Katun
Headphoneus Supremus
I had these for one day before I sent them back.
I first remember when I bought them, I was really hoping they would be a comfortable and good sounding set. I needed a smaller headphone for "comfort" listening that didn't take as much head space as my AD700, so I was in search of a nice portable. The Zino had caught my eye in the past, so I decided to buy them. My hopes were high they would be very comfortable, relatively small, and great sounding. So, I ordered when I saw their fantastic price on Amazon for only $53!
As soon as they arrived, I noticed how much bigger they looked in person than in the pictures. For me, that was a little deceiving, as I was really hoping for something a bit smaller. Oh well, that doesn't really matter much. So, I continued to open the package. Once opened, I examined the build quality and functions of the headphone. In a word, "disappointing". They weren't really built all that well, and were constructed of a cheap plastic. The headband was very thin, and looked very fragile -- and also didn't have padding. The finish on the earpieces did in fact look pretty good, as it's quite a flashy headphone overall -- but that is about the only compliment I have for "external appearance". Next up was the cord. Very rubbery and flexible, but it had bad memory retention. But the biggest problem was the kinky cord. There were a lot of kinks in it -- some of which right at the connector. That worried me.
Okay. Now onto the important bits. Sound & Comfort.
As soon as I stuck them on my head, I was instantly disappointed. No people, these aren't that comfortable. The headband is pretty awful, as you can feel it on top of your head really easily. It's too thin, has the wrong shape, and has no padding. Not only was the comfort "not that great", but the ergonomics of the Zino were pretty awful as well. These simply would not stay on my head. I had to put them on at weird angles to make them fit, and even after that, they would fall off if I moved my head even a little. Sigh. Comfort and fit is not as good as I hoped, so I really hope their sound saves them...
After all my initial disappointment, I plugged them into my iAudio 7, and started on a track from the "Inception" soundtrack.
"Worst sounding headphone I have ever listened to"
These were absolutely abysmal! The sound was unbelievably sizzling hot, and extremely metallic! It would pierce right through to my eardrum and make me cringe in pain. It was so bad in fact, I couldn't even finish any of the songs I tested them with! The sound has redefined what the word "Hollow" means -- as I have never heard music (or sound in general) so small. It honestly sounded like someone seriously messed up the EQ when using the Apple iBuds! Yes, I said it. I even tried a pair of iBuds next to these, and I even preferred those over the Zino! That is something I never thought I would say...
I thought burn in would help, so I gave them about 20 hours. I went back and listened to the same song from "Inception" again, as well as a few others. No change whatsoever. They were still extremely painful to listen to -- and I had no further desire to ever hear them again. After this, I almost "instantly" packaged up the Zino and literally "rushed" them to the Post Office to mail them off for a refund. Never have I so badly wanted something out of my sight!
So, was the Zino worth the price of $50? Absolutely not. I wouldn't even pay $20 for them. And no, I'm not even kidding.
I first remember when I bought them, I was really hoping they would be a comfortable and good sounding set. I needed a smaller headphone for "comfort" listening that didn't take as much head space as my AD700, so I was in search of a nice portable. The Zino had caught my eye in the past, so I decided to buy them. My hopes were high they would be very comfortable, relatively small, and great sounding. So, I ordered when I saw their fantastic price on Amazon for only $53!
As soon as they arrived, I noticed how much bigger they looked in person than in the pictures. For me, that was a little deceiving, as I was really hoping for something a bit smaller. Oh well, that doesn't really matter much. So, I continued to open the package. Once opened, I examined the build quality and functions of the headphone. In a word, "disappointing". They weren't really built all that well, and were constructed of a cheap plastic. The headband was very thin, and looked very fragile -- and also didn't have padding. The finish on the earpieces did in fact look pretty good, as it's quite a flashy headphone overall -- but that is about the only compliment I have for "external appearance". Next up was the cord. Very rubbery and flexible, but it had bad memory retention. But the biggest problem was the kinky cord. There were a lot of kinks in it -- some of which right at the connector. That worried me.
Okay. Now onto the important bits. Sound & Comfort.
As soon as I stuck them on my head, I was instantly disappointed. No people, these aren't that comfortable. The headband is pretty awful, as you can feel it on top of your head really easily. It's too thin, has the wrong shape, and has no padding. Not only was the comfort "not that great", but the ergonomics of the Zino were pretty awful as well. These simply would not stay on my head. I had to put them on at weird angles to make them fit, and even after that, they would fall off if I moved my head even a little. Sigh. Comfort and fit is not as good as I hoped, so I really hope their sound saves them...
After all my initial disappointment, I plugged them into my iAudio 7, and started on a track from the "Inception" soundtrack.
"Worst sounding headphone I have ever listened to"
These were absolutely abysmal! The sound was unbelievably sizzling hot, and extremely metallic! It would pierce right through to my eardrum and make me cringe in pain. It was so bad in fact, I couldn't even finish any of the songs I tested them with! The sound has redefined what the word "Hollow" means -- as I have never heard music (or sound in general) so small. It honestly sounded like someone seriously messed up the EQ when using the Apple iBuds! Yes, I said it. I even tried a pair of iBuds next to these, and I even preferred those over the Zino! That is something I never thought I would say...
I thought burn in would help, so I gave them about 20 hours. I went back and listened to the same song from "Inception" again, as well as a few others. No change whatsoever. They were still extremely painful to listen to -- and I had no further desire to ever hear them again. After this, I almost "instantly" packaged up the Zino and literally "rushed" them to the Post Office to mail them off for a refund. Never have I so badly wanted something out of my sight!
So, was the Zino worth the price of $50? Absolutely not. I wouldn't even pay $20 for them. And no, I'm not even kidding.
)).
