Hearing about the Cleer Enduro ANC’s 60-hour battery life, I was immediately intrigued. I was expecting it to be the Flow II’s cheaper counterpart, looking at the $50 price difference between the two. Cleer has always impressed me in terms of providing premium-quality accessories, so I already predicted high-grade materials exuding sophistication. Safe to say, I wasn’t disappointed.
In the Box
Packaged exactly like the Flow II, the Enduro comes in a giant box made of sturdy cardboard with a foam cushion that hosts these cans. Underneath the cushion, you’ll find a quick start guide, and a box containing a Type-C Charging Cable, a 3.5mm audio cable, a flight adapter and a fabric carrying pouch. The pouch ties with strings at the top, as opposed to magnetic-closing carry pouches that are common these days. It also doesn’t have a very thick layer of cushioning between its cloth. While it serves as an extra item meant to accessorize your headphones, it has neither aesthetic appeal to it nor guaranteed protection. I appreciate the audio cable, though. It’s always a relief to know you’ve got a backup option in case your cans run out of juice. The flight adapter is also always an appreciated accessory.
Design and Fit
The Enduro sports a fine plastic body that weighs little and looks sharp. It has a metal headband with an adjustment band of the same material. Its mid-sized earcups features copper rims, one on each band of the cup’s exterior. The cups interior offers memory foam cushioning that’s also found on the underside of the headband.
The Enduro works surprisingly well for bespectacled users. I am used to facing a little discomfort with attempting to don headphones and glasses at the same time. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the Enduro’s ability to sit comfortably despite my glasses. The fit overall is tight. It’s tight enough for me to label it as skintight or body-hugging instead of snug. The earcups hug the area around my cartilage with quite a lot of pressure and the headband applies a force tight enough to not let me forget I have headphones on. Often, this isn’t an appreciated feature and I would’ve preferred the headband to apply a little less force on my noggin.
Pairing and Controls
The Enduro took around a minute to pair and gave me hours of stutter-free connection. Not even once did I experience any sort of lag in my listening experience. The connection on the headphones is as good as a wired headphones’ connection.
Controls-wise, the Enduro is the most ideal pair of headphones I’ve come across. It has highly intuitive buttons as controls and none of that tap or swipe navigation that most audio peripherals these days host. I am highly biased towards buttons and switches for controlling headphones since I get to avoid mistaps and slow response times. The kind of accuracy buttons provide is incomparable.
Even with physical controls, headphone manufacturers often end up making navigation complex. Cleer steers clear of the issue. The Enduro hosts a raised multi-function button that’s easy to locate, with a volume up and volume down button on each side of it. Next to these three buttons, there’s a dedicated sound mode switch responsible for switching between ANC and Ambient. I got used to the controls within minutes, without any mess-ups. The only gripe I have is that the volume up button was slightly pressed down. It was as if it’s been over-used and has worn out now. I’m not sure if my specific review sample was faulty, or if all volume up buttons have been designed this way. Either way, it was pretty uncool.
Audio and ANC
The Enduro gave me a brilliant experience. The kind of bass I received on these cans is incomparable to any other headphones’ bass I’ve reviewed in the past few days. It emphasized low-end in every song I put on, even those songs that did not mean to be bass-heavy. Being a huge EDM fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the thump every song gave me in my throat and chest.
The Enduro’s 40mm drivers provided loud music that retained its clarity regardless of the volume I set on it. While bass was an element that the cans specifically highlighted, I can’t say the same about treble. Overall, the Enduro has a warm sound profile and gives music richness and focus.
Unlike the ANC on the Flow II, the Enduro has great ANC. Switching it on not only muted background noise but isolated the sound of my music. It was as if switching the mode on instantly transported just me and my music to another dimension. Switching it off cancelled the effect. Switching Ambient Mode on highlighted the sound of my sister’s typing on her laptop in the background. There is a considerable difference between the modes.
Verdict
It’s almost unbelievable to think about the fact that the Enduro actually has a battery life of 60 hours. I used these cans for about a week without charging them! I put my wired earphones away and used the Enduro for calls, music, podcasts. On my eighth day, I had to replenish their juice. I don’t think any ANC headphones will provide the kind of battery life these do for just $150.
Is It Hardcore?
Without a doubt.
The Enduro ANC headphones are the definition of hardcore. They’re heavy-duty cans providing an insanely long battery life and heavy bass. They also sport intuitive controls and an attractive body. For just $150, what more do you need?
