Jabra Elite 85h Review

The Jabra Elite 85h noise canceling headphones are simply amazing.

The Jabra Elite 85h offers great sound, impressive battery life and great style along with intelligent active noise cancellation that adapts to your surroundings. Where you used to have to buy Bose if you wanted good noise-cancelling headphones, Jabra is here with an exciting offering that will quiet the world around you on the same level as Bose and Sony, while delivering impressive call quality too.

Standing out in a crowded ANC headphone market, the Elite 85h headphones offer incredible value at $299, which is why they deserve one Must be Mobile Editor's Choice Award.

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After going head-to-head with the Bose QC35 noise-cancelling headphones I've been using for years, the Jabra Elite 85h quickly replaced them in my gear bag — and not just for the sound quality.

Elite 85h's battery life is so long that you might not even remember to appreciate the USB-C charging port. Jabra has eight noise-cancelling microphones, and you can use an app to customize the headphones' smart ANC modes, as well as their overall EQ.

Jabra's offering is a bit heavier than the Bose QC 35 and Sony's noise-cancelling headphones, but I still found them very comfortable for prolonged use at my desk while trying to work most of the day in a hospital cafeteria and watch movies in bed.

How good is the Elite 85h noise canceling? It's definitely on par with the Sony and Bose offerings and is an integral part of my work routine. While I enjoy the background noise of coffee shops, I'm not a fan of the constant hum of our air conditioner or the loud chatter that comes with working in larger public spaces.

Not only do the Elite 85h headphones block almost all of the air conditioner hum at home (it's right outside my office window), but they also work wonders at blocking other activity around the house. With the headphones on, I can no longer hear Netflix playing on the TV in the living room and I can hardly hear the phone ringing at home, even if nothing is on. Putting music on even at a low level allows me to easily retreat to a distraction-free zone. You can also toggle between ANC, HearThrough, and ANC Off with a small button on the bottom of the left earcup.

During my side-by-side testing between the Bose QC35 and the Jabra Elite 85h, I found the noise-cancellation treated background noise at the same level.

Noise-cancellation is good, blocking out most ambient noise, but there are some options to let noise through if you want to hear more around you.

One trick Jabra offers that you won't find with the competition is SmartSound. It uses the AI ​​on your phone and built-in microphones to scan the environment around you and automatically switch between commuting, private, or public. Each of these options offers different levels of noise cancellation and tone adjustments, and you can further configure the EQ for each mode. The public option enables HearThrough, which uses the microphones to let in some sound. It's handy when you need to be aware of your surroundings but still want to keep your headphones on.

Sound quality is pretty good whether I'm jamming to Spotify playlists, watching movies on my iPad, or streaming The Beard Guys and ChocoTaco on Twitch. Streaming music sounds good across a range of genres, and the in-app EQ options make it easy to find the right sound.

If you're constantly answering calls through your headphones, the Elite 85h has a distinct advantage thanks to sidetone. This allows you to hear yourself while on the phone. It's a feature we see in many gaming headsets, but not many ANC headsets. This simple feature means you don't have to constantly raise your voice during the call because you know how loud you're speaking. You can adjust the volume of the sound coming through and even give callers a bass or treble boost.

The overall style and design of the Elite 85h is characterized by the fabric on the ear cups and headband. While these are still headphones with a plastic case, they feel more substantial than the QC35 and look more premium. These headphones fold flat and pack into a carrying case that easily accommodates a charging cable and 3.5mm headphone jack.

If you need to charge, USB-C is a handy option and charges quickly too.

I like that the earcups rotate toward the body at the back of the neck, making for a more comfortable wearing position when you need to remove the headphones but not put them down. The Bose QC 35 headphones twist in the opposite direction and aren't as comfortable. Even with the slightly higher weight, I found the long-term comfort very good. These headphones come with a 2-year warranty that even covers water and dust.

The headphones turn on when you twist the earcups and turn off when you flatten them again. It's a handy option, but it's easy to accidentally turn it off when picking it up off a table or desk. Another feature is ear recognition. Music can be paused automatically when you take off the headphones and resume when you put them on. You can turn off the auto-continue feature. This even works with YouTube videos on my Mac. You can also use this detection to automatically answer calls when you put on the headset.

The headphone buttons on the right earcup let you control playback, volume, and answer calls. A small button on the earbud gives you quick access to your choice of digital assistant, enabling HearThrough so you don't yell at ANC.

This fabric looks nice but will pick up more dirt or dust than hard plastic. It's pretty easy to clean with a damp cloth, but worth mentioning. Jabra offers five color options; black, copper black, golden beige, navy and titanium black.

Jabra offers a really impressive battery life.

Jabra's magic at work with the elite 85-hour battery life. The headphones are rated for 36 hours with ANC on. That's long enough that I don't need to charge daily, don't need to charge at all on most trips, and if I let the battery life drain too much, 15 minutes on a charger adds 5 hours of playback. When I need to charge I don't need a micro USB cable like I do with my QC35 headphones, I can use my MacBook Pro or iPad Pro charger as the Elite 85h uses USB C.

The Jabra Elite 85h headphones are $50 cheaper than the Sony Wh1000XM3 and Bose QC35 II headphones, which is a reason to buy them over the competition. With noise cancellation on par with the competition, great sound quality and better call quality, the Elite 85h are the ANC headphones to buy in 2019.

You can find them at Amazon, Best Buy, and Jabra.

By: Jabra Elite 85h Review