Jabra Elite 65t wireless earphones Review 2018
Nearly a year ago, we reviewed the Jabra Elite Sport, the longtime wireless audio maker's first venture into the true wireless space. You could say that they were ambitious with their approach, considering the earbuds attempted to appeal to both music and fitness enthusiasts. Unfortunately, it didn't help either that the Elite Sport were slapped with a $250 price tag, making them one of the more expensive mainstream options at the time.
During CES 2018 early last month, Jabra introduced two new truly wireless headphones – the Jabra Elite 65t and the Elite Active 65t. Naturally, this strategy is a departure from the company's previous efforts, as it now tries to cater to the two opposing demographics with dedicated products. The Elite 65t, in particular, is marketed as "being engineered for the best true wireless calls and music experience." That's yet again a bold claim, so we'll find out how it stacks up!
Design
You can absolutely notice the evolution with Jabra's design here with the Elite 65t! Compared to last year's Elite Sport, the Elite 65t look and feel more refined – and they're not grossly out of proportion when they're worn in the ear. Constructed out of plastic, there's a small section of the earbuds that has a faux-metal finish, which we actually like because it gives off a premium appearance. Boom mics exude that sense of being a professional; we really appreciate how Jabra engineered the earbuds to have the look on a smaller, more compact scale with the nubs that stick out and house its microphones.
Jabra Elite 65t wireless earphones Review
Jabra Elite 65t wireless earphones Review
Jabra Elite 65t wireless earphones Review
Jabra Elite 65t wireless earphones Review
We can't complain much about the fit here, mainly because the earbuds sit snuggly in the ear. The included silicone tips offer just the right amount of suction to ensure audio is being channeled directly into the ear. Despite being the non-sporty model, the Elite 65t still features an IP55 rating, which makes them water-resistant to an extent, but not to the level of surviving submersion for any period of time. This, of course, would probably make fitness fanatics a bit leery about using them.
Even though they're meant more for casual music listening rather than being your gym companion, we still used the earphones through a few workout sessions without noticing any compromises. However, when there's significant moisture buildup due to exercising, the fit becomes loose.
Taking a peek at the included battery charging case, there's nothing out of the norm with it – acting as both the case for the earbuds when they're not being used, as well as actively charging them. Initially, we though there was some kind of magnetic connection that would snap the earbuds into position, but that's not the case. Still, closing the lid ensures the pins are lined up for charging. While there's no additional function besides charging here, we're comforted by the fact that the case is fairly compact in size.
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Software and Functionality
Accessing some of the Jabra Elite 65t's features is done by using the accompanying Jabra Sound+ app. In our case, we downloaded the app for Android, seeing that we paired it with an LG V30. Speaking of pairing, they're automatically placed into that mode when first taken out of the case, so the process is a painless one.
The Jabra Sound+ app
Image: 1 of 11
The app itself provides some helpful information like the actual battery life in a percentage format, rather than just relying on an icon to approximate it. Four main portals are featured in the interface, including voice assistant, audio experience, call experience, and equalizer. Starting with the first, we can select what voice assistant we want to employ, which in our case is either Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.
One of the Jabra Elite 65t's main features is its HearThrough function, which essentially allows ambient sounds to enter the earbud and then are amplified to deliver that Superman-like hearing. We have to admit that it works incredibly well – possibly the best amplification we've experienced thus far. You can seriously listen in on conversations around you, making this a handy feature if you don't want to take off the earbuds when conversing with someone.
Additional features include auto pause when the earbuds are taken off, verbal headset prompts, the ability for your voice to be amplified during phone calls with its Sidetone feature, and audible Caller ID. And finally, there's the music equalizer portal that allows us to modify its sound output – something we undeniably appreciate having because it gives us the option to tune the audio performance to our particular liking!
Connectivity
Jabra has blessed the Elite 65t with Bluetooth 5.0, and trust us, it's a relief to know that connectivity isn't a problem with this pair. It manages a good 25 feet indoors, where there's approximately two rooms separated by walls between the earbuds and our LG V30, before its connectivity became too erratic to use.
Even some of the best, most expensive pairs of truly wireless headphones have faltered a little bit with their connectivity in close proximity, but we experienced no issues whatsoever with the Jabra 65t. We did not have to worry about line of sight or having to keep our phone positioned on the same side as the master earbud – there's none of that here! Even more satisfying, there's no latency issue when it come to watching videos. Everything is in sync!
Controls
Sticking we tried-and-true physical buttons fashioned onto the outside areas of each earbud, as opposed to touch-sensitive areas, ensures there are no accidental presses when we adjust the volume, pause/play a track, access the voice assistant service, or turn on/off the HearThrough feature. However, there's only an option for skipping a track by long-pressing either volume key on the left earbud – there's no way to repeat or reverse, which is rather strange.
Nearly a year ago, we reviewed the Jabra Elite Sport, the longtime wireless audio maker's first venture into the true wireless space. You could say that they were ambitious with their approach, considering the earbuds attempted to appeal to both music and fitness enthusiasts. Unfortunately, it didn't help either that the Elite Sport were slapped with a $250 price tag, making them one of the more expensive mainstream options at the time.
During CES 2018 early last month, Jabra introduced two new truly wireless headphones – the Jabra Elite 65t and the Elite Active 65t. Naturally, this strategy is a departure from the company's previous efforts, as it now tries to cater to the two opposing demographics with dedicated products. The Elite 65t, in particular, is marketed as "being engineered for the best true wireless calls and music experience." That's yet again a bold claim, so we'll find out how it stacks up!
Design
You can absolutely notice the evolution with Jabra's design here with the Elite 65t! Compared to last year's Elite Sport, the Elite 65t look and feel more refined – and they're not grossly out of proportion when they're worn in the ear. Constructed out of plastic, there's a small section of the earbuds that has a faux-metal finish, which we actually like because it gives off a premium appearance. Boom mics exude that sense of being a professional; we really appreciate how Jabra engineered the earbuds to have the look on a smaller, more compact scale with the nubs that stick out and house its microphones.
Jabra Elite 65t wireless earphones Review
Jabra Elite 65t wireless earphones Review
Jabra Elite 65t wireless earphones Review
Jabra Elite 65t wireless earphones Review
We can't complain much about the fit here, mainly because the earbuds sit snuggly in the ear. The included silicone tips offer just the right amount of suction to ensure audio is being channeled directly into the ear. Despite being the non-sporty model, the Elite 65t still features an IP55 rating, which makes them water-resistant to an extent, but not to the level of surviving submersion for any period of time. This, of course, would probably make fitness fanatics a bit leery about using them.
Even though they're meant more for casual music listening rather than being your gym companion, we still used the earphones through a few workout sessions without noticing any compromises. However, when there's significant moisture buildup due to exercising, the fit becomes loose.
Taking a peek at the included battery charging case, there's nothing out of the norm with it – acting as both the case for the earbuds when they're not being used, as well as actively charging them. Initially, we though there was some kind of magnetic connection that would snap the earbuds into position, but that's not the case. Still, closing the lid ensures the pins are lined up for charging. While there's no additional function besides charging here, we're comforted by the fact that the case is fairly compact in size.
VIEW MORE
+ 11 images
Software and Functionality
Accessing some of the Jabra Elite 65t's features is done by using the accompanying Jabra Sound+ app. In our case, we downloaded the app for Android, seeing that we paired it with an LG V30. Speaking of pairing, they're automatically placed into that mode when first taken out of the case, so the process is a painless one.
The Jabra Sound+ app
Image: 1 of 11
The app itself provides some helpful information like the actual battery life in a percentage format, rather than just relying on an icon to approximate it. Four main portals are featured in the interface, including voice assistant, audio experience, call experience, and equalizer. Starting with the first, we can select what voice assistant we want to employ, which in our case is either Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.
One of the Jabra Elite 65t's main features is its HearThrough function, which essentially allows ambient sounds to enter the earbud and then are amplified to deliver that Superman-like hearing. We have to admit that it works incredibly well – possibly the best amplification we've experienced thus far. You can seriously listen in on conversations around you, making this a handy feature if you don't want to take off the earbuds when conversing with someone.
Additional features include auto pause when the earbuds are taken off, verbal headset prompts, the ability for your voice to be amplified during phone calls with its Sidetone feature, and audible Caller ID. And finally, there's the music equalizer portal that allows us to modify its sound output – something we undeniably appreciate having because it gives us the option to tune the audio performance to our particular liking!
Connectivity
Jabra has blessed the Elite 65t with Bluetooth 5.0, and trust us, it's a relief to know that connectivity isn't a problem with this pair. It manages a good 25 feet indoors, where there's approximately two rooms separated by walls between the earbuds and our LG V30, before its connectivity became too erratic to use.
Even some of the best, most expensive pairs of truly wireless headphones have faltered a little bit with their connectivity in close proximity, but we experienced no issues whatsoever with the Jabra 65t. We did not have to worry about line of sight or having to keep our phone positioned on the same side as the master earbud – there's none of that here! Even more satisfying, there's no latency issue when it come to watching videos. Everything is in sync!
Controls
Sticking we tried-and-true physical buttons fashioned onto the outside areas of each earbud, as opposed to touch-sensitive areas, ensures there are no accidental presses when we adjust the volume, pause/play a track, access the voice assistant service, or turn on/off the HearThrough feature. However, there's only an option for skipping a track by long-pressing either volume key on the left earbud – there's no way to repeat or reverse, which is rather strange.
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