Zipbuds PRO mic Never Tangle Zipper Earbuds with Noise Canceling Mic/Remote, Black

In Amazon's review guidelines, it says: "Don't include promotional content of any kind or reviews written in exchange for compensation."These headphones shipped with an offer to review them and then e-mail them to receive another free pair of headphones. Does a free pair of headphones count as compensation? Does doing so bias the ratings for a product? Here are three forms of bias that would work against a fair rating for this product:1. They're doing me a favor. Shouldn't I do them a favor by writing a positive review with a high rating? The pressure is even stronger when I am going to have to e-mail them and have them verify that I wrote the review.2. Higher review counts. Usually people with a negative experience are more likely to post a review. Most products have a bit lower rating because of this. If you compensate everyone for writing a review, then you dilute these more, causing your product to have a higher rating than another product of the same quality.3. Groupthink--because of 1 and 2 above, we have a huge number of people posting positive reviews. This creates social pressure for others to do the same.Regarding the quality of the headphones themselves:For what I paid, I expected more. In the pictures, the wires look as if they move smoothly and freely. In reality, the wires have bends in them that they don't want to let go of. The ear pieces look metallic, but are mostly plastic. The zipper is the kind you would expect to find on a relatively inexpensive piece of clothing. The product description touts, "Earbuds that survive your lifestyle: Military-Grade fibers for lasting durability." In reality, these do not seem any more durable than your run-of-the mill headphones. On the plus side, they do seem a little bit more tangle resistant than other headphones, and I do like the fabric wrapping, even though it is already frayed in one place.Regarding sound quality: I am comparing them to a years-old pair of V-Moda headphones which recently lost its sound in the right ear. To compare, I used the left ear only of both headphones. At first, I thought I was hearing more details in the Zipbuds. But after comparing a few passages back and forth, I realized that the Zipbuds are emphasizing very high and very low frequencies. So, for example, low piano notes come across as if the player is hitting them significantly harder than other notes. And my computer's ambient hiss is also coming across much more in the Zipbuds. This also means I hear some of the liveness in the music a bit more, but the letter s sounds rather hissy. After spending some time comparing them, I prefer the V-Moda earbud, which seems much more balanced across frequencies.

(TL;DR at the bottom of this review)I had just enough money from Amazon gift cards to purchase this item, so when I found I needed headphones, I figured I'd treat myself to what seemed like durable, good-quality headphones.I'm generally pretty frugal, and have never spent over $20 for headphones (just to give you an idea of my mindset).With regards to the headphones themselves, I was not surprised by them. They were neither unexpectedly good, nor unexpectedly bad. Before I purchased them, I read through a bunch of the reviews, before I ended up deciding on purchasing the PRO version (instead of the less-expensive Juiced). Here's what I thought, before and after getting the headphones:Before purchase:"These headphones look more professional than the Juiced version"After purchase:These are headphones with a zipper on them. Sure, black is more professional-looking than glow-in-the-dark, but it's hard to make a stand-alone zipper look professional. It isn't discreet.Before purchase:"I need to buy a headset for my phone anyways. Might as well just get better earphones that come bundled with it"After purchase:These function well as a headset. It's definitely not more convenient than a bluetooth, but the sound quality on both the mic and earbuds are great for calls. The cord is rather long, so I've had no problems with setting down my phone or putting it in my pocket while talking to someone.Before purchase:"A review mentioned a lot of noise being generated by the zippered wires rubbing against one another while wearing them. That might be inconvenient when walking with them."After purchase:Partially zipping up the zipper solves this. If you move it up about 2/3rds of the way up, it won't move around, and it'll still be comfortable. With regards to walking around with these... I wouldn't recommend it. These earbuds are quite effective with their passive noise canceling. When listening to music at a quiet setting, I can't even hear my co-worker across my desk (~5 feet away).Before purchase:"A review mentioned that these earbuds are heavy. How heavy can earbuds get, anyways?"After purchase:Turns out, this actually is noticeable. If you take them on and off throughout the day, it won't be bothersome, but if you work a 10-hour shift without removing them, you'll begin to feel what I can only describe as "your ears getting tired". Haven't had this happen with other earphones, but it's not too terrible.Before purchase:"The description seems to say that the PRO version has better sound than the Juiced version."After purchase:While I can't comment on the quality of the Juiced version, I also can't complain about the quality of these headphones. Of course, this depends on the type of music you listen to. I've noticed that this does well with soft music, such as light rock or string instruments, but the quality is a bit off for electronic music (this was extremely noticeable when listening to Lendsey Stirling's violin/dubstep music). One thing to note though: the sound quality's been improving, so maybe I just need to "break them in" a bit more.TL;DR:Overall, these earbuds are nice, and I am satisfied with my purchase. They fit well, and don't have issues falling out (despite the weight). They sound nice, definitely what you'd expect for the price (not as good for electronic music though). They seem durable, and are definitely tangle-proof when zipped up. They work well for phone calls (mic and audio are both clear). They are NOT ideal for driving, or other situations in which you'd need to react to sound (the noise canceling works well, which is both a positive and negative feature).As Amazon claims 5 stars is "I love it" and 4 stars is "I like it", I rated this at 4 stars. They're good headphones, and I recommend them. I'd rate them as 4.5 stars if I could. I'll probably up the rating later, if they're still going strong in a year.