HWM Singapore – August 2019

The Jabra Elite 85h is a pair of futuristic-
looking headphones that are certi ed
to be rain resistant thanks to a nano-
coating of the internal components.
They also come with sensors that
detect when they’re off your ears,
automatically pausing
audio and muting calls when
appropriate.
These also have
support for digital
assistants, with a
one-touch button that
calls up your choice
of Amazon Alexa, Siri,
and Google Assistant.
And of course, there’s
a companion app for
your phone, which
allows you to activate what Jabra
calls ‘SmartSound’.
This analyses your sound
environment and automatically
applies ANC and HearThrough
settings. For example, if you’re on the
street, it lowers the ANC eff ect so you
can hear traffi c, and if you pick up a
call, the headphone optimizes the
audio for voice.
We tried this out on our commute
home and found that while the app is
fairly accurate in terms of detecting
what sort of scenario you’re in,

we generally got a better listening

experience with ANC at full. On rare

occasions, we also found SmartSound

switching locations even though we

hadn’t actually moved from our spot.

In terms of audio performance, we’d

say the Elite 85h has a warm sound

signature and good delivery in the

lower mids, but isn’t the last word

in detail.

For example, a recording

of Maceo Parker’s Pass

the Peas is delivered with

good pace and verve so

you can feel the energy of

the crowd. The headphone

does a good job of

rendering Parker’s vocals

separate from his backup

singers, but loses the cheers of the

crowd in the process.

This isn’t a headphone to deliver

deep rumbling bass though. On a

recording of Evanescence’s Bring me

to Life, you can just barely feel the

bass, while the distort guitar gets a little

muddied at parts.

Put on something like Maroon 5’s

Payphone however, and the headphone

sings, giving enough weight to vocals,

bass and the various synth eff ects

used in the track. Overall, best with

jazz or pop.

Best battery life of the group.

SmartSound can prove

to be erratic.

This button cycles through

noise-cancelling modes.

SmartSound tries to automatically

adjust noise-cancelling to match

your environment.

ATA GLANCE

FREQUENCY

RESPONSE

20Hz-20kHz

BATTERY LIFE

36 hours (Wireless

andANCenabled)

QUICK CHARGE

5 hours after

15 minutes

WEIGHT

296g

PRICE

$428

AUGUST 2019 | HWM 51