Jabra Elite 75t Review

Jabra are certainly carving a name out for themselves in the audio market. Their set of Elite 75t Bluetooth earbuds are a step up from the 65t series that were released in 2018, but they are up against some major competition – Apple’s Airpods immediately come to mind. So how do Jabra’s Elite 75t wireless earbuds stack up?

The Specifications:

Out of the box, you can expect to find a charging cable, the charging case, the earbuds themselves as well as a set of earbud covers to suit your preferences and ear size. The exact specifications are as follows

What’s in the box

• Earbuds, Charging Case, USB-C cable, 3 sets of Silicon EarGels, Warranty and Warning Leaflets Earbuds Size: 21.9 x 19.4 x 16.2 mm
• Earbuds Weight: 5.5g right earbud, 5.5g left earbud
• Charging Case Size: 62.4 x 36.6 x 27.0 mm
• Charging Case Weight: 35g
• USB-Cable Length: 300 mm

My First Impressions Of The Jabra Elite 75t Earbuds:

Jabra are coming out of the gate strong because as soon as you open the box you can tell that these earbuds were put together with quality in mind. The charging case for the earbuds feels robust, and, it snugly contains the earbuds themselves with a handy magnetic clamp system that keeps the Elite 75ts in place when they aren’t in your ear.

The LED on the back of the case is prominent enough to catch your eye when on but subtle enough to be ignored when off. I was initially a bit surprised by just how bright and noticeable the LED was, considering that some wireless earbud cases I have used in the past have been a bit lackluster and unnoticeable.

Another thing about the case that struck me was just how small it was. Compare it to a set of Bose earbuds, or even the old set of 65Ts that Jabra released and you are immediately going to notice that the 75ts, and their case, are much smaller than these models. This isn’t a bad thing really, just more impressive when you consider the quality that these earbuds deliver from such small housing.

One more word on the initial impression of the case; the flattened top and bottom. So many different earbud cases are cylindrical, and these flattened areas on the case allowed me to rest it on trays, tables, and other surfaces as I commuted (something I will talk about more, later.

Taking the earbuds out of their case, I continued to be impressed. The 75t earbuds have thrown aside the external microphone and downsized by about 20% to make for a more comfortable in-ear device, which is going to be a massive positive for almost anybody.

The Jabra Elite 75t Audio Quality

You might think that because of the 75t Elite’s lower price tag, they might be inferior to their competitors on the market; not true

I used these earbuds to listen to a wide array of content, ranging from videos, gaming, music, and even audiobooks, and what I noticed was a consistent level of quality that let me experience all of this content intensely, with no noticeable drops in audio quality across the board.

Initially, I sampled the Jabra Elite 75t earbuds on the factory settings – basically an equalized mix, with no boosted bass or mids, and I could tell immediately that the audio was better than that in the 65ts. Metallica’s “And Justice For All”, for example, notoriously features a very low bass mix on all of its tracks, but I was definitely able to hear it on the 75ts, whilst not being overwhelmed by the mids or highs.

If you want to use these for mobile gaming as well, you are in for a treat. Playing Call of Duty: Mobile, it was incredibly easy to discern in-game gunfire and player location based on audio with the 75ts – something that I can’t say for most wireless earbuds. With the popularity of game streaming ramping up with the likes of Google Stadia, Playstation Now, Xbox Game Streaming, and more on the horizon, I’m going to take a leap and say that for mobile gaming, the 75ts are a fantastic way to experience true audio quality on a mobile platform.

Let’s say, however, that you aren’t satisfied with the pre-set audio. Not a problem. Jabra has developed an app that lets you customize the audio experience you want to hear, with a number of pre-set functions available for a quick, tap in, tap out experience, which makes its usability all the easier.

I’ll give an example.

On the way to work, I typically listen to audiobooks and podcasts, whereas on my journey home I will be more interested in music or video. Luckily, Jabra’s app lets me switch between different EQ settings easily, so that I can enjoy my music or podcasts to the maximum level with minimum fuss.

Musically, I think that the audio quality is far above the price point of the Elite 75t. Listening to some Opeth for example, I noticed that the bass came through incredibly clearly, whilst the mids and highs of the guitars never overshadowed or eclipsed other musical elements – an annoying trend in most headphones.

One thing I will say when it comes to audio quality is that I experienced a better sound when I traded the default in-ear bud itself for one of the larger sets that come with the 75t. That might just be me, but I can say that once I made that switch, I began to enjoy the 75ts more.

The Usability Factor of Jabra’s Elite 75t Earbuds:

The Jabra Elite 75ts are a truly wireless earbud – that means that battery life is key. To test the battery life of these earbuds I used them on a single charge until they finally died out on me. Happy to say, Jabra’s estimate of 7.5 hours is almost exactly what I got out of the set I tested, with my pair dying around the eight-hour mark. Not a huge problem though, as the charging case can carry enough juice for an additional 28 hours of use.

The Elite 75t earbuds come with one button on each bud, with the left-hand side controlling the Jabra “hear through” feature. “Hear through” is an interesting feature I didn’t know I needed until I figured out that a quick click of my earbud would let me hear what was going on around me without pausing or removing my earbuds – handy. And, the noise-canceling mics do a good job of amplifying the real world in-ear.

The buttons also control music, able to both increase and decrease volume, skip and pause tracks – and they can answer, hang up on, and reject phone calls. All handy if you are on the move and don’t want to fiddle with your phone on a cold day.

However, one feature I wasn’t too impressed with was the overall connectivity of the earbuds. I noticed that in certain situations, mainly in crowded areas like train stations or busy streets that my Jabra’s might intermittently cut out or reduce in quality. I’m sure this can be put down to a mass of people using the Bluetooth connectivity frequency which might overwhelm such a small earbud, but it was noticeable enough to affect my overall opinion of the earbuds.

Otherwise, I was very happy with the functionality of these earbuds. I often make phone calls on the way home from work, and it was very easy for me to hear the person on the end of the call, and for them to hear me. Aside from interruptions stemming from the previously mentioned issue, calls were a doddle.

In fact, calls were very easy to conduct thanks to the assistant feature in the earbuds. You can select your preferred assistant (I chose Google), and with a touch of a button, it functions just as it does on your phone. Essentially this removes all real need to remove your device from your pocket when you are on the go, which, personally, I thought was fantastic.

Then there is the case. It comes with a USB-C charger, which allows for fast charging. Brilliant, but when you consider that there are competitor earbuds out there that allow for wireless charging, it does seem like Jabra are missing a step. Personally, that isn’t a huge gripe for me, but I’m sure there are going to be some people out there offended by this missing feature.

The Jabra Elite 75t Connectivity:

I wanted to take a moment to talk about the connectivity of the Jabra Elite 75ts. When it comes to mobile accessibility, they are fantastic, allowing for quick and easy pairing with your phone complete with a jingle and in-ear message telling you pairing is complete.

When it comes to PC connectivity though, it’s a different story. While you can connect your Jabra Elite 75ts to a PC, they don’t receive the same level of support on this platform as they do on mobile.

That means that if you want to use your earbuds for gaming exclusively, then you could be limiting yourself to mobile and streaming – but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. In the coming years, we are going to be seeing a greater interface between mobile devices and triple AAA games, so a truly mobile set of earbuds could be a wise investment ahead of this trend becoming widespread.

My Overall Enjoyment Of Jabra’s 75t Elite Earbuds:

I won’t lie, there are actually a number of people in my office who use Jabra products, that’s why I had such ready access to the 65ts to compare – and they agree with me that the Jabra Elite 75t earbuds are a huge step forward when it comes to overall design, comfort, and audio quality.

And, I’m in agreement. Set at a competitive price point of around $130, it’s going to be hard to find a pair of truly wireless Bluetooth earphones that deliver the same level of noise cancellation, audio quality, and usability,

They were easy to pair, easy to use, and easy to listen with. Hopefully, Jabra keeps up it up and we see many more affordable, quality products from them in the future!