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I tried the 'smart' headphones Twitter just invested in, and it was a pretty bad experience

muzik smart headphones
Dave Smith/Business Insider

This time last year, I got to try a pair of "smart" headphones from a company called Muzik, based in Miami Beach, Florida.

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Available in black and white, the Muzik smart headphones are attractive and wireless, but that's not why Twitter just invested in the headphones company this week.

The "killer" feature in the Muzik headphones are four buttons on the right ear cup, which can be programmed to share what you're listening to on Facebook or Twitter.

Unfortunately, the biggest selling points of the Muzik headphones — the smart buttons for sharing, the way you can swipe up and down on the ear cup to control your volume, and the audio quality of the headphones — were pretty disappointing across the board.

Here were some highlights from my Muzik headphones review I published last January for Business Insider:

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On the design: "The metal seems to warp and wrap around each ear cup. It's pretty slick... they're also pretty portable. They can't lay flat like some headphones, but the ear cups can be folded inwards and thrown in a bag or purse."

On the Muzik companion app: "Muzik's standalone app 'Muzik Connect' is crucial for customizing which 'smart' features you want, but it's also a one-stop shop for all your music from iTunes or Rdio, and it even lets you create playlists right in the app and see what's 'trending' across Muzik wearers. Personally, I just think the app's design is really gorgeous since it's so simple."

On the audio quality: "The highs are a little fuzzy at times, and the bass isn't nearly as deep or clear as I'd like."

On the battery life: "The headphones achieve pretty good max volume, and they'll last for several hours on a single charge. I was able to commute with these headphones for a solid week, about eight hours of use, without needing to recharge."

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muzik smart headphones
Dave Smith/Business Insider

On the smart features: "[The interface] wasn't as easy as I would've liked. Initially, swiping up or down resulted in a volume shift only about 50% of the time. These controls aren't very intuitive either. I like the idea of programmable hot keys, but after my initial setup, I couldn't remember which hot keys did what. I can't tell you how many times I tried to boost the volume and accidentally shared my song to Facebook instead. I found half of these 'smart' features to be unique, but not ultimately something I'd use. I love having playback and volume controls right on the ear cup, but the accuracy of the gestures was certainly suspect. And the rest of the controls, particularly sharing to social networks or saving songs to a playlist on a music app I don't really use, felt unnecessary to the point of unwanted."

Though I recommended the Muzik headphones at the time of last year's review, I can't say the same right now.

For $300, you're paying for features that are cool, but unnecessary and not really easy to use. On the plus side, they are wireless and offer some cool sharing options other headphones don't have. But for that price, you could buy the V-Moda Crossfade Wireless, which is hands-down the best pair of wireless headphones I've ever tried. They easily trump the Muzik headphones in terms of design, controls, and most importantly, sound quality.

Whether or not you like or use these kinds of "smart" features is up to the user, but I appreciate Muzik trying something different with its headphones, both in terms of design and functionality. I can see why Twitter invested in the company: if the audio improves and the buttons become easier to remember and use, these headphones would be an excellent purchase.

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