The Jabras use Bluetooth 5.1 for wireless connectivity – there’s no aptX, let alone aptX HD, but 5.1 alone is more than sufficient to get some hi-res audio files on board. And with an MQA-powered Tidal Masters file of Marvin Gaye’s Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) playing, the 85t don’t take long to establish themselves as a reasonably balanced, reasonably sophisticated listen. If having virtual assistant support is important, then the Elite 85t won’t disappoint you, as the buds demonstrate excellent speech recognition to register voice commands. Much fun was had using Google Assistant to pull up World Series box scores and voice-to-text friends when playing video games in the office uninterrupted. Siri gave me the same attention on macOS and didn’t skip a beat when pulling up calendar invites. Jabra confirmed that Alexa is coming in a Q1 2021 software upgrade. Jabra Elite 85t review: Active noise cancellation and HearThrough Another thing impacting the fit is the new oval-shaped buds. Jabra says this fresh “semi-open” design features pressure relief vents to prevent pressure build-up inside the ear, while the silicon oval EarGels help create a more secure seal for better noise-cancelling. While that sounds all good and well in practice, we found that they actually don’t fit as tight as the older, rounded design and feel like they’re constantly on the verge of falling out, even when twisted to fit deeper in the ear. Without noise cancellation enabled, the Elite 85t buds will last you around seven hours, the same as the Jabra 75t. It’s also worth noting that this is the length the batteries will last after being taken out of the charging case. The case will actually extend the buds’ life to 25 hours (or 31 hours with ANC off), without needing to be plugged in again. This should last you a few days if you’re just using the Elite 85t buds for an hour or so – for example during your commute – per day.

Turning on ANC gives bass an incremental boost that only those with detailed hearing will notice. These buds can get extremely loud, which was a major complaint I had with the Elite 75t, but I recommend bringing the volume down five notches from the max level if you want to feed your ears lively sound and prevent any hearing damage. Oddly, the Elite 85t’s sound was much lower coming from my phone than from my MacBook Pro, though this issue was temporary and gone the following morning.

What should you get instead of the Jabra Elite 85t?

However, the main difference here is that they’re not aimed at sports (although they are still rugged enough to be used for low-impact fitness thanks to IPX4 water-resistance).

If you're the type who watches YouTube clips or Netflix shows from your mobile device regularly, then expect even better audio performance. When watching several Joe Biden campaign speeches, I loved how crisp and clear the low-voiced former VP sounded. Audiobooks, podcasts, and IG Live clips were also audibly satisfying. Jabra Elite 85t review: App and special featuresThere’s decent weight and substance at the bottom of the frequency range to underpin the recording nicely, but bass sounds aren’t the most disciplined or well controlled – and that can impact a little on the tune’s momentum and rhythmic balance. If it’s punch you want from your headphones, though, the Jabras will certainly appeal. Ever wonder why Jabra hasn’t adopted touch controls? According to the company, some user experience studies showed that people liked the sensation of using buttons versus tap gestures. I’m not one of them, specifically because physical buttons require pressing the buds into the ears which creates discomfort, but I give credit to Jabra for making control management less painful. Speaking of deep sounds, Jabra is renowned for its booming bass reproduction so we're elated that they’ve only sought to improve it this time round with the Elite 85t buds. It makes up for the less impressive fit, for one. The Elite 85t is arguably at its best when playing orchestral records. Personal favorites like Ahmad Jamal’s “The Awakening” encouraged me to go on a Jazz binge during the testing phase. It was a soothing listen, but the extra oomph added to the low end sweetened the deal. The double bass delivered some amazing reverberation, which felt surreal, as if the instrument was being played right next to my ear.