Jabra Elite 85h: Lots of autonomous and high-quality sound in headphones
We got to try the new Jabra Elite 85h, $299 wireless over ear product that is very interesting for its premium appearance, for the application that helps users but above all for a good sound quality that they express thanks to the deletion of the noise. Launch the challenge to the Sony 1000X M3. Will they be better? Here is the review.
The headphone market in recent times is increasingly crowding into the presence of bluetooth devices capable of ” suppressing ” environmental noise and thus allowing users to fully enjoy music or multimedia content without distractions. Manufacturers are increasingly looking forward to capture the attention of their customers with improvements from a technical point of view but also from an aesthetic point of view, because the eye wants its part anyway.
Functionally today, voice assistants are increasingly sought after even in the classic headphones for listening to music, and this is also a starting point in the creation of new products on the market.
In this difficult world of noise-canceling headphones, the new Jabra Elite 85h that we have had the opportunity to try for a few weeks in all kinds of circumstances fit in with the “sound” of quality. The Jabra are versatile headsets in possession of the noise canceling module but which during our tests have revealed a quality that allows a wide variety of everyday uses.
They have excellent sound reproduction and guarantee use with a wide variety of musical genres. Their active noise canceling (ANC) function is very good, although not at the highest levels, but the headphones block environmental noise well with a different management depending on the environment.
The fit is more than comfortable, and their microphone sounds better than other competition headphones even for that purpose. Incredible battery life that really exceeds the competition as well as the wireless range that allowed to reach important distances.
A practically complete package that is enriched with some interesting features such as SmartSound, that is the function capable of switching noise cancellation to be automatically adapted to the ambient noise with Jabra’s intelligent presets.
All at a price of $299 which is practically in line or even lower than the more famous wireless headphones on the market. Bose and Sony are still at the top of the charts for the goodness of the noise cancellation system but Jabra definitely knows its staff, and it is inevitable not to accompany it to the big ones.
DESIGN: Beautiful in their simplicity
Let’s start with the design that actually is the first thing we see and care about. The Jabra Elite 85h are well-designed and above all well built over-ear headphones. In terms of aesthetics, we can only consider them elegant and valuable headphones thanks to the use of polycarbonate but of high quality, which is also covered with a fabric material capable of making the headphones pleasant and particular to the touch.
Style perhaps not too original but Jabra decides to play on colors too and to make it possible for users to choose between a triad of shades from the classic Black or completely black in each part to the “Navy” or rather blue to finish at the “Titanium Black ”with black and dark gray inserts.
Really large pavilions with excellent joints able to rotate both horizontally and vertically thus allowing a good comfort both in the use on the head for long hours of listening and during breaks around the neck. As mentioned, they are large-sized headphones, especially with regard to the pavilions which are well padded and with a deep throat capable of adapting to most ears.
The padding is thick and soft and the circular band effectively distributes the entire weight of the headphones. The arc is not exaggerated in its extension, and this could create some problems for the users with the head a little bit bigger, especially after a few hours of use. Fortunately, the general weight is not exaggerated; indeed, the headphones are light once worn, an added value that allows them to be used even for long periods of time before feeling a sense of fatigue.
Like most over-ear headphones, the Jabra Elite 85h also allows low breathability when worn. Consequently, it is clear that after a few hours of listening to a certain amount of heat is created inside the pavilions. No problem if the listening and the use of headphones is random or sporadic, but it is clear that if the Jabra will be used for more hours during the day and maybe even during physical activity, these could create some discomfort, especially with sweat.
We would have liked to see perhaps a few hints of really metallic finish that certainly would have allowed the earphones to guarantee greater effectiveness on an aesthetic level. On the other hand, the external fabric finish is very well done, both on the headband and on the pavilions, which not only makes it feel but also allows that not inconsiderable plus in terms of originality.
As far as the commands are concerned, the Jabra Elite 85h have an excellent control scheme that is especially easy to use. Present the most common features such as call and music management, track progression and volume controls. You can easily mute the microphone with the dedicated button and proceed between canceling the active noise or not.
The specific button to mute the microphone also acts as an activator for the voice assistant of your smartphone. By holding down the noise canceling button it is then possible to scroll through the various sound moments, ie presets made by Jabra for different uses. You can listen to the battery level by holding the volume up and down buttons when you are not listening to music or during a call.
Very comfortable then the smart pause function that Jabra decided to implement in the Jabra Elite 85h. What can you do? Exactly guarantees the reproduction or the interruption of the music in a completely automatic way when the headphones are worn or removed from the head. A convenience that guarantees you in no way lose any audio moment and above all, it is not necessary to use the smartphone or the source device of the multimedia content every time.
Perhaps not too comfortable the feature that allows you to turn off the headphones by turning the pavilions and not with a simple and classic button. If you happen not to have to place the headphones in the convenient transport packaging but want to keep them in a special stand to turn them off, you will have to rotate them, or you will have to wait 15 minutes before seeing them off automatically.
On portability, it is clear that like most of the over-ear headphones of a certain level even the Jabra Elite 85h can be not very portable. In terms of dimensions, they are quite voluminous even though unlike others, they can be folded back to guarantee a more compact format.
The pavilions, as mentioned above, rotate also horizontally and in a particular, position can easily be stored in the supplied rigid case. Just the case is particularly rigid and comfortable for transport not only for the size is not exaggerated but above all for the high protection that allows to have respect to falls, scratches or even exposure to water.
Once worn the Jabra Elite 85h are stable even if the ear pads fluctuate by a little too much with a strong movement of the head. They will not be ideal for sports, but can still be used for light jogging, even if they have not been clearly designed for this use.
Their wireless vocation makes it possible to use them without any cable and there will be no danger of getting caught in somewhere or even seeing the headphones ripped off the head. Do not forget that the Jabra Elite 85h are supplied with a very thin TRS cable as well as a fairly short USB-C charging cable and an adapter for the air intakes.
SOUND QUALITY: The road is the right one
Now let’s talk about the sound. The Jabra Elite 85h are tight-fitting ear muffs. They have a deep and punchy bass that is perhaps even slightly monotonous, an advantage for some audiophiles. Their average range is almost flawless and the voices as well as the instruments are reproduced very accurately.
Also the range of the treble is very good, it could lack some details, especially on the voices but on the whole the headphones succeed in a good audio reproduction suitable for a wide variety of musical genres.
Specifically with the Jabra Elite 85h you have really excellent bass. Their extension is more than good with carrying emphasis. A powerful, incisive and deep bass. Identical and excellent performance even on medium notes with a uniform response that translates to the user with a highly accurate reproduction of the voices and instruments that can be perceived in detail during playback.
The insulation performance of Jabra Elite 85h is decent. Even when it comes to headphones with ANC noise reduction, the work done cannot be considered exceptional in blocking lower frequency noises such as engine noises.
This means that during journeys, even of commuting, we will not be completely isolated. However, against the noise from the work environment as well as the environmental noise, their functionality reaches the highest levels and will allow to isolate completely during work in the office.
It is also interesting to note the fact that they do not lose content even at high volume. This will allow users to use them even in crowded situations without disturbing those around us. We are at a high level qualitatively speaking and the Jabra Elite 85h manage really well to face the most famous wireless headsets like Sony and Bose of the same level, partly not reaching them but partly overcoming them for other.
The integrated microphone is just one of those features that we liked the most in the Jabra Elite 85h thanks to some really important performances. The recorded or transmitted speech with the microphone integrated in a silent environment is dry but detailed, clear and easily understandable. The same also happens in a noisy environment where the headphones are able to separate the background noise from the speech noise and those who listen to you will not be able to complain due to the quality of the headphones.
Functionality and Autonomy: Top the battery
Their autonomy is certainly to be commended. The Jabra Elite 85h have an incredible battery life even though their name doesn’t mean they can reproduce 85 hours of non-stop music. They even offer over 30 hours of autonomy with the ANC enabled noise cancellation system, which not only promotes them but makes them unassailable from this point of view. Moreover, they do not take too long to completely recharge via the USB-C cable and also allow them to be used during charging.
When they are worn and lighted, the Jabra Elite 85h signal us their activation through a pretty female voice that allows us to watch the pairing with our device. Not only because the item also declares some residual charge with generic steps such as ” high, medium and low “.
At this point, through the application of Jabra Sound, which can be downloaded both on Android and on iOS, it is possible to have some customization of the headphones through the presets generated by the company to control noise suppression as well as a complete view of the same.
Very interesting is the possibility to define the sound equalization that can be performed completely manually or with presets defined by the application itself. Not only because you can also choose the voice assistant to ask for information: here you can have Siri or Google Assistant based on your smartphone or even Alexa. Then present four typical scenarios that will allow you to determine the behavior of noise suppression in headphones.
The “SmartSound” function that Jabra integrates into a specific section of the application should be emphasized. In this case, the option once activated does nothing more than study the surrounding environment, and in a completely automatic way, go and act on the active cancellation of the noise.
The system works well even if it is still perfected in the best way. Basically, the difficulty lies in understanding and cataloging as many environments as possible so that the headset and the algorithm are able to carry out the recognition and the cancellation of the noise in the right way.
As far as connectivity is concerned, we have already mentioned how the Jabra Elite 85h are Bluetooth headsets that can work even if the battery is low by connecting them via cable. Not only because they can be connected simultaneously to 2 devices, a useful feature that allows for even better performance.
Unfortunately, they do not support the NFC module for a quicker and easier pairing, but they have the possibility of using the central multi-purpose button to easily place them in pairing mode. The 1/8 TRS cable that is packaged does not have an in-line microphone, and this means that you will only have audio when the headphones are to be used precisely wired.
Finally, as regards the Jabra Elite 85h wireless efficiency, the result is really satisfying. Headphones have a very high overall range and there are no problems whatsoever in using them even a few dozen meters from the source. Clearly, the wireless range depends a lot on the signal strength of the device and many other factors, the results could be different from user to user but in the average the result will still be always comfortable.
Conclusions
The Jabra Elite 85h headphones are excellent headphones compared to their price. This is undoubtedly a point on which the conclusion of this product must start. They are sold at a price of $299 or almost $100 less than the list price of the most famous competition. A significant advantage because users can still get headphones with active noise cancellation of high level capable of excellent performance at the expense of maybe some flaw justifiable just for those dollars less to shell out.
The Jabra Elite 85h have a very versatile sound suitable for different musical genres. They are comfortable and their active noise cancellation function is good, without being excellent unlike other similar high-end headphones. They are a good choice for commuting while they are a perfect option for the office.
On a technical level, they possess a deep and incisive bass capable of making the most important listening pleasant as well as the less detailed one. Interesting and above all comfortable the application that allows you to customize the presets and actually realize the product.
The road is the right one. Jabra manages to put his own into the packaging of the Jabra Elite 85h which is capable of making itself at the top of the word as well as in sound quality. To improve the active cancellation of noise in order to be able to really give a hard time to giants like Sony or Bose that still can only be worried by the work done by Jabra with these new Jabra Elite 85h.
- BLOCK UNWANTED BACKGROUND NOISE: Jabra elite 85H wireless headphones are engineered...
- SMARTSOUND AUDIO: the revolutionary smartsound audio technology in these Bluetooth...
- LONG BATTERY LIFE HEADPHONES: up to 36 hours of battery on a single charge (with ANC...
- Active noise cancellation - effectively blocks out distracting background noises so...
- Built-in microphone - Enables simple hands-free chatting via a compatible device
- Bluetooth interface - Enables simple wireless pairing with your Bluetooth-enabled...
- BLOCK UNWANTED BACKGROUND NOISE: Jabra Elite 85h Wireless Headphones are engineered...
- SMARTSOUND AUDIO: The revolutionary SmartSound Audio technology in these Bluetooth...
- LONG BATTERY LIFE HEADPHONES: Up to 36 hours of battery on a single charge (with ANC...
- BLOCK UNWANTED BACKGROUND NOISE: Jabra Elite 85h Wireless Headphones are engineered...
- SMARTSOUND AUDIO: The revolutionary SmartSound Audio technology in these Bluetooth...
- LONG BATTERY LIFE HEADPHONES: Up to 36 hours of battery on a single charge (with ANC...
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Jabra Elite 85h
- Design
- Battery
- Comfortable
- Easy to use
