[GIVEAWAY + REVIEW] Go for Gold with Jabra Move Wireless

This article was first published on ASIA 361 and written by Robert Sim.

Jabra’s much-lauded Move Wireless has gone gold. It has added a new colour for its popular wireless headphone in addition to its existing lineup of Cobalt (Blue), Cayenne (Red) and Coal (Black).

Design

The gold will be reflected in the headphone slider, juxtaposed with the sleek black Scandinavian design. The black and gold colour scheme lends the headphones an element of chicness and a touch of luxury. The sleek and minimalistic design makes it lightweight to carry about.

The headphones is ergonomically designed for comfortable wear of up to eight hours of battery life on a single charge. Covering the headband is mesh fabric which is resistant to dirt. The use of mesh fabric makes the headband breathable and there is just sufficient padding on the inner side to prevent the lightweight Move Wireless from pressing down into your hair. Using stainless steel for the spine allows the headphones to be very flexible without compromising on the durability. Not many headphones priced around $100 can look premium as this one. Audio experts at MusicCritic commented that casual music lovers ,sound geeks or  musicians alike are sure to find this one enjoyable to listen to.

Jabra did not pinch on the materials used and continues the usage of stainless steel material for the sidearms. The sidearms are retractable into the headband. A flat cable is flushed into the sidearms, providing the necessary extra length to extend the earcups down.

The earcups can only be articulated to a small degree. This allows the headphones to be adjusted to your ears. However, the disadvantage is that the earcups cannot be folded up into the headband and minimalise the profile of the headphones when not in use.

The power switch doubles up as the switch for Bluetooth discovery is located on the right earcup. There are two light indicators, one for the battery and the other for the Bluetooth. The micro-USB charging port is just below the power switch. On the left earcup, there is a 3.5mm input. This input allow you to use audio cable in events when you cannot use or won’t want to use the Bluetooth pairing. Above the input is a set of multifunction buttons which controls the volume, play/pause, skip/back, voice control and other phone controls.

Performance

The minimalistic headphones produced a wholesome sound with almost equal balance on treble and bass. I used this headphone extensively for a couple of weeks, listening to Spotify (Premium) songs streamed on high quality settings. I compared the sound reproduction of the headphone between lossy and lossless (Spotify) version of Kishi Koushinkyoku by Angela as well as against AKG Y50. What’s impressive is that the sound reproduced through the Bluetooth pairing has minimal noise introduced. For an average user, the performance of the Move Wireless headphones is more than sufficient for daily usage.

True to its word, Jabra lives up to its promise of the eight-hour battery life (I  frequently forgot to recharge the battery). The lightweight design and the flexibility make me forget that the headphone is on my head. The only thing that prevents me from using headphones (not limited to Move Wireless) continuously is an environment factor – the heat in Singapore. After an hour or so, the heat being stored in the earcups is palpable.

The call quality is crisp and the microphone pickup is sufficient for daily use. Bluetooth connectivity is fast; pairing with devices takes just seconds. The small earcups does not offer much noise isolation, as they do not cover the entire ear. This also meant that there is leakage as well. However, this is just a minor annoyance and not a deal breaker for me. Just take note not to listen to songs at full volume on public transport or you may earn stares from fellow commuters.

At S$148, the headphone packs a punch. In addition, I really like the lightweight design and the sound quality. Go for gold, I say.

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GIVEAWAY

A pair of Jabra Move Wireless (gold colour) worth S$148 is up for grabs! Here’s what you need to do for a chance to win:

1. ‘Like’ the Asia 361 Facebook page and/or Alvinology Facebook page.
2. ‘Like’ the Jabra Singapore Facebook page and follow Jabra’s Instagram account @jabra.
3. Share this post on Facebook with the hashtags #Jabra and #JabraforAlvinology and tag up to three friends.
4. Answer this question by commenting on our Facebook post: Jabra Move comes in four colours (blue, red, black and gold). Which is the latest colour to be added to the collection?

Contest ends 24 August 2015. The winner must be a resident in Singapore and will be notified via Facebook or email.