REVIEW: Block Out The World With These Wave Audio Headphones
So, I’ve been testing the Wave Audio Symphony Hybrid ANC Over-Ear Headphones and I’m just going to say I’m impressed.
I have a small head, paired with small ears so over-ear headphones don’t usually work for me. But I was surprised to see these fit without needing adjustment, and were comfortable to wear for long durations. When they’re on, I barely remember I’m wearing them.
Don’t get me wrong, they are adjustable if you’re unlike me and need to make them bigger to fit. But I digress.
Let’s start with the style and the materials the headphones are made from.
The soft earpads were just that, soft. They are so much like a cushion that I barely noticed they were there, just like with the headband. I never had a headache or earache while wearing them.
These headphones were designed to deliver a proper bass sound, complete with 40mm dynamic drivers to reveal every detail of every song. I agree with the bass and the detail. As I was using them, I found the bass was supreme, feeling every beat drop and drum hit as if I was there in front of whatever artist I played, such as Nickelback.
While they were on, the outside world was totally blocked out, so every detail of the music was clear, and audible.
Moving on to the music and bass officially, I felt that the bass was epic, and I definitely felt it coming through. There was no bass boost button, but in my opinion, they didn’t need it.
The ANC worked perfectly. I mean, without it turned on, the outside sounds were so blocked out, it wouldn’t matter if these headphones had ANC or not. But, with it on, I found it still made a difference. If I’m being completely honest, when I had ANC on, I was totally oblivious to everyone around me, which is especially impressive considering how loud the office surroundings can be.
Transparency mode I found let in a lot of external sounds, which is perfect for crossing the street, standing on a train platform, or waiting for an order to be called while picking up takeout. But let’s face it, who buys headphones for transparency? In this day and age, we want to block out as much as possible
I found no difference between ANC off and transparency mode on. They sounded like they let in the same amount of external noise.
When it came to the low latency, I felt there was no difference when watching movies on my phone at lunch time. Everything was already perfectly matched, so that when I turned it on expecting a difference, I was a bit disappointed. But I was still ahead because it was already matched up well.
I tested various types of music from country to rock, to musicals and ballads.
I found the clarity and performance was the same across the board. No genre was favoured and there was no bias. Each genre had its own strengths, like always, but I felt an actual experience while listening to each.
I also tested the buttons on the ears of the headphones. They appeared to work well, with both volume buttons working perfectly. You press the volume up button to turn the volume up, and press and hold it to skip forward a track.
With the volume down button, you press it once to turn the volume down, and press and hold it to skip backwards a track.
The middle button has various things it can do. Pressing it once was for playing, pausing, and answering or ending a call. Pressing it twice brought forward the phone’s voice assistant, for me it was Siri, and pressing and holding it for two seconds rejected incoming calls. Pressing and holding it also turns the headset on and off.
The button controls worked well, and I found they were easy to use and understand. The only issue I found was with rejecting calls, it took holding the button down for longer than two seconds, which made me think I was about to turn the headset off entirely.
Phone call sound quality was pretty good. My colleague helped me test it, and I found that she heard me clear as day, whereas I could hear her, but the noise level through the headset was quite quiet. But this may be due to having the music volume level down and not turning it up before answering her call.
The headphones are also claimed to have 45 hours of listening time, and super-fast charging. I’ve used them multiple times now, for long durations and have yet to charge them. And I also found it interesting that all the packaging for this product was made entirely by AI.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, I felt these Wave Symphony headphones are perfect for blocking out the world around. Sound quality was great with music and movies, and even phone calls. I’m not a gamer, therefore, didn’t test that aspect. ANC worked wonders though which could work for gamers and all users. Our office air conditioning vent is quite loud, and I didn’t realise it was because I hear it all the time. After having the headphones on for ten minutes, I realised just how loud it is, and these perfectly block it out. I would recommend these to anyone who asks.
PROS:
- ANC worked wonders.
- Sound quality was good.
- Button functionality was easy to use and understand.
- Comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
- No need for a bass boost button.
- Battery life lasts a long time.
- AI created packaging
- A$249.95
CONS:
- Transparency worked too well.
- No difference between transparency and ANC off.
- Rejecting calls meant holding the button for longer than two seconds.
- Noticed no difference with low latency.
RATING: 9/10