sliders have good tension – enough that they do not slip once they are in the right spots, but not so much that they are difficult to slide up or down.

The built-in microphone/phone answer button is a bit more complex simply because it is used for multiple functions. It serves as an on/off button as well as the phone answer/microphone button. If you are using the Z.buds with an MP3 player (which is what I was using), you still have to click the button in order to hear your music playing. Unfortunately no instruction manual or setup guide was included, which would have saved me a few minutes of trial-and-error during the setup.

Finally, the button loop popped off as I was getting the Z.buds set up to use. I had no idea what this was used for until I went online to the Zagg website and found the diagram of all the parts of the earbuds. My real complaint here is that I could have very easily lost the small button loop without even realizing it, and then a dog, cat or a kid could have snatched it up and swallowed it whole.