[Review] Jabra Elite 85t Wireless Earbuds With ANC Feature

While it was pretty impressive, I could still hear my fingers snapping a little. So at first, I was a little disappointed because I thought it would’ve completely blocked out all sounds.

However, I wasn’t paying much attention to my surroundings at the time, but after an hour of listening, I took off my earbuds and was taken aback by how loud my surroundings actually were.

Rain was pouring very heavily that afternoon plus some thunder, and my brother and his girlfriend had actually been laughing and talking loudly the entire time while watching a movie.

It was then that I realised the effectiveness of their ANC, and how it successfully made me oblivious to all the noise in my surroundings that afternoon.

Music Personalisation, The App and Call Quality

The ANC feature definitely made listening to music much more enjoyable, and being able to adjust the equaliser made it easier for me to boost the bass in songs that I enjoy.

The app also lets you customise sound modes according to 3 different common environments like casual listening, commute and focus, which was very convenient. 

Another feature I also find convenient is the “Find My Jabra” function on the app that lets you locate your earbuds if they ever go missing.

Speaking of distance, my listening experience surprisingly didn’t buffer or break when I walked around my house with my phone in one place, which was something I couldn’t find in the Razer.

Call quality, however, was a little tricky. While on my end I could hear the other person well consistently, they’ve told me that the first call was very clear on their end, whereas the second and third onwards were soft. 

The Earbuds’ Buttons

There is one button on each earbud which lets you adjust the volume, play/pause music, go next or backtrack, and cycle between ANC and HearThrough. You can also personalise the functions on your buttons on the app.

While it was quite simple to get used to, I didn’t enjoy having to press on these buttons all the time when I needed to increase the volume or play/pause music.

I would’ve preferred a touch feature so that it wouldn’t mess with the position of the earbuds in my ears. 

However, I do understand that the touch feature can be quite tricky and sensitive to any touch, so the buttons definitely help with countering that. 

Moreover, I liked that I didn’t need my phone at all to increase/decrease the volume, which is a feature I couldn’t find in the other 2 wireless earbuds I’ve tried. (Not even the AirPods Pro, a competitor that keeps being brought up against Jabra Elite 85t, has this feature.)

Verdict

Overall, I find the Jabra Elite 85t very impressive, but I don’t think I have completely converted to the other side. 

The most important thing about wireless earbuds is comfort to me, and it’s either because these ones don’t suit my ears, or I simply need more time to get used to them. 

I’m also not used to using buttons to perform functions since I have to constantly readjust the position of the earbuds every time.

As for its price, RM1,049 is out of any wireless earbuds budget I’d set, but for those who want quality and are willing to pay for it, it’s definitely justifiable and worth it.

Here is an overview of its pros and cons:

Bottom Line: I wish I had ears that find comfort in silicone earbuds because honestly, everything else about these earbuds would’ve converted me the way its predecessor did to my colleague. Now, I can only hope that time desensitises my discomfort to silicone earbuds to fully enjoy the Jabra Elite 85t.

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