In recent times Jabra has upped the game when it comes to premium earbud and headphone performance. Jabra Elite 85T is no different delivering fantastic world-leading ANC, deep bass and a comfortable snug fit.

Jabra Elite 85T is in the same bracket as AirPods Pro but have, in my opinion, a more premium build with higher quality plastic. With ANC, Elite 85T allows you to block out the vast majority of surrounding noise or allow you to hear more of your surroundings if you’re out on the road cycling.

So, are they worth the price?

Design and Build quality

The earbuds come in a range of colours but the review unit I revived are the lovely copper/black edition. You can also choose from gold/beige, Titanium/Black and black and grey.

They fit incredibly well inside your ear as you also get three different-shaped sets of silicon tips so finding the right size shouldn’t be a problem. I was kind of worried when I didn’t see any wing-tips that keep earbuds secure in your ear. But I shouldn’t have been. Not once have Elite 85T come loose on their own. Another nice touch from Jabra is that they designed them with earwax guards to protect the speaker grill. The one thing that I have noticed is that the plastic used on the earbuds is quite slippy. Perhaps a little bit of rubber could have been included in the design to provide that extra bit of grip.

A matte black charging case comes included that has an estimated capacity of just under 20 hours. That goes on top of the 5.5 hours of battery life in the Active 85T (if ANC is on). The strong magnets inside each earbud mean it’s easy to just pop them in the charging case and not worry about them not connecting properly. The charging case also supports fast charging through USB-C.

Elite 85T are IPX-4 rated which means it’s resistant to water splashes from any direction. You also get a 2-year warranty against dust and water when you register for the Jabra Sound+ App

ANC and Sound Quality

Drowning out the noise from my surroundings is one of the great pleasures of my life and I’m pleased to report that the ANC performance in the Elite 85T is cracking.

All the potential fidgeting with earbuds that you’d have to do in regards to volume and the like is taken out of your hands’ thanks to the ever-impressive Jabra Sound+ App. I sang its praise in my review of the Elite 85H and I’m going to do it again. The app also tells you how much battery life is left in each earbud along with the charging case. A nice touch that’s much appreciated.

Through it, you can decide at what intensity you want ANC mode with a choice of 5 or HearThrough mode which allows for clear noise from your surroundings. When I’m out cycling, I always have HearThrough mode on just to be on the safe side.

There’s also options including MySound which optimises your listening experience based on your hearing profile and MyFit which improves ANC and helps find a deeper bass for you to enjoy. If the standard button layout isn’t to your fancy, then MyControls should be your first port of call. There, you can decide what function a single and double press on each earbud will have for music and incoming calls.

The 12mm speakers inside each earbud really give off a tremendous amount of bass for the size along with a very crisp sound even when close to maxing out on volume. There’s very little, if any, distortion. Even in the current windy weather, receiving calls through Elite 85T is a breeze thanks to the 6-microphone and wind tech which provides clear sound in the most Irish of conditions.

Battery King or Queen

Jabra Elite 85T has a little over 5 hours of battery life if you’re listening to content with ANC on. If ANC is off that battery life gets an extra 30% for around 7. With level 5 restrictions in place, a lot of the roads are quiet so there’s no need for ANC on every occasion.

The small charging case packs extra 20-or-so hours of charging so if you’re going for a long cycle, you’ll want to bring it. Luckily it’s one of the smaller charging cases I’ve seen so it shouldn’t be a problem to keep it on your person.

Like Jabra Elite Active 85H, 85T comes with on-ear detection which also saves battery life. When you remove one earbud, it pauses the music or podcast that you were listening to. It detects when you put the earbud back in and resumes playing. If you’re more interested in Headphones, go check out our review of the Jabra Elite 85H or the Huawei FreeBuds.

In Conclusion

Jabra Elite 85T are a premium set of earbuds that cost a premium price For that price, you get a more than worthy adversary for AirPods that provide a high-quality listening experience to suit a hell of a lot of environments, fantastic ANC performance and a 2-year warranty. Every headphone/earbud manufacturer needs to learn from the Jabra Sound+App

Jabra Elite 85T currently cost €229 if bought directly from the Jabra online store. If you’re looking for a high-end audio experience, Jabra Elite 85T should be your first port of call.