https://youtu.be/Rn-xFXytgHU

I’m super excited to be checking out the Jabra Elite 85T truly wireless Bluetooth earbuds. I’ve been a huge fan of this Jabra series and owned the 65T and 75T, so I’m expecting big things here.

This is part of a series where I’m looking for the best overall truly wireless earbuds, and by overall I mean the best all-in-one for relaxing, for work, for walking and for working out. I only want one pair of buds to be a partner to my Sony WH-1000XM3 over ear headphones, so what should I choose?

So far I have looked at the Powerbeats Pro, which blew me away with how they performed during workouts but left me underwhelmed with the other features considering their price.

And I’ve also looked at the Jabra Active Elite 75T, which have been my earbud of choice for much of the last 12 months.

So let’s start off with some basics, and I’ll compare to the Active Elite 75T as we go.

So, price, these buds are currently £219 on Amazon. That’s a lot of cash but in the grand scheme of things it's more or less where these buds should be. They sit at the top of the Jabra tree with the Active Elite 75T now around £170 and then straight up Elite 75T at around £150.

Let’s check out the case before we move onto the buds themselves. The case is a little bigger than the 75T version. Surprise surprise, this is because the buds themselves are a little larger this time round – more on that in a sec.

The nice thing here is that the case has wireless charging enabled as standard in addition to USB C. Wireless charging was available with the 75t model but only at additional cost. Despite the slight size increase I really like the case. It’s still very small, the buds snap into place magnetically with a satisfying action. It’s just the right texture to not be insanely slippy. It holds around 20 hours worth of charge for the buds, which hold about 6 hours on their own. So easily a day's worth of listening all things considered.

One thing I should point out here is that there is no Active Elite version of these buds as yet (and since my video review, I've seen that Jabra has said there is unlikely to be an 'Active' version). However the Elite 85T is still IPX4 rated, which is just as high as some sporty buds. Most reviews say the Powerbeats Pro are IPX4, for example. But that’s obviously not as good as the Active Elite 75T and its IP57 rating.

Onto the buds themselves, and straight away you can see these are larger than the 75T version. It’s nothing major, and there’s a good reason for the size increase. Overall these are still some of the smallest and most discreet buds around.

So the size boost… well Jabra has upped the number of microphones from two in each bud to a whopping 6. They have to go somewhere right. These buds also have a much more sophisticated noise cancelling system which is a cut above what was in the 75T – although it’s worth remembering that the 75T only had ANC added after an update, and it was really a bonus that it was added at all. But the 85T are still very light and have more or less the smallest form factor in high end earbuds with ANC.

So how does that active noise cancelling work, and what’s it like? Well first we need to talk about the fit, as there’s a massive change here from what I was used to with the 75T and 65T.

The Jabra Elite 85T features an oval shaped tip so that when you put on the buds with that twisting motion, they form a snug and comfortable seal – but the kicker is that the tips go nowhere near as far into your ear canal as the 75T or 65T. This is very exciting news, as comparing them one after the other, it means that goldfish bowl feeling of being stuck in your own head due to the deep isolating seal is gone. It’s a matter of preference of course, and I have to say that I was fine with the fit of the 75T. But this new fit comes with some huge benefits.

I do have to add that the fit doesn’t feel as secure, but that’s just a feeling and it’s really because I’m used to the 75T fit which is rock solid. The Elite 85Ts never fell out, but because the tips don’t go as deep and the unit is slightly heavier, I did get the sensation that they could pop out – they never did.

OK, so onto ANC. It’s superb in the Elite 85T. Like, just brilliant. I was a little sceptical of Jabras chops when it comes to ANC, as while I appreciated the feature on the Active Elite 75T, the sense of isolation caused by the deep seal of the buds was enough to block out most noise purely on its own.

However, without the deep seal the 85T has its work cut out for it, and I’m pleased to say it passes with flying colours. It’s quite remarkable when it’s on, and not far off Bose and Sony levels of ANC. The ability to switch between ANC, hear through and an ‘off’ mode with one press of the left bud really shows what these buds are capable of.

What about the sound quality? Surprisingly, or maybe not, they sound very similar to the Active Elite 75T. This is no bad thing as I think the 75T sounds great. And it’s actually a complement to Jabra that they have managed to keep the sound profile consistent even though the form factor – and that deep seal – has changed so significantly. I was expecting the bass to be less impactful due to the more open design, but it mostly held up and actually came through clearer without the occlusion sensation.

If you enjoyed the sound profile of the 65T or 75T, you will find much to enjoy here. The mids are a little muddy still, but highs are nice and on point. The Elite 85Ts still seems to prefer electronic music, hip hop and pop – anything with a clean driving bassline – rather than say, big rock numbers with distortion, where things can get a bit claustrophobic. But overall it’s an improvement on the 75T, just not a ground-breaking change. This may be a good or bad thing depending on your taste. If you’re new to Jabra I think you would be satisfied but you’d expect to be given the price.

So onto the big one for me, what are they like to work out with. If you haven’t watched my other videos, I’ll quickly recap by saying that the biggest reason I couldn’t recommend the Elite Active 75T as the best all-round earbuds was that when running you get this awful, distracting, muffled vibration sensation because of the deep seal.

The funny thing is I didn’t notice it for months, or at least my brain had worked out a way to lessen its impact. But when I switched to the Powerbeats Pro, this sensation was not there. So when I tried the Jabra 75T again, it was so apparent to me that they have become practically unusable to me for running now.

With that out the way, you can see why I’m putting a lot of weight into this part of the review. But if the question is are the Jabra Elite 85T any good for running, the answer, thankfully, is hell yes.

Like some other high end earbuds, the Airpod Pros for example, Jabra has figured out a way to equalise the pressure in your ear canal between the earbud tip and your eardrum. I don’t know if there’s a standard way of describing this or if the technology has a name, but Jabra says the 85Ts have ‘pressure relief vents for maximum all-day comfort’.

What I do know is that this is a revelation for running, and even walking, and that thud thud thud of your feet hitting the ground is gone. I’m not talking about the actual sound of hearing your steps, but the vibration that goes up through your body and seems to get stuck in that gap between bud and eardrum.

I guess the combination of the vents and the not so deep seal means the experience is much more in line with that of the Powerbeats Pro, although the fit is completely different of course.

And let's talk about fit when exercising. I mentioned before that the buds didn’t feel secure and when I was running I really did think they would fall out. Without the deep seal these buds have an almost floating like quality as they are still so light that they just don’t feel like they are attached to anything, and definitely not as ‘locked in’ as the 75T or the Powerbeats Pro.

But again, they never fell out and perhaps it’s just up to me to get used to them. I did feel like using the controls was riskier and caused some movement. It’s the same set up as the 75T with a single circular push button on each bud.. Single press right to play or pause. Single press left to switch between ANC, hear through and off. Double taps skip forward on the left or back on the right while long holds handle volume up and down. As with the 75T there’s little travel and the buttons are clicky, it's just that the extra movement did little for my confidence in the fit.

So are the Elite 85Ts better than the Active Elite 75Ts? Yes, undoubtably. The pressure vent magic or whatever is happening meant that any concerns with the fit were washed away. The 85Ts didn’t sound quite as good when moving as they did when staying still, the quality became a little muddy and wind noise often crept in even with ANC selected. I also found running on hearthrough pretty much unbearable. It was OK with more static gym work. But the improvement over the 75T when running or working out in ANC or off mode – where you can still hear some of your surroundings - made them a clear winner.

What about the Powerbeats Pro, are they better? This is extremely tough. If you asked me to pick the best all round package of the two, I’d go with the 85Ts. But if I had the choice and I’m just about to go out and hit a 10k, I’m taking the Powerbeats Pros. I’m almost shocking myself by saying that, but I really would. The experience, ease of use and overall sound quality is just better when you’re exercising.

But to come to some kind of conclusion on the Elite 85Ts, Jabra really couldn’t have hit more of my wish list with this upgrade. I think the Elite 85T is, in my opinion, one of the best one-and-done wireless earbuds available today when you consider the whole package. I think it will be a tight call between these and the Bose earbuds for the top spot, and I’ll be testing Bose’s best soon.

There’s so much choice in the wireless earbud market that I’m not going to leave things here and I’ll be adding more reviews as I test new models. But that’s all for today, see you next time.

My Elite Active 75t headset has stopped working, so I'm looking for a replacement. Both the above options are currently £170 here in the UK but not sure what to go for.

For context, I got the Elite Active 75t as I use them when I work out (mainly spin classes). Do I really need to replace them with a specific workout pair (the Elite 7 Active) or, if the Elite 85t are significantly better, should I go down that route even if they're not designed for working out?

Many thanks all!

I've been using Jabra Elite 65T Active for ~2 years now and I've always liked using it, but I need a replacement now since my left earbud is slowly and clearly dying. Because of that I've been searching for different Jabras and I think I've made my mind on the 85T that has ANC.

Is it good? Would you guys recommend it?

I'm really tourn between active 75t and 85t. I really appreciate the upgraded ANF and quality during phone calls (important!) from the 75t. But after I've read a lot about the 85t I understand that the fitting is totally different from the 75t and probably won't work for me. I want these for running/exercise, so the fitting is really important, and also water- and sweat resistance. I can just imagine how perfect "Active 85t" would be and are really wishing for these to become real. Is it any point in continuing to hope for this? (And if so, when could these be expected?) If Active 85t will be released, or if there will come a "95t" later I really wish for the problem with connection to be fixed. Then Jabra would be the absolute best true wireless earphones out there.

Does anyone have advice on a good upgrade from the Jabra Elite 85t? All of the current options seem to fit my criteria, so I'm struggling to narrow down my options.

Looking for:

• something that will last a while

• same or better ANC

• great for calls, esp outdoors on walks (85t does this pretty well)

• can use only one earbud at a time (and either earbud - 85t it's only the right one)

• something that protrudes less than the 85t

• sweat resistant (water resistant even better)

Wanted to share my experience with the 85t , hopefully this will save someone the ball ache.

Bought the 85t’s today brand spanking new and not exactly cheap here in S.A. Get home to find they won’t turn on to pair etc. I charged the case and buds for 2.5 hours and finally got the right bud to pair but the left was dead and wouldn’t even charge. No light illuminating when placed in the charging case.

Back to the store, they pull another brand new box off the shelf. I decide to test it then and there in front of the sales guy. Again dead out the box. We charge them in store for 10 mins & this time they wouldn’t pair with my phone. Sales guy manages to get his phone paired but yet again the left bud is dead and led wouldn’t light up when in the case.

My friend has the 75t’s which is what inspired me to give Jabra a try but gotta say this has really put me off the brand.

Sent my Elite Active 75t to be replaced and I got two options: Elite 7 Pro or Elite 85t

FMI: with the Elite Active 75t I really like the bass and the fit.

So what's your advice to me?

( I posted this as reply on another post, but I after it got so long I felt that it deserved it's own post)

TLDR: I bought the 85T 8 days ago and they're the best buds I've had.

Let me go through my past wireless earbud purchases for context (please skip this part if it's too much):

• 2019 Samsung galaxy buds: These were my first wireless earbuds and I was really happy with them. Good fit, OK sound, they go deep in the ear which provides enough noise cancellation. The negatives were inconsistent connection in crowded places and discomfort after wearing them for a while. I stopped using them because one of the earbuds stopped working after 1.5 years.

• 2020 Jabra elite 85h headphones. I bought these on sale because I wanted to have something comfortable to wear for long sessions of studying. And they're pretty good: Good sound/ANC, comfortable and super long battery life compared to the 'best' ones. They got me interested in Jabra as a brand. The negatives are that they take up space in my (already packed) backpack and the noice cancelling doesn't work the best on a noisy busride. I still love using these at home.

• 2021 Galaxy buds live. I got these on sale. They're ok. The sound is amazing. They're somewhat comfortable beacuse of lack of round eartips that go deep in the ear, but the ANC is so bad that I have to increase the volume to the level of my ears hurting after a noisy busride. And most importantly they NEED CONSTANT CLEANING ALL THE TIME; the lack of eartips cause earwax to build up near the speaker almost after each use. Also inconsistent connection in crowded places.

• 2021 OnePlus buds. I got these for free with my OnePlus 9 Pro. They don't solve any of the problems from my previous buds.

Jabra Elite 85T: So I got these from a sale as well. I first got these for my dad's birthday in march because of the good reviews. At first I thought they looked too big and are probably gonna be uncomfortable for him, but I tried them on and were just impressed, so impressed that I had to get them for myself a few months later when a good sale came along. So, the positives:

• Good sound. More than good enough for me, I'm no audiophile, but I can tell when something sounds cheap.

• No connection issues in crowded places and with my laptop. The Samsungs mentioned above might have worked better with a Samsung phone (I've used OnePlus 6T and 9 Pro with these devices) because they use their own codec.

• Super comfortable for in ear buds. They dont go deep in the ear canal and the oval eartips are just comfortable for long hours. And no pain after taking them off. Yes, sometimes I adjust them because of slight discomfort, but honestly I feel discomfort less than 10% as often as with the above mentioned. Only the 85h are more comfortable. I also have to mention that I have no idea how these will fit your ears. My advice is try different eartip size options, and pick the one which is most comfortable, not the one that goes deepest.

• ANC makes it worth it. The ANC doesn't get rid of everything outside, but more than good enough for me. That noisy bus-ride I kept mentioning is super chill now. I used to hate having to sit in the back where the engines are, this is no problem now. My ears don't hurt from having to increase the volume.

• Super easy to clean. The eartips don't accumulate much earwax because they don't go too deep. Which is super nice.

Negatives: You can't use left side independently, but who cares? My problems with the other ones are much worse in my opinion.

Yesterday I took a 45 min walk and bus-ride in the beautiful city of Oslo while listening to a podcast. Man that was comfortable; no crackling connection issues, no noise irritations, no discomfort while wearing these and no pain in the ears after taking them off. Best earbuds I've ever owned, just reliable.

Dear all,

do you know when the Jabra Elite Active 85t can be expected to be released?

Reason for the question is, I need the better resistance against water, sweat and dust than in the non-active version. And my Jabra Elite Active 75t do have an issue when connected to two devices, so I would like to replace them. How long would I have to wait till the 85ts will come out?

Thanks,

Gadagadanagadanagana

I was waiting for the 85t because it looks like the fit is supposed to be better (I get ear pain from a lot of IEMs), but then I noticed they're only IPX4 and the Active 75ts are IP57. Will there be an Elite Active 85t?

I've seen a few replies on here from JabraSupport basically saying that at the current time they don't have any plans to release an Active version of the 85T's. I emailed them asking if they had a release date for the Actives and received the same response.

Is this just JabraSupport trying to sell the standard 85T's and not have loads of people waiting around for the actives or does anybody think that the semi-open design of the 85T's will make it harder for Jabra to achieve the required IP rating to make a proper active version?

I had the 85t earbuds for 1.5 years and then lost them. For my purposes they were excellent. I was going to just get them again, but I'm wondering if that makes sense in 2023. They were manufactured in 2021 and perhaps the newest earbuds at a similar price point would be better. Or perhaps an updated version of the 85t is coming soon? Any thoughts would be appreciated

Replaced my Elite Active 75t with the new Elite 85t. I solely use these headphones for working out and been using the new 85t's for the last couple of workouts and think the fit isn't as great as it was in the 75t. I've heard that the Elite 7 Actives are great for working out and fit better, but is the sound quality and ANC capabilities would be the same as the Elite 85t?

Trying to figure out if I should just keep the Elite 85t or change them for the Elite 7 Active

Hi, I would like to buy some wireless headphones for Black Friday. My choice was aimed at the elite 85t or the elite 7 pro (both on sale at 120 euros). However, I am reading conflicting reviews online about these headphones. In particular, I understand that the Elite 5 are more recent and with better ANC, not to mention the Elite 10 (which are out of budget). Can anyone who's tried them give me any advice? In particular between the elite 5 and the elite 7 pro.

I'm mainly interested in the quality of the microphones (and partly the noise isolation). I don't listen to a lot of music and I'm not an expert so I wouldn't notice many differences between the various ones. But I would use them a lot on the train and make a lot of calls (that's why I'm interested in the microphone).

I'm open to advice (always max 120 euros), perhaps from some not too unknown brand.

So I went to bestbuy and purchased the 85T yesterday, and thought I might share my impressions with you guys.

I have reviewed 30+ headphones/IEMs on other websites, but it's been a while since I've written any reviews, so keep that in mind. I don't particularly have a sound preference (I love the IER-M7s and HD800s). I've owned about 5-6 pairs of TWS IEMs but this is my first pair of Jabras.

I bought the 85T because all TWS IEMs felt like a compromise. For instance, the galaxy buds were never comfortable for me, not to mention that their mic was underwhelming. The buds plus was a bit better in the mic department, but was even less comfortable for me. I like the Soundcore Liberty Air 2. It has a fun V shaped sound and has decent microphones. However, it doesn't have a hear through function, which I really liked about the galaxy buds.

Anyhow, here are my first impressions.

Comfort/Form: The cases is a little bit bigger than either the Liberty Air or Galaxy buds case. However, it's rather thin, so I find no issue here. The earbuds themselves fits very lightly. Don't get me wrong though. While it feels very light in my ears, it feels stable. I've always been sensitive to ear pressure (if you have a BA IEM, you'll know this discomfort). The 85Ts are actually the first pair of TWS IEMs that I won't be getting foam tips for, as the comfort is already superb. The body does stick out of the ears a bit, but no more than the galaxy buds do.

Sound: I do not own the 75Ts, so I can't really do a comparison. But the sound is more than fair. It's fairly well balanced with a good bit of coloring here and there to make it a tad less boring than flat sounding IEMs. I saw the measurements for the 75Ts(which has significantly boosted sub-bass), and can almost certainly say that the 85Ts sound different. I suspect a slight decrease in the bass boost. But I wouldn't go as far as to say 85Ts are flat or neutral. But overall, details are well present and staging is fairly done. Instruments are isolated decently too. It won't compare to TWS IEMs designed purely for high fidelity, but even those TWS IEMs fall short when compared to wired IEMs. So while the sound is not class leading, it's good. Certainly good enough for using in commutes. They also respond fairly well to EQ.

Functionality: This area is where TWS IEMs should really shine IMO. Wired earphones certainly sound better, but they are so much less convenient than TWS IEMs. This is why despite owning $2000+ worth of wired earphones, I always use TWS IEMs on the move. Thankfully, this is the area where Jabra nails it. Pairing was smooth and connections are almost instant, faster than any TWS I've used. Furthermore, the 85Ts connect to all my devices (with 2 simultaneous connections) and can remain paired to up to 8 devices. No other TWS IEMs(non-Jabra) I'm aware of supports this. Really, it's a big deal. I own a laptop, a tablet, and a phone. I use all three of them to make calls and watch videos. With other TWS, I had to disconnect them from one device to connect it to another. Finally, the hear through works exceptionally well and I don't find the need to pull the 85Ts out of my ears to talk. The mic quality as been exceptional well, although I've only tested them in quieter environments.

NC: I own Sony's SP700Ns and the WH-1000XM3. The 85Ts perform pretty close to the XM3s, which is impressive. They are quite good at cancelling out mid-high frequencies, which is a sign of good engineering. I've only demoed the WF-1000XM3, but I think the Jabras should be amongst the top performers in the NC category.

With that in mind, the 85Ts are not perfect. Here are a few things I wish could change:

The battery life is on the shorter side. It's not terrible, but for $200+, it should be a bit better.

The master/slave set up is limiting. You can only use the right side alone. I understand that this is for having better connection(the 85Ts do have a very stable connection), but it still leaves a lot to be desired.

With that in mind, if I were to rate it, I'd give it a 8.5/10. The 85Ts are solid. While they don't lead the class in sound quality, there are no major flaws I could think of.

*I noticed a lot of reviewers saying that they excepted more bass with 12mm drivers. While bigger drivers are more advantageous, they don't necessary mean better sound or bigger bass(and bigger bass doesn't mean better sound). I really think the 12mm drivers were placed there because they are more suited for NC than smaller drivers. Anyhow, this is something that bugged me a little bit.

Hello!

I picked up the 85T's this week and just wanted to share some thoughts on these headphones following quite mixed reviews about them:

1. Sound quality - altogether quite pleasant for my listening preferences. I know there's plenty of comments out there who trash these for a lack of bass but I've found them more than adequate. So yeah, no complaints in this regard.

2. Fit - this is the contentious part: the large eartips fit and seal my ears BUT: my left earbud pinches after around 1hr, and it doesn't take much to shift its positioning (eg jaw movement, or accidental touch). I'm looking for fixes for this (eg. aftermarket alternative tips)

3. Noise cancelling - they work fine though per other comments, the fussy sealing of the eartips does let them down.

Overall, despite my reservations, I'm still pleased with this purchase! I love that these are so customisible, sound pretty good, has buttons, effective noise cancelling and paid a pretty good price for them. The eartip/fit issue is a letdown but I don't think is a dealbreaker for my ears and a problem that can't be overcome through trial-and-error.

Hope this sheds brief impression will help others who are in the market for earbuds!