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).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The ELITE 85h arrived inside a brown and yellow box that has a large product picture at the front right over the main product features and beneath the company logo.

A second product picture is located on the right side.

At the rear of the box we find yet another product picture again right beneath the main product features.

Once you remove the exterior cover you will find the main box with the company logo on it.

A piece of cardboard placed just over the bundle also acts as a getting started guide so you may want to take a good look at it (both sides of it).

The ELITE 85h are placed inside a large carrying/storage case.

Along with the ELITE 85h and the carrying/storage case Jabra also packs an flight adapter, 1.2 meter long 3.5mm cable, 30cm long USB-C charging cable and a warning and declarations paper.

THE ELITE 85H

Jabra has used a thick carrying/storage case which has plenty of room inside for both the ELITE 85h and their bundle.

The 296g heavy ELITE 85h is a medium sized model made out of PC/ABS, stainless steel, fabric and PU faux leather.

We usually see small to medium sized headsets by Jabra and although the ELITE 85h is a bit bulkier it's far from large.

The exterior of both earcups is dressed in soft fabric which is something you may either like or dislike. On the exterior of the right earcup we also find three buttons (from top to bottom: increase volume/next track - answer/end calls, play/pause music and Bluetooth pairing - decrease volume/previous track).

Jabra has placed their logo on both ends of the headband right over the earcups.

The mute microphone button is located at the rear of the right earcup and can also be used to launch the voice assistant feature (Amazon Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant are supported).

Further down we find the 3.5mm port, USB-C charging port and an activity LED.

This single button located at the rear of the left earcup can be used to switch between the various sound modes (ANC / HearThrough / Off).

Left and right markings are printed on the interior of the headband just over the earcups.

The only way for you to turn off the ELITE 85h is to rotate the earcups 90 degrees as seen above (and vice versa).

To make it easier to store and carry the earcups can also fold.

Jabra has used medium sized memory foam earpads covered in PU faux leather.

The same of course also applies for the headpad.

You can extend the headband of the ELITE 85h up to 34mm on both sides (68mm total - no visible or audible increments).

For the majority of our tests we used the brand new M11 Hi-Res Audio Player by FiiO (review soon).

SOUND+ APP

If the Sound+ app doesn't detect the ELITE 85h automatically once you launch it you will get the above screen asking you to choose your headset (in our case the ELITE 85h was detected right after we took the screenshot).

Next you will be asked to choose which assistant you'd like to use.

Jabra is giving you a total of 4 presets to use with the Sound+ app (for use in different scenarios- my moment / commute / in public / in private) each of which you can configure according to your preference (there are many available options with the equalizer, call experience and surround sound mode standing out).

The SmartSound feature basically uses the microphones of the ELITE 85h to detect noises in the environment you are at in order to automatically choose the "ideal" preset (you will of course need to authorize the app to use the microphones as seen above).

By navigating to the Discover tab, you can check for available firmware updates, use the locate my headset feature and register the headset with Jabra.

In our case there was a firmware update which further boosted volume levels so we do recommend this is the very first thing you do once you take the ELITE 85h out of its box.

CONCLUSION

   The ELITE 85h may not be the best looking pair of headphones in the market and they are somewhat bulky compared to what Jabra has gotten us used to over the years but after two weeks of testing we can verify that they do excel in terms of audio performance (not to mention build quality) with crystal clear mids and highs and sufficient bass levels (perhaps however just a tad less than what we were expecting – we are talking about a 40mm driver unit after all). Volume levels are also very good so don’t expect to use the ELITE 85h at maximum volume for long periods of time (for example my ears couldn’t take it). Unfortunately, although the ELITE 85h is equipped with state of the art technologies it doesn't support any of the high-quality wireless audio codecs available today (such as aptX, aptX HD and LDAC) so if you own a smartphone that supports one of these (or an audio player) you may want to look elsewhere. True like we already mentioned the ELITE 85h does extremely well in terms of audio performance so we suspect that most consumers out there will not have a problem with that (audiophiles excluded probably) but that only means it would be so much better with aptX HD or LDAC. Jabra’s digital hybrid audio noise cancelling technology was tested in 3 environments, on public transportations (bus/subway), a McDonalds and our lab while sitting right next to our rackmount server with impressive results (the same applies for the HearThrough feature as well). Of course, not having tested the SONY and BOSE equivalents means that we can’t really compare the ANC of the ELITE 85h to theirs but it worked almost flawlessly no matter the amount of ambient noise (do take into account that our sample was updated to the latest firmware version prior to testing). As for battery life during our tests we never surpassed 33 hours with ANC turned on (in their defence however we always used them at almost full volume) but considering that their competition offers up to 20 hours of battery life with ANC turned on this is a huge improvement.

    The ELITE 85h ANC Headphones were officially released by Jabra late last month and so availability is as expected not the best all over. Still it’s currently available at major retailers in both the USA and the EU for USD299/299Euros (if you like the Navy-Blue color as in our sample and you live in the EU then we recommend grabbing it from Amazon UK – limited offer of 256Euros). Of course, this is by no means an “affordable” ANC model but it still costs roughly USD50/50Euros less than its direct competition so that’s also something to consider. At the end of the day the ELITE 85h could had been better had Jabra used Hi-Res codecs (and that is pretty much it’s only drawback) and why not even an on/off power button for people who may not like it’s automatic on/off feature but it’s still without doubt one of the best ANC headphones money can buy at the time of this review and for that it certainly deserves our Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality (IP52 Coated Stainless Steel Construction)
- Audio Reproduction (Accurate And Detailed Mids & Highs)
- Bluetooth v5.0
- Almost Flawless Smart Active Noise Cancellation
- 8 Available Microphones
- Volume Levels
- Smart Touch Controls
- Foldable/ Rotatable Earcups
- Massive Battery Life (Up To 41 Hours/ 36 Hours With ANC)
- Available Colors (Black/ Titanium Black/ Gold Beige/ Navy Blue)
- Sound+ App (Available Features Like SmartSound)

CONS

- Current Availability
- Price (For Some)
- Lack Of Support for Hi-Res Codecs