The Motorola VerveBuds 800 in-ear headphones are part of the manufacturer’s Bluetooth True Wireless range. They are nonetheless entry-level models, devoid of touch controls or active noise reduction. Motorola is therefore betting everything on audio performance …
Motorola VerveBuds 800 headphones // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Frandroid
While the market for True Wireless Bluetooth headphones is more flourishing than ever, fueled by hyper-functional models and integrating innovative acoustic solutions – two-way, balanced armatures… – Motorola is playing the card of functional and technological conservatism. However, the brand does not hesitate to indicate on the box of VerveBuds 800 headphones the presence of a noise reduction system. Make no mistake, this is not an ANC (Active Noise Canceling) system, but quite simply a system for reducing the noise picked up by microphones during voice calls.
Motorola VerveBuds 800Technical sheet
4 / 10
This test was carried out with headphones loaned by Motorola.
Motorola VerveBuds 800Design
The Motorola VerveBuds 800 do not go unnoticed and are distinguished by long stems. They are therefore positioning themselves against the tide of the competition, which relies more on compactness. The VerbeBuds 800 are made of matt and smooth PVC, except for the pad with the Motorola logo, which is made of shiny PVC.
The Motorola VerveBuds 800 are equipped with a gray control button to press // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Frandroid
The shells are molded in such a way that they rest in the pinna of the ear, in order to reinforce the stability of the headphones once the silicone tip has been inserted into the ear canal.
Motorola ignores the touch control areas and these are buttons housed at the end of the rods which, with pressure, control the headphones.
Acceptable wearing comfort
Motorola VerveBuds 800 earphones provide acceptable wearing comfort, but their perfectible stability is intended primarily for sedentary listeners or careful walkers. No question of taking them for a jog, because they then take the tangent.
The long stem of the headphones is likely to touch the face and thus generate parasitic noises // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Frandroid
Another downside, the long rods can, depending on how the headphones are worn, come into contact with the face and generate mechanical noises that interfere with listening to music.
Therefore, these headphones are not conducive to long listening sessions.
Qi charging compatible case
The storage case is quite large, but does not give a subjective impression of quality. It is made of PVC and its cover seems light and fragile. However, it is generally well designed. The headphones are easily placed and removed. The magnetization is satisfactory and the headphones are well secured.
The storage box is compatible with Qi charging // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Frandroid
Five LEDs on the front panel indicate the state of charge of the headphones. The case is recharged via a USB-C port on the back, or by Qi wireless charging (no induction charger is provided).
Motorola VerveBuds 800Usage and application
Motorola VerveBuds 800 headphones offer a rather poor user experience, as the action of the control buttons degrades the wearing comfort. In practice, you have to grasp each earpiece between your thumb and forefinger to press the control buttons.
The range of possible actions is reduced to managing reading, taking calls and invoking the smartphone’s voice assistant, with one to three presses on the control buttons. Therefore, it is not possible to adjust the volume.
It is necessary to grasp the earpiece between your thumb and forefinger to activate the button // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Frandroid
In addition, the headphones emit a loud ringing tone and a pressed welcome message. “Hello Moto” each time you connect to a device, which cannot be disabled. Headphones do not immediately disconnect from the Bluetooth source when stored in their case.
A little useful app
It’s not easy to know which app to use to control Motorola VerveBuds 800 headphones. Or rather, yes, but we have to ignore the adage that if it’s done, I’ll find it without reading the manual. There, no luck, nothing convincing in the App Store or the Play Store on Motorola research. Finally, it is by scanning the QR code printed on the box that we discover Hubble Connected for Vervelife.
Unfortunately, this app is disastrous. Apart from registering with the manufacturer, it does not offer any settings other than sound equalization. In iOS, cannot operate this equalizer. Under Android, several modes are available, without the possibility of playing yourself with the frequency keys. The results obtained are not worthy of interest.
Motorola offers a sound calibration based on the user’s hearing performance, but the results are not convincing.
Finally, the help page supposed to detail the use of headphones displays the instructions … for another model.
Some failures in Bluetooth
Pairing is no problem and the Bluetooth connection is stable up to 10 meters and through a wooden floor. I did not encounter any problem listening to music in the street, in the middle of a crowd. On the other hand, some cuts have occurred during voice calls with a Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G.
Motorola VerveBuds 800Audio
Motorola VerveBuds 800 headphones are equipped with conventional dynamic transducers, the diameter of which is not communicated by the manufacturer. Their Bluetooth controller manages SBC and AAC audio codecs.
Test setup
I listened to Motorola VerveBuds 800 with iPhone 13 Pro Max, Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G and Macbook Air M1, from Apple Music. The differences between each source are minimal, the iPhone nevertheless delivering a slightly more authoritative sound in the medium register.
Overall, these headphones don’t shine with their audio performance, with the sound being cramped and distant.
Sound signature
The Motorola VerveBuds 800 signature is upward and clear, particularly timid at the lower end of the spectrum. The result is a feeling of permanent imbalance, which flatters podcast-type content, but not music of any type. The lack of thickness is annoying.
- Severe: set back, but rather linear
- Medium: prominent but soft and detailed
- Treble: well integrated into the medium register, bright and generally fluid
Dynamic behavior
Good surprise, the micro-details of the music listened to are rather well rendered, which contributes to a certain softness of listening. However, the large dynamic variations are not very marked, which quite quickly generates a certain boredom, especially since the bass too far behind does not give rhythm to the restitution.
Sound stage
These headphones plant a large and airy scene, but quite distant. Difficult, in these conditions, to immerse yourself in music. Another weak point, the depth in the frontal axis is very limited. In short, the listener is not oppressed by the restitution, but he never enters the sound universe of the titles he listens to.
Motorola VerveBuds 800Microphone
The passive isolation of the Motorola Verve Buds 800 earphones is arbitrary, which drastically reduces the quality of phone calls in a noisy environment. To hear your interlocutor well, you have to really push the volume up.
Each earpiece has two microphones to pick up the user’s voice // Source: Tristan Jacquel for Frandroid
Conversely, conversation microphones do a correct job of filtering ambient noise and one is of course the interlocutor. However, the connection has been cut several times during voice calls.
Motorola VerveBuds 800Autonomy
Motorola announces 6 hours of autonomy and two additional charges thanks to the storage case. In my tests with an iPhone (AAC, 50% of the volume), I measured only 4:50. The charging time of the earphones or the case is about two hours.
Motorola VerveBuds 800Price and release date
Motorola VerveBuds 800 headphones are available in black or white at a price of 79 €.