ZENCHORD1

Review

ZENCHORD1 is unusual in this category for being designed around Japanese-language meetings. Transcription runs on Notta, which puts its Japanese accuracy in a different bracket from the English-first wearables (Limitless Pendant, Omi). If your meetings are in Japanese, that is the first thing that narrows the field.

The earphone form factor is both the appeal and the constraint. You wear it into the meeting, so there is nothing to place on the table and no phone to operate — but judged as a pair of earphones it looks expensive. The official store price is ¥26,980 including tax, and street prices at electronics retailers and online run closer to ¥20,000. Either way it has to be read as hardware plus a transcription service, not compared against wireless earbuds.

The part that is easy to miss is how Notta is bundled. Buyers get the Notta Starter tier free, which covers 300 transcription minutes and 100 AI summaries per month. Notta’s own free plan is 120 minutes a month, so buying the device multiplies that allowance by two and a half. It is presented as an allowance that lasts while the device stays linked, not as a time-limited trial.

That said, 300 minutes is roughly one or two hour-long meetings a week. Past that you need Notta Premium at ¥1,980/month (¥1,185/month billed annually), so this is not a device that guarantees zero ongoing cost. Plaud Note offers the same 300 free minutes a month, which puts the two level on this point. Count your actual monthly meeting hours before deciding.

Last checked: 2026-09-16