KZ-VXS Bluetooth Earbuds Review: Great for Working Out, Not So Great for Headbanging
Retail Price: $51.99
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Disclaimer: KZ sent us a unit of the VXS free of charge to review, but all thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are our own and were not discussed with the company prior to publishing.
I used to be the girl who used nothing but earbuds, but I was never happy with them because no matter what kind of earbuds I had, they eventually became uncomfortable. At some point, a friend convinced me to try over-ear headphones, and I never looked back.
Despite this, I still found a need for earbuds. They’re a lot more portable than headphones, can be used in just one ear, and can allow you to share your music with another person. They definitely have their time and place.
However, just as before, I haven’t been able to find a pair of Bluetooth earbuds that I really like. So, when KZ sent me a pair of true wireless Bluetooth earbuds, I was certainly intrigued. Could these be the earbuds I’ve always been looking for?
Comfort
I’m pretty picky with both headphones and earbuds because most of them make my ears hurt. These earbuds came with three different sizes of little rubber caps, and I chose the smallest ones as they were the only ones that did not make my ears sore within 30 minutes. I would say the overall comfort was decent. It didn’t blow me out of the park, but I managed to wear them for two hours raiding in FFXIV without my ears feeling painful by the end.
I always end up getting tired of having something stuck in my ear, and it was no different with these VXS buds. I can really only stand them for prolonged periods if I’m distracted. However, If you actually like earbuds, then I think you’d probably find these comfortable enough to wear for whatever activities you enjoy.
Something I was pleasantly surprised about with the fit of these is how snug they are. I highly doubt these would fall out, even while exercising, and they did not fall out while I ran around the house chasing my dog and jumping in place to test them (because imagine actually getting off my butt and going for a run… ew exercise). Don’t try headbanging though… they can’t stand up to that. But if you’re looking for a snug pair of earbuds to work out in, these could certainly fit the bill.
Finally, I want to quickly mention something that is more of a convenience than a comfort, but the charging case these come with uses a USB-C port. This means that if you lose the included cable, you could easily just use your phone charger!
Sound
I do not consider myself an audiophile, but I think everyone prefers their music to sound crisp. For the price of these headphones (about $50), I think you will be satisfied with the sound quality. Everything from music to YouTube to movies sounds nice and clear.
The headphones have two different modes, standard and high performance as the headphones themselves call them, but on the website, they’re labeled as “full power” and “game mode.” The website makes it seem as though the high performance/game mode is for gaming so that there is no delay between what you see and what you hear whereas the standard/full power mode is better for music. Frankly, I can’t tell a difference between the two at all.
The product listing on Amazon says these headphones are noise canceling whereas the KZ website doesn’t mention that feature at all. These probably are noise canceling. They’re so snug in the ear canal that they’re practically earplugs. I find that with no music playing, the sound is dampened, and with the music playing, I cannot hear people talking to me at all.
Range
The package states that the Bluetooth range of these is 15 meters. That translates to about 50 feet. I would argue that these headphones do not have a functioning range of 50 feet. I might still hear sound at 50 feet, but it’s usually cutting in and out quite a bit.
For me, these seem to start cutting out at around maybe 25-30 feet. That’s inside my house. Maybe if you were in an open field with nothing to degrade the signal these would work well at 50 feet, but put some objects for the Bluetooth waves to pass through and these earbuds no longer have quite so large a range.
For my purposes, I wish the range was just a bit longer. I can’t play music from my computer to the buds while doing things in the kitchen, which is most often where I’d like to use them when I’m not at my desk. Maybe once our kitchen is renovated into a more open concept with less matter for the Bluetooth waves to pass through these will work better. Until then, the range is just okay.
Touch controls
In the past, I was always excited at the prospect of touch controls. The technology just seemed so fancy, I think it made me feel like products with touch controls were more luxurious and cooler to use. However, as I interact with more touch products, I sometimes feel like maybe touch isn’t the best option for all types of electronics.
Unfortunately, I do not like the touch controls on these earbuds. The reasoning is simple: they just don’t work right. I can accurately play or pause music, but I have so much trouble doing something as simple as changing tracks.
You’re supposed to tap the left earbud twice to go to the previous track and the right earbud twice to skip to the next track. Tap tap I go, and usually nothing happens other than the song pausing. Sometimes the earbuds read it as three taps and change to their game mode.
It’s also difficult for me to even touch the panel on the earbuds because I have long hair and it’s always in the way. Honestly, unless you have a buzz cut, your hair is probably going to get in the way of the touch panels.
I also disliked that there was no way to adjust the volume; maybe that’s normal for earbuds as they’re so small, but it is still a feature I miss. Overall, I was disappointed in the touch controls on these buds.
Final Thoughts
For $50, these are not a bad pair of earbuds. They have really nice sound, are snug enough for working out, and are likely noise-canceling. They’re just okay comfort-wise; they didn’t hurt, but I eventually just wanted them out of my ears.
The range is not as good as it claims to be, but most of us probably don’t move that far from our devices anyway. My biggest gripe with these earbuds is definitely the touchpad because it just doesn’t work very well.
Though I wouldn’t say these are the perfect earbuds for me, they’re decent quality and I could see others enjoying them.
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Seri
A writer by day and gamer by night, Seri’s most prized possession is her computer. In fact, she built her desktop PC herself and repaired her college laptop with nothing but Google, Reddit, and determination to guide her. This do-it-yourself attitude was born from frugalness, so if you see Seri raving about something, it’s probably worth the price.