Jabra Elite 7 Pro

Haptics and package

Following the Jabra Elite 75t, the Jabra Elite 85t initially moved towards a more lush build. With the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, the manufacturer takes the downsizing route and reduces the size and weight, which means a slimmer silhouette and an even better and more comfortable fit in the ear. According to the company’s own advertising, this was optimised based on analysing 62,000 ear shapes.

In addition to the in-ears, which are waterproof and dustproof to IP57, the sustainable box also contains a charging case, a USB-C to USB-A cable and three pairs of “EarGels”.

Some pictograms on the inside of the packaging demonstrate the simple pairing process via Bluetooth 5.2 and advise you to download the app “Sound+”. Consistent with their other products, Jabra does not provide printed instructions. If you add another 20 euros to the price of 199 euros, you will also get a version of the case that can be charged wirelessly according to the Qi standard.

Bluetooth connection

As mentioned, a Bluetooth 5.2 connection with the Jabra Elite 7 Pro is established without any problems. The fit of these in-ears, which also support single operation, is excellent with the appropriate gel, tight and very comfortable and quite unobtrusive due to their elegant design. While some other manufacturers find it difficult to conceal their headphones in the ear, these Jabra’s virtually merged with the anatomy and give the wind little surface to attack. Our range test in the open-air delivered a result of almost 50 metres and even when inside, several rooms were no problem for the stability of the signal.

Music is delivered via AAC or SBC. It’s a pity that Jabra doesn’t gradually use other, less “hungry” codecs in these times of increasingly rich data rates from streaming providers. The Elite 7 Pro also lacks multipoint functionality, which is planned as a later software update.

Sound

When listening to Ed Sheeran’s new album, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro built up the necessary pressure, but this didn’t put them under pressure. Open and airy, soft and velvety, yet deeply penetrating and finely drawn, the Elite 7 Pro are currently among the best earphones you can put in your ears in this price range. Even though the drivers are only six millimetres in size, they deliver a clear and wide sound that, for me, left hardly anything to be desired, regardless of whether I was listening to neo-classical, electro or analogue.

You should certainly download the app to complete the package. With it, the Dream Team is complete, and the possibilities for adding to the sound are even more extensive.

The “Sound+” app

I’ve already written in detail about the app in past Jabra reviews: it’s one of the most advanced and comprehensive apps for personalising, customising and controlling headphones.

Status information about the connection and charging level of both the in-ears and the charging case is visible at a glance. Here you can manage hardware updates, as well as the remote functions. These can be configured quite freely, with only the volume control always fixed as a long press on the left or right. Digital assistants can either be the OS’s own or Alexa if you install the corresponding app on your device. There is a switchable wear recognition function and the option of finding lost in-ears based on the last location before the connection was lost. With “MySound”, an individual sound profile can be created after a short listening test, and with “MyFit”, the app checks the correct fit of these in-ears in your ear. In addition, there is an equaliser with five bands and several pre-sets as well as the Soundscape function, which plays relaxation sounds such as rain, to help you relax.

ANC and HearThrough

Thanks to the app, Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s noise-cancelling can be individually adjusted in terms of strength, the frequency to be minimised and the distribution between the left and right ear. However, even with all these options, the effect is surprisingly mild and street noise is still present, admittedly with a few frequencies removed, although it is more of a whisper than a roar. Other competitors in this price range can do better, and so the Elite 7 Pro must settle for the rating “usable, but not outstanding” for their built-in ANC.

HearThrough, i.e. switching on the external microphones for better perception of the surroundings, can also be regulated in strength or permeability via a slider. This is sufficient for a quick chat with the sales assistant at a shop counter or announcements at the station. However, Jabra’s transparency mode sounds somewhat unnatural, as is the case with (almost) all competitors.

MultiSensor Voice – Voice quality during phone calls

Jabra particularly draw attention to the high quality of the voice during phone calls. Thanks to two built-in beamforming microphones on each side, bone sound sensors that transmit the voice via vibrations in the jaw, and corresponding algorithms, they claim that interference and wind noise are effectively minimised and the person speaking sounds clear and natural. In test calls from the busy roadside, you can listen to the technology at work: Although the voice contrasts well against the noise, it is still not possible to completely explain away rising and falling swells that sometimes let the background through more, sometimes less. And the reduction of wind noise, especially when cycling, is not as effective as promised. During video conferences in the home office the voice came across as clear, perfectly understandable and pleasantly natural – the same applies to telephone calls in quiet surroundings.

The option to adjust the level of Sidetone in the app is extremely helpful, because it allows you to hear yourself when you are speaking, which enhances the naturalness of your voice.

Battery life

The stated eight hours of battery life, which is more like seven hours in mixed mode, can be extended to 30 hours thanks to the charging case. When these in-ears are completely empty, just five minutes of charging time is enough for an hour of listening fun. These are decent values and quite impressive for the small design of the Elite 7 Pro.