JABRA ELITE 85H
£279, JABRA.CO.UK
I don’t like earphones. They tire my ears out after a while, so over-ear headphones tend to be easier on my hearing. In the confines of my flat, this means I listen to music via a pair of hi-fi quality headphones with an open-back, that lets some of the noise and air pressure escape. They’re also lightweight and the earcups are lined with a breathable material which makes them comfortable to wear for a whole evening. This isn’t a humble brag; my point is I’m yet to find a pair of wireless headphones that come close in terms of comfort, let alone sound.
That’s the first thing that’s stood out about this new pair of Jabras. At 275g, they don’t seem particularly light, and the cans come lined in faux leather which usually isn’t a great combo for comfort. And yet the ergonomic design, and perhaps how the weight is spread out through the frame, make for a supremely comfortable pair of headphones for your commute, which is exactly what they were designed for. The Elite 85h is built with Jabra’s ‘Digital Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation’, which is their way of saying the headphones can listen to the world around you and filter out the noises you don’t want, like the ra le of a train, while allowing through the noises you do
need to hear, like fast-approaching cars. It’s also supposed to be just as useful if you’re at home and want some peace and quiet, but don’t want to your other half to throw pens at you to get your a ention.
I tried out SmartSound on our commute. The software on the Jabra Sound + app listened in and realised I was stood in public and stifled the droning buses stuck in traffic, while leaving the screeches and squeaks made by its brakes intact. The idea is that it’s supposed to tune in every few minutes and see if the headphones need to let in more or less sound. In practice, this meant occasionally you’re surprised by a particularly loud car or conversation. But that’s no bad thing if it means you’re a li le more aware of your surroundings.
For the most part the sound pumped out by the Jabras is brilliant. They stand up well to most lauded headphones in this price range from the likes of Sony and Bose. The treble is crisp and clean, and the overall sound feels roomy and inviting. Experimental rock band Yeasayer’s ambling keyboards and delicate riffs sing through. But put on something that demands a li le more bass like Thom Yorke’s new LP Anima and the bass notes are a li le lacking.
Audiophiles might be put off by the absence of some high-end audio codecs, which support lossless audio quality over Bluetooth. If, like me, you get your music mostly via Apple Music or Spotify you won’t notice the difference and it could be addressed via an update in the future.
The full-on noise cancellation is excellent. They made my bus ride almost serene, were it not for the sweltering heat. And they avoid the ‘I’ve suddenly been sucked into an empty void’ sensation that we felt with other noise-cancellation tech. The headphone’s ba ery life, at 36 hours with noise-cancelling turned on, is top of its class and will mean you can use them all week before you have to plug them into a charger.
At £279, they’re not cheap, but the Elite 85h does offer features and audio quality of headphones that are usually over the £300 mark. There’s the aforementioned Jabra Sound + app, which gives you an equaliser (so you can turn the bass up), different noise-cancelling se ings and even some ‘Soundscapes’. The headphones automatically turn on and connect to your phone or computer when they’re unfolded, and house some bu ons on the cans to let you flick through your preset se ings. All in all, they don’t scrimp on quality or features, and are affordable in this price range.