I don’t usually review earphones, but it’s an Android accessory many of us use daily. Everything from media consumption to phone calls are handled by the earbuds we carry every day, and price/durability is a balance that’s hard to strike.
Overview
Microphone: Yes
Button compatibility: Android/iOS/Windows/Blackberry
Price: $49.99
Where to buy: Zipbuds
The Zipbuds SLIDE are pretty basic earphones with an interesting defining feature; the cables for each individual earbud zip together like a zipper. Most earphones have a little piece that slides up to adjust the length of the separate cables, but the cables under it are usually loose and can get caught on things.
Otherwise, they’re just like any other earphones in their price range. The flat cables are a great touch, the microphone features one button for compatibility with a wide range of devices, and they come with three different sizes of tips.
They also come in four different color combos. You can get purple and orange, black and teal, black and white, or just black.
Build quality
For $50, these earphones are of surprisingly good quality. The flat cable makes them feel premium and resilient to everyday wear and tear. The cables are more substantial and more “springy” than other earphones, which makes me feel confident bunching them up.
The zipping mechanism works well, with no issues zipping every single time. It’s really nice that the cables stay together all the way up until the split, which makes them quite a bit more convenient to use.
In general, these earphones are just really well made, especially for the price. I can even say they feel more sturdy than my Bose earphones.
Audio quality
The audio quality of these earphones is actually pretty good. The audio is clear, the bass is substantial, and the mids are strong. The balance of the sound is not very good, but if you’re not an audiophile, you’ll enjoy the sound.
I have to say, I’m impressed with the bass of these earphones when the tips make a proper seal. It’s a lot stronger than I expected, and thumps pretty good in bassy songs. But it doesn’t dominate the music in most cases. For those who like electronic music, these might be great. The strong bass and clear highs really go well together.
The only issue I’ve found with these earphones is that they’re substantially quieter than my Bose. Thankfully, any phone or computer still gets these things plenty loud.
As a bit of an audiophile, I’m not a huge fan. As a metalhead, the balance of the sound isn’t quite ideal. The bass is a little too intrusive in power metal, and the highs aren’t tuned just right. I’m overly critical and not the average customer. But in most other music, these things sound good. The tuning may not be fantastic, but the actual drivers are nice.
The microphone is good as well, people reported hearing me just fine.
Comfort
Most in-ear buds don’t fit my weird ears very well. They just don’t stay in, and I could never figure out why. I’ve tried quite a few. However, these fit perfectly and stay in my ears with the medium tips. Honestly, I was shocked.
They’re comfortable for in-ear earphones, which in my opinion aren’t very comfortable. They also seal sound out very well, which is a nice bonus depending on how you look at it.
Zipbuds SLIDE8 / 10
I’m impressed with these earphones. Not only are they some of the few that actually fit my ears well, but they also sound pretty good for the price point. Yes, the audio is tuned in a pretty “cheap” way, but the actual drivers are quite nice.
The zipper functionality is also very nice. It may not be all that useful to a lot of people, but it’s great and gives the earphones a great feel.
For only $50, the average person could really use a set. They’ll sound good and surely last a long time.
from Android and Me http://ift.tt/1Yh2acM
via IFTTT
Pacosite's Blog 