Jabra Elite 7 Active

Specification

“Perfect for the active lifestyle!” is how Jabra advertises the Elite 7 Active, which sets them apart from the more “serious” Elite 7 Pro. Thanks to a grippy and less slippery silicone-rubber coating, these in-ears do not slip through the fingers so easily and fit securely and firmly in the ears. Jabra calls this “Shake Grip”, and it’s made for lots of exercise with sweat and tears both indoors and out. On top of that, these in-ears are waterproof and sweat-proof according to protection class IP57, which on closer inspection of the numbers, also provides insulation against dust in damaging quantities. Incidentally, the case, which is also Qi-standard cable-free chargeable for 20 euros extra compared to the basic price of 179.99 euros, does not have this anti-slip coating.

Three pairs of earpieces in S, M and L and a 30-centimetre charging cable are also included in the package. Thanks to Bluetooth 5.2, these in-ears can be paired in as little time as it takes to unpack them, whether in stereo or with only one in-ear in mono mode.

Sound

As with the less sporty model Elite 7 Pro, the Elite 7 Active deliver their sound SBC- or AAC-encoded to a 6mm driver each. Given the availability of better codecs for transmitting less compression-laden content, this initially seems a little underpowered, but they amazed my ears across the board with excellent sound. Current chart-fodder comes across as open and airy with sufficient bass, wide mids and transparent highs. None of the three layers seems overbearingly gaudy or obtrusive but blends with a velvety and harmonious touch into the flow of the music. The same applies to crossover classical, electronic and analogue styles, which appear impulsive and driving, providing beautiful naturalness with no frills.

Isolation from the outside provides sufficient pressure and volume even in the agitation of sweaty movement and heavy breathing. Only during jerky movements, e.g. hopping or jumping, is there a noticeable transmission of structure-borne sound.

Remote and Sound+

Thanks to the excellent fit of the Jabra Elite 7 Active, you only have to reach for your ear when jumping to the next or previous track, adjusting the volume or pausing for a moment in your work-out. The buttons on the back of the in-ears have a precise pressure point, and your music player can definitely stay in your gym bag.

On the edge of a sports field with no obstructions, the connection was stable up to 50 metres. Jabra’s much-praised “Sound+” app opens up all kinds of possibilities for personalising the Elite 7 Active and adapting the sound to your own needs. With the exception of the volume, all functions for controlling the external player can be assigned to one to three clicks on the earpiece on the left or right side. You can decide whether you want to use Alexa or the built-in digital assistant and whether or not the in-ears mute when they are removed. You can also set whether your own voice is audible when you are on the phone or which equaliser pre-set boosts the sound from neutral to bass-heavy. With the “MyFit” function, the app then checks that the in-ears fit well before an individual EQ adjustment can be made with “MySound” via a listening test. And you can even give your new Jabras their own name after they’ve been updated via the app.

ANC and HearThrough

The Elite 7 Active’s noise-cancelling can be adjusted via a slider in the app so that certain frequencies of the environment in which you are currently located are more specifically cancelled out. In addition, this can be adjusted in the panorama, i.e. more to the left or more to the right. The effectiveness of the adjustable noise suppression is pretty standard and not outstanding. Low frequencies are eliminated relatively well, leaving behind a less heavy, high-frequency residue that is less distracting to the current programme of music. It was satisfying that the activated noise cancelling only marginally influenced the basic character of the sound and the typical jump to increased mids almost did not occur. HearThrough (transparency mode), which is implemented by activating the external microphones on the in-ears, is similar: conventional and functional, but also slightly noisy. The transparency can be adjusted in the app.

Speech quality

Compared to the Elite 7 Pro, the Elite 7 Active do not have sensors for transmitting bone sound, which is used in wind and noise. The four built-in microphones also do not have intelligent beamforming like on the Elite 7 Pro. So in practice, at the busy roadside, there is no special technology or algorithm to help your voice to assert itself better against the noise. On the one hand, this reduces speech intelligibility; on the other hand, it is good for the naturalness of the situation, because there is no typical rise and fall of noise that electronics constantly (and sometimes desperately) try to suppress. If you make a call from a bicycle, however, you will have to be aware that wind noise is also transmitted and can be a nuisance. However, using the Elite 7 Active for a video conference in a quiet room meant that the voice sounded present, close and full.

Operating time

A full charge of the batteries lasts for about eight hours, and this is reduced slightly depending on which mode is in use. For running a slow marathon, this should be enough, and if you feel like running several of them, you can recharge the Elite 7 Active in their case, which allows up to 30 hours of operation.