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

So far.... this should b a 4.5 star rating if that were possible. I have read quite a few reviews on this product before purchasing and found some mixed complaints...The positives I completely agree with: zipbuds have high quality sound, clarity in the trebles and low thumping rumbles in the bass. I have seen complaints about the audio quality from other reviewers, but that is the rub. Thus far, I have found that some of my songs sound less than great coming through these buds, but that tells me that i have some less than quality mp3s. My high bitrate/lossless/album quality mp3s are devastating; the left and right stereo splits are damn near perfect. When i come a cross a song that has some "noise" I can tell that, either, it was a song that I couldnt differentiate the low mp3 quality through prior headphones/earbuds, or it was a song ripped to mp3 from vinyl and I couldnt hear the "crackle" before.The positives are sky high!The cons: As stated, if you dont have a fastidious ethic towards your mp3s, the zipbuds might make you realize how sucky the quality of you catalog is.I personally never had much of an issue with tangling with my prior earbuds, but I have had some bad luck with durability. Though, I havent had my Zipbuds Pro long enough to testify to their durability my next complaint leads me to believe these buds will be more of what Im looking for:A Pro/Con - The buds in their tangle free nature are fairly rigid, even the areas of the cord lacking the zipper, its more like twine than a normal cord, but that is less a negative than something to just get used to - and if that equals longer lifespan of the product, then I will take that trade every time.To the commonly addressed cons:The earbuds not staying in the ear - This is a small issue, the rubber on the earpieces (3 sizes come with the buds) is thinner than many prior buds I have owned, making them less firm in the holding in the ear. Also the rubber seems a bit smoother too, leading again to the same issue, but where I normally wear the "medium" sized rubber thinger on earbuds with the Zipbuds I have bumped up to the large sized ear piece and this seems to have alleviated the problem, for the most part.Second common complaint is the sound, residual from the zipper brushing against your body or being zipped being heard transferring through the cord into the buds. This is true, but where I heard it overwhelmingly when not listening to music, once I turned the volume up it was totally nullified. I can imagine this being an issue if you tend to listen to your audio on a lower volume, but if that is your M.O. then you should stick with a basic 5 dollar pair or earbuds. I listen to alot of audiobooks aswell, this is far more noticeable when you dont have some back beat to easily drown it out, but again it came down to the quality of the MP3. When I listened to a book converted from a tape-cassette (generally lower quality) the interference was fairly audible, but on crisp MP3 converted from CD or from higher bitrate/quality MP3 productions the zipper noise was negligible/ less noticeable... Dont be playing with the zipper constantly and I dont think that this will be an issue.My final complaint is the mic/remote. It hangs around my jaw line - too high, in my opinion, but the reason is obvious being that the namesake zipper begins an inch below the mic. As you likely wouldnt want the zipper higher, rubbing against the side of your face and the mic needs some flexible separation, this is understandable, but it is higher on the cord than i am used to.Bottom line, the negatives of the Zipbuds Pro are negligible and far less than the positives. Also the potential cause of the bulk of the negatives is a side effect of what makes this product more durable and unique.If you have an issue with tangling or durability in prior earbuds or are just looking for a set with really good sound at a great price then this is a product i highly recommend.

Before I get too far, I'm a bit of a hobbiest audiophile. I have been handling home audio, live audio, garage band recordings, and making you tube videos for about 15 years now. I understand that a $25 product and a $300 product aren't comparable.I'm a smart phone user and the new laws in my state dictate that I need to utilize a hands free headset while driving my car. My supplied headphones...for the $30 price tag...sound best, but have the durability of a wet news paper. I've been in search of something more durable without suffering from sub-par materials or spotty workmanship. I can't justify spending more than ~$30 on headphones, as I run through them too fast to go with any more premium branded products. From my 2 week assessment, in the price range, I think I found my champion.What they do well - They don't tangle. Period. These headphones, with the rigidity of the zipper, when zipped, are unable to wrap themselves around themselves. I'm a HUGE fan of this, as it often is the reason I end up calling someone back. Thus far, they're also durable. I've caught the ends between my console and driver seat. Headphones live and (often) die hanging balanced around the back of my neck, and take a ton of abuse. These show no evident signs of wear. They stay in. The mic is up to snuff with supplied headsets for smartphones. The speakers are small, but don't sound it. The sound isn't canned, tinny, or ill-defined. You will hear your sparklies and subtle sounds.Area to improve - The zipper. It's...literally, a zipper that's adhered to a fabric encased headphone wire. As discussed in what it does well, it offers protection, rigidity, and tangle-resistant elements to the product. The downfall comes when you're using the product, with the headphones unzipped and are wearing a rigidly collared shirt. If you move your head, the zipper catches against your collar and the noise transmits up the wire into your mic, and also into your ear. This was a bit disappointing, though I'm not sure how you'd get around it.Not sure where to put this - The only other element to discuss is that the mic-remote is a single button and doesn't offer "remote" functionality like most smartphone supplied headphones do. While I thought this was was a negative aspect in initial assessment, I'm not sure it actually is. All too often, I was smashing the remote incidentally, turning volume up and down, accessing voice prompts, or hanging up on people. This single button remote isn't as prone to incidental pressing. So....I have a hard time deciding if that's a feature, or an area to improve.As it stands, when compared against the mass label stuff, and even some of the smaller companies like BrainWavez... the audio reproduction and voice capture are the best in class.Edit: After 2 months of use, these gave up on me. The rubber wire insulation is bubbling through the cloth woven cable, the rubber tips have worn a bit and risk falling off when rubbed against clothing, and there's a weird issue that happens with the right headphone and bending the cabling within the zipper a certain way - resulting in a blast of high volume sound. I heavily considered giving ZipBuds another chance and buying a replacement, but opted to go another direction. Review modified from 4 stars to 3.