Jabra Elite 85H Active Noise Canceling Headphone Review  

Active Noise Cancellation, the future.

Active noise canceling headphones are not a new product, yet in recent months the attention of consumers towards this type of products has gradually multiplied and now almost all the main players in the audio video world have in their headset catalog equipped with technology ANC (Active Noise Cancellation). Angry, Senneheiser, Sony, Jabra and recently also Apple with the new AirPods PRO, they have cleared and perfected a technology that has been known for some time and whose basic operation is quite simple: the sound is a longitudinal wave consisting of a compression phase and a rarefaction phase. A loudspeaker with noise-cancellation technology emits two sound waves: the sound you want to transmit and a second wave with the same amplitude and opposite phase compared to the external sound you want to cancel. This second wave and external noise combine (through a process called interference) and cancel each other out. (Source Wikipedia) 

If the operation underlying the noise cancellation systems is the same for all headsets on the market, the application is different because the algorithm is different with which the internal processor of the headphones analyzes the external sound (through the microphones integrated in the headset) and decides the wavelength and phase of the noise contrast sound wave.  

In this review we will deal with the headphones Jabra Elite 85h, a product with excellent plate data and a truly excellent quality / price ratio.  

Design and comfort 

The Danish manufacturer has accustomed us with all its products to a particular attention to detail: the minimalist design that has always distinguished the Jabra brand is combined in this case with a refinement of materials that makes the Jabra Elite 85H unique compared to other products in the category. The polycarbonate structure with a matt black finish is in fact here covered in black fabric, a decidedly original solution. The fabric covers both the upper part of the headband and the two pavilions and has a particular hydrophobic treatment that makes the headphones impermeable to splashes of rain and sweat. The headphones are also water resistant although Jabra does not provide certification references (probably because it is carried out internally).

On the left pavilion a single button in the lower part serves to control the noise cancellation, on the right side, hidden under the fabric covering, there are three buttons, one in the center of the pavilion for play / pause, call answer and two for the volume, visible only thanks to two small dots that help you identify them when you wear headphones. On the underside of the pavilion there is also a button for activating the microphone, a 3,5mm jack input and a USB C port for charging. All the finishes are in black with the exception of the structure of the headband which, on the other hand, in the part where it joins the pavilions by drawing a small curve, is in gunmetal gray.   

Overall the design is compact and the impression is of a rather solid and resistant headset, this impression also confirmed by the stress test. Even if twisted and abused to the extent possible, we did not observe any strange creaking or, worse still, deformation of the structure. The headphones, as we have said, are designed to withstand even the most adverse weather conditions and the fabric covering is much more resistant to scratches and wear than the Sony leather one.  

Comfort is very good. The abundant memory foam of the earpads and the headband is covered with a good quality leather that also seems very resistant and, after about 30 days of intensive use, no strange creases are visible. There is still too little time to judge them, but it is still a further good indication of the build quality. The weight of 296g grams is the highest among those of the magnificent trio (the other two have in fact lower weights and in particular, the Sony WH 1000XM3 254g while the Bose Quiet Comfort 356 II, 236g) but the good weight distribution makes them comfortable even after several hours of use and at least as much as Sony. The Bose are still far away, but they are certainly the most comfortable ever.   

The range of accessories in the package is very rich, but in line with what is offered on headphones of this category: in addition to the headphones there are in fact the USB cable for type-C charging, a beautiful and comfortable hard case for transport , the adapter for connecting to the two-jack aircraft entertainment system.  

Functionality and Jabra Sound + App  

The Jabra Elite 85h are definitely a feature-rich headset, some very comfortable and functional, some that need some improvement. One of the features we liked the most is the headphone capability of pause listening as soon as you stop wearing them. In fact, the headphones detect the rotation of the pavilion, a movement that occurs when you place them on your neck or put them in the case and automatically stop listening and put them on standby. Similarly, when the pavilions are rotated again, the headset is reactivated in a few seconds and it is sufficient at this point to press the play button to start listening again. This is a smart choice, because while when you remove the headphones it is important that the playback is paused immediately so as not to lose even a second of playback, think for example when listening to an audiobook, the opposite is not true: when the headphones are placed on the head maybe you want to have a few seconds to settle down before starting listening again. 

Jabra Sound + App and active noise cancellation 

Great emphasis has been placed by Jabra on software Sound +. The app that now accompanies almost all the products of the Danish brand starting from the fabulous Jabra REVO, reviewed a few years ago.  

From the point of view of ease of use, the companion app Sound + is designed and allows you to take advantage of the active noise cancellation algorithms developed by Jabra with absolute immediacy. The app allows you to manually select the "momentumOr the environment in which the headphones are used, thus adapting the response of the headphones. In addition to manual selection, however, the app comes with the functionality SmartSound which, once activated, uses the microphone and artificial intelligence to automatically identify the environment in which we find ourselves by automatically changing the "moment" between the available presets: "commuter", "in public" and "in private" "; a fourth custom “moment” allows you to set the headphone equalization and set the mode between “Active Noise Cancellation”, “Heartrough” and “Audio Mode Off”. Despite the good premises SmartSound does not work at all as it should, sometimes changing inappropriately and sometimes too often between one mode and another. Furthermore, the change of moment is announced by a recorded voice that overlaps the listening and in some cases can be quite annoying. In particular we have noticed that especially in silent environments, when the system automatically enables the momentum "in private", even just a little louder noise is enough to switch the system to the momentum "in public" and then, once the noise is over again up in private and so on continuously until you decide (and will) to deactivate Smartsound.   

From the app it is also possible to select with precision and in a simple way the personalized equalization, use the "Find My Jabra" function which, by registering the position of the headphones the last time they were disconnected, allows you to find them again in case you are no longer able to do it. It is also possible from the app as well as from the appropriate button on the pavilion, to disable noise cancellation, or set the heartrough that transmits the audio captured by the microphones directly into the headphones.  

La active noise cancellation performs excellently at the station, on the train and in the plane, perfectly canceling the noise produced by the shouting and above all the hum of the engines. In extremely noisy places such as shopping malls, noise canceling performs very well but is unable to completely silence background noise. In general from the point of view of cancellation, these Jabra Elite 85h behave much better than the Bose and come dangerously close to the Sony WH-1000XM3, the best in class from this point of view.  

As the Sound?  

Despite all the tricks that modern headphones are equipped with, it is always the audio quality that makes the difference in the choice. Luckily, as you'd expect from a high-end pair of headphones from a prestigious brand like Jabra, too, le audio performance of these Jabra Elite 85H are excellent.  Whether your use is purely streaming from Spotify, Amazon Music or Apple Music, or listening to music in high definition, the Jabra Elite 85H will be able to fully satisfy you with a full-bodied and rich audio that favors mid-high frequencies and crystalline voices. The out-of-the-box equalization of the Jabra Elite 85H is indeed quite analytical, almost as if it were a studio headset. 
- treble are precise and defined and, especially the voices, they have truly exceptional clarity. In fact, in our listening routine the best results came from listening to "Live at the Blues Alley" by Eva Cassidy, whose silky soprano voice with a wide range and an unparalleled gift for phrasing, impressed us, bringing out really nice details.  The mid and upper midrange is also very good, while a little more we would have expected from the bass not like that' extended as we would have liked, although with a good punch and always pleasant. "Heard 'Em Say" by Kanye West and Adam Levine confirms this feeling, with the rattle of the battery raid so incredibly realistic, much more than heard with other headphones in the same price range, but at the expense of extending the sound range downward. 
Equalization can help in this regard, but it certainly can't work miracles. Let's be clear, the Jabra Elite 85H sound excellent and the little bass extension is evident only if you compare them with the Sony WH-1000XM3, while they are definitely winners in comparison with the Bose Quiet Comfort35 II. Not to mention that at these levels your listening preferences could be towards a headset like this, with more analytical and not hot sounds like the Sony. Furthermore, another point to the advantage of the Jabra is the good equalization capacity thanks to the app, certainly the most complete among the top-of-the-range noise-canceling headphones.    

Battery and calls.  

Exceptional, this is the only way to define the battery life of these Jabra Elite 85h. Bluetooth 5.0 with its low consumption, in addition to ensuring a very fast connection to your device and stable up to a distance of 10 meters, coupled with a huge battery allows these Jabra to reach and exceed the plate data of over 41h. listening without noise cancellation and 36h with active cancellation, indicated by the manufacturer. In reality, this means weeks of listening without having to resort to a recharge or in any case all the charge necessary to face even the longest air travel. The credit also goes to the SmartSound app that when active allows you to disable active noise cancellation when it detects that conditions allow it (in Private mode). The headphones are also equipped with fast charging and it will only take you 15 minutes of charge to get an additional 5 hours of playback.

In call, the Jabra Elite 85h take advantage of all the experience of the danere brand gained over the years in terms of conference calls and bluetooth audio, offering perfect audio that is unrivaled, beating even the infamous Sony. The credit in this case goes to the eight (!) Microphones, six of which are exclusively intended for audio enhancement. The software does its part, activating HearThrough 'when a call comes in, allowing you to hear your voice during the call.

Conclusions and final judgment 

Le Jabra Elite 85H they are truly excellent headphones that rightfully place the Jabra brand in the elite of active noise canceling headphones, which include brands of the caliber of Sony and Bose. The excellent sound performance, the good management of the noise cancellation algorithms and the wide equalization capabilities offered by the Sound + app, as well as of course a lower price than the competitors (on Amazon these prices Sony WH-1000XM3 267 euros, Bose QuietComfort 35 II 285 euros, JabraElite 85h 242 euros, but it is not uncommon to find them on offer at 199) make it a product to be absolutely taken into consideration when evaluating the purchase of a pair of headphones of this type. Wanting to make a ranking of the three most interesting products on the market right now (something we are sure you would have asked us on our Telegram channel), we would say that all things considered (sound performance, comfort, smart functions and noise cancellation) these Jabra Elite 85h yes they place immediately behind the Sony and a step higher than the Bose. That Sony's dominance is starting to creak?