+ rich, well-balanced transparent sound
+ very effective noise-cancellation
+ excellent app
+ many useful features
- voices might sound a bit cold
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Sound: Tonal Balance / Transparency7.8
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Sound: Bass / Dynamics8.8
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Ease-of-use / Connectivity10
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Price/Performance9.5
Even if you have never heard of the brand name – the Danish manufacturer Jabra is anything but a newcomer to the headphone world. But causing a sensation among the audiophile earphone community is not anything one might expect from them, even if their headsets have been around for more than 30 years. The latest True Wireless top-of-the-line model, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, is coming with quite at quite a steep pricepoint. And is said to revolutionize speech quality as well as active noise-cancelling due to exclusive and unrivalled mic technology. That is quite a bold claim.
In order to compete against the top dogs in the highly competitive market, the Elite 7 Pro is also promised to offer a battery runtime of 8 hours without being recharged. The impressive specs are also including full water and dust protection complying with IP57 standards. And that is included in the two-year warranty.
And, of course, there is a dedicated app called Jabra Sound+ providing providing individualization features of the quite posh ear buds being available in gray, black and gold / beige.
Features of the Jabra Elite 7 Pro
The true wireless in ears can be connected using Bluetooth 5.2 standard and offer a mixed-material housing which is obviously well manufactured. Since the left and right bud establish a separate Bluetooth connection, stability is expected to be excellent. Unlike many competitors, a single Jabra bud can also be used as a mono headset.
The boldest claims of the manufacturer are concerning speech quality. Not less than six microphones plus an exclusive bone conduction pickup ensure background noise being clearly separated from the voice even in really noisy environment.
Customizable in all respects
The Jabra app, which can be installed on any Android or iOS smartphone, offers a surprising and sometimes confusing variety of settings. However, most of them are extremely useful in practice. For example, the app identifies whether the earbuds are really inserted correctly into the ear canal. Placing them too loosely might result in a loss of bass and effective noise-cancellation. An individual hearing measurement and calculation taking into account several parameters like age of the wearer shall result in an individually perfected reproduction.
A noise-cancellation intensity control and a very useful 5-band graphic equalizer are also included. The Jabra app also supports the user in customizing and optimizing the assigned functions to the touch pads. For example, activating a voice assistant or selecting voice-through mode for announcements can be preset to any key combination.
The voice recognition is compatible both with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant (provided the appropriate account and connection). Siri can also be activated in case a suitably equipped Apple smartphone is connected.
Field test and connectivity
The Jabra Elite 7 Pro really feel light, and in deed they are at only 5.5 grams each. And they hold very well in most ears thanks to three soft gel/silicone adapters included in various sizes.
The manufacturer promises up to 8 hours of operation without recharging. Afterwards, the two buds (or only one of them in mono mode) have to be placed back in the rigid, ergonomically rounded case. It delivers power for almost three more listening cycles, so a total of 30 hours is possible. The case can be charged via USB-C cable or wireless option.
The app can also be used to force a firmware update of the earpiece, but please expect some time for uploading it.
Audiophile sound and effective noise cancelling
A full rich sound with sonorous bass was present without applying too much force while inserting the pair of Jabras into the ear canal. While listening to music, the Elite 7 Pro surprised with a well-balanced, natural and powerful timbre from the first beat. Using the equalizer to perfection tonal balance was completely unnecessary in the vast majority of cases. The in ear phones really provided audiophile qualities with astonishing clarity and appealing transparency.
Imaging was spacious rather than gaudily direct, which fits perfectly with the relaxing nature of an in-ear on long flights or train rides. Because this was neither accompanied by a loss of detail resolution nor by reduced dynamics.
Its low frequency range sounded very differentiated and impulsive, combined with the right amount of punch one would expect from a good pair of headphones, never showing a tendency to getting fat. At most, female voices sometimes sounded a bit cold, but the in-app equalizer could easily provide a hint of additional fundament.
Alternatives to the Jabra Elite 7 Pro
At 200 Euros, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro already is facing heavy competition. However, the two In Ears clearly justify their price with well-balanced, transparent sound and a bunch of uselful features. As a total package with the very effective noise-canceling and the long battery life, there is no more attractive offer known to us. The Panasonic RZ-S 500W offers similar qualities with only a slight sacrifice in sound quality and less smart features at a lower price.
- Price: Approx. 200 Euro / 200 $
- Type: In-Ear
- Transducer principle: Dynamic
- Weight: 5.5 g
- Features: Charging case, multi-sensor headset, app control, equalizer, IP57
- More at: https://www.jabra.com
