Jabra Move Style Edition review: Premium build and clear sound at the right price

Looking for a pair of decently-priced Bluetooth wireless headphones? Well, there’s a really wide selection available from a number of brands in the market today.

While the best Bluetooth headphones or earphones are usually found above the Rs 10,000 price bracket, Jabra with its updated Move Style Edition on-ear cans offers a unique mix of audio performance, comfort and more importantly, price.

India is a price sensitive market, be it smartphones or even headphones. Everyone’s looking for those perfect set of cans that deliver great audio, without going overboard with the price. And this, I believe, is where the new Move Style Edition hits the sweet spot.

Premium build quality

Given its Rs 7,299 price tag, Jabra’s Move Style Edition looks pretty premium. The headphones feel solid in terms of build quality with no creaking sounds when I twist or flex the headband to wear them.

The canvas-like cloth texture used on the headband looks neat and compliments the matte-finished inner metal yokes that hold the speakers at either end.

The rear of the speaker cups are made of plastic but look like metal.

I received the cool-looking Titanium Black model, but the headphones are also available in Navy Blue and a classy Gold Beige model that I believe looks a lot more premium than the black one.

The LED pairing and battery indicator sits next to micro-USB charging port on the left speaker, while the right speaker features the 3.5 mm port (cable included) along with the volume control and play/pause buttons.

I found these buttons hard to reach out to in everyday use and somehow never got used to them even towards the end of the review period. Another detail I did not like was how mushy and soft the buttons were, meaning that I could not tell whether I had pressed them hard enough and would end up pressing them twice to make sure.

The main pause/play button has a bit more travel and since it is a bit raised from the volume rockers, it is easier to press down with decent feedback. You can even summon Siri or Google Assistant by pressing and holding it down.

While these headphones aren’t too big, I would have liked if Jabra had included a folding mechanism that would make them easier to stash away in slimmer backpack compartments when not in use.

Comfortable but annoying

Hot and humid Mumbai summers are not the ideal conditions to wear these headphones, but they felt quite comfortable. And I found this quite surprising considering that I usually prefer earbuds.

The cushions are covered in synthetic leather and felt quite comfortable and delivered pretty-good isolation even on crowded and noisy streets. The headphones don’t come with any active noise cancellation technologies and I’m glad Jabra did not add something that would not work as expected.

The headband covered in that cloth felt comfortable to wear thanks to the softer inner lining and did not press down on my head either.

My only gripe about these headphones are the grips that are used for adjusting the headband.

Once adjusted they stay in place provided you don’t keep them in a backpack. Once you do that:

•  You have to pull them out of your bag
• Adjust both sides of the headband to fit your skull
• Try it on
• And if you are picky like I am, repeat until you get it right

If you are as particular about how a headphone fits around your head as I am, the step-less headband adjustment system can be a nightmare. This is more so in the case of the on-ear headphones as the cushions have to accurately cover your ears to prevent the outside noise from leaking in and ruining the audio experience.

The grips would slip quite easily while placing the set in my bag. And since I did this whenever I was not using them, it meant that I needed to adjust the headband every single time I pulled them out.

The adjustment system was rocksteady once place over your head or when resting around your neck. So, once you are up and moving, the experience is quite good. And the same goes for extended hearing whether it’s listening to music or watching movies on Netflix.

Audio performance that will appeal to most

The 40 mm speakers deliver some really clear sound, which is not something one would expect from a headset in this price range. The sound really never went overboard with treble nor the bass notes. Listening to quite a few genres of music I found the Move Style Edition to be suitable for all types of music.

The bass does not sound overwhelming like I expected it to be; given its price tag. This also means that it won’t suit those who love to listen to trance or electronica. As mentioned in the ‘Comfort’ section you really need to get the cushions to cover your ears right in order to enjoy the audio quality to its fullest.

Audio quality aside, the headphones use Bluetooth v4.0, which means that there is minor audio lag whether you are listening to music or streaming movies over Netflix on your smartphone, which will in all probability be fixed Bluetooth v5.0.

The headphones let you pair up to 8 devices at a time and switch playback automatically between the two. Pairing the headphones both with smartphones (Android and iPhones) or an iMac was not a problem.

Decent call quality

While everything else seems to be above expectations given the Move Style’s price tag, call quality was pretty much what I expected it to be. The omnidirectional microphones were able to pick my voice in quieter environments but brought in plenty of ambient sound while walking through crowded streets.

Signal Strength

Signal strength was quite impressive and the headphones would work well even at a distance of 50-60 feet provided there were no walls or obstructions in between. As per Jabra, these are supposed to work well up till 33 feet.

Battery

Jabra claims 14 hours of battery time and up to 12 days of standby time and those claims are pretty much true. With an hour of Netflix usage for video and about half an hour of music a day, while commuting, the headset literally lasted me a work week on a full charge. This is partially because I kept switching the headphones off when not in use.

Keeping it on standby (always connected between my Galaxy S10e and iMac) too did not deteriorate its performance by much.

Even if you do run out of battery, you have the option to plug in the in-box 3.5 mm cable without the need to switch on the headphones, which is pretty handy.

Charging the set takes about an hour and a half when connected to a 15 W charging adapter. This indeed seems like a good headset to carry on a long flight with just one charge in between when you nap.

Verdict

The Jabra Move Style Edition headphones offer a lot of features and hardware, given its price tag. The headphones not only look good but deliver great audio performance as well.

My only gripe is the lack of a folding design that would make them more portable, and of course, that step-less adjuster that kind of is a pain to use. Then there’s also the Bluetooth v4.0, but most will not feel the need for something better than this solely because the overall package hits the sweet spot like no other.

So, if you are looking for on-ear Bluetooth headphones in the Rs 7,000 price range, you definitely should give the Jabra Move Style Edition a try before looking at other options.