I prefer these to AirPods Pro

Jabra’s Elite line of bluetooth headphones have been a favorite of mine for years. But as the competition grew fiercer and headphones offered more features for less, Jabra was missing one big thing: active noise cancellation. The $ 230 Elite 85t with ANC is here, and after using these headphones for a few weeks, the noise cancellation and battery life are truly impressive. So impressive, I would say I love these more than the others.

There are also some really good bluetooth headphones with ANC! Apple’s AirPods Pro at $ 250 and Bose’s $ 280 QuietComfort are two solid options. But look, the AirPods and the QuietComfort sound really weird in the ear. The Elite 85t are less intrusive and cost less. There are a few drawbacks, which I will cover later. But for the money, these might be the best full-featured ANC headphones you can buy.

The Elite 85t has 12mm speakers, upgraded from the 6mm speakers on the Elite 75t, and six microphones – two microphones on each side for better phone call quality and one on each button for ANC. (More on phone calls in a minute.)

Active noise cancellation is very, very good. I walked outside while a gardener mowed a lawn, and although I could still hear the lawn mower faintly, it didn’t detract from the podcast I was listening to. Transparency mode, which you can activate by tapping the left earbud or by activating it in the Jabra Sound + app, is quite natural. I used it when I was running outside in Los Angeles to avoid getting hit by cars and to dodge pedestrians, and it felt like I was running with nothing in my ears. I turned Transparency off on windy days to avoid popping my eardrums, but otherwise I loved it.

You can adjust the ANC levels in the Sound + app, if you’d rather not have it at full blast. The Jabra app is one of the best I have used for bluetooth headphones, as it offers granular control over your audio. You can do a hearing test to let Jabra customize an EQ setting for you, or you can choose a preset if you prefer a little more bass, for example. I’ve always preferred the audio quality of the Jabra headphones over AirPods, and the same goes for the last generation.

The biggest problem with the Elite 85t ANC is the fact that Jabra also just rolled out a firmware update for the Elite 75t and Elite Active 75t from last year that introduced a digital version of the ANC. I installed the update on my Elite Active 75t, and while the ANC quality isn’t at the 85t level (because it’s not technically ANC), it still does a much better job of blocking out noise than it does. ‘before the update. My only gripe is that the version of ANC you get in older headphones has a much more artificial transparency mode which I found annoying.

When it comes to phone calls, I still prefer Apple’s non-Pro classic AirPods over any other set of Bluetooth headphones. I think their more open cut allows me to hear myself better. The Jabras also didn’t do a great job of filtering out ambient noise when I was walking in a park on a call with my mom. Several times she had to ask me to repeat myself, despite the fact that I couldn’t really hear the background noise she was hearing.

The Elite 85t’s fit isn’t perfect either. The headphones have been redesigned from last year’s Elite 75t with a semi-open shape and oval ear gels. They also protrude 2mm more than the Elite 75t. The difference was noticeable. The Elite 75t creates a perfect seal in my ear – no other Bluetooth headset fits as well as them. The 85t’s aren’t the same, and despite swapping out new ear gels to customize the feel, I still found myself fiddling with the headphones to tuck them more into my ear as I ran. I do the same with the AirPods Pro, which are also not suitable for me. The fit of the headphones is incredibly personal so you might not experience it, but I wish the Elite 85t kept the same seal as the 75t.

If you’re still deciding between the AirPods Pro and the Elite 85t, there are a few other notable features. The first is the Elite 85t’s ability to stay paired with multiple devices simultaneously. AirPods Pro can connect to multiple Apple devices, but Jabras can connect to all Bluetooth device. I’ve currently paired them to my iPhone and Peloton, so I can stick them in my ears and start a bike ride, then grab my phone and resume listening to a podcast, all without having to dive into no settings or to do something else. than just putting the headphones in my ears. It works almost too well – at one point I put the Jabras on to listen to something on my phone without realizing my husband was using the Peloton, and his class audio immediately started playing in my ears. (I thought it was hilarious; he wasn’t too happy.)

Then there is the battery life, which is excellent. I’ve been using the Elite 85t for three weeks now, with daily workouts, a handful of long phone calls, and listening to podcasts on long walks, and the case is now down to 50%. Jabra promises up to 5.5 hours of battery life in the headphones themselves, and up to 25 hours with ANC always on (and 31 hours without) when stored in the charging case between uses. The AirPods Pro advertise 4.5 hours of battery life on the earbuds and up to 24 hours when charged in the case. The Elite 85t’s charging case can’t be powered wirelessly, but it does support USB-C – and honestly, you won’t be charging it much anyway, so that doesn’t really matter.

Aside from the fit, the biggest downside for me is the fact that the Elite 85t are not technically sweat resistant. With an IPX4 rating, they can withstand splashing water, but soaking them in sweat day in and day out is probably not a good idea. AirPods Pro also have an IPX4 rating, so the same is true. But Jabra typically keeps track of its base model Elite headphones every year with an Active model a few months later. The Elite Active 75t has all of the same features as the Elite 75t, but is rated IP57 – basically it’s waterproof. I expect Jabra to do the same this year, so if you need a pair of sports headphones, you might want to wait until the Elite Active 85t drops.

If you don’t mind the lack of a perfect seal, the Elite 85t is my favorite pair of Bluetooth headphones with ANC. The combination of Bose-level active noise cancellation, exceptional sound, and highly customizable audio profiles via the Jabra app puts these headphones in a class just above the rest.

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• They are cheaper than AirPods Pro and much more customizable.
• The adjustable ANC is a nice touch and the Transparency mode looks incredibly natural.
• It’s much easier to squeeze an earphone to switch between ANC and Transparency than it is to squeeze an earphone rod (you’re looking, AirPods).
• I wish the fit was a bit more waterproof, like last year’s Elite 75t, but these headphones are still comfortable to wear.