Product test
Head over heels in love with the new Kekzhörer
by Katja Fischer
Unlimited listening experience with the new Wunderkekz? Not quite
9.12.2023
Translation: machine translated
Finally there is an audio chip for the Kekz headphones that you can play yourself - the Wunderkekz. I have tested it. And came up against its limits.
The Kekz headphones for children aged three and over are great. I raved about them in my review two years ago. The idea: children plug a round audio chip - a "Kekz" - into the outside of the earpiece and can listen to a story or music. No box, no cable, no mobile, no internet. The perfect travelling companion. However, I criticised at the time that an important feature was missing - namely self-playing chips.
The two biggest competitors were already one step ahead at that time. The Toniebox has its own creative figures for its own audio content. And the Tigerbox has a plan for a large streaming offer with the Tiger Tickets. With Kekz listeners, however, you were tied to the existing audio chips. It was not possible to listen to other music or audio books. Until now.
Two years later and just in time for the Christmas shopping season, the manufacturer is finally launching a so-called Wunderkekz. Three, to be precise, in different colours. You can play them yourself and then place them on the on-ear headphones as usual, where they adhere magnetically. For "limitless listening adventures", as it says on the packaging.
A diversions to Rome
Without limits? Not quite. I hit the first barrier when downloading the Kekz app. I'm supposed to do this on my computer using a QR code. But when I land on the website, I realise that it only works with Windows. I'm left in the dark with my MacBook.
My husband lends me his Surface laptop. Problem solved. But only after I've set up all my logins for email and music services on the "other person's" laptop. Once the headphones are connected to the device and the app is finally ready, I can get started late.
And then it suddenly goes quickly. I am guided step by step through the set-up process. I connect the Kekz receiver to the laptop using the USB-C charging cable and transfer the MP3 files via the Kekz app. It's a "Bibi and Tina" film soundtrack, requested by my seven-year-old daughter. The wheel turns and turns, track after track is loaded onto our red Kekz receiver. They will be called up later via the Wunderkekz.
But not all of them. I reach the next limit.
Source: Katja Fischer
Happy child despite small barriers
Only 17 of 26 tracks make it onto the headphone memory. That's 100 megabytes or 90 minutes of playtime. But that's okay and no different with a Kreativ-Tonie. It doesn't have an infinite amount of storage space either: I can play up to 90 minutes or 200 MB.
My daughter doesn't mind. It only has the karaoke tracks from the "Bibi and Tina" album on it anyway, and in her eyes they are superfluous anyway. She is happy about her new Kekz, puts it on the shell - and runs around the house singing for the next few hours.
Source: Katja Fischer
If she soon gets her ears full of Bibi and Tina, another album will simply be uploaded. I try it out proactively and use the app to delete the current content and then use the same Wunderkekz to upload new content. Works smoothly and quickly.
If she wants to continue her friendship with Bibi and Tina, but also wants to get new friends on her Kekz headphones, we will stock up on a new chip. But we will soon reach a limit here too: You can only set up one per colour for an earpiece - so currently a maximum of three Wunderkekze. Multiple chips per colour do not work. "Wunderkekze of the same colour activate the same content on the cookie receiver," writes the manufacturer on its website. This is because the memory space on the headphones is limited.
This puts an abrupt end to the "limitless listening adventure". The competition is still one step ahead: there are now 54 creative tonies. And with the tiger tickets for the Tigerbox, you have a plan for a large streaming offer with around 15,000 titles.
Conclusion: a great gift with a downer
The new Wunderkekz for the Kekz headphones fills a gap in the market: you can finally listen to your own "mix tapes" or stories. Recording is very easy - if you have a Windows computer. The Kekz app is currently only available in the Microsoft Store, and there is no mobile version yet. There is space for 90 minutes of play or 100 MB of MP3 files on the audio player. They are activated when the Wunderkekz is inserted.
The Wunderkekze are available in green, purple and orange. At 15 francs each, they are a perfect gift for a child who owns a pair of Kekz headphones. The biggest drawback: you can only use one per colour, so a maximum of three Wunderkekze. At least for now - hopefully more colours will be available for next Christmas.
Cover photo: Katja Fischer
Katja Fischer
Senior Editor
Katja.Fischer@digitecgalaxus.chMom of Anna and Elsa, aperitif expert, group fitness fanatic, aspiring dancer and gossip lover. Often a multitasker and a person who wants it all, sometimes a chocolate chef and queen of the couch.
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