5 Best Jabra Headphones of 2020

1. Top Pick: Jabra Elite 85h

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Editor’s Rating: 4.5/5

The Elite 85h are the best Jabra headphones currently out. They are all-around wireless headphones with active noise cancellation (ANC) and plenty of other useful features. Their design and performance are both great, making them some of the best noise-canceling headphones under $300. They are good for casual everyday use and can be customized using the Jabra Sound+ app, with the option to create specific profiles for a more tailored listening experience in different situations.

Design & Features

Available in titanium black, copper black, navy, and gold beige, the Elite 85h are over-ear headphones with closed ear cups. Their build quality is good, with their rain-resistant construction adding to their durability, but they lack an official IP rating for water resistance. While they are not as portable as Jabra earbuds and earphones, they are quite portable for over-ear headphones. In addition to their cable-free design, they are foldable and include a travel case. Their ear cups also swivel to a flat position, making them less cumbersome to wear around your neck when not in use.

The Elite 85h are comfortable to wear for long hours. Although they are quite bulky, their weight is distributed evenly. Their large, spacious ear cups have soft cushions while their clamp is not too tight, but their limited headband adjustment can be an issue if you have a large head. They also stay securely on your head and are actually decent for jogging and light exercises with minimal head movement.

Of the headphones in this guide, the Elite 85h boast the best control scheme. Volume, call and music management, and Bluetooth pairing buttons are located on the right ear cup’s backplate. You also get a separate button for activating your voice assistant and for muting the mic during calls. On the other ear cup, there is only one button. This lone button is for switching between ANC On, ANC Off, and talk-through mode, and for cycling between headphone profiles set on the companion app.

Unlike most Bluetooth headphones, the Elite 85h lack a dedicated power button. To turn them on or off, you simply need to rotate their ear cups, which is convenient. Moreover, they have an auto-play/pause feature: If you remove them from your head, they automatically pause the audio or mute your call; as soon as you wear them again, the audio automatically resumes. You can also answer incoming calls just by wearing them, with no need to press any buttons.

Performance

The overall performance of the Elite 85h is great. They sound good, with a warm sound profile that many consumers prefer. Their wireless range is excellent while their built-in mic is good for calls and video conferences, but not for gaming. With their multipoint feature, they can connect to two devices at the same time, allowing you to pair them to your computer and smartphone and seamlessly switch between them, which is beneficial in an office setting.

Although they are not on the same level as the Sony WH-1000XM3 and the Bose QuietComfort 35 II, the Elite 85h are good at blocking out background noise. They reduce a significant amount of ambient chatter and high-frequency noises – especially the former – but on the other hand, they struggle against low-frequency noises. Their sound leakage is also low, allowing you to listen to music at high volume levels without disturbing people around you. If you want to temporarily monitor your surroundings without removing your headphones, you can simply enable talk-through mode.

Using the Jabra Sound+ app, you can modify some aspects of the Elite 85h. You can adjust the voice assistant and ANC settings and even alter the sound using an equalizer. You can also create Moments, which are basically custom profiles that include sound, ANC, and talk-through mode presets. With the SmartSound feature, you can set your headphones to automatically switch to a predefined Moment based on the noise around you.

The Elite 85h have excellent battery performance. On a single charge, they can run up to 36 hours with ANC and up to an incredible 41 hours with ANC turned off. They also have a fast-charge feature that allows them to get five hours of playback after just 15 minutes of charging. If you want to conserve power, you can use them in wired mode with the included audio cable, which terminates in a 3.5 mm plug. If the headphones have not been worn for an hour, they automatically enter sleep mode. They also automatically power off when left in sleep mode for 24 hours.

Wrap-up

Overall, the feature-packed Elite 85h stand out as the best option in Jabra’s current lineup of consumer headphones. Suitable for all-around media consumption, they are great for casual everyday use, with their wireless design, comfortable over-ear fit, user-friendly controls, long battery life, and ANC being especially beneficial for office use and travel. Considering everything they bring to the table, it’s hard to pass up on these Jabra headphones, especially if you can get them for less than $200 during a sale.

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2. Budget: Jabra Elite 25e

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Editor’s Rating: 3.8/5

Jabra is not exactly known as a budget headphone brand, but if you want a pair of headphones that are more budget-friendly – especially compared to our top pick – check out the Elite 25e. They are wireless earbuds that are decent for everyday use. They normally sell for about $80, but if your budget is lower, you can wait for them to drop to around $50-60 during a sale.

Design & Features

The Elite 25e are wireless earbuds in a neckband format, which means they are not completely cable-free like the Elite 75t. They have a flexible neckband with short audio cables connecting to their two earpieces. Their build quality is decent, with an IP54 rating for water and dust resistance. Their earbuds are magnetic, allowing you to snap them together for cable management and for keeping them more securely around your neck when not in use. With their compact and lightweight neckband design, they are easy to carry for everyday use, but they lack a travel case or pouch.

Compared to typical in-ear headphones, the Elite 25e are more comfortable to wear because their ear tips don’t enter your ear canals. They are stable and don’t easily pop out of your ears despite lacking stability fins and ear hooks, which is beneficial if you want to use them for sports. Three different pairs of silicone ear tips are included in the box, but you can also use third-party ones if you prefer.

For controls, the Elite 25e have four buttons on the neckband itself instead of an in-line remote: three on the right side and one on the left. The buttons on the right side are your typical three-button layout composed of two volume buttons and a multi-function button for call and music management. The multi-function button also serves as a power button and Bluetooth pairing button.

The lone button on the left side is for activating your voice assistant and for muting the mic during a call. You can also snap the magnetic earbuds together to end a call and pause music, which is very convenient. If you have an incoming call and the earbuds are snapped together, you can answer the call by simply detaching the earbuds. The neckband also vibrates if you have an incoming call, a feature not commonly seen among neckband headphones.

Performance

For budget headphones, the overall performance of the Elite 25e is decent. Their audio reproduction is decent, though their very bass-heavy sound can be too much for some people, even those who mainly listen to bass-heavy music. Mic quality is also decent: record quality is adequate enough for non-business calls while noise reduction is sufficient in moderately noisy environments. You can connect your earbuds to eight devices, but multipoint is not supported, which means only one device can be active at any given time.

Sound isolation is good on the Elite 25e, with their ear tips providing an effective passive seal despite not entering your ear canals. They block a good amount of background chatter and are decent against high-frequency noises, making them especially suitable for office use. However, they hardly block out noises in the low-frequency range. If you want to block out more ambient noise, you have to increase the volume. The earbuds have very low sound leakage even at high volume, which is beneficial when listening to music in a quiet setting with other people around you.

The Elite 25e have great battery performance, beating both the Elite 75t and the Elite 65e in battery life per charge. They can run up to 18 hours per charge, which is impressive for neckband earbuds and allows them to easily survive long commutes and work shifts. Their two-hour charge time is also good, but they lack a fast-charge feature. Like most other neckband headphones, you can’t use them in wired mode since they lack an audio cable; the only cable included in the box is the USB charging cable.

Wrap-up

Although their overall design and performance don’t really jump off the page, the Elite 25e are good budget headphones for casual use. They have a comfortable earbud fit, a user-friendly control scheme, and good resistance against water and dust. Their passive sound isolation is good – especially regarding sound leakage – while their battery performance is impressive. They are easy to carry for everyday use, with their magnetic earbuds allowing for better cable management.

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3. Best Value: Jabra Elite 75t

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Editor’s Rating: 4.3/5

The Elite 75t are some of the best truly wireless headphones currently out. They are good headphones for office use, traveling, commuting, and sports, with their extremely compact design making them much more portable than all the other products in this guide. They offer great value for the money, especially if you can get them for around $150 or less.

Design & Features

Featuring an IP55 rating for dust and water resistance, the Elite 75t are truly wireless headphones with an in-ear fit, which means they enter your ear canals. But unlike most in-ear headphones, they are very comfortable to wear for long hours due to their ergonomic design. They are smaller than many other truly wireless headphones, which makes for a more discreet look. Although they lack stability fins, they stay securely in your ears.

Along with a USB-C charging cable and three pairs of ear tips, the Elite 75t include a compact case that also serves as a charging dock. Both the earphones and the charging case are well-built, though the latter lacks an IP rating. The case is magnetic and has a secure lid, keeping your earphones (which also have magnets) in place more securely when docked. Moreover, you get additional battery charges in the case, a standard feature among truly wireless headphones.

The Elite 75t have one of the most complete onboard controls among truly wireless headphones, which generally have limited controls since their tiny frames leave little room for buttons or touch-sensitive surfaces. Using the buttons on the earpieces, you can manage your calls and music, adjust the volume, activate your voice assistant, enable/disable talk-through mode, and initiate the Bluetooth pairing process. During a call, you can also mute the mic and enable/disable the mic sidetone.

Unlike with some truly wireless headphones, the control buttons on the Elite 75t are responsive and easy to press. Pushing the buttons doesn’t cause the ear tips to go deeper into your ears. The earphones also have a convenient auto-pause/play feature: If there’s music playing, removing one unit from your ear automatically pauses the music; to resume playback, you simply need to return the earpiece into your ear, but it must be done within 60 seconds.

Performance

The Elite 75t have an exciting, consumer-friendly sound. They sound good, with a balanced mid-range and a mostly smooth treble, but their bass can be overpowering. Their mic quality is decent while their wireless range is great. You can connect them to two devices at the same time and easily switch between them. If you want one of your ears to be fully open for better situational awareness in certain situations, you can use the right earpiece in mono mode, but in this mode, the controls are more limited.

With their deep in-ear seal, the Elite 75t are good at passively blocking out background noise and have minimal sound leakage even when listening to music at high volume. They reduce a good amount of background chatter and high-frequency noises, but they struggle against low-frequency noises. If you want to temporarily monitor your surroundings without removing your earphones, you can switch to talk-through or ambient sound mode – a feature more commonly seen in noise-canceling headphones.

Of the best Jabra headphones listed here, the Elite 75t have the worst battery life per charge. But compared to other truly wireless headphones, they are actually some of the better ones in battery performance. They can run up to 7.5 hours per charge. (For comparison, the Apple AirPods Pro and the Bose SoundSport Free – two of the most popular in the truly wireless category – are both limited to around five hours per charge.) With the additional charges in the charging case, you get an impressive 28 hours of total battery life.

You can customize some aspects of the Elite 75t with the Jabra Sound+ app, which is available on both iOS and Android. Using the app, you can modify the sound, adjust the talk-through mode, and change the auto-off timer settings, among others. The option to alter the sound is especially useful if you don’t like the bass-heavy default sound of the earphones.

Wrap-up

Few other products in the same price range can give what the Elite 75t bring to the table. They are well-designed earphones that are suitable for different usages. Their sound quality is not the best, but they excel in most other aspects. Their build quality, charging case, controls, sound isolation, app support, and battery performance are good, while their mic quality is decent. They are extremely portable due to their compact design and have a very comfortable in-ear fit.

Jabra also sells a sports-oriented variant with a better IP57 rating – the Elite Active 75t. If you intend to use your earphones primarily for sports and want extra protection against water and sweat, the more expensive sports model is a better investment. But for casual everyday use, the regular Elite 75t are a much better option.

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4. Jabra Elite 45h

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Editor’s Rating: 4/5

If you prefer the more portable and more breathable design of on-ear headphones, check out the Elite 45h. They are wireless on-ear headphones with the best battery performance and fastest charging time in the current Jabra headphone lineup. While they have much fewer features than the Elite 85h, they are similarly good for casual use. You can get them for around $100, which makes them another good option if you have a more limited budget for Jabra headphones.

Design & Features

The Elite 45h look similar to the Elite 85h, with unusual-looking hinges and generously padded ear cups and headband, but they are more compact. Their circular ear cups have memory foam cushions covered in pleather while their headband is reinforced with metal for a sturdier frame. Their ear cups swivel to a flat position, which makes them less cumbersome to wear around your neck when not in use, but they are not foldable. A soft pouch is included with the headphones, along with a USB-C cable for charging.

Compared to the Elite 85h, the Elite 45h are a bit more comfortable to wear for long hours. They are lighter and have more breathable ear cups that simply rest on your ears instead of wrapping around them, which allows for better airflow. Their earpads are soft and don’t feel cheap, but their rather loose on-ear fit makes them less stable on the head.

For controls, the Elite 45h have a power switch and four buttons on the right ear cup; the former is also used for initiating the Bluetooth pairing. The four buttons are composed of the usual three-button layout for volume control and call and music management, along with a separate button for activating your assigned voice assistant. The voice assistant button can also be used to mute and unmute the mic during a call.

Performance

The Elite 45h are good-sounding headphones that are suitable for general media consumption. They support Bluetooth 5.0 and can connect to two devices at the same time, allowing you to pair them to your computer and smartphone and seamlessly switch between sources. Their mic performance is decent for non-business calls while their wireless range is good. Like most of the other headphones in this product guide, they are compatible with the Jabra Sound+ mobile app. You can use the app to change some aspects of the headphones, including the sleep mode settings and the sound.

Being on-ear headphones, the Elite 45h are mediocre in the sound isolation department. Their noise isolation performance is poor, even after considering their lack of noise-canceling technology, while their sound leakage can be a real problem at high volume. This makes them less suitable for commuting and traveling than the Elite 85h, which provide a better passive seal and have ANC technology.

As mentioned above, the Elite 45h have the best battery performance among the products in this guide, and by a significantly wide margin. On a single charge, they can last up to an insane 50 hours, which is even better than the impressive 40-hour battery life of the Beats Solo3. This allows them to last a full week on a single charge even if you use them for six or seven hours per day.

Moreover, they charge really fast. They can be fully recharged in just one hour and 30 minutes and also have a quick-charge feature that allows them to get 10 hours of playback after 15 minutes of charging, which is almost unbelievable. Their extremely long battery life and quick-charging feature make up for their lack of an audio cable for switching to wired mode.

Wrap-up

All in all, the Elite 45h are great on-ear headphones for casual use. While their subpar noise isolation is certainly a limiting factor and hurts their versatility, they are well-built headphones that sound good and are comfortable to wear for long hours. They have easy-to-use controls and boast outstanding battery performance, beating all the other products listed here in both battery life and charge time. If you prefer on-ear headphones, they are a much better option than the popular Jabra Move Style Edition.

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5. Jabra Elite 65e

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Editor’s Rating: 4.1/5

The Elite 65e are noise-canceling headphones that are great for all-around use, with their active noise-canceling technology making them especially suitable as office and travel headphones. But compared to the Elite 85h, they come in a more portable neckband design. They are basically the more premium version of our budget pick, with better build quality and more features.

Design & Features

Equipped with stability fins for a more secure fit, the Elite 65e are wireless headphones with a flexible neckband and a comfortable earbud fit. They have magnetic earbuds for cable management and an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance, which makes them more durable. The cable connecting to the right earpiece has an in-line mic, but the control buttons are actually on the neckband itself, which can be a bit confusing at first. Three sizes of ear tips and stability fins are included in the box, along with a travel case and the micro USB charging cable.

With their more compact and considerably lighter frame, the Elite 65e are much more portable noise-canceling headphones than the Elite 85h. They are easy to carry for commuting and traveling. When not in use, you can either keep them in the included travel case or simply wear them around your neck, with their magnetic earbuds allowing for better cable management.

The control scheme of the Elite 65e is composed of physical buttons located on both sides of the slim neckband. You get the usual three-button setup for call and music management and volume adjustment, along with separate mic mute and ANC buttons. All the buttons are responsive and easy to press, which makes them easy to use while on the move. You can also pause the music or end calls just by snapping the two magnetic earbuds together.

Performance

The Elite 65e are decent-sounding earbuds with a bass-heavy sound, which is a plus if you like hip hop and dance music. If you don’t like the default sound and want to tone down the bass, you can modify it using the Jabra Sound+ app. In addition to their decent sound, the earbuds also have good mic quality, with their good noise reduction making them suitable for calls even in moderately noisy places. You can connect them to two devices at the same time and easily switch between devices when handling multiple calls.

Sound isolation is a big strength for the Elite 65e. They block a good amount of background noise and have minimal sound leakage even at high volume levels. They are especially effective at blocking out background chatter and high-frequency noises. They also reduce a decent amount of noise in the low-frequency range, but they are not as good as some of the best noise-canceling headphones on that front. Like the Elite 85h, they have a talk-through mode that allows you to quickly monitor your environment without removing your headphones.

With ANC enabled, the Elite 65e can run up to eight hours per charge, which should be good enough for most people, especially for office use. If you use them without the noise cancellation feature, their battery life jumps to 13 hours, one of the better marks among neckband headphones. They also have an auto-off feature that activates when no connection is detected after a certain amount of time.

Wrap-up

If you want noise-canceling headphones in a more portable form factor, check out the Elite 65e. They are some of the best neckband headphones on the market. While they are on the expensive side, usually selling for around $200, they are worth the money. They are more comfortable to wear for long hours than most in-ear headphones and have good noise isolation. Their build quality, controls, battery life, and mic quality are good, while their sound quality should satisfy most consumers.

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