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Jabra Elite 10 earbuds review

Introduction

At home, when I want to shut myself off for a while, I use Noice Canceling headphones. I don’t like this on the road. Like many other people, I prefer to have a box of earbuds in my pants or jacket pocket that I can take out when I need them. Read on to find out how I ended up with the Jabra Elite 10 earbuds.

Because I have a mild form of autism, it is important for me to be able to disconnect myself from external stimuli every now and then. I specifically want to have the option of having a good noise canceling option in my earbuds.

I also have another problem that I always encounter when I try a set of earbuds; fit. To date, I have not found in-ear earbuds to be comfortable. My right ear in particular quickly feels clogged, my ears physically hurt or I always have the feeling that my earplugs are falling out.

I have tried quite a few earplugs and have always been disappointed.

Open-ear?

After many disappointments, I finally found a set of earbuds where I was less bothered by the disadvantages I experienced in terms of comfort. I settled on so-called open-ear buds, specifically the Galaxy Buds Live from Samsung. Finally I could wear something in my ears for a longer period of time. The big difference with regular earplugs is that they rest on the ear instead of in the ear canal. Unfortunately, I recently dropped these in a puddle of water and one of the earbuds stopped working properly. There was also another disadvantage, due to the lack of passive isolation that you get with plug-ins, the available noise canceling was actually only interesting on paper.

I started reading and looking and looking everywhere again and considered various open-ear alternatives (if there are any). Still, I kept reading about compromises such as poor sound quality and lack of ANC.

Note: open ear is not the same as open back.

Jabra Elite 10

Some time ago I tried a set from Jabra, the elite 4 active. I really liked these for in-ear standards. The shape was slightly different. However, the ANC was not great and there was no multipoint, something that I also find important.

I noticed Jabra released two new models in their upper segment of earbuds and this Elite 10 in came to my attention. In particular, the focus on even better ANC, improved comfort and good sound quality appealed to me. Reason enough to give them a chance.

Technical specs provided by Jabra for the Elite 10

Jabra elite 10 Packaging

The earbuds come in a compact box with some branding and a picture of the earbuds on the front. The earbuds, the various eartips and the case are shown on the back. Here you can also see that the Elite 10 supports both Google and Apple. There is Fast Pair for Google and Spotify tap. Dolby Atmos support is included as well.

Using the Jabra Elite 10 earbuds

Comfort

After the unboxing it is time to try on the earbuds. I immediately notice that these are earphones that do not have to go too far into my ear. They rest with the flat side against my ear and slope towards my ear canal. This ensures that the pressure is well distributed. It probably also helps that the silicone eartips are more oval shaped. Furthermore, a small amount of a soft, rubbery coating has been applied to the earbuds that seems to improve comfort. Jabra claims to have examined more than 62,000 different ears to achieve the perfect fit.

The Jabra Elite 10 fit in my left ear
Left is fine
My right ear is, as always a different story

After a day I noticed that the bud in my right ear in particular was prone to falling out (but this did not happen). Ears are of course never the same and upon closer inspection I also saw that the earpiece cannot rest perfectly on my ear. To be on the safe side, I installed a smaller size of the silicone tips and since then the earbuds have an almost perfect fit for me.

Jabra adjusted the design to fit most ears
They fit me very well compared to most other earbuds

Sound

The Jabra Elite 10 has large 10mm drivers and you can hear that.
The sound is fantastic in my opinion. There is sufficient soundstage and sufficient bass. By sufficient I mean not too much bass. If you are looking for a bass-heavy set, you better look further. I personally think the standard setting sounds fine.

I listened to different types of music. Quiet jazz, the C&C soundtrack, classical, 80’s pop, some lo-fi beats, the Blade Runner soundtrack, podcasts, basically everything. Nothing has bothered me. No treble too high, no exaggerated bass, nice soundstage, just enjoy.

The earbuds currently support AAC and SBC, with LC3 and LC3+ lossless audio in the future.

ANC and Hearthrough

The ANC is really, really good on these earbuds. Irritating sounds in the house such as mechanical ventilation or the ticking clock van no longer be heard. But I was also able to relax while waiting in the busy canteen of the swimming pool until my daughter had finished her lesson. The screaming baby, the tapping spoons and screaming children were wonderfully filtered away. Certainly not yet at the level of the Bose QC45 here, but on par with the Sennheiser Momentum 4.

The Heartrough function can be useful while on the road to let your surroundings in. This works fine. While the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro2 sometimes let through a very shrill high tone, this does not happen with these earbuds.

Wind Noise reduction quality of the Jabra Elite 10

The earbuds also offer an option to automatically apply wind noise reduction. This works very well. I was able to enjoy both music and podcasts while cycling without any difficulty. Something that is not pleasant with the Galaxy Buds live, but also with the Bose QC45.

Atmos/Spatial audio

The earbuds also offer an option to automatically apply wind noise reduction. This works very well. I was able to enjoy both music and podcasts while cycling without any difficulty. Something that is not pleasant with the Galaxy Buds live or the Bose QC45.

Jabra Elite 10 Call quality

Call quality has generally been good, but not always. Sometimes I had people complain to me about hearing wind noise when I was having a call outside. Apparantly the wind noise reduction isn’t working so well for others as it is for me. When making calls inside there didn’t seem to be any problems.

Controls

The Jabra Elite 10 earbuds use physical buttons. I was a bit hesitant about this, but in practice it works very well. The buttons are easy to press and the earbuds are not pressed hard into my ear. The big advantage is that the earbuds can also be operated with gloves.
You can choose to receive feedback while pressing by means of an acoustic signal or a voice that confirms the input. I personally like the latter, it uses a calm feminine voice. Don’t want to hear any feedback at all? That is also possible.

Software

The Jabra app is one of the better ones I have experienced so far with wireless audio products. There are clear uncluttered segments in the menu without poor translation. There is a 5-point equalizer, the ANC and hearthrough settings can be tweaked here and the functions of the buttons on the earbuds can be adjusted.

Soundscapes in the Jabra Elite 10 app

One of the options in the menu are the soundscapes. These are sounds to help you shut down completely. There is the sound of a babbling brook, a fan, songbirds, the sea, pink noise and many others. I have come to really appreciate this feature and have fallen asleep a few times with one of these sounds on.

The Jabra elite 10 has a very good app
I really enjoy some of the soundscapes

Software updates

Jabra recently released a software update that further improved the ANC. In the near future the intention is to add LC3 and LC3+. As far as I have read on various forums, Jabra usually supports the earbuds with a number of software updates.

Batterylife of the Jabra elite 10

Jabra claims a talk time of 8 hours on a single charge without ANC on. I have noticed that I can usually squeeze out just a little more. Without ANC, Jabra promises 6 hours. The case holds approximately 3 charges. Fully charging the case takes 3 hours via a USB-C connection. It is also possible to charge the case wirelessly.

The Jabra elite 10 has a case that can be charged by wire or on a wireless pad
The case can be charged by USB-C or wireless

Conclusion

With the Elite 10, Jabra has really put a very good set of earbuds on the market. The sound is very good and the earbuds offer an ergonomic design. There is less pressure on the ear and a total of 4 pairs of oval-shaped eargels are supplied. It is nice to know that if purchased from Jarba itself, you can return the earbuds within 30 days if they do not fit properly. Many other web shops also offer this option. There is plenty to adjust in the app and the battery life is excellent.

They are not cheap, with a suggested retail price of €249, I don’t think they are good enough for this price. I recommend that you shop around carefully because if you are patient they sometimes drop towards €170 and in my opinion they are certainly wort it at that price.

disclaimer

I purchased these earbuds with my own money. This review was first published in Dutch on tweakers.net and can be found here.

The Jabra Elite Active 4 could be your new best friend.

Recently I switched to a new phone, the Pixel 6A. Beautiful device, love it so far, but it doesn’t have a 3,5mm jack. So here begins a new quest for me; finding a wireless headset that is good for me. After looking around the internet, my eyes fell on the Jabra Elite Active 4.

Bought out of necessity?

Late last week I replaced my Pixel 4a 5G with a Pixel 6a. My biggest doubt when purchasing the new Pixel variant was the lack of a 3.5mm connection. At home, I often use my Sennheiser HD660S headset in the evening to listen to music. In the end I took the plunge because the design of the Pixel 6a really appealed to me. I thought, fine then I’ll just use a usb-c to 3.5mm converter if I really have to at home. And my wife has a Bose QC45 which I was sure I could use whenever I wanted. Well… Turns out I do miss the convenience of just plugging in my wired Sennheiser buds I always carry in my jacket with me. And my wife has paired the QC45 with her phone as well, so now whenever she decides to listen to an audiobook my music goes away or vice versa. I decided I needed some wireless earbuds.

Welcome to the jungle

No i’m not talking about that fantastic song; Im talking about the jungle of wireless earbuds. I didn’t really know where to start but I made a small list of demands:

  • Somewhere around €100,-
  • Multipoint
  • Not an Apple product, since I use windows and Android
  • Not the shape of the airpods
  • USB-C

Turns out there are so many shapes of earbuds, marketing terms, brands. Looking around the internet, reading reviews, scrolling to reddit, watching youtube… It didn’t make things a lot easier for me.

Jabra Elite Active 4

Then I stumbled on a pair of Jabra headsets after seeing an advertisement on a website. I used a Jabra headset in the past which served me well so I decided to take a closer look. The Jabra active 4 was on a discount and caught my eye. The things that appealed to me where:

  • Nice design
  • Water, sweat and dirt resistant
  • Multi point (more on this later)
  • ANC + hear through
  • Good looking App (sleek, no fuss)
  • USB C
  • Around budget (recommended price €110,-)
  • Reputable brand

Specifications of the Jabra Elite Active 4

Connectivity

  • Bluetooth 5.2

Audio

  • ANC
  • Adjustable HearThrough
  • Sound-insulating design
  • SBC and Qualcomm® aptX™
  • Adjustable EQ
  • 4-microphone technology

Ease of use

  • Mono mode
  • Rechargeable battery (Up to 7 hours of battery life in the earbuds, and 21 hours in the charging case)
  • Fast Charging
  • Instant access to apps Play with Spotify Tap* (Android only)
  • Google Fast Pair
  • Voice assistant support Alexa built-in (Android only), Siri® and Google Assistant

Design and comfort

  • Compact design

Accessories

  • 3 Pairs of Round Silicone EarGels (S, M, L)
  • Charging case
  • USB-A to USB-C cable

Sustainability

  • IP57 Waterproof and made of high quality, durable materials
  • 2 year warranty against dust and water (after registration in App)

App

  • Jabra Sound+

Unboxing the Jabra Elite Active 4

The Jabra set came in a nice little carton box made from recycled material.
Inside you will find the case containing the earbuds, some reading material, and a blister with two extra pairs of ear-tips; an S and an L next to the standard M size that are already on the buds.
In the supplied documentation, Jabra refers to the Jabra Sound+ app to get the most out of the earbuds. Unfortunately, the buds and the box were empty so I first had to give them some juice.

Build quality and comfort

The earbuds look neat and feel solid. under the logo is a push button which is easy, but not too easy to press. Unlike some of the other earbuds from Jabra such as Elite 3 or Elite 7 pro, the push buttons are not visible here, but have a protective layer to guarantee water and dirt resistance. There is also a filter around the microphone. The silicone plugs are not easy to pull off so will not quickly become loose or lost. On the other hand, they are easy to get back on. I’ve had a lot more trouble with this with other earplugs.

The Jabra Elite Active 4 earbuds have an attractive design

The case is neat but simple with a magnetic closure. Don’t expect high-end design or wireless charging here. It gets the job done, no more, no less. It does fit in the small pocket of a pair of jeans, very handy!

The earplugs themselves go well in my ears with the standard plugs and immediately stay in place surprisingly well. Shaking my head hard didn’t let them fall out. The shape is also well adapted to the ear, nice that the claims of Jabra seem to be correct. The Sennheiser ear plugs were immediately painful around the ear for me. However, especially in the beginning, I always had the feeling in my right ear that the earplug was in danger of coming loose. However, this has not been the case. This may be because the plug is firmly in the ear, but the housing around it is not secured by means of a wing or the like. After a while I no longer had this feeling.

The case of the Jabra Elite Active 4 is nice and compact but lacks wireless charging

Sound+ app

As suggested by the instructions I downloaded the Jabra app. I was then able to pair the earbuds with this and provide them with the latest firmware update. The app looks user-friendly and clear. It is possible to choose what to see and in which order. If the earbuds are not connected, you can request the last known location, provided you have given permission for this. For getting a full two year covery of warranty against dust and water damage you need to register the headset through the app. Personally I prefer apps which don’t require any registration.

Once connected to the earbuds, after downloading the latest update, an individual battery status of both earbuds as well as the case can be seen. I personally like this very much, especially because I sometimes only use a single earplug. There are also various sound presets, but you can also adjust the equalizer to taste. Personally I like the smooth preset. There is just enough bass for my personal taste without giving to much high pitches in the treble to which my ears can be a bit sensitive. For example, the strength of the Noise Cancellation as well as the sound of your own voice during a call can be adjusted, but it is also possible to set whether or not to play music after activating the hear through mode. I personally find the Sound+ app very pleasant and of added value, I have experienced this differently.

Sound

In my opinion, the Jabras give a very pleasant sound when playing various types of music. Nowhere do I have the feeling that an angel has taken up residence in my ears and sings its tunes to me, but it sounds “just right”. No shrill sound, no crackling, just good music. Whether I play Dire Straights or Metallica, it all sounds great. Of course not on the same level as my HD660S in combination with a Topping DX3 Pro+ DAC, but a lot better than my daughter’s Huawei buds, for example.

ANC and HearThrough on the Jabra Elite Active 4

Speaking of the ANC, I found it to work fine, though not class leading. When I enabled the ANC mode annoying sounds in my house like that of the cat fountain or robot vacuum where inaudible, Some higher pitched sounds were still able to come through though. All in all it is acceptable for me, I wasn’t expecting the same performance as a Bose headset after all.

You can adjust the level of noise suppression

HearTrough works perfectly fine. I was able to hear everything around me in a perfect and natural way without any distracting metallic sound signature. It is possible in the app the choose whether music should stop, or continue to play while enabling HearThrough mode.

No multipoint

While I initially thought this model had multipoint support, it turns out that this option is not available. I can understand the absence of wear-detection, but not having multipoint is kind of a deal breaker for me personally in this price class. Jabra added the option later in the Pro 7 model so it seems like something that could still be added, from what I have read online though, Jabra has no plans to include it in this model.

Conclusion

I am very satisfied with the Jabra Elite 4 active earbuds. They are very comfortable for me, although in the beginning had a kind of phantom feeling that one of the ear plugs would come loose. Sound is really fine, although they will not be classified as audiophile material. AAC and Aptx support is present. The absence of multipoint is something I personally find an odd choice in this price-class.

Overall I am very pleased with these earplugs! If you don’t have a huge need for multipoint, then the Elite active 4 earplugs are highly recommended in my opinion!

Positive

  • Decent ANC
  • HearThrough works great
  • Good Battery life
  • Nice app
  • Water and dust proof

Negative

  • No Multipoint
  • No Aptx support

Disclaimer

I bought this set with my own money, Jabra had nu influence on my opinions. This article was first published by me at Tweakers.net in Dutch.