Wavell 4 Signature – Affordable headphones that pleasantly surprise

Wavell is a Danish headset manufacturer that started as recently as 2019. They say they want to provide good sound at a lower price tag and at the same time be part of the values ​​that are associated with Danish companies, with a focus on design and quality. Here, of course, they are thinking of Bang & Olufsen, but I also associate it with Jabra, which left the consumer market a couple of years ago.

The Wavell 4 Signature is the first headset I’ve tested from the manufacturer. It is a pair of over-ear headphones whose covers cover the entire ears, which are sold on Wavell’s website for SEK 1900, but I find them for SEK 1400 as a promotional price when I google.

Quality and design are not the first things that come to my mind when I take them out of the box. The design feels quite anonymous, and if someone had said that it was a pair of new Sony headphones, I would have seen no reason to question it. The plasticky feel I get from them is partly because they are light for their size, and after using them for a while I have no complaints about the quality feel. The covers are comfortable over the ears even over time, and don’t slip off quite as easily when I bend over or lie down as heavier headphones do. It doesn’t come with a case for the headphones, but Wavell sells it separately for those who want one. If it keeps the price down I’m all for it.

Control is done with three buttons, all of which are on the right cover and are easy to separate with your fingers, without looking.

High-resolution audio with LDAC

If you have an Android mobile phone, you can get high-definition sound with Sony’s LDAC standard. For it to be worth it, the headphones have to be able to deliver good enough sound to begin with, and I don’t expect that from a headset in this price range. Therefore, I am pleasantly surprised by how good I think they sound. The sound is balanced and natural, without excessive bass, and with a dynamic that brings out the details in the music. Possibly the sound may sound a bit strained at high volumes.

Wavell 4 Signature also has active noise reduction, ANC. It makes a noticeable difference in noisy environments, especially for lower frequencies, and is even better than I expected. There is also a hear-through mode if you want to hear your surroundings while listening to music which works just fine. If you pause what you’re listening to, it’s easy to just pull the headphones down over your neck, unlike True Wireless headsets where you need to take out the case when you want to take them off.

I have no expectations whatsoever for the call sound, given that even established manufacturers struggle with it, and this is where I am most pleasantly surprised. In quiet environments, the call sound sounds clear and distinct, albeit a bit tinny as it usually does in headsets. I add distracting background noises like kitchen fans and children talking in the background, and they are effectively filtered out without the conversation sound getting noticeably worse. Even when I stand in a windy and heavily trafficked intersection, the person I’m talking to doesn’t mind that it’s difficult to hear what I’m saying.

Wavell has an app for the headset, but I can’t see that it adds anything. There is no equalizer and no settings I can change, the only thing I see in the app is the headset’s remaining battery life.

Wavell claims a battery life of 41 hours with noise reduction on, and 54 hours without noise reduction. It feels in line with what I experienced during testing. It’s not an exceptional battery life for a headset of this type, but good enough that you don’t have to worry about having to charge it often.

Wavell 4 Signature is a positive overall experience, with good sound both for music and calls, and good noise reduction. They impress least in terms of design and quality feel, ironically the areas Wavell themselves highlight, but they don’t directly lose out there either.