Jabra Elite 85h headphones review | with active noise cancellation

Like many, I have recently moved to work from home, and this involves many videoconferencing meetings and even presentations to groups of people using corporate videoconferencing systems (directing the physical ones into corporate conference rooms).
As a microphone I used the one built into my Dell notebook, but in some cases my audio was disturbed by the noise of the fans, which due to overheating sounded like an airplane taking off. For the audio, on the other hand, I used very common old-fashion earphone, as I don’t like in-ears, I don’t like the feeling of putting something inside the ear. Unfortunately they are very hard to find, but that’s another story!

So I asked my colleagues, and they recommended the Jabra Elite 85h headphones with active noise cancellation, Bluetooth, 36 hours of charge time (if used with noise cancellation), comfortable and above all you can use them in the rain! This one here in the North is very convenient, as – as commuters – in public transport we listen to podcasts, see videos, and it often rains so having a product that does not require the utmost care is certainly a good thing!

The headphones arrive in a nice box, which gives the feeling of quality, and inside they are arranged inside a rigid package, very convenient for travel. Even the color I chose, black and titanium, is very elegant, in practice it is as if it were black.
Charging is fast enough and is done via the supplied USB-C cable. Also included is the classic “headphone audio cable”.

The headphones “turn on” simply by turning the earpads, so this is also very convenient so you don’t forget them on (and then you find them with a dead battery). A nice feature is that when you remove them from your ears, the sensor senses it and turns them off. Battery life thanks!
The joints to place them on the ears are well made, and I must say that they do not bother if kept for a long time, a nice surprise especially for me who wear glasses.

Pairing to devices via Bluetooth is very simple and fast, you just have to discover that the right headset has 3 “hidden” keys, which you can use for volume and – among other things – to pair the device.

Jabra provides the “Jabra Sound+” App for Android (and I suspect iOS too) to configure many aspects of sound, update firmware, etc.

Windows instead detects it very quickly and shows the battery life information on the Bluetooth devices page.

If you want additional functions, like the smartphone app, you need a Jabra Link Bluetooth adapter (not included) and download the Jabra Direct software from their site. I tried to download the software, but without the adapter the software seems useless.

Even the function to “feel” the surrounding environment is convenient because, without taking off the headphones but with the single press of a button, it allows you to switch from the isolation given by the noise cancellation, to hear external noises. Convenient – for example – in a bus station to hear any communications, or talk to someone, and in total safety. Basically the microphones are used to make you hear the outside. Through the App you can configure all these functions at will.

The various software such as Skype and Teams immediately recognize the device and did not require me to further configure or waste time.
My colleagues told me that (from the microphone) they do not hear the background noises that are made at home (sink water, dishes, etc.). This is very nice because it avoids unpleasant inconveniences during meetings!

The audio quality is good for me, but not being an expert I can’t say much else except for me, a normal person, they are fine.
A separate word for active noise cancellation: it does what it needs to. If someone talks in the room you can hear it all the same, but they are less annoying, as the volume is “muffled”. Instead the background noises (the hums to understand each other) are canceled. This I believe will be very useful on airplanes and in open spaces, allowing maximum concentration, or sleeping!

A note on the weight: they are much lighter when compared with the JBL LIVE 650 BT NC (which I have already reviewed) that my partner uses.

Final judgment: recommended!

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