Jabra proved its true wireless mettle with the Elite 65t earbuds in 2018. The company, better known for headsets than headphones, had a worthy contender with its debut model. It returned in 2019 with the vastly improved Elite 75t, and once again earned high marks. But one key feature was missing: active noise cancellation (ANC). Jabra is filling the void now with the Elite 85t ($230), a set of wireless earbuds that takes the best parts of the previous model and goes even further. Now that Jabra has a true flagship option, it has enough to compete with the best.
Gallery: Jabra Elite 85t review | 16 Photos
Gallery: Jabra Elite 85t review | 16 Photos
Design
With the Elite 75t last year, the company totally redesigned its true wireless earbuds. They were significantly smaller, lighter and all-around sleeker than the Elite 65t. The Elite 85t are nearly identical outside, except the holes for the microphones are smaller on the 85t. The company did add some depth to accommodate the noise-cancelling components and bigger speakers, but even then, the 85t is only slightly larger than the 75t. Of course, this means the latest model sticks out of your ear a little further, but the shape is the same and, at least in terms of how they sit in your ear, the Elite 85t still offers a very comfortable fit.
Jabra Elite 85t
Pros
- Powerful ANC
- Custom sound options
- Overall size keeps things comfy
- Wireless charging
Cons
- Overall sound quality is just okay
- Annoying popping sounds
- More tech means larger earbuds
Like the Elite 75t, Jabra opted for physical buttons for the onboard controls once again. A single circular panel on each earbud accepts single, double and triple presses in addition to a press-and-hold gesture. On the right side, the default options are play/plause, voices assistant and volume up. On the left, ANC/HearThrough control, skip tracks ahead, skip tracks backwards and volume down are the tools at your disposal. It runs the full gamut, but having the track controls on the same side was a little awkward. Thankfully, the MyControls feature in Jabra’s app lets you remap all the onboard functions to suit your needs.
One final small, but very significant design change is the location of the charging indicator on the case. Previously, Jabra situated that multi-color LED around back, beside the USB-C port. Now it’s around front, where you can see it when you open and close the case, which makes a lot more sense. It was frustrating to have to turn the case around to see the light every time you docked the earbuds to charge.
Active noise cancellation
Jabra developed what it calls Advanced Active Noise Cancellation where a dedicated noise-cancelling chip allows you to adjust the extent to which you want to block out your surroundings. Software-wise, the system consists of separate sliders inside the company’s Sound+ app that control the level of noise cancellation and HearThrough, or ambient sound. And, of course, you can opt to disable them both entirely for the “stock” experience. This tech is different from Jabra’s Smart Active Noise Cancellation that’s on the Elite 85h headphones. That feature automatically turns on when it senses “unwanted” noise around you based on how you configure things in the app. What’s on the 85t is adjustable, but it’s not automatic. And honestly, that’s just fine.
The noise-cancelling setup is similar to what Bose and Sony offer on their flagship models, the QuietComfort Earbuds and WF-1000XM3. Each one gives you the ability to adjust the level of ANC in an app, and in Sony’s case, you can dial in presets for activity and even location. Jabra has “Moments” in its app, allowing you to set three sound profiles for My Moment, Commute and Focus. The key difference is the Elite 85t doesn’t automatically detect movement or location and switch your audio profile like Sony does.