- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 9 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Perhaps CNET tested a bad unit - the Zivio is fantastic"
Pros: Incredible outgoing sound; Solid incoming sound; Well designed unit, accessories, and sleek packaging; Buttons are easy to find while wearing, easy to click; Earpieces are extremely comfortable
Cons: - Weak Bluetooth range compared to other headsets in the market; Slight electronic hiss generated by speaker when volume strength over 30% (which can be resolved)
Summary: I received my Zivio this morning, and have been putting the unit through various performance tests throughout the day, paired with my Sprint Centro. Here's my findings:
Strengths:
- Outgoing sound: I tried various settings... both in my office, car, and outdoors, with the mic fully extended. I'm amazed at how well this unit performed, filtering almost all background noise out. Even when I cranked the music in my car, most of it was filtered out. The mic works well, when following the instructions of keeping it a 1/2 inch from the corner of your mouth. My voice sounded natural (FINALLY) with this BT headset, even in noisy settings. Heck, it performed even better than what my Centro's mic delivers. The only shortfall was my voice sounded a little quiet on the other end vs. the handset mic or my tried-n-true Jabra JX-10 II.
- Design: the unit, accessories, and packaging are well thought out. Reminds me of when I first opened up my JX-10 package, and the products I purchase from Apple. Sleek, innovative, and durable. As others have said, the boom should be retracted when not in use, as I suspect that could break if extremely bent. The unit feels a little on the heavy side, but hey, I'm coming from one of the lightest BT headsets out there (JX-10).
- Buttons: easy to find while wearing, easy to click. And finally a headset manufacturer designs the "blinking while talking feature"... you can set it to never blink while you're wearing the Zivio (even after turning it off & back on), thereby avoiding the BORG look.
- Earpieces: extremely comfortable. The mushroom design is exactly the same as the infamously comfortable earplugs found on Sony's EX-71/81 wired headsets, which are designed for hours of listening to music. However, the Zivio's weight tends to make the mushroom plug rotate in your ear, unless you also wear the optional ear loop. Like others, I prefer the clear ear plug and no ear loop, which is very comfortable. However, I ended up with an even better option, which I'll explain below.
Weaknesses:
- BT range: complaints about static are well founded -- this unit has poor range compared to other BT headsets I've owned or tested. Joby can hopefully improve this in the next iteration.
- Incoming sound: overall, the unit performs well in this area, but I list it as a weakness, given the slight electronic hiss generated by the speaker when the volume is anything above 20-30% strength. But alas, I fixed this as well, which I'll explain below.
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Making A Great Headset Even Better
Long ago with my Jabra JX-10, I found that the earpiece options that came with the unit were good, but not perfect. Outside of getting a custom ear mold (which is REALLY perfect), many folks have spent 5 bucks on a set of clear Jabra eargles, which fit on the JX-10 just right. And guess what... another great fit on the Zivio as well. They not only improve comfort for me... here's what the Jabra eargel does for my Zivio:
- just like on my JX-10, incoming sound is slightly louder and now acceptable at the default level, given the audio is piped directly into my ear canal more effectively.
- the electronic hiss is GONE. Yes, even without having to turn down the volume, the hiss is largely removed with the Jabra eargel. Once you see how the noise is funneled through in the Jabra eargel vs. a big open hole with Zivio's earpieces, I think you'll understand why the difference.
- better fit & support for the boom style of the Zivio headset (for me anyhow... each person's ears are different, so see for yourself).
You can pick up Jabra eargels at many places -- do a quick Google search for a set.
With this setup, I must admit that the Zivio is the clear winner above all other headsets (including DSP heavies like the Jawbone and z9 and longtime standard 510), and the Zivio will be my primary device for business calls, for some time to come.
