A new perspective on headphone design
As an indispensable electronic product in daily life, the design and experience of headphones have always been the focus of attention. Over the years, headphone designers have worked tirelessly to explore new avenues to bring a better audio experience to users. And in recent years, a new design concept has begun to make waves in the headphone industry - clip-on headphone design.
Clip-on headphones differ from traditional in-ear or over-ear designs in that they feature an innovative way of wearing. Rather than plugging directly into or around the ear, the earbud body is clipped to the earlobe by a clip-like structure, close to, but not completely, into the ear canal. The emergence of this design concept is largely to solve the discomfort that traditional headphones may bring when used for a long time.
Proponents argue that the clip-on design relieves pressure on the ear canal and avoids ear pain or congestion caused by prolonged wear. Since the earbuds are not fully plugged into the ear canal, it is also beneficial to maintain a certain degree of ambient sound transmission, so that users can still hear their surroundings when necessary, thus improving safety. Clip-on headphones tend to be lighter in weight and have a more concise structure, giving people a sleek and minimalist visual experience.
This new design concept has also caused a lot of doubts and criticism. Critics argue that while clip-on headphones reduce pressure on the ear canal, they can also introduce new discomfort to the earlobe. Holding it on your earlobe for a long time is likely to cause itchy, red, or swollen earlobe. On the other hand, since the earbuds themselves are not fully plugged into the ear canal, the excellent sound quality is also questioned. Some audiophiles believe that this design is difficult to completely block out outside noise and perfectly channel sound into the ear canal, so the sound quality performance may be compromised.
Sena Z50S Challenge
In this context, Sena Technology, a well-known domestic headphone brand, launched its first clip-on earphone product - Z50S. As a mid-range true wireless earbuds, the Z50S is priced between 200-300 yuan, which is a relatively affordable price point for most consumers.
Judging from the official promotional materials, Sena Technology has put a lot of effort into the design of the Z50S, trying to resolve people's doubts about the clip-on design. The Z50S uses an innovative "double-layer clamping" structure, the earphone body is divided into two layers, the inner layer is a soft silicone ring, which can fit snugly to the earlobe and evenly distribute the pressure; The outer layer is a semi-open hard shell that clamps the earlobe and holds the headphones in place. Officially, this design minimizes pressure on the earlobe and improves the comfort of wearing it for a long time.
In terms of sound quality, the Z50S is equipped with a pair of 10mm moving coil diaphragm units and adopts a semi-open structural design. The official said that this design can ensure a certain degree of ambient sound permeability and isolate external noise as much as possible, bringing users a "layered, rich detail" sound quality experience.
The Z50S also has a series of highlights such as IPX4 sweat and water resistance, a single flight time of up to 6 hours, and wireless charging, which further enhance the practicality and cost performance of this earphone.
These designs of Sena Technology on the Z50S are all in response to people's doubts about clip-on headphones. But the question is, can these designs really completely dispel doubts? Does the Z50S really perform well in terms of both sound quality and comfort? Is it really worth paying for?
All-round evaluation to solve doubts
In order to answer these questions, we conducted a week-long comprehensive evaluation of the Z50S, and conducted in-depth experience and testing from multiple dimensions such as sound quality, comfort, battery navigation, and waterproof performance.
In terms of sound quality, the Z50S did leave a pretty good impression on us. Although the semi-open design will inevitably allow some ambient sounds to seep in, in a relatively quiet environment, the Z50S shows a very good sense of sound quality and detail resolution. Whether you're listening to music or watching videos, there's a solid foundation in the bass, clean midrange, and plenty of tension in the highs. Due to the limitations of the semi-open design, the Z50S is slightly inferior in terms of low-end rendering power and high-frequency extensibility, and can't compete with those top-of-the-line in-ear headphones. But at this price point, the Z50S's sound quality performance is already quite good, and it is enough to meet most people's needs.
In terms of comfort, the Z50S's "double-deck clamping" design really plays a big role. After a week of long wear testing, we did not experience significant earlobe pressure or discomfort. The soft silicone ring conforms to the shape of the earlobe and evenly distributes pressure, while the outer semi-open hard shell holds the earbuds firmly in place and prevents them from slipping during activity. Even when doing some strenuous workouts, the Z50S is able to maintain a relatively stable fit, which is quite impressive.
In terms of battery aviation, the Z50S didn't disappoint us either. At moderate volume levels, the individual flight time can reach the official claim of about 6 hours, and with the charging case, the overall flight time can be extended to more than 24 hours. For everyday use, the performance of this battery is quite outstanding.
As for sweat and water resistance, we conducted a simulation test and found that the Z50S can indeed work well in moderate sports sweat environments, and is fully compliant with the IPX4 rating.
Sena Z50S has excellent performance in multiple dimensions such as sound quality, comfort, battery life and waterproof performance, which can fully meet the needs of most people for daily use of true wireless earbuds. It successfully dispelled the doubts about the clip-on design and proved the viability of this new design concept.
The Z50S isn't flawless, either. For example, the semi-open design does lack noise isolation, and the effect will be greatly reduced when used in a noisy environment; Due to the plastic case, the Z50S also lacks the premium texture of the metal body to a certain extent. But in terms of its positioning and price, these minor flaws are also reasonable.
The Sena Z50S is an excellent clip-on true wireless earbuds, which not only have excellent sound quality, comfort and battery performance, but also justify this new design concept and prove its viability. For those who are dissatisfied with traditional in-ear or over-ear headphones and want to try something new, the Z50S is definitely an option worth considering.