About the same size as the Jabra BT8040. Better designed earhook and aesthetically appealing. As an industrial user the headset’s length is still ok for me as I’m wearing a pair of spectacles, a pair of safety glasses and a safety helmet with a chin strap ALL at the same time.
A plus point for BlueAnt Z9i
Temporary Bluetooth Disconnection and Re-connection
When Bluetooth temporarily disconnects, i.Tech i.VoicePRO beeps to warn but you’ll have to look at your device to see that there’s a re-connection i.e by looking at the handsfree/headset icon (NOT the Bluetooth icon). On the contrary, the BlueAnt Z9i beeps when there’s disconnection as well as during re-connection.
A plus point t for BlueAnt Z9i
‘Std/Max’ mode selection
User has to be familiar with the switching from ‘Std’ to ‘Max’ mode and vice versa otherwise holding the MFB button too long will end the call as there’s delay in the playback of the voice message. Also, the voice message playback is intermittent. A separate button for the ‘Std/Max’ mode might be better. No such mode selection for the i.Tech i.VoicePRO
A minus point for BlueAnt Z9i
Incoming/Outgoing Sound Volume and Clarity
Incoming
Updated to the latest firmware to v1.1. Incoming sound is clear and very much louder than the i.Tech i.VoicePRO. In the industrial areas my incoming sound for the i.Tech i.VoicePRO is soft despite setting to maximum volume since surrounding noise is louder. In normal environment the BlueAnt Z9i is one headset which I need to manually reduce the volume.
A plus point to BlueAnt Z9i
Outgoing
For consumer application it’s not an issue as feedback by recipients when the below noise and wind tests were carried out. In the industrial environment the received sound is bad.
Noise and Wind Tests (all at ‘MAX’ mode) – Results obtained from feedback by recipients
1) Outdoor/indoor ambient environment
Comparable to i.Tech i.Voice PRO
2) Inside the bus
Comparable to i.Tech i.Voice PRO
3) Standing at the train platform with the electric train rushing by
Comparable to i.Tech i.Voice PRO
4) Inside the electric train (above ground) – superb, no recorded garbled
playback messages from the train’s PA system
A plus point for BlueAnt Z9i
5) Inside the electric train (inside the tunnel) – no tunnel noise, no
recorded garbled playback messages from the train’s PA system.
Received sound is LOUD and CLEAR
A plus point for BlueAnt Z9i
6) Inside the car with windows up (radio playing at normal volume) – no
background noise
A plus point for BlueAnt Z9i
7) Inside the car with windows up (radio playing at high volume) – no
background noise
A plus point for BlueAnt Z9i
8) Inside the car (at speed of 80km/hr) and intentionally leaning my head
towards the open window – slight wind noise heard but received sound is
loud and clear. For the iTech i.Voice PRO distortion takes place with
background noise sounding like running water. Speech is still
comprehensible but received sound becomes softer on the recipient side.
A plus point for the BlueAnt Z9i
9) Inside the car (at speed of 90km/hr) and intentionally leaning my head
towards the open window – Louder wind noise but no interference with
speech and the received sound is loud and clear. For the iTech i.Voice
PRO distortion takes place with louder background noise sounding like
running water. Received sound becomes soft and speech is
incomprehensible on the recipient side.
A plus point forthe BlueAnt Z9i
10) Standing about 3 feet away from the generator /compressor – Noisy
background. Received sound is loud but distorted despite setting to ‘MAX’
mode. i.Tech i.Voice PRO is perfect in this situation with no background
noise and the received sound is loud and clear.
A minus point for BlueAnt Z9i
11) Standing beside a worker performing grinding/arc air gouging –
background noise can be heard clearly although cannot be identified as
that produced by grinding/arc air gouging. Received sound is loud but
distorted despite setting to ‘MAX’ mode. For the i.Tech i.Voice PRO the
recipient still can hear me loud and quite clear.
A minus point for BlueAnt Z9i
12) Standing beside a worker using a metallic hammer and hammering a pipe
and steel plates – background noise can be heard clearly although
cannot be identified as that produced by hammering Received sound is
loud but distorted despite setting to ‘MAX’ mode. For the i.Tech i.Voice
PRO the recipient still can hear me loud but received sound is mixed with
surrounding noise.
Comparable poor performance
Conclusion
It’s hard to fault the BlueAnt Z9i in performance especially for consumer use. It is definitely better than the iTech iVoicePRO. Similar to that of the i.Tech i.VoicePRO one of its mics is on the back of the headset facing you and away from the wind, however, its wind resistance is better than that of the i.Tech i.VoicePRO too. Firmware upgrading may be a bit long-winded for some but it’s not an issue to me. Reducing the form factor further to that of the SAMSUNG WEP 500 would be ideal too.
I’ll rate it 9/10
For industrial use I find it unsuitable since low-pitch loud sound from generator/compressor cannot be removed and it performs poorly when exposed to high-pitch grinding, arc air gouging and hammering noise. Note that the most common industrial noise are those from generators/compressors, grinding, arc-air gouging and hammering.
For industrial use I give it a 3/10 rating
Here're the scores
Consumer Use
BlueAnt Z9i 9/10
i.Tech i.VoicePRO 7.5/10
Industrial Use
BlueAnt Z9i 3/10
i.Tech i.VoicePRO 5/10
Overall
BlueAnt Z9i 6/10
i.Tech i.VoicePRO 6.25/10
If the BlueAnt Z9i is compared to the upcoming Jabra BT530 with Noise Blackout then it lacks features such as 3-color battery display status, intelligent volume controls for incoming audio, acoustic shock protection and e-SCO. Hope that the Jabra BT530 can perform as well as the BlueAntZ9i (if not better) on the consumer front and a much better headset for industrial use.
