ZAGG Z.Buds: Earphones For The iPhone & More [Review]

ZAGG Z.Buds





Thanks ClieOS for the review format which I shamelessly stole from version 2 of your IEM shoot out.
Variation: N/A
Available Colors: Black, Red
Availability: International
Transducer: 10mm single driver
Spec: 32Ω (@1kHz) | 94dB +/- 3dB SPL/mW | 20 Hz ~ 20 kHZ
Cord Style: Y-cord, nylon, unique.
Mini Jack Style: {┃} style, normal-light build.
Eartips Used: Large single flange or UE medium single flange

Physical Properties:
┣ Packaging: ★★★★☆
┣ Accessories: ★★★★☆
┣ Build Quality: ★★★★☆
┣ Isolation: ★★★★
┣ Microphonics: ★★★★☆
┣ Comfort: ★★★★☆
┗ Quick Sum: Nice triangle-shaped cardboard packaging. Little hard to get into the plastic underneath. Lots of tips included and a nice carrying bag as well with plenty of room for everything. Build quality is good, and my only worry here is that there may be one too many stress points on the nylon cord (which is strong all on its own). Isolation is good but won't be as good as some brands like Etymotic. Microphonics is not an issue with these. You can be pretty rough with the cord and it shouldn't cause much noise, thanks to the nylon. The comfort is great with these and you could easily sleep with these on, but they may be slightly large for people with very small ear canals.

Sound Dominance For clarification, these ratings simply illustrate the general sound signature of this IEM, nothing more. This has nothing to do with the quality of the sound.
┣ Treble: ★★★★
┣ Mid: ★★★★★
┣ Bass: ★★★★★

Sound Quality:
┣ Treble: ★★★
┣ Mid: ★★★★
┣ Bass: ★★★★
┣ Soundstage: ▆ ▄ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▄ ▆ [Good]
┣ ABF: Unknown [No amp available]
┣ Overall SQ: [3.67 / 5]
┗ Quick Sum: This sounds about what I think the love child of a Shure (maybe the SE310) and the Future Sonics Atrio M5 would sound like. Very strong bass that's fast enough to handle pretty much everything you throw at it (somewhere in quantity between the Klipsch Image X10 and the M5), although on certain complex bass-heavy music it might have some trouble, although it still handles itself admirably. Good forward mids and slightly rolled off treble with a tiny amount of sibilance which doesn't aggravate round out the package.

Overall Value: [4.17 / 5]
Final Remark: For $65, you could do a lot worse. Actually, for $150 you could do worse. All in all, this is a very non-fatiguing, warm, natural, and more importantly a fun IEM to listen to. You'll likely forget they're even on.

Recommended Genres: Everything, unless you need stronger treble response. I found these to perform admirably for everything from hip hop to classical to metal to acoustic guitar + vocals.

Other Neat Stuff: The removable button loop. Volume control. Microphone. iPhone playback and call control.

It depends on what you want.

In comparison to the Z.Buds, the Klipsch Image X10 is going to have somewhat better sound quality and slightly better comfort, but will have a slightly recessed mid-range to go with that. No microphone, volume control, or iPhone control either. It's also three times the cost.

I used the rating system ClieOS is using for v2 of his IEM shootout (link in the review just below pictures).

Think of it like grades in school. 5/5 is A, 1/5 is F, with the rest in between. You could also relate these to prices if you wanted to (e.g. Hi-Fi is $250+, Low-fi is < $25, Entry-Fi is $75-$150, etc.).

Klipsch Image X10 would look about like this, IMO:

┣ Treble: ★★★★★
┣ Mid: ★★★★
┣ Bass: ★★★★☆

┣ Overall SQ: [4.5 / 5]

Now, the 4.5 on bass doesn't mean that the X10 has more bass quantity than the Z.Buds, but that it has better bass quality. Also, if I'm not wrong the X10 has a slightly smaller sound stage than the Z.Buds (just compared twice). However, the difference is so small that if I were to use the same review format for the X10, they'd get the same sound stage rating.

I'll be able to tell you sometime next week when I get to listen to them.

I wouldn't necessarily say they'd be "better". They may sound a bit better (can't confirm since I don't have the Super.fi 5 regular, just the 5 EB which is completely different), but at pretty much 3 times the cost.

If I were personally going to go up to the $150 or so range, I'd get the Etymotic HF2.