Looking for an affordable pair of overhead headphones to listen to music and take video calls in the office we look at the Groov-e Connect.
First Impressions
Groov-e is a brand that is constantly evolving with a wide range of budget-friendly products and we have had the chance to review a number of them such as the Groov-e Ultra, Groov-e Artemis and Groov-e Music Buds.
In this review, we are focusing on the Groov-e Connect an inexpensive pair of wireless headphones that come with a detachable boom mic making them ideal for the office then take the boom mic off and listen to them on the way home.
The Groov-e connect currently cost £19.99 and if you know your Groov-e products they look similar to the fusion model before them. The key features of the connect model are as follows:
- Bluetooth 5.1
- 40mm drivers
- Flexible Omnidirectional detachable boom mic
- Voice assistant enabled
- Foldable design
- Swivel design
- Built-in mic for hands-free calls
Design
The Groov-e connect is a pair of over-ear headphones that come with a very simple and understated style. You will notice when you first open the box just how much plastic is used but at £19 it’s hardly surprising.
That said they are very lightweight and the swivel and folding design allows you to put them safely in your bag when not in use.
The Groov-e Connect are only available in black and when you take them out of the box accessories are kept to a minimum with simply just the USB-C charging cable, detachable boom mic and user guide.
In terms of comfort, the headphones come with a good level of padding on both the cans and the underside of the headband.
The headband is fairly flexible and comes with an adjustable headband allowing a variety of users with different head sizes to use these headphones my only concern is I found after using these for a few hours while I was working from home I started to get a little headphone fatigue as I found the aluminium band did start to create pressure around my head.
Moving to the controls as you might expect from Groov-e all the controls are around the left cup with the smart assistant button first then the port for the boom mic followed by the multifunction button which power, play/pause and call management. Then the last button on the left cup is the volume and track control button.
On the right cup, they keep things simple with just the USB-C port for charging is located. Also on that right cup and also located just before the smart assistant button on the left cup is a small pin-sized hole this is where the built-in mics are located.
What do the Controls do?
The Groov-e Connect offers simple controls first up is the voice assistant button a short press will bring up your phone smart assistant and is compatible with both Siri and Google Assistant.
There is also a volume button that allows you to increase or decrease the volume. A longer press of the volume down button will jump back to the previous track and a long press of the volume up part of the button with allow you to skip to the next track.
When you want to play or pause the music a single press of the multi-function button. The same button allows you to answer/reject/end a call. During an incoming call quickly press the multifunction button to answer. To reject a call press and hold for 1.5 seconds and when on a call and you have finished a single press of that multifunction button will end the call.
Battery Life
Last but not least is the battery life the Groov-e connect has a lithium battery with 180mAh and provides the user with 30 hours of playback with a standby time of 150 hours. When it’s time to recharge these you are provided with a USB-C charging cable and once you plug that in you will notice a small LED on the right cup will light up red and charging takes 2 hours to complete.
Connectivity
Getting the Groov-e to pair with my phone the first time was a very simple process as the headphones automatically started to pair. You will notice the LED located under the multi-function button will start to flash red and blue alternatively. Then go into your phone’s settings select Bluetooth and pick the Groov-e GV-BT1500.
Once paired that LED light will stay a consistent blue light regardless of what you are doing with the headphones from having a conference call to chilling out and listening to some music or a good podcast.
Speaking of pairing the headphones this is done via Bluetooth 5.1 and offers a range of 10m (33ft) from your phone to the headphones and in testing this was fairly accurate.
Audio Quality
The Groov-e Connect come with a 40mm neodymium driver that provides a frequency response of 2.402GHZ to 2.480GHZ. The sound quality considering the cost is not too bad if you’re looking for headphones with a strong level of bass.
I have tested these on a wide range of music genres and I found on bass-heavy tracks like some dance music tracks I found the bass was overpowering. There is a level of treble but the strong bass does reduce this. The mids are also affected by the strong bass and are very much reduced.
It’s not all bad news when we listened to a podcast this was handled much better. The star of the show is the detachable boom mic it is omnidirectional meaning you can adjust it to your own preference. Using the boom mic is ideal for video conferences and will provide clarity and offer a clear and loud voice when you need to be heard.
Verdict
If you are on a budget and are looking for a pair of headphones for the office and when commuting these are an option to consider. They are lightweight and fold up nicely when not in use which is a nice option to have.
I am also pleased with how simple and responsive the buttons and I was pleased to see the included smart assistant button which is sometimes skipped in the design at this price point.
However, the negatives of these headphones are in the comfort zone I found after a period of 1hr and 30 minutes the headphones provided me with some headphone fatigue which was disappointing as I wanted to use them for longer. The other negative came from the sound it just hits you with too much bass and overpowers the rest of the soundstage.
Overall the Groov-e ticks boxes in terms of value for money, and flexibility it’s just a shame they are let down on the comfort level and are tuned a little too much on the base side of things.
Product Rating
Design/Comfort: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Controls: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Battery Life: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Connectivity: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Audio Quality: 2.0 out of 5.0 stars
Value For Money: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Overall ranking: 3.8 out of 5.0 stars – 3.8-star rating
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