Unpacking
The box contains:
o Charging box with earbuds
o Earbud silicone tips: M size pre-installed on earbuds; S/L sizes separate
o Type-C charging cable
o User guide/manual with warranty card
First impressions
The DIZO Buds Z review unit featured a light mint Leaf colour that is easy on the eye. Other colour options are Onyx and Pearl.
The charging case is well-designed and resembles a smooth oval pebble; it has good build quality with a brushed matte finish. With a physical size of just 6.4 x 5.1 x 2.6 cm, it’s small enough to carry around in your pocket comfortably. It flicks open easily and snaps shut reassuringly – all in a one-handed operation.
The charging case flicks open easily and snaps shut reassuringly – all in a one-handed operation. Image: Tech2
The earbuds also have an eye-catching design, with the stems coated in a piano-finish shiny reflective layer along the outer length. The makers call it a ‘Natural Light’ design that reflects light in multiple colours.
The earbuds are securely held in place inside the charging case with a reasonably strong magnetic latching system; they didn’t fall out even when held upside down and shaken vigorously.
Connectivity
The DIZO Earbuds Z offer Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. Pairing with the phone was a breeze. Flicking open the charging case activates pairing mode, and the buds were immediately detected and quickly paired with the phone. Once paired, they subsequently always connected near-instantly with the phone upon opening the charging case.
Fit
The earbuds fit surprisingly well in the ear and stay securely in place with just a little twist – this feels like good ergonomic design. With a weight of just 3.7 grams (per earbud), even with continuous usage over a couple of hours, the buds did not feel uncomfortable in the ears. Another thing we liked about the DIZO Buds Z was that the small, tapered stems do not protrude far out and look quite decent when worn. The DIZO Buds Z have a IPX4 water resistance rating, which means they should do well in sweaty conditions and survive occasional light water splashes, too.
Performance
The earbuds pack 10 mm dynamic drivers, and have a decent, balanced sound profile, with a somewhat boosted bass. While you can’t expect any audiophile quality at this price range, overall music and video playback was a largely enjoyable and immersive experience. While not tested, the ‘Game Mode’ feature claims to offer a low latency of 88ms for smooth sync and eliminating audio lag with the visuals while gaming.
The snug fit of the in-ear design also offered passive noise cancellation, and did a relatively reasonable job of blocking out ambient noises and sounds while listening to music or making calls.
The DIZO Buds Z seemed to punch above their weight when it came to call sound quality. The built-in ENC (Environmental Noise Cancellation) feature works well at keeping ambient sounds at bay for the person at the other end of the call. Over a series of calls (including with some who make clear their displeasure with headsets tending to make one’s voice somewhat distant, as if on speakerphone), most said voice quality was fairly clear. Reception at our end was quite clear too, on most calls. The buds work much better indoors than in noisier outdoor environments, but performed adequately outdoors, too.
The capacitive touch controls allow one to play/pause music, answer/reject/end calls with various single, double, and triple-tap combinations. This worked largely well and responsively, but with occasional hits and misses. There is no option for volume control.
Using the realme Link app (Android and iOS), the sound profile can be somewhat customised with ‘Bass Boost’, ‘Dynamic’ and ‘Bright’ EQ pre-sets. The app features a volume enhancer and options for auto-answer, touch controls, checking battery levels, and some other functions, too.
Each earbud has a rated battery capacity of 43 mAh with a claimed usage time of 4.5 hours. Together with the supplemental juice from the charging case (380 mAh), the overall claimed battery life of the DIZO Buds Z is 16 hours. Basis what we saw over the course of our usage, you could expect decent battery life up to about 60-80 percent of this, depending on your specific usage, of course.
One good feature of the DIZO Buds Z is the Type-C USB port on the charging case that supports fast charging, while also claiming a mileage of 1.5 hours of listening with just a 10-minute quick charge.
Verdict
With its overall build quality and design, comfortable earbud ergonomics and decent sound and call performance, the DIZO Buds Z certainly offer good value for their sub-2K price range.
The Dizo Buds Z were listed at Rs 1,499 on Flipkart, at the time of publication.