Black and gold is a beautiful colour combination due to great contrast between the colours. These are the brand colours that Altec Lansing uses to great effect in several of their products. The higher end of the quite large collection named Muzx feature the classy combination. I will test four of these, and start somewhere in the middle of the series with the Muzx Extra.
The Muzx Extra is a cool looking in-ear set with an inline microphone including volume controls. The design is special because of the small fat look of the earphones. To me the extra fat style makes it feel powerful, almost like a sawn off shotgun the potential for mayhem is there. The back of the earphone has a minus on the back that actually looks like it could be taken apart using a flat screwdriver. I have not tried dismantling the earphone, or seen any documentation stating that it could serve any purpose. For some weird reason this still makes it intriguing, as a strange mystery.
The sound of the Extra is great, with a really clean and natural focus. Sound is well reproduced all over the spectra. Bass is good but not comparable to Bose or Beats by Dr. Dre in regards to warmth or strength. The Extra is more about a balanced experience, and it works with all sound sources. At a price below $50 it provides really good value for the money.
You get three sets of silicone tips with the Extra: small, medium and large. I found these to be on the flimsy side, but still fitting quite well in my ears. The small tip on the earphone where the silicone tips sit is kind of small, and rounded making it easy for the silicone tips to come off. For noise isolation the Extra provide an average amount of passive blocking. The silicone tips are not thick enough to block more than that. I can still hear fans whirring, doors slamming and people talking even with music playing.
The microphone is placed perfectly below the mouth on the right cord. It works well in most environments, but like most it is highly sensitive to wind when outside. The design of the microphone is both functional, and great looking. The volume controls are easy to tell apart, as the call/answer/play/pause button is indented between them. Overall a really nice addition to the growing number of microphone designs.
The cord is a plastic rigid design that I am really not fond of. It is heavy, and when I only have one earphone in the cord almost yanks it out by weight alone. When out walking the cord transfer a lot of noise from slamming against clothes. As it is rigid it doesn`t follow lines of clothing, but rather bounce around at it`s own will. Altec Lansing needs to include some sort of strong shirt clip if they keep using this kind of cord.
The overall impression of the Muzx Extra is that it is a good product combining a clean natural sound, great microphone with a poor cord. At the price it is hard to find this kind of excellent sound, and I recommend it to those who want a great sounding earphone for work that involves a lot of sitting or standing still. For those on the move the lack of noise isolation, and noise from the cord being too rigid will disturb the sound.
Final Rating
Muzx® Extra MZX406 at AltecLansing.com $49.95
