Jabra Elite 75t

[Update from 29.10.2020]: Jabra hands over ANC free of charge

Jabra simply adds an active noise cancelling feature to the already outstanding Elite 75t by means of a firmware update. By the way: At the beginning of the year Jabra also released an individual sound customisation option called “MySound”, in which an individual sound profile can be created via a small test procedure. That’s product maintenance, folks!

But back to the “ANC for free”. Admittedly, for technical reasons there is only one “older” generation ANC. The new version, called “Advanced ANC”, comes with the new Elite 85T, which will be tested here soon.

After about 15 minutes download and transfer to the hardware the new “Standard ANC” is available. In the app there is a new option to select the sound mode: “ANC”, “HearThrough” or none of both. In the option “HearTrough” you can adjust the transparency with a slider directly after activation. As always, the more you open it up, the more noise will be heard through the outer microphones in your ears – especially if wind is still present.

The fine-tuning of the ANC is done in the settings. On a square matrix, the point at which the extinction of the environment appears most pleasant or perfect or a mixture of both is controlled. It is easy to see which frequencies are processed how much in which area of the square, so that they can be sufficiently attenuated. You can also see quite well that only the low frequencies tend to be extinguished and that it is not eliminated as effectively, even if a clear diving bell effect occurs. The ANC of the 75t is mild. It reduces the deep parts of the rumbling of the incoming tram and also the construction site in front of the office gets the fundament removed, but the rest still penetrates clearly to the ears. The reducing effect is therefore limited and remains far behind the performance of e.g. the current Bose QuietComfort Earbuds. But: the ANC in the Elite 75t is suitable for just that, especially since the sound remains. The running time of the 75t is reduced by a little more than two hours to just under five hours when the ANC is switched on permanently. So what? In return you get a little more silence.

Update conclusion

Jabra shows it to the competition and provides an ANC update for in-ears who previously had no ANC. Just like that, over the air and for free! The fact that this active noise suppression does its job rather mildly and cannot hold a candle to current systems is certainly suboptimal, but it can be tolerated. Especially as the whole package does not suffer or even deteriorate from the update. All in all, it is a good sign for value preservation and against obsolescence of technical gadgets. Well done, Jabra!

Out of the box

In the package with its distinctive signature yellow colour, you will find what all the things that should come with decent True Wireless in-ears: headphones, charging case, charging cable from USB-A to USB-C as well as three pairs of EarGels in sizes S, M and L. With the appropriate EarGels, the Elite 75t, certified to IP55, fit neatly in your ears. The mechanism for shielding from the noise of the outside world is also very good. Thanks to their compact dimensions, the 75t are less bulky on the ear and appear inconspicuous, but don’t let that lower your expectations of these Jabra in-ears.

Coupling via Bluetooth 5.0 is completely problem-free. Thanks to Multipoint, it works with a phone and a laptop at the same time, so you can listen to music from one source while someone calls on the other. Thanks to the easy-to-understand voice announcements, it almost runs by itself.

The new case

The charging case now has USB-C, is smaller than with the 65t, and can be opened with more ease. It is also simpler to insert the in-ears and the holding magnets have a little more grip. The batteries last 7.5 hours in these in-ears, and can be charged three times by the case. It takes just 15 minutes to pump them with enough power for one hour. Very welcome improvements in the hardware and runtime have also been made.

Operation

The Elite 75t can be controlled very effectively via the buttons on both sides, which have a pleasant pressure point. Different commands are assigned to the left and right, which are clearly presented in the app: “Start”, “Stop”, “Phone”, “Skip”, “Volume”, “Digital Assistant” and “Hear-through” – that is the external noise mixing via the built-in microphones – can all be controlled at the ear, with your device remaining in your pocket. If you remove an ear piece from your ear, the music stops and then continues as soon as the ear piece is put back in again.

Sound+ App

The Elite 75t app “Sound+” offers extensive options over settings and controls. Among other things, it provides hardware updates and adjusts the degree of external noise transmission. Here, you can also determine whether Alexa or the respective OS voice assistants offer their services. Furthermore, the EQ allows for extensive sound settings, which can be stored as individual presets. The charging status of the in-ears, as well as of the case, can be read and the voice announcements can be managed. Via “Find My Jabra” a search function is activated, which remembers the last point of a disconnection, so that you know where to look for your in-ears if you lose them. In addition, there are extensive instructions as well as an interactive representation of the control commands of the in-ears. Telephone functions can also be set, such as a listening tone that adjusts the volume of your own voice in your ear, or how much bass or treble the caller can hear. There is also a “Focus” mode in which different ambient sounds such as rain, waves or wind are played to help aid concentration. Last but not least, you can set the time of inactivity outside the charging case, thus controlling when the Jabras go into sleep mode to avoid unwanted battery drain.

With “Sound+”, Jabra provides these in-ears with an excellent app with a lot to offer, that is a shining example of how to get the software-hardware shortcut right.

Phone functions

Besides good sound and high wearing comfort, Jabra puts particular emphasis on telephoning, which aims for low-noise and high quality via four built-in microphones. And indeed, this makes voices easy to understand. Even if a tram is departing right next to you, the other side of the call can notice the Jabras’ attempts to extinguish noises, but the range of frequencies is manageable. There’s nothing to complain about in terms of voice quality, but the “listening tone” function reduces it: Your own voice is mixed into the conversation, which causes an unpleasant reverb effect, but this disappears after this feature is switched off.

Sound

What first becomes apparent when listening for the first time is a slight background noise in the AAC-encoded stream during silence, but this is masked during playback. The 6mm drivers then deliver a pleasant and balanced sound that unfolds over the entire bandwidth and makes many facets audible on a fairly wide stereo stage, which overall leaves a good impression. What’s missing is the power from below and a certain transparency in the mids, which takes away the radiance of the overall sound. In the app, however, you will find an EQ with which the sound can be manipulated over five bands or preset by numerous settings. Once the right EQ curve has been found, the bass and mids benefit considerably. You can also get more airiness out of the trebles.

All in all, you should feel very comfortable with the sound of the Elite 75t. And in direct comparison with the Elite 65t, the sound is fresher, more powerful and a little more mature, but this does not mean that the Elite 65t is significantly less powerful or worse.