Zipbuds, as the company name would imply, makes earphones with cables that turn into zippers. This makes for a relatively tangle-free design and a secure fit, not to mention a definite fashion statement. At $39.99, the Zipbuds Pro Mic offers a powerful listening experience for the price, with booming low-end and sculpted highs that will appeal to bass lovers, but its unique design isn’t for everyone. If you’re not into the zippered look, the Editors’ Choice Skullcandy Method ($29.61 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) offers better performance in an even more affordable package.

Design
Offered in black or “electric yellow,” the Pro Mic has one of the more unique in-canal earphone designs we’ve seen. The earpieces themselves are fairly nondescript, featuring a black and metallic color scheme, a clothbound cable, and a chin-level inline remote control and mic. Just below the single-button remote, which controls calls and playback, the cable turns into a functional black zipper. The zipper is quite useful, since zipping it higher allows the earphones to maintain a more secure fit. Below the cable’s zipper section, another clothbound section terminates in a 3.5mm connection. I like the look, but it won’t be for everyone.

The Pro Mic comes with three sets of eartips (small, medium, and large), but there’s no protective pouch or any other accessories. 

Performance
On tracks with substantial sub-bass content, like The Knife‘s “Silent Shout,“ the Pro Mic delivers powerful low-frequency response. The drivers don’t distort even at top, unwise listening levels, which is impressive for earphones this inexpensive. There’s a healthy level of high-mids and highs as well, so things don’t sound too muddy.

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See How We Test Headphones

Tracks with less powerful bass content, like Bill Callahan‘s “Drover,“ can still sound a little bass-heavy through the Mic Pro. Callahan’s baritone vocals don’t really need much in the way of added bass response, and here they would sound a bit muddy were it not for some serious high-mid sculpting. Occasionally, the sculpted high-mids and highs can sound a bit overly bright or sibilant. The result is a sound signature with deeply boosted bass and heavily sculpted highs to match. This isn’t a headphone pair for purists—it often feels like the middle range of frequencies is dipped a bit through the Pro Mic, with the lows and highs overshadowing them in the mix.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West‘s “No Church in the Wild,“ the kick drum loop gets a healthy dollop of high-mid presence, which gives the attack a sharp treble edge that slices through the mix with ease. Substantial bass presence also comes through, and the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the drum loop are delivered with quite a bit of added low-end. It’s not quite like having a club PA system in your ears, but it’s close. The Pro Mic seems best suited for modern pop and hip-hop, with a tendency to bring out the deep lows.

Classical tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams‘ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, aren’t delivered with accuracy in mind, but the boosted bass and tweaked highs can have an exciting effect that non-purists might enjoy. The higher register strings, brass, and vocals maintain a very bright presence in the mix, and sometimes sound a bit too sibilant or sculpted, while the lower register instrumentation gets a dramatic boosting that would overwhelm the mix if not for the aforementioned sculpting.

If you’re into the zipper look, the Zipbuds Pro Mic’s audio performance is distortion-free, and a solid deal for this budget price range. The sound profile is admittedly sculpted and not accurate, though this is a difficult price range for accuracy, since most budget offerings of late have focused on boosted low-end. If you like the price but not the unique Zipbuds aesthetic, the Scosche SportClip 3 ($24.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , the JVC HA-ETR40 ($46.58 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , the JLab Fit, and the Skullcandy Method are all sub-$50 options with solid audio and no zipper.