The Cleer Enduro ANC headphones fall on the more affordable end of the spectrum when it comes to wireless noise-cancelling cans. But, despite the relatively low cost of entry, these headphones have some serious specifications.
As you might have guessed from the name, the Enduro ANC promise a mammoth battery life of up to 60 hours per charge, along with quick charging, when you eventually manage to wear them down.
They've got a pretty slick look, in our opinion, and if the Cleer Scene speaker that we reviewed recently is anything to go by, they just might sound great, too.
We've been using them for the past few weeks, and here's what we've learned.
Our quick take
The Cleer Enduro ANC sound excellent, especially for the price point, and the battery life is truly exceptional. Add speedy charging, Bluetooth multipoint connectivity and a decent app into the mix, and they get all the more tempting.
We think they look great, but can't help but wish they felt a little more premium and creaked less when being adjusted.
Despite the few niggles, the Enduro ANC is a great value proposition. If you're looking for an affordable set of wireless headphones, these should definitely be on your shortlist.
Cleer Enduro ANC - 4.0 / 5
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Cleer Audio Enduro ANC Noise Cancelling Headphones, Long Lasting 60 Hour Battery, Ambient Sound Levels, Bluetooth Headphones, Smart Controls App - Dark Navy
Design
- Foldable design
- White or Navy colour options
- Approx 280 grams
The Enduro ANC headphones are available in two colourways, white or navy, and both feature metallic copper-coloured accents. We're testing the navy version, and it's a pretty distinct look, but one that we're quite fond of.
There's certainly a degree of Beats influence in the rigid plastic design, but it's a tasteful look overall and fits well on the head. The earcups sit around your ears, and we found them pretty comfortable, with sufficient padding and a mild clamping force.
The headphones fold down for easy transportation and are supplied with a basic drawstring pouch to keep them free from scratches. You also get a 3.5mm cable for wired use, a USB-C charging cable and an airline adapter in the box.
The headphones look quite premium, at a glance, but this effect is ruined by the creakiness of the plastic housing. These are the creakiest headphones that we've tested in quite some time, and this, combined with the relatively lightweight construction, makes them feel pretty cheap.
We also noticed that the finish is quite prone to picking up fingerprint smudges, and while it's not noticeable in all lighting conditions, it can sometimes ruin the look of an otherwise very pretty set of headphones.
The controls are all button-based and found on the rear of the left earcup. We tend to prefer buttons over touch controls, as you can use them while wearing gloves, and it's just a more consistent experience overall. The buttons are plastic and don't feel particularly special, but they work just fine.
Battery life and features
- 60-hour battery life
- Fast charging - two hours of playback in 10 minutes
- Cleer+ app with EQ and transparency controls
As we mentioned in the introduction, one of the key features of the Enduro ANC is the mammoth battery life. We didn't go as far as to time it, but we've been using them for weeks now, and have only charged them once - so we'd say that the claim is fairly accurate.
We typically use the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 during our workday, and those need charging every two or three days, whereas these seemingly last forever. Great stuff.
When you do need to top up, you can give yourself an extra two hours of playback from just a 10-minute charge. A flat-to-full charging cycle will take three hours in total.
The Enduro ANC support Bluetooth multipoint, so you can connect to your phone and laptop at the same time, and they'll intelligently switch to the correct source. This is slowly becoming more common on wireless headphones, and we're big fans.
The headphones can be used on their own without issue, but if you want to tweak the EQ, then you'll need to install the Cleer+ app.
In the app, you can choose from 8 pre-set EQs, create two custom EQs, adjust the level of transparency in ambient mode and wirelessly update the firmware of the headphones.
It's a fairly basic app, but it does what it needs to, and does it well. The equalisation options make quite a pronounced difference to the sound signature, but we preferred the "Flat" profile, which is activated by default.
We appreciate the ability to increase the volume of ambient sound, by default we found it a little difficult to hear the doorbell when we had music playing, but after cranking it up in the app, transparency mode was much more effective.
Sound quality
- 40mm Ironless drivers
- Bluetooth 5.0 with AptX Adaptive
- Active noise cancellation / Ambient awareness modes
The Cleer Enduro ANC headphones use Cleer's proprietary 40mm Ironless drivers, and they do a sterling job of delivering crisp detail, along with full-bodied impactful bass.
There's definite exaggeration on the low end, but it's a very pleasant sound. If you enjoy a bit of a bass boost, you'll certainly be pleased with these headphones.
You also get lots of detail in the high end, and we never felt that it sounded harsh or sibilant, it's very well executed. If we were to be overly critical, we'd say that the mids feel a little recessed and lacking a bit of life, but the reality is that for the price, these sound superb.
We found that the Enduro ANC sound great at both lower and higher volumes, and we never noticed any distortion.
The ANC works pretty well, just don't expect the same degree of isolation that you'll get from headphones like the Sony WH1000-XM4 or AirPods Max. On the Enduros, the effect is that the background sound is reduced in volume, rather than removed entirely.
It works best with constant sounds, like the rumble of an aeroplane or train, whereas voices tend to break through a little more.
We consider a transparency mode to be pretty much essential on any ANC headphones, and we were pleased to find that it's very well implemented on the Enduro ANC. Especially once you've tweaked the level to your liking in the app.
Cleer Audio Enduro ANC Noise Cancelling Headphones, Long Lasting 60 Hour Battery, Ambient Sound Levels, Bluetooth Headphones, Smart Controls App - Dark Navy
To recap
If you're looking for an affordable set of wireless noise-cancelling headphones, the Cleer Enduro ANC are well worth considering. They sound excellent and look great, our only wish is that they felt a little more premium.