DECEMBER 2020 T3 63Tr ue w i reless ea rbuds
JABRA ELITE 85T
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o far we have had Bose’s music-focused buds
that sound stunning, have great noise
cancelling but are somewhat bulbous. Then
we’ve looked at Samsung’s compact buds,
which are great to wear and offer pretty good sound for
their size and shape. This offering from Jabra is even
better, though. Why? Because they sound almost as good
as the Bose, but are far smaller.
Jabra already has a great pair of true wireless buds on
the market called Elite 75t. These build on the success of
those buds with much bigger and better drivers and the
addition of active noise cancelling. Laudably, Jabra has
added noise cancelling to the 75t as well, via a software
update, but the ANC on the 85t is an awful lot better.
The impressive thing is that Jabra has managed these
upgrades without making the newer buds much bigger,
and also without murdering the battery life.
Everyone’s ears are different, admittedly, but Jabra did
a lot of testing to find the optimum shape for the largest
number of people and, for us, the fit is absolutely spot on.
The 75t were actually so compact that you had to almost
‘dig’ them out of your ears, and their case, but the 85t sit
comfortably but firmly in place. The fact that the buds
don’t go as deep, while the drivers are vented, mean there
is less of an ‘earplug’ feel.S
The sound isn’t as natural
as that of the Bose, but it
is a little more dynamic
That’s not to say they don’t keep noise out, though. In
fact, the combination of active noise cancelling and in-ear
fit here is like having an off switch for the world. You
really will need the ‘hear through’ feature if you want to
converse with other people while wearing these buds. The
ANC also further improves the sound quality, which is
already pretty damn good even with it turned off.
The sound is not as natural as that of the Bose, but on
the other hand it is a little more dynamic. If you favour
electronic music and driving rock, you will probably
prefer their sound to the Bose, although we’d say the
QuietComfort buds handle acoustic sounds better, and
add less colouration to the sound.
Battery life is just shy of the other buds in this feature,
at five and a half hours per charge, and 24 hours in total,
via in-case recharging. It’s also worth noting that the
Elite 85t are waterproof to IPX4. Combined with secure
fit, this means they should be suitable for use during
workouts and runs. That’s yet another reason to consider
purchasing these exceptional earbuds.JABRA
ELITE 85T
PRODUCT 03:
Stunningly good true wireless buds
combine great sound and compact size