INTRODUCTION

   Audio performance has always been at the top of the things we look for when testing a pair of headphones or a headset (followed by build quality) and honestly, we don't see any way that could ever change (we are talking about an audio device after all). Still lately there's a growing number of consumers (like commuters) and professionals (including office workers) who place audio performance second to ANC (active noise cancelling) and although we don't agree with that, we do understand that in certain scenarios (noisy places for instance, public or not) ANC is a very important feature. That being said however in our book one should never have to sacrifice audio performance for any feature, ANC included and lucky for us there's a good number of manufacturers out there who seem to feel exactly the same way we do. Jabra is one such manufacturer and today we'll be testing their latest Elite 85h ANC Headphones which they announced earlier this year and just rolled out to the market.

   Jabra, part of the GN Group, is a leading developer and manufacturer of communications and sound solutions. We are committed to letting people hear more, do more and be more than they ever thought possible. We believe that through sound, we can transform lives. Jabra innovates and empowers with sound solutions for businesses and consumers, producing corded and wireless headsets, portable and in-office speakerphones, and sports earbuds. Jabra employs 1,000 people worldwide, and produced an annual revenue of DKK3.5 bn in 2016. The GN Group operates in more than 90 countries, and has almost 150 years’ experience in innovation and delivering reliability and ease of use. Founded in 1869, employing over 5,000 people, and listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen, GN makes life sound better. www.jabra.com

   According to Jabra the brand new ELITE 85h (currently available in Black, Titanium Black, Navy Blue and Gold Beige colors) is by far the most advanced headphones released by them to date in the consumer electronics market and that alone speaks for itself. Being vague is not our thing however so in order to be more specific under the hood of the ELITE 85h we find two 40mm dynamic neodymium stereo drivers (10Hz-20KHz frequency response), 8 microphones (6xMEMS - 100Hz to 8kHz / 2xECM - 200Hz to 8kHz) and a lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack which can power the device for up to 41 hours (with ANC off - up to 36 hours with ANC on). The ELITE 85h actually features a new form of ANC (digital hybrid ANC) which basically makes use of 4 out of the 8 available microphones to filter out ambient noise (even automatically via SmartSound). Something similar happens with the outgoing voice signal only this time over 6 out of the 8 available microphones are used to filter out unwanted noise. By using this "AI" ANC technology Jabra claims that the ELITE 85h surpass both their SONY and BOSE counterparts (also in terms of battery life) and we have no reason to dispute that. Other features include a IP52 rain and dust resistant certified construction (via nano coating), Bluetooth v5.0 connectivity (10 meter range - the following profiles are supported: HSP v1.2 , HFP v1.7, A2DP v1.3, AVRCP v1.6, PBAP v1.1 and SPP v1.2), exterior earcup controls, foldable & rotatable earcups, on-ear detection sensors (automatically pauses music playback and mutes calls when you remove the ELITE 85h) and support for voice commands/assistant (compatible with Amazon Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant).