Reviewed: Jabra Elite 85t Advanced Active Noise Cancelling Earbuds
AUDIO/TECH
For the past 150 years, Danish audio brand Jabra has been at the forefront of sound, including hearing aid technology, in their line-up of headsets, headphones and earbuds. Jabra was also the first to bring Bluetooth-certified headsets to the market.
As this is my first experience with Jabra, I will only focus on the Elite 85t. The box they're packed in smartly opens to introduce the brand, a commitment to sustainable packaging, mention of the free Jabra Sound+ app to connect to your smartphone, and registration for a two-year warranty against dust and water.
[What's in the box]
The box includes a Qi-certified case, a fast-charging USB-C to USB-A cable plus two additional earpiece sizes. Note that if you own a product in the Elite 75t line-up, you'll be able to access the active noise-cancelling feature (ANC) via a free upgrade in the Jabra Sound+ app.
Our at-home work trend will likely continue through 2021, and with that comes a demand for the ability to take calls anywhere. The Jabra Elite 85t earbuds bring outstanding call quality thanks to 6-mic technology (three on each earbud, two on the outside, one on the inside).
Once you've paired the app with your smart phone, tablet or laptop, it's time to personalize the listening experience via MySound. A brief listening test will walk you through steps towards a two-minute sound test.
I wore them through a long work session followed by some live-streamed DJ sets, and have to report that they sat very comfortably in the ears and have remarkably clear sound!
Travellers will appreciate the Elite 85t's compactness, ability to cancel out background noise and fast charge to get through long plane rides (once that becomes commonplace again).
The microphones on the inside and outside of the earbuds enable Jabra's advanced ANC. Via Jabra Sound+ app's dual slider, you can select from full ANC to full HearThrough — and anywhere in between. This can also be reached by clicking the left earbud to cycled between both modes.
You can control playback commands by clicking either earbud. HearThru lets you hear your immediate surroundings and engage in conversation while not on a phone call. While call controls (including multiple call handling) are covered in the manual, Jabra also allows button function reassigning via the app.
These beauties contain 11 levels of sound for optimum performance. Each level is around 3db apart, and produces a noticeable change with each jump.
The earbud's 12mm speakers allow for a big sound and powerful bass while enhancing comfort and relieving ear pressure via the semi-open design. Jabra has also adapted their ear gels to an oval shape to provide both a better seal and placement in the ear.
The light on the front of the charging case indicates high, medium and low battery, firmware update progress, firmware update error and fully charged status. And if you own a Qi-compatible charger, the Elite 85t will charge that way too.
Jabra Sound+ App Features
– Quick start guide and user manual (both can be downloaded as a PDF from Jabra's website)
– Option to allow location access, push notifications, enter pairing mode
– Soundscape selection to mask the noise around you, from white noise to ocean waves
– Custom music presets: Neutral, Bass boost, Smooth, Speech, Treble boost, Energize
– Available in English, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and Korean
You can even select between two comfort "ambience" options: Cavern and Crowd, for a little escapism during your work day!
The Elite 85t's get up to 5.5 hours of battery life on a single charge, up to 25 hours with the charging case (ANC enabled) and 31 hours with ANC off.
When the earbuds are at low battery, just put them in the charging case for 15 minutes to fast charge them with up to 60 minutes of charge time. Just make sure that the charging case has a minimum 30% battery life for fast-charging.
These quality earbuds are also IPX4-rated for durability, work with both Siri and Google Assistant and include a two-year warranty against dust and water.
What are my favourite features of the Elite 85t?
Aside from the remarkable crisp sound quality and lightweight comfort (via the buds' pressure-relief vents), I like having customizable listening options. Within the app, the music equalizer allows you to select bass, mid-range and treble for Jabra's three saveable Moments options — My Moment, Commute and Focus. Another no-brainer is the ability to pause music by taking one of the earbuds out of your ears.
I'm also impressed with the app's user manual, personalized hearing test and tips and tricks.
Jabra's Elite 85t comes in four new colours: Titanium/Black, Gold/Beige, Copper/Black and Grey as well as in Black; CAD $300/USD $229
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Tagged in: 2021, active noise cancellation, earbuds, Elite 85t, Jabra, Product Reviews, wireless audio