About a week ago I stopped by the ZAGG global headquarters to pickup my new ZAGG smart buds. Now I have had their screen protectors and skins before, but audio equipment was not something I was expecting to see from them.
The packaging it came in was pretty smart but nothing too special. A triangular case with the buds at the top, like and object of worship atop a paper pyramid. Inside I found the buds, a bag, and two sets of replacement ear tips (foam and silicone). After wrestling the earbuds out of the package I still didn’t know what to think. I was quite impressed by the plug and the cord. The cord is thin, and wrapped in the patented ”invisible shield” material making it very strong, sturdy, and tangle resistant. This cord was impossibly thin, but felt stronger than any headphone cord I had seen before.
Going up the cord you have a split, with a couple of beads. These slide up and down the cord to keep the two sides together where you like. A little higher up you have a slim cylindrical remote and above that another bead. Now unlike other earbuds where you can slide to tighten it up to your neck (making you look like a total dork) this is actually a trademark of the “Hangin’ Tight” cord configuration. This bead sits behind your neck (after bringing the loop over your head) and your headphones lay along the sides of your neck ready for use. This is one of the most brilliant advancements in headphone cabling I have seen in years, check out the video:
The video shows the EDGE buds, which are exactly the same except for the remote for the iPhone. Now when I got to the remote is where I found my first issue with these buds. The clicker is good, and the mic seems to work very well, however instead of and up and down volume button that works in conjunction with your iPhone you get a manual volume slider. Now you may be thinking that’s not so bad, but the problem I have with it, is that you will always be at odds with your iPhone volume. So either your headphone volume on your phone is all the way up so you have the full range on your slider, or you will be adjusting the volume in two places. Now this may not be a problem for everyone, but I use headphones, and other external speakers with my phone so I am often needed to adjust the volume depending on the device I am plugged into. Ideally I feel these should have a volume up and down button like the apple headphones.
Finally, let’s take a close look at the buds themselves. The build quality is okay, plastic buds, with silicone tips. Nothing about the build quality is all that impressive. While fitting the eartips I tried both the silicone and foam eartips. Let me give you some advice, throw away the foam eartips, they are hard and very inflexible, not even worth having around. While adjusting the buds or chewing the the silicone tips will make a crinkling noise. I’ve also seen this happen with 3rd party tips for the iPhone earbuds. Fortunately, the silicone tips come in adequate sizes and are very comfortable.
One great feature about the buds is the tilt. The tips tilt forward so when you insert them they slide right where they should in your ear canal, and feel great for buds. In fact with the tilt, the “Hangin’ Tight” cord, and the tips, the ZAGG smart buds are one of the most comfortable earbuds I have ever worn. Every earbud should have this new configuration.
Alight, now let’s get to what you really want to hear about, sound quality. Are the ZAGG smart buds worth their $79 asking price? Well after seeing the construction of the buds, the hard ear tips, and the slider volume I was not expecting much when I slid these into my head. However, once the music started, I was impressed. First thing that struck me was the loudness, these buds have a deep rich bass that is really rare in earbuds. In addition to that the high end clear and bright. Overall the have a very warm “woody” quality to them that makes them a delight to listen to. The mid-range is a little soft, but certainly there, and still pretty good.
I played a variety of music and different levels from Rock, to Rap, Techno, and Opera, through it all these headphones performed more than admirably, putting my expensive Shure earbuds to shame. From very quiet to very loud volumes the ZAGG smart buds performed conistently and beautifully. This is probably because of their larger than average speaker diameter. These things can really pump out some sound!
Technical Details:
- Speaker diameter: 10mm
- Frequency response: 20hz to 20khz
- Impedance: 16 Ohms
- Max input power: 10mW
- Cable length 1.37 meters/ 54 inches
- Plug type: 3.5mm
- Sensitivity: 94dB +/-3dB SPL/mW
The Bottom Line:
There are better earbuds out there, but these cans get a huge boost for the cord and general comfort. Without having to worry about tangles, earbuds falling out, or getting uncomfortable overtime I have easily used these earbuds more than any other.
