INTRODUCTION

   Listening to music while on the road is not the easiest thing especially if you don't like attracting attention so the smaller a pair of headphones is the better for some people (myself included). That being said cables don't help if you don't like attracting attention so wireless is the way to go unless of course you happen to be a very demanding audiophile. Now the good news is that compared to even just 5 years ago there are far more compact bluetooth models in the market for consumers to choose from many of which are designed and manufactured by the leading players in the audio industry (as expected really). Jabra was among the very first to release such a compact bluetooth wireless model (REVO Wireless) and almost 5 years after releasing a similar model called the MOVE (released back in 2014) they updated it and released it once more as the MOVE Style Edition which has been here with us for the past 3 weeks.

   Jabra, part of the GN Group, is a leading developer and manufacturer of communications and sound solutions. We are committed to letting people hear more, do more and be more than they ever thought possible. We believe that through sound, we can transform lives. Jabra innovates and empowers with sound solutions for businesses and consumers, producing corded and wireless headsets, portable and in-office speakerphones, and sports earbuds. Jabra employs 1,000 people worldwide, and produced an annual revenue of DKK3.5 bn in 2016. The GN Group operates in more than 90 countries, and has almost 150 years’ experience in innovation and delivering reliability and ease of use. Founded in 1869, employing over 5,000 people, and listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen, GN makes life sound better. www.jabra.com

   The very first question we had when the MOVE Style Edition arrived in our lab was what had Jabra done to upgrade them compared to the previously released MOVE (we never did get a sample of the original MOVE so we couldn't do a direct comparison). So, what did change? For one Jabra changed the available colors so instead of the black, blue and red colors of the original MOVE the brand new MOVE Style is available in titanium black, gold beige and navy blue. Battery capacity has also increased so whereas the original MOVE had enough battery juice for up to 8 hours of music playback the new Style Edition has up to 14 hours (oddly enough however standby time has remained the same at 12 days). The rest of the specifications remain pretty much identical so both the MOVE and MOVE Style Edition feature two 40mm dynamic drivers (frequency response of 20Hz-20KHz with 29Ohm impedance, 94dB sensitivity and 80mW max input power), 4mm built-in omni-directional microphone (100Hz-8kHz frequency response), Bluetooth v4.0 connectivity (with full support for Headset Profile v1.2, Handsfree Profile v1.6, A2DP v1.2 and AVRCP v1.4), 3.5mm port (for wired connectivity) and the same goes for the materials used (Silicon, PC, PU, ABS, TPE, Stainless Steel - size and weight are also the same for both models). Although we can't really compare the new MOVE Style Edition to the original MOVE, we can see just how good it is so let's move on with today's review.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

We received the MOVE Style Edition inside a grey box that has a product picture and the main product features at the front.

The mother company has been around for 150 years and so there's a mention about that on the left side of the box while on the right side we see a second product picture.

Turning the box around we see yet another product picture right beneath the product features.

Once you remove the exterior cover you will see a yellow box with the company name on it.

As you can all see the MOVE Style Edition is safely placed inside a formed piece of plastic.

Along with the headphones you are also getting a micro USB charging cable, 3.5mm to 3.5mm (90 degrees) cable, warning and declarations paper and the getting started user guide.

THE MOVE STYLE EDITION

Weight just 150g the MOVE Style Edition is a very light model.

As for size you can see from the above picture that the MOVE Style Edition is very compact.

The location of Jabra's HQ along with their motto are both printed on the exterior of the earcups.

Jabra has placed their name just over both earcups on the headband.

At the rear of the right earcup we find a Bluetooth pairing slider, battery indicator and bluetooth activity LEDs and the micro USB charging port.

The volume control buttons (also used to switch between previous/next track and mute audio entirely) and a multifunction button (at the center also used to answer/end/reject calls, redial last number and play/pause music) are placed on the exterior of the left earcup.

A single microphone is located at the front of the right earcup.

Left and right side markings are printed in both earpads (both earpads are also covered by PU leather which is very soft thus making them quite comfortable).

The headband is dressed with a soft fabric instead of PU leather.

The stainless steel headband extends 36mm on both sides (72mm total).

CONCLUSION

   The REVO Wireless by Jabra was one of the best compact wired/wireless headsets when it was released back in 2013 (perhaps the best) so I only have good things to say about it (still have one of the very first samples send out by Jabra but after so many years its battery has died). Unfortunately, I never had a chance to test the MOVE model (to be honest that release somehow fell beneath our radar) so testing the brand new MOVE Style Edition brought back some of those memories. The stainless steel frame seems to be just as durable as the one used in the REVO Wireless whereas in terms of audio quality things seem equally good. No doubt thanks to Jabra's DSP (digital sound processing) chip but still the MOVE Style Edition produces clear and accurate mids and highs (although the lack of support for any HD/HQ bluetooth codec is somewhat evident with some tracks) and although bass levels are not what we had hoped still it does rather well in that area as well (for a model of its size that is). The earcup controls may not be the easiest to use at times (I do prefer the touch ones of the REVO Wireless) but they are certainly better compared to some in-line ones we’ve seen to date. As for battery life we weren’t able to reach the 14 hours advertised by Jabra but we did almost hit 12 and that’s not a bad number at all considering that the original MOVE had an advertised battery life of 8 hours.

   According to Jabra the brand-new MOVE Style Edition retails with the same price tag as its predecessor. To be precise at the moment of this review the MOVE Style Edition retails for USD99.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 104Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) so it’s priced almost the same as the original MOVE (the original MOVE is also still being sold and retails roughly 35% less compared to the Style Edition). With that out of the way although the MOVE Style Edition is nowhere close to being as “impressive” as the REVO Wireless (not just when it got released but even now – its dual microphones, foldable design and touch controls still pack a punch - hopefully Jabra will also release an upgraded version of that model too) it does offer good audio performance at a very compact size and that along with its high build quality are enough for us to give it our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design
- Size & Weight 
- Clear & Accurate Mids/Highs
- Good Volume Levels
- Wired & Wireless Use
- Battery Life (Up To 14 Hours)
- Available Colors (Titanium Black/Gold Beige/Navy Blue)

CONS

- Bass Levels
- Lacks HD Bluetooth Codec