The design is decent and the build quality feels solid enough. Battery life could be better, but for most people who listen for only an hour or two at a time, the 10 hours should prove sufficient. There’s a 3.5mm audio port, so if you want to ditch the battery-life worry and listen without ANC then you can. Well, that’s presuming your handset still supports a headphone port. The connection therefore isn’t as strong as we would like – and it’s obvious when listening that this isn’t the latest Bluetooth standard, so you will get music cutting in and out on occasion. If you want ANC for less, then these Groov-e Elite headphones are for you. If you’d like a bit of bass and decent enough quality for watching Netflix on your commute then they’ll do the job. If you want good-quality music headphones, however, then you may be left wanting. During our testing these all worked well (apart from the volume controls), although a separate on/off button would have been better rather than having to hold it for so long to turn it on or off. With the call features, the call quality wasn’t the greatest, it was reasonably clear but sounded tinny through both the headphones and to the person on the other end of the phone.

The Groov-e Elite ANC fold away and fit in a hard-shell case that’s included in the box – a nice touch for travelling. Also included is a 3.5mm headphone cable. Again, the price reflects this – but I worry about battery quality in terms of longevity, and the number of charges this headset can take before battery life gets even lower. That said, the Groov-e Elite will see you through most flights and daily commuting. As a relatively cheap pair of true wireless earbuds, the SoundBuds connect to your source device through the right earbud, with the left and right earbuds then connecting to each other.

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The folding design of the Groov-e Elite is travel-friendly. The headphones can be popped into their hard-shell case and slipped into a bag without worry of damage, or accidental button pressing that could waste power.

The SoundBuds are more comfortable with mid-range frequencies that don’t push their drivers particularly hard. Control buttons sit on the earpiece and aren’t only easy to use but feel solid enough to last. A built-in microphone enables the use of these headphones as a hands-free kit. The control system worked well, although a little fiddly to change the volume. The audio quality was excellent for the price, the bass could have been a little tighter for our liking but, overall, we had no complaints.

Scores

For the price, the Groov-e Elite headphones are pretty impressive. Yes, they have a plastic feel and the ANC button does feel a little flakey, but the ear pads at least are comfortable. The headband is solid, and despite its minimal padding, still proved comfy when worn for long periods – something that not all high-end headphones can manage.