You can spend a lot of money finding the right headphones.

It's probably a good idea to decide what really matters to you; how they look? Sound? Lots of bass? Lots of volume? Good wireless connectivity? How's the battery life? Perhaps durability is key?...

Maybe you don't have to spend as much as you thought...

 

The Jabra Move Style Edition wireless headphones might just be the perfect balance of features versus price... although they do look a bit boring.

Personally, I don't really care what my headphones look like at all. They should all be red, obviously. But if you can only get them in Titanium Black, Gold Beige or Navy Blue, they better do the job.

They do.

Although I've worn, reviewed and used many in-ear and over-ear headphones, I've never really delved much into the on-ear situation. This is more due to ill-informed prejudice than any experience-based preference. I'd foolishly assumed having something pressed against your ears would be much less comfortable than having that thing completely enclosing them or nestled snugly inside them. My other misassumption was I'd be sacrificing sound quality due to the lack of a tight seal - background noise would be able to encroach on my listening experience at will.

I'm just a dummy, basically.

Comfort-wise, I couldn't really ask for more. For starters, the Jabra Move is small, so it's light. This combined with the incredibly soft, leather-like ear cushions really created a featherweight feel to the whole setup. Although the stainless steel headband appears somewhat industrial with its minimalist, fabric-covered padding, it too ends up being extremely comfortable. At first I thought it might be a bit stiff, the arc squashing the earcups against my skull a little too firmly, but after a day or two the band stretched ever so slightly to suit my massive cranium better and its been secure without being tight ever since.

Best of all, because your ears aren't all hermetically sealed up, there's no risk of getting all hot and clammy - which is great for someone like me who has to wear headphones for hours at a time to do my job.

Sound quality is perhaps the most important consideration for most people and to be honest, I've been blown away by the punch the Jabra Move packs. The bass really thumps out; you can almost feel the thud of the kick-drum as I listen to the Kooks and in terms of sheer volume, Shihad rocks with plenty of power.

There's a definite impression of roominess - something I wasn't expecting from a headset with smaller earcups. This gives all frequencies a chance to breathe, which is crucial when listening to more acoustic artists like the Wood Bothers.

The only areas I found slightly fiddly, due to the Jabra Move's diminutive stature are the on-board controls - although there aren't many. There's a power/bluetooth connection switch on the right cup and a combined answer, play/pause, skip/back, volume control on the left side. These all work fine, they're just tricky to find because they're so tiny. 

There's a subtle beep to let you know you're changing tracks or volume which is fine, but I could do without the lady telling me when I'm connected or not. Too intrusive.

Battery life is absolutely stellar - the Jabra website claims 14 hours of play time. I'm not prepared to listen to anything for 14 hours, but I can confirm one full charge lasts a hell of a long time. This makes the Jabra Move a great option for travelers, despite the fact the headphones don't actually fold up. They're small enough and tough enough to stick in any bag or even large pockets.

Call quality is my only significant concern. I can certainly hear well enough from my end, but because there's no noise-cancelling seal like you can achieve with over-ears or earbuds, the microphone will pick up the caller if you have the volume up too loud and send an echo of themselves back down the line. This is easily fixed by bumping the volume down a bit.

The real revelation is I think on-ear might now be my favourite way to go. Earbuds usually just get annoying after a while and no matter how good they are, they'll never sound like a full-sized set of cans. Of course, the Jabra Move isn't a full sized set of cans, but somehow they've squeezed in drivers that certainly provide a full-sized sound - and that's all I really care about.

I started by lamenting how much you have to spend to get high class ear-wear, but coming in under $200, Jabra Moves Style Edition proves that's not necessarily the case. And when I said it looks boring... I really meant understated.

Click here for more information on the Jabra Move Style Edition wireless headphones.