Review: Wavell 4 Signature

Wavell may not be the very first brand that comes to mind when you’re looking to buy a pair of over-ear headphones. However, the Danish company has been increasingly visible lately. This is especially true in their home country of Denmark, where they market themselves heavily as a local alternative to the industry giants. But even here in Sweden, they have started to appear more frequently, not least through sponsored videos in social media feeds.

Now it’s time to test Wavell 4 Signature. On paper, it looks promising with 40 mm titanium-coated drivers, adaptive hybrid ANC of up to 50 dB, Bluetooth 5.4, Multipoint, 12-band EQ, and up to 55 hours of battery life. All of this at a price point around 1,500 SEK.

So, are they any good? Let’s find out!

Design and Comfort

When we pick up the Wavell 4 Signature from its stylish and lavish packaging, the first impression is somewhat mixed. They certainly look perfectly fine, but the design also feels quite generic. Perhaps not quite what you expect when you know they are a pair of Danish headphones. This is a far cry from a pair of B&O.

When it comes to build quality, the experience is much the same. The headband itself is reinforced with metal, providing a nice stability when adjusting the size. Otherwise, however, the headphones consist mostly of plastic. They definitely don’t feel cheap, but they don’t feel like a premium product either. The whole construction is very functional, but there’s nothing that makes you feel the manufacturer has put extra care into the choice of materials.

The headphones are foldable and the ear cups rotate, making them very convenient to toss into a bag. Unfortunately, no case is included, which is a bit of a shame (though one is available for purchase for 279 SEK). Since they also lack any IP rating, these are not headphones we would recommend for sweaty workouts or rainy walks.

The comfort, on the other hand, is excellent. The soft cushions encase the ears pleasantly, and the low weight makes them great for long sessions. Generally, they don’t clamp too hard, but if you (like one of us on the editorial team) have a slightly larger head, you might experience a slight pressure after an hour or so.

One detail we really like is that Wavell uses physical buttons instead of touch surfaces. It might not feel as modern, but in practice, it works significantly better. It’s much easier to control volume, ANC, and playback without accidentally pausing the music every time you just want to adjust the fit. Additionally, all buttons are located on the same side, making them incredibly easy to use.

However, there is something about the very generic design that feels suspiciously familiar. Upon doing some research, it appears these are actually rebranded OEM headphones from the Chinese manufacturer QCY. The original model is significantly cheaper than the Wavell 4 Signature, which clearly explains why the headphones look so “basic” and don’t quite exude a premium feel.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as OEM products are very common in today’s market. However, it becomes highly relevant to highlight when the company’s marketing leans so heavily on them being “Danish” headphones.

Sound Quality and App

These are a pair of headphones that, according to my preconceptions, should have a heavily exaggerated bass and perhaps lack the balance in the midrange that you can find in much more expensive models. But that wasn’t the case. Instead, the bass felt quite restrained and not at all as aggressively cranked up as I had initially expected. I opened the companion app to check the audio settings and the equalizer, and I quickly found the reason.

By default, the “Signature” sound profile is selected. This is, to say the least, a unique curve that is far from the usual, slightly more V-shaped profiles that many other headphone manufacturers often use. Does it sound bad? No, but something is definitely missing. If you boost the bass a bit and adjust the equalizer to your own preferences and the music you listen to, you can get it to sound quite decent.

You can save different EQ settings, which is convenient, but you cannot delete them once created or change the curve without saving it as a new one. This is extremely frustrating.

Resetting all frequency selections to zero, however, doesn’t sound good at all, so I truly understand why they have chosen such a heavily adjusted curve as the default. The 40 mm titanium-coated drivers can certainly deliver bass with a real punch and a perfectly respectable midrange. Furthermore, there is support for LDAC, which is always appreciated.

The app is also relatively easy to use. Here you can adjust the equalizer, switch noise cancellation modes, update the software, and change the function of certain controls. There are also specific modes for gaming and spatial audio. The game mode works exactly as expected and reduces latency. The spatial audio, however, is more of a novelty than something you’d actually want to use. While the soundstage does become larger, it also becomes significantly worse.

It is worth noting that the headphones support multipoint, but only if you choose to turn off LDAC.

Noise Cancellation and Ambient Mode

According to the specifications, the headphones feature ANC that attenuates up to 50 decibels. In practice, the noise cancellation handles most things quite well, especially low-frequency and monotonous sounds like the hum from trains and buses during commuting. If you’re sitting in an office or commuting, it creates a rather pleasant bubble.

However, it struggles more with voices and sudden sounds. Clatter like that from cutlery or other short sounds sometimes slips through more than one would hope. Sometimes such sounds can almost feel amplified in a strange way, a bit like when the ANC can’t quite keep up.

The ambient mode works, but it’s nothing special. It’s perfectly fine if you want to quickly hear an announcement or talk to someone at a checkout, but it sounds a bit artificial and isn’t something you’d want active for long periods.

Battery Life and Charging

This is where the Wavell 4 Signature delivers well. Battery life is rated at up to 55 hours without ANC and 40 hours with ANC turned on. During our testing period, the battery life has been good and in line with what Wavell promises.

In practice, this means you can use them for several workdays in a row without having to think about charging. Should the battery run out, there is fast charging via USB-C, where 10 minutes is said to provide up to 5 hours of playtime. A full charge takes about two hours.

Conclusion

At the time of testing, the headphones cost 1,519 SEK, even though the recommended price is 1,899 SEK. This places them in a rather tough price segment, where for example Anker’s Soundcore Space series is found. And if you pit these headphones against one of those, it’s not entirely certain that the Wavell 4 Signature comes out as the winner.

Sure, they fit really well, offer decent ANC, have good battery life, and actually sound quite serviceable after you’ve put in some work with the equalizer. However, it’s hard to shake the feeling that you’re actually sitting with a pair of QCY headphones for a third of the price.

If you buy the headphones through Wavell instead, you do get Scandinavian support, a 30-day return policy, fast delivery, and a custom-adapted app/sound curve included. You just have to weigh whether those added values justify the higher price tag for you.

Wavell sent test samples for this review. Senders of material have no editorial influence on our tests.