Jabra Elite Active 75t Review – The New Sports Top Dog?

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CONTENTS (show more)

Similar to Jabra Elite Active 75t:

Best running headphones

Best workout headphones

Best waterproof headphones for swimming

What’s in the Box?

• Jabra Elite Active 75t earbuds
• Charging case
• 3 pairs of silicone ear tips
• USB-C charging cable
• User manual

Comfort & Fit

4.5 Almost Perfect

Jabra Elite Active 75t has thought-through ergonomics that provide a stable fit for sports and comfort for hours. Comfort is among the best in true wireless earbuds.

The earphones come with basic silicone ear tips.

The design is similar to the older 65t model with small changes. You immediately know how to put them on the right side (you can see side marking too). You put them in with a rotating motion that pushes the eartips in. It helps noise isolation too.

Initially, the fit is super stable, and you feel confident the buds won’t fall out. But if you move your ears, when smiling widely or talking expressively, it gradually loosens.

After a point, you feel the need to readjust them. It “doesn’t feel right.” It feels like the buds are going to fall out any moment now, and you lose some of the passive isolation too.

Still, in our Jabra Elite Active 75t review, the earphones were unlikely to drop out. You have to shake your head extremely fast for that to actually happen.

On another note, you only get 3 pairs of silicone eartips (or ear gels as they call them). No memory-foams.

So, the Elite Active 75t have great stability that works superbly for sports and activity.

When it comes to comfort, you can wear them for hours and rarely get any discomfort. You do feel them in your ears, but it isn’t irritating.

All in all, these are fantastic and among the best when it comes to keeping them in during your workout or a long marathon.

Noise Isolation

4.5 Almost Perfect

Best of both worlds. The Jabra Elite Active 75t earbuds block the background noise well by pushing the tips deeper into the ears. And when you want to hear your surroundings, turn on HearThrough mode for high awareness.

The Jabra Elite Active 75t are perfectly versatile.

In a loud gym, you can block most of the music and noise. The tips fit deeply into the ear canal and create better than average isolation.

And when you want to talk to your friends nearby, turn on the HearThrough mode with a 1 press of the button.

To activate HearThrough press the left button once.

The ambient sound mode picks up the noise with the microphones and sends it to your ears. Sometimes the noise becomes stronger like the buzzing of the cars, but that’s probably for the better.

The easier you hear possible dangers, the easier it is to avoid them.

It’s a great feature implemented by Jabra that is very useful if you want to use them in a gym and streets.

Is There Wind Noise?

Yes, with medium strength wind, the Jabra Elite Active 75t create some noise, but it isn’t so bad. Though, when you enable HearThrough, it becomes more pronounced.

If you think about it, there has to be some kind of price to pay for hearing your surroundings. Higher background noise is just a side-effect you have to accept.

The HearThrough mode gives you better awareness for the cost of diminishing your listening experience.

Bluetooth

3.0 Good

Typical Bluetooth 5.0 performance with roughly 33ft (10m) range and reliable signal over 1 wall.

While other aspects of the Jabra Elite Active 75t are generally better than average, the wireless connectivity is average.

When you keep your music device close nearby, you don’t get any interference. But if you put 1 thick wall in between, the range shortens by 1/3. It still works but closer than before.

And when you put 2 walls in between, the music starts regularly distorting. It’s unlistenable.

This is a typical Bluetooth connection for 5.0 that is more than good enough for most uses.

Does Bluetooth Work in Water?

No. While the earphones are waterproof, Bluetooth loses connection when you dip them in. So, they’re not suitable for underwater swimming.

Check the best waterproof headphones for swimming instead. For activity above water, see the best waterproof Bluetooth headphones.

Is There a Delay Watching Videos?

The video delay is minimal and doesn’t take away from binging on your favorite YouTube videos. It’s true the Jabra Elite Active 75t don’t support any faster Bluetooth codecs, but that’s not really a problem.

What Bluetooth Codecs Do They Support?

Only SBC and AAC. The first one is standard in all Bluetooth headphones, and AAC works great for iPhone users. There’s no aptX or LDAC, which is a shame, but they work well with Android and iOS.

Multipoint?

You can connect 2 devices at the same time, and the workout earbuds remember up to 8 paired devices. Great for changing the devices quickly.

Battery

4.0 Great

You can reliably expect over 7 hours of battery life per charge. In our test, we got 7h 23min at half the volume. The case holds roughly 20 hours more. Plus, a 15-minute charge gives 1 hour of playtime.

The quick 15-minute charge gives 1 hour of music.

While our test didn’t prove the 7.5 hours of promised battery life, it wasn’t much shorter. With normal (healthy volume) use, you get over 7 hours per full charge, which is plenty for even the most extreme athletes.

In case you run out, put them in the charging box for a 15-minute quick charge for an additional hour of music.

It’s true the battery life doesn’t compare to the monstrous Powerbeats Pro 11 hours but it should be more than enough for most users.

When the capacity becomes low (you can see % on your phone) a voice prompt reminds you about it before finally shutting down. You can change voice prompt to sound prompt in the Sound+ app.

To fully charge up the true wireless headphones and the charging case, you need around 2 hours and 20 minutes. USB-C charging cable comes in the package.

Durability

4.5 Almost Perfect

Upgraded from the older model, the Elite Active 75t are fully waterproof with IP57 (equivalent to IPX7) rating. You can submerge them in water, wash them under the tap, or expose them to sweaty workouts.

IP57 (equivalent to IPX7) offers full water protection. You can dip them in for 30 minutes.

Apart from the improved water protection, they come with a high build quality that we’re used from Jabra.

The earbuds are made of sleek brushed plastics but also a softer material that feels more premium. It’s probably some kind of elastomer, or thermoplastic silicone, in any case, it feels nice.

Also, the physical touch controls are perfectly engineered, in our opinion. You touch them just enough to know you’ve pressed them but not so much to be uncomfortable.

A lot of true wireless headphones come with annoying controls that don’t do what you want them to. Or you have to press so hard you feel it. The Elite Active 75t do it better.

Plus, you get a 2-year warranty against dust and sweat, which is always useful.

Features

4.5 Almost Perfect

Jabra Sound+ app support with equalization, auto-stop music if you take 1 earbud out, auto connect when you take them out of the charging case, and more. Fantastic physical controls.

The 75t earbuds come with basic and some extra features.

Music automatically pauses when you take one earbud out of the ear. When you put it back in, it resumes the audio.

Once you finish the initial pairing, the earphones connect automatically when you take them out of the charging case.

Also, if you have a call on your phone, you can turn on the buds, and they become the primary sound device automatically (you can continue your phone call). These are often standard features with Bluetooth buds.

To know what’s going on with the earphones, there is a LED indicator on each side. They blink blue or red with different meanings.

Using real control buttons is super intuitive. They’re engineered to perfection, and these are the kind of controls we’d like to see in other true wireless earbuds. Many of the best workout earbuds have similar controls.

Jabra Elite Active 75t controls:

• Play/pause – one press right button
• Activate voice assistant – double-press right button
• Accept/end call –one press right side (during a call)
• Reject call – double-press right button (during a call)
• Mute/unmute microphone during a call – one press left button (during a call)
• Change volume up – press and hold the right button
• Change volume down – press and hold the left button
• Activate HearThrough – one press left button
• Next song – double-press left button
• Restart/previous track – triple-press left button (1st restart, then skip back)
• Sidetone on/ff – double-press left button (hear your own voice during a call)

Sound+ App

The Sound+ app is free to download on Google Play and Apple App store.

The Sound+ app is simple and intuitive to use.

The main thing is equalization. You can customize your own frequency response by simply sliding the curve around.

You can choose from installed presets. Or create custom equalizer presets and save them for future use.

The app offers quick presets called Moments. You have 3 to choose: My Moment, Commute, and Focus.

It allows you to further customize the settings. You can:

• Turn off the auto-pause if you remove 1 earbud
• Make the buds mute audio when you turn on awareness mode
• Adjust the volume of your own voice in a phone call
• Equalize calls
• Change when the earbuds enter sleep mode
• And even switch voice for sound prompt

In case you lose them, you can locate them inside the app.

The app helps you update your firmware too. The purple light blinks during updating.

How Good is The Microphone?

Jabra is known for quality headsets with clear microphones. For that reason, it’s no surprise these come with a 4-microphone system that gives great voice quality.

The Jabra Elite (Active) 75t microphone test:

Sound

4.0 Great

Great sound for Bluetooth earbuds. Clear emphasis on bass with good extension and rumble is perfect for active users but not the best for critical listening. Thankfully, you get full equalization control in the Sound+ app with different presets.

Like mentioned before, you can create custom sound presets for different moods or music genres. The options are endless.

Originally, the sound signature is strongly bass boosted, which is what most sportspeople expect. It gives a good rhythm and helps you focus on your workout.

Due to the ventilation system (tiny holes on each earbud), the bass extension is superb, and often you literally feel the vibration bass creates.

The vent helps with bass response (the dots on each side).

Overall, the audio quality is better than with most workout headphones with clear and detailed highs that don’t suffer from sibilance.

The mids know how to come to the forefront in many songs, but in the original preset, get overpowered by the lows.

It’s a good thing you can adjust the ranges to better fit your tastes, so these become suitable for all music genres. If you’re looking at Elite 75t (non-waterproof model), that’s a good thing to know.

The only thing that could be better is the soundstage. It seems all the sounds originate from the middle of your head, which is common for in-ear headphones but is more apparent in these.

In the end, you’re paying a premium price, and you get high-end sound quality for true wireless headphones. You can choose from many signatures though these will always suffer from typical in-ear problems, like small soundstage.

Why Buy Jabra Elite Active 75t?

If you’re looking for the best of the best you can get for working out and running, then the Jabra Elite Active 75t are the best choice.

And, if you’re looking for non-sport true wireless buds, the Jabra Elite 75t compete with the best too.

Jabra Elite Active 75t are the top dogs in the category.

The moment you put them in, they just feel better. You know you’re using a premium set of headphones, and there aren’t many reasons to hate them.

You get the latest technology, ample features, dependable battery life, and above all, high-quality sound that you can customize to your liking.

Sure, you have to pay a slightly higher price, but still less than for Beats PowerBeats Pro. And Jabras come with more customization.

For a serious and active person who takes music seriously and wants the best versatile in-ear headphones for sports, the Jabra Elite Active 75t should be a top consideration (written in April 2020).

Jabra Elite Active 75t vs. Alternatives

Beats Powerbeats Pro: have a much better battery life, a more stable fit thanks to the ear hooks but slightly worse comfort and water protection (only IPX4). Also, you can’t equalize them, and you have to live with the bass-heavy sound forever (and they cost more money).

See comparisons:

Sony WF-1000XM3: are much bulkier but come with active noise cancellation. They also come with a great app but aren’t water-resistant at all. Sonys aren’t fit for sports but are better general-use headphones. Though only 6-hour battery life.

Jaybird Vista: are similar in many aspects but lack the HearThrough mode. Get more info in the comparison of Jaybird Vista vs. Jabra Elite Active 75t.

Jabra Elite 75t vs. active noise cancelling earbuds.  Jabras don’t have ANC, and if you need it, get dedicated ANC buds instead. Or better yet, get noise cancelling headphones. But if you occasionally take a run or go to the gym, get the Jabras.

Specifications

Type:
True wireless

Connection:
Bluetooth 5.0

Back design:
Closed-back

Drivers:
6mm

Frequency range:
20-20.000Hz

Impedance:
n/a

Weight:
12g both buds, 35g case

Mic & Controls:
Yes; touch

Water resistance:
IP57

Battery life:
7h + 20h in case

Charging time:
2h 20min + quick charge – USB-C

Active noise cancelling:
Yes

Bluetooth codecs:
SBC, AAC, BT-CVSD, mSBC

Wireless range:
33ft (10m)