Since their introduction to the market in 2016, the AirPods have become the gold standard that most people use when looking at other true wireless earbuds. But as amazing as they are, there are plenty of things that make those pricey earbuds not become everyone’s cup of tea.
This leaves a huge piece of the pie for other companies to come up with competing AirPods alternatives. The Jabra Elite 65t true wireless earbuds are Jabra’s answer to that call, which this company promises to have a better sound quality and everyday usability. But how do they hold up to these claims? Let’s find out now in this Jabra Elite 65t Review.
Jabra Elite 65t Review
Design
Instead of a trendy and glaring look of the AirPods and their clones, Jabra has stayed true to its principle and gone for a more low-key and mature design for the Elite 65t.
Jabra Elite 65t
These titanium black earbuds don’t feature long stems like the Apple best-selling models or stick too far out of your ears like the SoundSport Free from Bose. By contrast, they have a solid, mostly circular build with the mics jutting down to pick up your voice. Even though made entirely from plastic, this housing doesn’t make the Elite 65t look any less premium.
On the other hand, the charging case has a cheap feeling as the lid is neither spring-loaded nor magnetic, making it cumbersome to handle. And since the earbuds aren’t magnetic either, it’s entirely up to you to make sure they align properly in the case before closing it.
Besides the magnetic attachment, another feature that Jabra should add in future versions is the USB-C charging port. While the MicroUSB version that it is using in the Elite 65t is not the end of the world, it has become outdated and not compatible with high-end smartphones and laptops where USB-C is the new standard.
Controls
Even though you can do pretty much everything with the Jabra Sound app, using the physical button controls on the Elite 65t is still more convenient and time-saving.
Holding the right earbuds will trigger the voice assistant of your smartphone while you can play and pause tracks with a single press. On the other side, the left buds are for adjusting volume and skipping tracks.
If you need to disable the noise isolation temporarily when, for example, you go for a run outside and need to be aware of people and vehicles, just press the right earbuds twice. This will turn on the “HearThrough” mode and stop the earbuds from blocking the surrounding sound.
You can turn on the HearThrough mode in the mobile app
Fit and Comfort
The bulky look of the Jabra Elite 65t true wireless earbuds might lead you to think it would be difficult to put them in your ears, but this is not the case. With some adjustments and twisting, these Jabra earbuds stay comfortably in the ears with no discomfort even after a long listening session – something that we can’t say about every truly wireless earbud on the market.
Jabra provides three ear tips with different sizes on the box so you can find the right one to lock in the earbuds while not making your ears suffer. If you have any trouble putting these Bluetooth earbuds in, try slightly twisting them counterclockwise.
The Elite 65t fit nicely in the ears
Connectivity
While the pairing process between your devices and the Jabra Elite 65t is not as seamless as between the AirPods or the AirPods Pro and an iOS device, it’s still simple and straightforward. Just flip the case open and put the earbuds in your ears, and they will automatically turn on and create a voice reminding you to open Bluetooth on your device.
Even though Elite 65t does suffer from disconnects, dropouts, and audio stutters, they are incredibly rare, especially at home or in an office setting. The only occasions you may run into these problems are busy commutes with a lot of interferences like subway trains, where you see some noticeable snags in audio. But this is also the case for other earbuds, which often have a worse problem than the Elite 65t.
Sound Quality
This is the biggest selling point of the Elite 65t and also where they have the chance to shine the most.
The bass coming out of the Elite 65t is punchy and deep – something that fans of hip-hop, pop, and EDM always seek in their earbuds. They also have richer details and more balanced tonality compared to the AirPods. The bright mids, on the other hand, may be a bit lacking depending on what you’re playing, but you can work around this by customizing the EQ in Jabra’s app.
The Elite 65t still suffers from a common issue of all truly wireless earphones, including the AirPods, which is a limited soundstage. But this lack of resolution and sparkle in sound is expected and doesn’t sound that bad if you compared them fairly with other models.
On the bright side, Jabra makes up for this by offering top-notch passive noise cancelling capability that you can find on earphones to seal out most ambient noise in the background. This makes them have the edge over the AirPods, which have an open design and let the sound leak in easily.
The Elite 65t earbuds have amazing noise-cancelling
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Battery Life
A single charge will provide these earbuds 5 hours of playtime, putting them on the caliber of the AirPods and outlasting pretty much every other wireless earbud at this price point. And if you can take advantage of the Elite 65t’s charging case by putting the earbuds there between listening sessions, you can get two more charges or a total of 15 hours of battery life.
Other Features
The Elite 65t comes with the IP55 water and dust resistance, which means they can handle sweat in your workouts. But after a long session, the sweat may make you feel uncomfortable with the earbuds seated in the ears.
On top of that, Jabar has also equipped these earbuds with Alexa – the smart assistant from Amazon.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Mature design
- Secure fit without discomfort
- Incredible call and music quality for the price
- Decent noise isolation
- IP55 water resistance
- Slightly cheaper than the AirPods
Cons
- Become uncomfortable in extended listening
- Some dropouts in crowded commutes
- Slippery case with no USB-C charging port
- Work less seamlessly with Apple devices.
FAQs
How good is the noise cancelling of the Elite 65t?
Their ability to remove background noise is fairly good if you compare them to other wireless Bluetooth earbuds. But if you still need more than just “fairly good”, go for other models like Sony WH1000XM3, Bose QuietComfort 35 or other Bose’s noise cancelling headphones. But keep in mind that they are not in-ear headphones though.
Can I use the Elite 65t in the gym?
These Jabra earbuds work totally fine in workouts. But if you prefer a more secure fit, the Powerbeats Pro with over-ear hooks are worth looking at.
Will they work with my iPhone?
Yes, the Elite 65t are compatible with any devices with a Bluetooth connectivity, including high-end smartphones like iPhones.
Final Verdict
All things considered, these true wireless earbuds from Jabra are one of the best choices at this price point.
You get much better audio quality and noise-canceling and the same run time as the AirPods. And if the odd-looking aesthetic of the Apple model is not to your liking, the understated, mature look of the Elite 65t is the best alternative.
Even though they do need some improvement in future versions, especially in the charging case, the earbuds in this Jabra Elite 65t Review should be the top consideration when the AirPods and similar earbuds are out of the question.
