KZ Z1 Full REVIEW: Sound Is Great, But Battery…

Have you heard about KZ Company? This is one of my favorite earbuds manufacturers. Unfortunately, not many people know about this brand.

KZ is one of the few companies that focuses on sound quality. So, the new wireless earbuds KZ Z1 have a very good sound, but there are also some drawbacks. Let’s talk about them.

You can also visit KZ Official Website.

Unboxing

This is the box of KZ Z1 wireless earbuds. There is only the KZ logo on the front side.

On the back, there is information about the manufacturer, while the main specifications are on the side face.

Inside the box, you will find the charging case with earbuds, micro USB charging cable, and extra eartips of different size. There is also a lot of paper, such as user manual, warranty and so on.

By the way, I forgot to tell you the price of KZ Z1. You can buy these earbuds for $34 on Aliexpress. I will leave the link in the description under the article.

Design

I like KZ earbuds because they look very interesting. As you can see, KZ Z1 has an unusual shape. The manufacturer says it is the perfect earbuds shape for the ears, so they are very comfortable.

I agree with them. The earbuds are really good in my ears. However, don’t forget to choose the right silicone eartips so the earbuds don’t fall out of your ears.

By the way, the eartips are white. I think, black would be better.

The weight of one earbud is 5 grams. The weight of the charging case with earbuds inside is 59 grams.

As you can see, each earbud has a KZ logo and LED indicator on the outside. There is also a touch control button.

On the inside, there are two charging contacts.

The microphone hole is here.

Talking about the charging case, it is quite big. However, the battery capacity is almost the same as the other earbuds charging cases. To be honest, I don’t know why it’s bigger.

For example, I have tested Dudios Tic the last week. Its charging case has almost the same battery capacity, as KZ Z1, but it is much smaller.

The micro USB charging port is located on the right side, but not on the back, as usual. Yes, KZ Z1 has only micro USB charging port, not USB Type-C.

I could forgive micro USB in 2019, but not in 2020. I hope that the next year the manufacturers will forget about micro USB forever.

OK, now let’s connect the earbuds to smartphones, and talk about sound quality.

KZ Z1: Connection

KZ Z1 earbuds have master and slave mode. It means that you can use both earbuds or only one of them.

To connect the earbuds to a smartphone, you just need to take them out of the charging case, go to Bluetooth settings on your phone, and choose KZ Z1. That’s all!

You won’t need to connect them to the smartphone again. When you take the earbuds out of the charging case the next time. They will automatically connect to your mobile device.

Control Options

As I already said, KZ Z1 has touch control buttons. You can play/pause the music with a single tap on any earbud. Double-tap on the right earbud to play the next song, and on the left one to play the previous song. The triple tap activates gaming mode.

By the way, the game mode is another feature of KZ Z1. I know that many TWS earbuds in 2020 have game mode, but it is really a good feature.

Gaming mode reduces latency while playing games and watching videos.

Finally, let’s talk about sound quality.

KZ Z1: Sound Quality

KZ Z1 earbuds are equipped with a 10mm dynamic driver. As I said before, I like KZ earbuds because of the interesting ergonomic design and sound quality.

The sound quality of the KZ Z1 is great. I especially like the bass. It is quite strong, and you feel it when you listen to electronic music. Fans of good bass will appreciate these earbuds.

Also, I didn’t notice any problems with the vocal. I listened to the podcast, and the voice is clean and pleasant. That’s very good.

KZ Z1: Battery

However, the main problem of KZ earbuds is battery life. They have only 2 hours of playtime on a single charge.

You know, the other wireless earbuds in 2020 have 4 hours of battery life, or even more. However, KZ Z1 provides only 2 hours of playtime, and this is at 50% of volume.

One earbud has a 30mAh battery, while the charging case is 400mAh. The battery life with a charging case is about 20 hours.

Conclusion

So, KZ Z1 could be among the best wireless earbuds up to $50, because they have a comfortable ergonomic design as well as excellent sound quality.

However, the earbuds have many drawbacks, such as only 2 hours of battery life on a single charge, micro USB charging port, and no volume control.

If you value sound quality and comfort in wireless earbuds, you can buy KZ Z1. The price is quite attractive – $34.