3.5 out of 5 stars

Pros:

• Crisp and clear sound
• Massively deep lows especially for ear buds
• Includes a carrying case and variety of ear buds sizes and styles for all

Cons:

• Expensive
• Boring brown finish that looks cheap

Headphones are by far and away, much like speakers, a subjective experience. A number of factors can influence the way they sound. To one person they might exude a fair amount of bass while to others they’re bright and lack the lows.

The Future Sonic Special Edition Atrio M5 headphones are expensive, boast clear and crisp sound, and with the correct audio piped through the cord can be one of the most bass capable pair of ear buds I’ve  had the pleasure of laying ears on.  

However, the wide variety of ear bud options (foam or rubber) and sizes make it a game of trial and error when it comes to achieving the best audio quality and a comfortable fit.  After about 30 minutes of attaching all the ear buds – which can be achieved with relative ease thanks to their design – I determined that the medium sized rubber inserts were a match and produced the best audio quality.  While the foam inserts left little to be desired since they produced little to no bass and tended to pop out of my ears easily.

The design of the ear buds are shaped in such a way that they flow around the bottom portion of the ear, so it’s important that you insert them in each ear according to their L/R markings. The cord is plenty lengthy, but the finish of the ear buds looks cheap and don’t drip with a high end finish one would expect from a $200+ pair of buds.

Bottom line is that the Atrio Special Edition M5s are one pricey piece of kit that sound way better than they look, and despite them being one of the most sonically capable pair of buds I’ve tested, they still don’t warrant the $229 price tag.

Amazon sells a variety of Future Sonic Atrio headphones.

Sculpted Eers, as the name implies, makes earbuds built to a custom fit.  But unlike other ear buds of a simliar ilk, these take just 4 minutes to mold to your ear canal and from what we can tell you can perform the customization yourself.

As of now, they haven’t made their way to US shores just yet and we’re hearing they’ll start at $199 for the low end version and top out at $299 for the next model up – there are only two models.  

According to Engadget you pop the earbuds into your ears after attaching a special headset (top picture) that injects silicon into the molds while seated in your ear canals.  Once the silicon has been injected you simply wait for it to cure, and whamo, you’re in custom earbud heaven.

As of right now there is no word on a US release, but seeing as they had a presence at CES this past year it’s not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’.

Pic credit: Coolhunting

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3.5 out of 5 stars

Pros:

• Zipper prevents cord from tangling
• Reasonably priced
• Solid sound quality with decent dynamic range

Cons:

• Heavy weight causes the headphones to be pulled from ears
• Slightly larger form factor than normal ear buds
• Included ear hooks are ineffective for exercise

Zipbuds aren’t exactly a new idea, but when I got word that DGA was taking the idea from concept to reality I couldn’t help but get a bit giddy.

Though the concept is rather simple and straight forward – a zipper, much like found on your jeans or sweatshirt, doubles as a cord that lets you zip up the buds to prevent the cord from tangling during storage – the execution calls for a significant amount of feness to deliver an actual working and usuable product. So do the Zipbuds deliver? Read on to find out.

Much the like the concepts we’ve seen over the years, the Zipbuds are just what they promised to be. We saw an early prototype at least year’s CES (2009) and believe me when I say they’ve come a long way. According to DGA it was no easy feat getting all the components to play nicely, but what they’ve achieved is a rather seamless form factor that will have most people guessing that this isn’t the first iteration of the product.

The sound quality of the Zipbuds are on par with any similarly priced ($39.99) pair of ear buds. The sonic capabilities of the buds are rather vast, boasting significant lows and highs that accommodate a wide variety of music. However, I noticed a fair amount of cord noise in the headphones while walking around – more than the average pair of ear buds – even when compared with those with an anti-tangle cord system. This was a result of the zipper portion of the headphones, which is made from plastic, rubbing against my clothing as I walked.

Zipbud ear hooks for exercise

Included in the box are a pair of ear hooks, which are designed to hold the Zipbuds in place while performing rigorous activity. Unlike other ear buds, which usually have this feature built-in, DGA’s version don’t wrap around the the top of the ear.  Instead they hang over the back of the ear. While effective at offsetting some of the weight created by the zipper, they aren’t very useful, are tedious to install and if I had to guess were an after thought. I’m still scratching my head as to why they didn’t opt for a standard over the ear hook.

Because the Zipbuds include a built-in zipper, they probably weigh almost twice as much as a pair of standard earbuds. Without the ear hooks in place I experienced the sensation that the Zipbuds were constantly falling out or being pulled out of my ears. I also struggled to achieve a comfortable fit in my ears, which made it even more challenging to keep the headphones in place.

Despite the weight issue that I experienced, the zipper portion of the Zipbuds worked flawlessly; they zipped up again and again without any problems.  In the past I’ve used a number of anti-tangle corded headphones, but despite this feature they still get tangled up.  So it stands to reason that this is the best “tangle-resistant” cord system I’ve seen to date.  Though, one additional caveat I noticed is a slightly larger than normal form factor when they’re wrapped up.

While the Zipbuds are a fun and novel idea, the benefits of the “tangle-resistant” cord aren’t enough to sway me from using my everyday in ear headphones.  But don’t be fooled.  The ZipBuds deliver superb sound quality and will surely make a great gift for anyone who has a hard time keeping their headphone cords in check.

You can buy the Zipbuds from Amazon for $39.99.

Remember those zip up ear buds we saw at CES?  Well, if you can’t wait for those to hit retail shelves here is a do it yourself version.  Just simply purchase a stand alone zipper, then sew the wires into the fabric.  Simple.  You could sew the completed project into a sweatshirt, but I suggest investing in some velcro or something that would allow you to move the zip up ear buds from piece of clothing to piece of clothing.

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Intended more for a ‘gas’, as in a laugh, the Wiener Dog Ear Buds remind me of the arrow throw the head gag from back in the dizzay. Yup, they’re sure to make you look like a dog loving douche and you can grab them for $12.95. Unfortunately, they only come in black.

[via Craziestgadgets]

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Don’t forget Circuit City’s 10% coupon: L4AVVS5AHQ

Features:

• In ear design for isolated audio
• Inline volume control

Buy it: Skullcandy SC-SBW Smokin Ear Buds – $18