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Audio has never been an issue for Jabra and the Elite 85t is exemplary. The engineers doubled the speaker size (12mm) to pump out even bigger, more detailed sound, which can be personalized in the Jabra Sound+ app, though many find that the default EQ is sufficient for enjoying all popular media formats (e.g. music, videos, podcasts, games) on the go. Jabra’s last attempt at ANC headphones, the Elite 85h, was surprisingly good and fared well against category kingpins like the Bose QuietComfort 35 II and Sony WF-1000XM3. The same can be said about the Elite 85t’s noise-neutralizing capabilities when pitted against the AirPods Pro and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds. Ever wonder why Jabra hasn’t adopted touch controls? According to the company, some user experience studies showed that people liked the sensation of using buttons versus tap gestures. I’m not one of them, specifically because physical buttons require pressing the buds into the ears which creates discomfort, but I give credit to Jabra for making control management less painful. It is possible to interact with the Jabras in other ways, though, and the company’s ‘Sound+’ app is one of the better examples around. Here, you can adjust the amount of active noise-cancellation you desire, from ‘blanket of isolation’ to ‘mild amplification of external sound’. There’s some EQ adjustment available here too, and an impressively thorough hearing test to help the 85t adjust their levels to best suit your hearing profile.
Battery life on the Elite 85t is standard: 5.5 hours with ANC on and 7.5 hours with ANC off.This is higher than the AirPods Pro (4.5 hours), but shorter than the QuietComfort Earbuds and Sony WF-1000XM3, with ANC on (6 hours). At least the Elite 85t gives you the option to power off the feature, but so does the WF-1000XM3, and that model offers 30 mins more playtime. Update 10/25/2021: These headphones were updated to Test Bench 1.5 and their latency values have changed. Our previous Test Bench 1.4 measurements reported 'PC latency' at 234 ms, 'iOS latency' at 137 ms, and 'Android Latency' at 165 ms. However, our new test bench uses an average of three measurements instead of one, resulting in different values. As a result, we have updated our text to better reflect test bench 1.5 measurements.The Jabras use Bluetooth 5.1 for wireless connectivity – there’s no aptX, let alone aptX HD, but 5.1 alone is more than sufficient to get some hi-res audio files on board. And with an MQA-powered Tidal Masters file of Marvin Gaye’s Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) playing, the 85t don’t take long to establish themselves as a reasonably balanced, reasonably sophisticated listen. Without noise cancellation enabled, the Elite 85t buds will last you around seven hours, the same as the Jabra 75t. It’s also worth noting that this is the length the batteries will last after being taken out of the charging case. The case will actually extend the buds’ life to 25 hours (or 31 hours with ANC off), without needing to be plugged in again. This should last you a few days if you’re just using the Elite 85t buds for an hour or so – for example during your commute – per day.
These buds are longer (2mm longer) and heavier (1 gram more) than their predecessor, but these are changes that don’t affect overall comfort. The sound port was redesigned with an oval shape to allow for seamless insertion into the canal, while the gel tips don’t go too deep into the ear and provide decent on-ear stabilization. You’ll be able to sport the buds for about 1.5 hours before fatigue sets in. Jabra Elite 85t review: Controls and digital assistant Jabra isn’t a company shy of innovation. More often than not, the Danish audio brand is first to market with cutting-edge in-ear headphone designs, pioneering more compact form factors while retaining the great sound quality the firm is known for. If having virtual assistant support is important, then the Elite 85t won’t disappoint you, as the buds demonstrate excellent speech recognition to register voice commands. Much fun was had using Google Assistant to pull up World Series box scores and voice-to-text friends when playing video games in the office uninterrupted. Siri gave me the same attention on macOS and didn’t skip a beat when pulling up calendar invites. Jabra confirmed that Alexa is coming in a Q1 2021 software upgrade. Jabra Elite 85t review: Active noise cancellation and HearThrough During our time testing the Jabra’s Elite 85t earbuds, we found they lasted for just over five hours per charge with noise cancellation left on. While this falls short slightly of Jabra’s quoted 5.5-hour battery life, it’s still inline with what else is available on the market right now. Take Apple’s AirPods Pro, which last just 4.5 hours per charge. In isolation, the Jabra Elite 85t fall into the ‘good not great’ category. They have many strengths and a couple of fairly significant weaknesses. A bigger problem, though, is the quality and the sheer number of rivals – similar money buys you decent alternatives from some of the biggest names around, such as the Sony WF-1000XM4, Apple AirPods Pro 2 or (if you can a good deal), Bose QuietComfort II. You can certainly do better in sonic terms, so unless you value the size and comfort of the 85t above all else, we’d advise you to shop around.Thankfully, the same goes for the brand new Elite 85t earphones. As the name suggests, they follow in the footsteps of Jabra’s last release, the Elite Active 75t, with a very similar design. Each earbud has three mics, too. One governs active noise-cancellation of external sound, another does the same for sound from inside the ear, and the third looks after telephony and interaction with voice assistants. Call quality is excellent, and compatibility with Siri and Google Assistant means it should be straightforward enough to have your bidding done simply by asking. Update 09/22/2021: We have retested 'Multi-Device Pairing'. These headphones can connect to two devices at once by sliding the power button towards the 'Bluetooth' label on the headphones to enter pairing mode. The headphones give you an audible confirmation that you have two devices connected. However, you can only hear audio input from one device at a time. Unfortunately, you can't play audio from a console and a Bluetooth device at once. There hasn't been a change in our results. If you're the type who watches YouTube clips or Netflix shows from your mobile device regularly, then expect even better audio performance. When watching several Joe Biden campaign speeches, I loved how crisp and clear the low-voiced former VP sounded. Audiobooks, podcasts, and IG Live clips were also audibly satisfying. Jabra Elite 85t review: App and special features The Elite 85t is arguably at its best when playing orchestral records. Personal favorites like Ahmad Jamal’s “The Awakening” encouraged me to go on a Jazz binge during the testing phase. It was a soothing listen, but the extra oomph added to the low end sweetened the deal. The double bass delivered some amazing reverberation, which felt surreal, as if the instrument was being played right next to my ear.
HearThrough makes a return and has five adjustable levels that you can select in the app. It’s a slight upgrade over the previous version and makes external sounds clearer and more pronounced, much like the QuietComfort Earbuds’ ambient mode, which blends ANC and ambient listening together. HearThrough doesn’t do this, but that doesn’t make it any less serviceable. Those who want better awareness of their surroundings or want to engage in brief chats without removing the buds will do in care-free fashion. Jabra Elite 85t review: Audio quality Turning on ANC gives bass an incremental boost that only those with detailed hearing will notice. These buds can get extremely loud, which was a major complaint I had with the Elite 75t, but I recommend bringing the volume down five notches from the max level if you want to feed your ears lively sound and prevent any hearing damage. Oddly, the Elite 85t’s sound was much lower coming from my phone than from my MacBook Pro, though this issue was temporary and gone the following morning. However, the main difference here is that they’re not aimed at sports (although they are still rugged enough to be used for low-impact fitness thanks to IPX4 water-resistance). Bluetooth 5.0 is steady and reliable on the Elite 85t. The buds automatically show up on the available device list the moment you take them out of the charging case and pair instantly to your smartphone, tablet or laptop. Range is solid for about 35 feet of wireless listening. Multipoint technology is also at your disposal to connect the buds to two different devices simultaneously. Jabra Elite 85t review: VerdictThere’s decent weight and substance at the bottom of the frequency range to underpin the recording nicely, but bass sounds aren’t the most disciplined or well controlled – and that can impact a little on the tune’s momentum and rhythmic balance. If it’s punch you want from your headphones, though, the Jabras will certainly appeal.
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