I’ve been using in-ear headphones for a while now, and it’s been a really long time since I’ve tried the over-the-head style. Luckily for me, ZAGG (makers of InvisibleShield and the Z.buds) also decided to make a big ol’ set of headphones and I’ve been lucky enough to test them out over the last couple of weeks. I tell you, I’ve gotten so used to hearing myself walk while wearing in-ears that this style has been a real delight if only for the fact that I hear all the music minus the thumping sound of my own skeleton as I walk around

Hit the jump for more pics and a full review!

Construction

If you’re going to plop down $99 (well, $79 right now) on a pair of cans then you’re going to want to know how durable they are. Earphones (which I always see as the smaller kind) don’t really sustain as much damage, since they can be wrapped up and put away in a pocket or a pouch. These ZAGGphones, however, are going to hang around your neck or be shoved into your bag while on-the-go, so they’d better be up for some wear and tear. The frame is made of plastic and creaks a bit more than I’m comfortable with, but it’s been doing its job just fine for the last month. The joints for the earpieces look quite secure, too.

I’d rather that some parts of the frame be made of metal, but I’m not sure that would be reasonable to ask of a sub-$100 pair of headphones – as I said before, I’m pretty new to this type.

The cabling is a lot more impressive than the frame and is made of a very thick, coiled wire that allows you a lot of extra length when you need it. It’s also pretty much tangle-free. They’re a lot heavier than smaller headphone wires, so that took me a while to get used to.

The 3.5mm jack is built like a rock. This is one of those big, big jacks, though, and it looks a little out of place if your music player is really small (I used the headphones with the Sony PSP mostly). Unlike the Z.buds, the ZAGGphones do not fit the first gen iPhone without an adapter. That isn’t ZAGG’s fault, though, it’s silly Apple’s fault for putting a stupid recessed jack. Sigh.

Design

While some people have expressed that they didn’t quite like the big “Z” logo on the sides, the ZAGGphones have been a lot of admiring remarks from friends and family. The silver and black paint job is partly glossy, and the top of the headphones are actually slightly rubberized.

I’m a big fan of how much padding ZAGG has included. There’s a generous amount of padding on the top of the frame as well as on both of the earpieces. Wearing these things is like wearing a pillow on your head – it’s that comfy. ZAGG also made it easier to discern which side is left and right, thanks to the “L” and “R” letters above each earpiece (something the Z.buds omitted, I believe).

I tested the headphones very scientifically on a number of different head sizes (read: mom, dad, sister) and received only one complaint about the comfort level – but that was after about an hour of listening. It was very easy to adjust the top band to expand or shrink as needed.

Another cool aspect of the ZAGGphones is their portability: they fold up and become a lot more compact when you need them to be (you need to fold them up to fit them in the included case).

Controls

Most of the audio accessories I’ve reviewed have had some sort of controls on them, but the ZAGGphones are old school They focus on staying comfortably on your head and then blasting music into your ears. That’s not a bad thing, but you won’t find playback buttons or volume controls on these bad boys.

Accessories

The ZAGGphones come with a quarter inch adapter (although I have nothing to use this with, hah) as well as a leather carrying case for storage.

Sound

The ZAGGphones are quite different from the Z.buds . They can pump out a lot of sound and they never sounded tinny felt that my music was a little hollow on the mids and they lack the booming bass of the Z.buds (which is surprising, considering their size). That’s not to say that the sound quality isn’t good, but it’s not quite up to par with ZAGG’s claim of sounding like headphones that cost more than $99.

Conclusion

I really love the comfort that the ZAGGphones provide, but I think that the sound quality could use a bit more tweaking in the next iteration. Sound quality isn’t really an objective thing, but I would say that I didn’t feel as close to my music as I feel I should have been considering the great big headphones that were sitting on my ears. They’re not the headphones I use with my iPhone, but I’ve adapted them as my dedicated laptop headphones. The cords are so flexible and elastic that I never have any trouble with other wires as I sit down to type articles out. Getting up to go is also as simple as unplugging the ZAGGphones, since the coiled wire will just snap back together and stays tangle free.

What I liked:

• comfort – great for hours of music
• fit – sits easily on basically any head size
• cable – it’s heavy, but ridiculously durable and flexible

What could be improved:

• a closer sound – not quite sure how else to describe it; felt like music was a bit muffled
• a bit more bass

You can pick up your own pair of ZAGGphones at a lower introductory price of $79.99 (normally $99.99) from ZAGG.com.

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