I think it’s not an overstatement to say that tangled cords are the bane of every earphone owners’ existence. While some companies provide small bags or something to wind the cord around, ultimately the issue of tangling is still a likely eventuality. Not so with Zipbuds earphones whose use of the humble zipper effectively reduces the likelihood of epically tangled earphones to zero. But is this all for show or do the Zipbuds Juiced earphones actually walk the earphone walk as well?
The earphones
Today we’ll be taking a look at the Zipbuds Juiced earphones, Zipbuds’ basic model. You’ll get a 1 metre cable with your Juiced earphones, of which about 40 centimetres will be Zipbuds’ “Patented Zipper Integrated Cablingâ„¢”.
If you’re wondering how the zipper actually goes together with the cable, the cable is actually embedded in the zipper acting as the zipper’s spine. With all the zipper components on the cable, the flexibility of that cable section is reduced slightly, but not unlike an actually zipper. The zip itself looks of standard metal construction with a nicely placed Zipbuds branding.
The cable itself is a “Military Grade Aramid for Strength & Maeden Tinsel Technology” which I guess is a fancy way of saying it is a braided cable. While I can’t vouch for the strength of the cable in a military setting, it does seem strong enough to withstand most everyday activities.
The overall looks of the Juiced earphones, and Zipbuds products in general, are definitely their strong suit; they’ll turn heads, particularly if you get the versions with bright colouring. And if novelty factors into your earphone buying considerations, the Juiced earphones are likely to be your best bet while also remaining functional.
The comfort
The Juiced earphones come with 3 sizes of earbuds out of the box which is a nice touch to help you get started with well fitting earphones. While the earbuds themselves are fairly standard, because the earphone itself actually tapers towards the earpiece, it actually feels a little clumsy to place into the ear, but once it’s situated, it works as expected.
You might also think that because there are so many extra parts hanging off the cable that the earphones would feel particularly heavy to wear, and to some degree, you aren’t wrong. While Zipbuds have done a great job in keeping the zipper construction lightweight, because the zipper is concentrated in the top half of the earphones, in most cases the earphones will feel a little more weighty to wear than usual.
The sound
Considering how little the Juiced earphones cost (MSRP $19.99 USD or RRP $34.95 AUD), you might be for forgiven for thinking that they might sound a bit cheap, but they are actually pretty good. Like most in-ear earphones, they lack the depth of sound that is afforded to headphones, but the sound that they deliver is still crisp and quite full considering.
It provides a pretty impressive and ample bass range and the treble range is likewise impressive and clear, though the mid range appears to a bit quieter than expected.
One thing to watch out about the Juiced earphones is that they are natively quite loud earphones; on minimum volume, they were still a little bit too loud for my liking when there was no environmental noise around.
Overall, I would have to say that the Zipbuds Juiced earphones probably provide some of the best audio that I’ve heard from in-ear earphones, which is made even sweeter by its price point.
The functionality
I have to say that Zipbuds’ “Patented Zipper Integrated Cablingâ„¢” is a stroke of genius; I’ve have had many people come up to me in the office over the last few weeks just to have a look and play with the zipper, so if you’re hoping for a pair of earphones that will be a conversation starter, the Juiced earphones is definitely a good bet.
At the very least, the zipper is the most novel, yet functional feature of any earphones I have ever seen. The zipper gives you control over where your earphones diverge, and if you are travelling and aren’t using them, you can zip them up with the knowledge that they likely won’t be tangled.
Unfortunately it’s not all fun and games because it’s the zipper that is actually the root cause of some of the Juiced earphones’ weaknesses. Because the zipper is built onto the cable, if you decide to play with the zipper, the conducted noise will actually travel up the cable and into your ears. In a similar way, if you’re sitting at a table and your zip bumps into the table, you’ll hear it, as you also will as you walk and hear the zipper bouncing against your cable. Ultimately this may just be a minor annoyance, but in the time that I was using the earphones, I found it quite irritating to use them while sitting at a table with the zipper bouncing against it.
The verdict
Rating: 4/5
The Zipbuds Juiced earphones are a great pair of earphones that have a novel way of overcoming the frustration of tangled cables, and doing so in an eye-catching manner as well. It’s unfortunate though that overcoming this frustration comes at the cost of introducing another frustration, that is, a multitude of ways that introduce conducted noise, but if you’re able to find a place to listen to music where the cable won’t be moving, the price and the novelty of the earphones makes the choice a very easy one.
If you’re interested in grabbing some Zipbuds Juiced earphones, or any of Zipbuds’ other products, you can visit their product pages below:
Zipbuds Juiced earphones (1) (2)
Gallery of Photos
