Jabra Earbud Lineup Explained - Jabra Elite 85T Vs Jabra Elite 7 Pro Vs Jabra Elite 3

So right now, Jabra is revamping its line of truly wireless

earbud

s. Now, I personally really like the Jaba Elite 3 and Elite 7 Pro... but I have to say that the Jabra

elite

85T are still one of my favorite headphones that I recommend, especially if active noise cancellation is very important to you. However, if you are thinking of purchasing one of these headphones... let's see which one is right for you. Now, regarding the price, the Elite 3 are Jabra's entry-level headphones... and when I say entry-level I mean entry-level because these items sell for $80. Then there's the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, which sells for $200... and then there's the Jabra Elite 85T, which sells for $230.

However, since these are the oldest headphones here, they can usually be found on sale for around $180 or less. However, if you want to purchase any of these headphones, they will be linked below. Now let's first talk about these cases. Now all of these headphones have small enough cases for everyday carrying and are pretty easy to handle. Which is something that can't be said for older Jabra headphones because some of their cases were difficult to open. But not these. Now both the Elite 3 and Elite 7 Pro have roughly the same case sizes. They have about the same footprint and about the same thickness.

While the casing of the Elite 85T is a little higher. But still... I would say that all three cases are in the same wheelhouse. However, compared to any pair of AirPods, all of Jabra's cases are noticeably larger... they have larger footprints and are noticeably thicker... but compared to other options available, like say the Galaxy Buds case 2 or the Galaxy Buds Pro case. or the Sony WF-1000XM4 case… all Jabra cases are in the same league. However, compared to, say, Beats Studio Buds, Beats Fit Pro, or Sennheiser CX Plus… all of Jabra's cases are noticeably smaller. So overall, all Jabra cases are decently small... and there's no singular outlier with the smallest case here... but if you're an iPhone user and case size is very important to you because to convenience... then AirPods are still your best bet.

Now, as far as battery life goes… Jabra headphones are pretty good. Now the Elite 85T has an advertised combined battery life of 25 hours and that's with active noise cancellation turned on. And if you were to use them with active noise cancellation disabled, you should be able to get 31 hours of use out of them. Not bad. Then there are the Jabra Elite 3, which have an advertised combined battery life of 28 hours. The

earbud

s can last for 7 hours straight and the case can provide 3 additional charges. However, keep in mind that these headphones do not have active noise cancellation. And then there are the Jabra

elite

7 Pro, which have an advertised combined battery life of 30 hours with active noise cancellation on.

The earbuds can last for 8 hours and the case can provide 3 additional charges. And like the Elite 85T, if you were to use these headphones with active noise cancellation disabled... you can extend the battery life even further. Now when it comes to charging these cases...they all charge via a USB C port like they should. Which is great for Android users. However, only the 85T and 7 Pro have wireless charging, while the entry-level Elite 3 does not. Now, I personally don't care much about wireless charging on my earbuds... but wireless charging is now a standard feature that we expect once we get into the Elite 7 Pro and Elite 85T price range.

But now let's talk about the fit... because the 85T fits very differently than these other two headphones. Now, both the Elite 3 and Elite 7 Pro fit the same... and they both fit like a standard pair of in-ear headphones, as they go into your ear canal a decent amount, like say the Galaxy Buds 2 or Sennhesier CX Plus. . Now you can definitely use these headphones for a long time without any discomfort... but these headphones may seem a bit intrusive compared to the Elite 85T. Now, the Jabra Elite 85T are a pair of shallow-fitting headphones like, say, the AirPods Pro, Beats Studio Buds, or Galaxy Bud Pro.

Like they don't penetrate very deeply into the ear canal. Combined with their more oval ear tips... the 85T feel much more natural than the Elite 3 or Elite 7 Pro... and I think they do a better job of staying in place than the AirPods Pro. Now, overall, I would recommend all of these earbuds for casual use because they can be moved around quite easily if you're working out... but overall I have to say that the Jabra Elite 85T fit much more comfortably and naturally than these other two. headphones. And overall, the Jabra Elite 85T are among my favorite headphones.

But now let's talk about connectivity because there are some important nuances here. Now the earbuds of the new Jabra Elite 3 and Jabra Elite 7 Pro each establish a connection with your phone. So if you only want to use one earbud at a time, you can use either one, it doesn't matter. And this is the connection setup we expect to see on our headphones today. While the Jabra Elite 85T uses a hero and companion configuration. Which means that one earbud, the hero earbud, in this case the right earbud, actually establishes a connection with your phone... and then transmits that connection to the left earbud.

So if you only want to use one earbud at a time, you need to use the right earbud. Or in this case the right earpiece, the cardiac earpiece. Now, there's nothing wrong with headsets that still use a hero and sidekick setup... but headsets that still use a hero and sidekick setup are either next-gen or just cheaper. However, the standout feature of Jabra's earbuds that still use a hero and side kick setup is that they can be connected to any two devices simultaneously, regardless of the operating system. Therefore, you can easily switch between two Bluetooth devices regardless of the eco system.

So if you're a power user with, say, an Android device and an iPad... then you'll be able to hot-swap them. Which is very convenient. While, as with the Elite 3 and Elite 7 Pro, they can only connect to one device at a time... however, starting in December 2021, Jabra promises that the Elite 7 Pro will get multipoint Bluetooth connectivity to via a firmware update in January 2022. Hopefully, the Elite 7 Pro will get the same functionality as the Elite 85T... which is really great for power users. While with the Elite 3... they make no reference to getting this update. But when it comes to overall performance, all of these headphones have zero latency across the board when you're watching movies or videos on your phone, whether you're using an iPhone or an Android device... and when it comes to audio codecs. .. things get worse. bit strange here.

Both the Elite 7 Pro and Elite 85T support SBC and AAC... a pretty standard battery. While the entry-level Elite 3 has support for SBC and APTX... No, one would expect these more premium headphones to have APTX... but they don't. Now AAC works perfectly fine... but it's a shame that the Elite 3 have APTX. But now let's talk about listening to music with these headphones. Overall, I have always recommended Jabra headphones to people who like a warmer sound because these headphones like to put emphasis on the bass and are not the most spacious sounding headphones out there. And that definitely applies to both the Elite 3 and the Elite 85T.

However, with the Elite 85T I noticed that its bass resonates and hits a little harder and its treble is not as tinny as the Elite 3. So, the Elite 85T and Elite 3 have the same characteristics... But the 85T has better overall performance because its bass is richer and the treble is much cleaner. Now, both earbuds have a few preset EQ settings that you can choose from... however, with the Elite 3 you can't create your own EQ like you can with these other two earbuds. And I personally find it quite strange. But in general yes. The Elite 85T sound better than the Elite 3.

But then there are the Jabra elite 7 Pro, which I can't help but sound a little different. Unlike the elite 85T, the elite 7 pro don't sound as shallow, which is a good thing. And these headphones put more emphasis on the mids to make vocals more pronounced. Now, these headphones have a decent amount of bass and should satisfy most people, but these headphones don't have as much bass as the Elite 85T or Elite 3. But I also can't help but notice that the bass on the Elite 7 Pro is better controlled because they do not turn off or interfere with the rest of your music like the 85T or Elite 3.

But the Elite 7 Pro's treble also has better clarity. So overall, I'd say the Elite 7 Pro sound better than the Elite 85T because they don't sound as shallow... but I would recommend the Elite 7 Pro to someone who likes a more neutral or heavier vocal EQ. Now, when it comes to controlling your media, all of these headphones have physical buttons. And this could be a deal breaker for some people. Some people just don't want to have to deal with the touch pads on their headphones. Now you can do all your basic things, like play or pause your music, skip it, turn the volume up or down, and activate the voice assistant of your choice.

However, with the Elite 3 you can't customize the button layout like you can with these other two headphones. And I should also point out that the Elite 3 does not have proximity sensors... like these other two headphones. Therefore, the Elite 3 will not automatically play or pause if you take it out of your ears or put it back in. And I personally think this is a big drawback. However, given that the Elite 3 are an entry-level pair of headphones... it's forgivable. But now let's talk about the active noise cancellation of these headphones. Now, the Elite 3 doesn't have active noise cancellation... but these other two headphones do.

Now Jabra does active noise cancellation very well in its headphones and both the Elite 85T and Elite 7 Pro are rated very well. But don't expect these headphones to block out as much noise as a pair of proper over-ear ANC headphones, like the Bose NC 700, Sony 1000XM4, and especially the AirPods Max. Now, as far as the overall rating goes, the Sony WF-1000XM4s block out the most noise here. Although they do have a slight advantage due to their itchy foam pads. The Jabra Elite 85T also block out a lot of noise and are more comfortable, which is why I personally prefer them.

Below them are the AirPods Pro and Sennheiser Momentum 2, which I think are neck and neck... below them are the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, below them are the Beats Fit Pro and below them are the Galaxy Buds Pro. Now, Below the Galaxy Buds Pro are the Jabra Elite 75T, below them are the Beats Studio Buds, below them are the Galaxy Buds 2 and below them are the Sennheiser CX plus. As I said, Jabra's active noise cancellation ranks very well... and personally, the 85T are my favorite headphones to recommend if active noise cancellation is very important to you. They block out a lot of noise without being as itchy as the WF-1000XM4, and they have a reasonably sized case unlike the Bose headphones.

But as I've mentioned in the past... I only use the active noise cancellation on my headphones when necessary. And what's really important is the quality of your ambient mode. Now all of these headphones have an ambient mode... even the Elite 3. And the ambient mode on all of these headphones can be used. However, I have to say that the Ambient mode on the Elite 85T sounds much more natural than the Ambient mode on the Elite 7 Pros. You can now adjust the ambient mode on both the Elite 85T and Elite 7 Pro to your liking. While with the Elite 3 you can't.

Now the ambient mode on the Elite 3 is good...but might be too quiet for some people. But I think the Elite 3's ambient mode sounds better than the Elite 7 Pro's ambient mode because they don't amplify noise pollution as much. But finally here is the microphone test. Now, Jabra's earbuds don't have the best sounding microphone out there for phone calls...they can sound a little shallow. But they can be used in a quiet room. However, I think the Elite 7 Pro focuses on your voice a little better than the 85T. And then there are the slightly brighter sounding Jabra Elite 3s... which I personally prefer.

Now, when it comes to blocking out ambient noise... I think the Elite 3 do the best job here. Now, as far as road noise goes...although you can hear it in the background, these headphones are doing a good job of elevating my voice. Very similar to AirPods. While with the Elite7 Pro...although these headphones block out more road noise than the Elite 3...it still sounds like there is a lot of background interference. Which is more distracting than the constant road noise on the Elite 3. But then there are the Jabra elite 85Ts that try to block out road noise... but my voice sounds like it's being turned down.

Now, when it comes to blocking conversations, the 85Ts do a little better. But there is still some interference in my voice. And with the Jabra elite 7 Pro, they are trying to block out this chatter… but there is still a lot of interference. But finally here are the Jabra Elite 3 which, while they let in a decent amount of chatter... do the best job of raising my voice. So I feel like it's a little easier to understand myself with them. Overall, all of these headphones have pretty decent sounding microphones for phone calls in a quiet room... but if you need to take phone calls in a noisy environment...

I think the Elite 3 might be your best option. Ironically. So with all that being said, if you're trying to choose between any of Jabra's earbuds… here's my breakdown. The Jabra elite 3 are a solid pair of entry-level headphones. They have a small case, with a long combined battery life of 28 hours, they have an ambient mode, and a decent sounding microphone for phone calls. The Jabra Elite 85T is definitely worth picking up if active noise cancellation is very important to you. These things are on par with the Sony WF-1000XM4... but much more comfortable. And that's why I prefer them.

And then there are the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, which also have very impressive active noise cancellation... but have a much more balanced sound than the 85T. The Jabra Elite 7 Pro offer all the features you'd want in a premium pair of ANC headphones... but I think their ambient mode needs improvement.