ADIDAS Z.N.E. 01 ANC
They look good and they feel good, but battery life isn’t all it could be
They shook loose a bit when we did press-ups, but never actually fell out
These buds under the Adidas banner are actually made by Zound, the same people who do Marshall and Urbanears headphones. Unfortunately for us – and perhaps you too – their sound is much closer to that of Urbanears, which we don’t like, than they are to Marshall, which we do.
The main issue here is pricing. The Adidas Z.N.E. 01 ANC is the same price as the Jabra Elite 7 Active but, to our ears, clearly inferior. That is not to say they should be entirely discounted, however. Especially if you find them, erm, discounted… which they probably will be.
Sound quality out of the box is a bit muddy and basic. However, there is the option of ANC to block the world out and hear-through to let it back in again. Turn on the ANC and the bass resolves itself a bit better. You can then also use a choice of graphic equaliser presets to push up the top and/or bottom end. The ‘rock’ setting worked best, regardless of whether we were listening to rock or not. That also turned certain tunes to bassy mush, so it isn’t a perfect solution. We found there was an EQ preset to make most things sound good, but particularly when running or working out, you don’t really want to be fiddling about with audio settings in order to enter The Power Zone.
What about the fit? Again there’s no elaborate hook system to keep these buds in place. Instead, Adidas has gone for a look more reminiscent of Apple AirPods Pro, but with a deeper fit. The Z.N.E. 01 ANC sit securely in the ear, but are not as unshakeably secure as the Jabra Elite 7 Active. They shook loose a bit on the elliptical trainer and when we did press-ups, but never actually fell out.
Battery life is also relatively lacklustre at 4.5 hours, although as their fit might not make them the first choice of Marathon runners, perhaps that is perfectly sufficient. The case provides an additional 15.5 hours of play time.
The pop-oriented, Urbanears-style sound that Zound and Adidas have opted for is just not to our taste. Yes, they can be made to sound perfectly okay with a bit of tweaking, but for the same price as Jabra’s buds, it’s not unreasonable to expect more.
On the plus side, the buds are well made, look good and feel rugged. Although the IPX5 rating makes them the least waterproof of the buds reviewed here, it still means they should survive anything short of a swimming pool dunk. Really though, they need a price cut of at least £50 to be competitive with their Jabra rival.