Apple's AirPods vs. Jabra's Elite 65t Wire-Free Earbuds

[CanadianGuy]

I used the AirPods for over a year, and replaced them with the Jabra Elite Sport (similar to the 65t, but more waterproof and a slightly different fit). The Jabra ones are night and day better than the AirPods. The batteries last longer, they stay connected to the phone without issue (my AirPods would constantly pause, or completely disconnect). About 10% of the time one of my AirPods wouldn't charge while in the case (Apple even replaced the case once without fixing the issue).

The Jabra's aren't much heavier than the AirPods, and I've often forgotten I even have them in. They have sound pass through, so you can hear people talking to you (if you have it turned on), without taking them out of your ears.

Two issues with the Jabra, 1) the case is huge compared to the AirPods one, though it's a small price to pay. It's actually big enough that I added a wireless charging receiver to it, so my headphones always charge wirelessly now. and 2) the Sound Pass through feature, which is really useful, has to be manually turned on via the app every time you use them. It doesn't remember the setting and turn it on automatically.

 

[alexcf]

I can’t wear AirPods. They just don’t fit in my ears, which sucks. So I went with the Jabras. Here’s my review:

Pros:
Sound is awesome
Noise insulation is great
Battery life and charging time is good, never had them die on me
Music pausing when removing from my ears is great. Only problem is, if I take them both out and put them on a table, it starts playing again.
On planes I’ve slept in them, which heats trying to sleep with Bose over-ears on!


Cons:
Case is a HUGE pain in the ass. On my 2nd day I lost one of the buds in a hotel dining room after dropping the box, and they bounced out. Found it hours later fortunately!
Case also can fall open in my bag without much difficulty
Uncomfortable wearing them for more than a couple of hours
Doing calls in public sucks. Microphone has no real noise cancelling, so often I receive complaints about background noise.

All in all, I have grown to like them a lot!

 

[honglong1976]

After having a pair of earpods and everyone saying how the airpods sound different, more bass, etc.

Utter nonsense. They don’t isolate at all and have no bass. In fact they sound like the EarPods. (See rtings.com for a review confirming this).

I tried Powerbeats 3. They have bloated bass (although they sound much better than the EarPods). W1 doesn’t do much to be honest apart from the decent battery life. You have to manually switch between devices.

I give up!

Well, until I tried a pair of Bose SoundSport earphones. I incredible sound (6 hour battery) and connect to two devices at the same time and 8 in total. Press the button on the earpiece to switch between devices.

This is how Bluetooth should be. Convenient and sounds like wired.

Cannot recommend enough!

 

[dazed]

The wife and I were just commenting the other day about how people who wear these (especially the AirPods), look a little foolish. They really ain’t flattering and just look like some bad ear piercings.

 

[hebus]

Well, I have the AirPods and the Jabra Elite 65t... and I use the AirPods all the time, because it is more confortable, I find the sound good enough and the convenience of the box won the game.

The Bose are so big... I tested them and frankly... very annoying

 

[name99]

The Jabras look stupid when not in the ears. Airpods don‘t.

But when in the ears, the Airpods are the stupid looking ones.

Jabras sound much better. Stay better in the ear while working out. And have a better noise insulation.

And it connects to both my iPhone and Apple Watch at the same time... so i‘m not missing the W1 Chip.

BUT those stalks on the Airpods are actually REALLY nice in terms of "hold" and "place" functionality.
It's trivial to pop them into and pull them out of the charging case AND you can buy tech like this which us SO damn useful. I'm unaware of a similar convenience solution for the Jabras, and as you get to that small it's not clear to me how such a solution would work?

But yeah, lack of some form, albeit imperfect, of noise cancelling on AirPods is a real downer right now. I wonder if a large part of the drastic difference between opinions of them boils down to this? I mostly use mine in quiet environments and think they're great, but on the rare occasions when I have to walk down a noisy street, their limitations are very obvious. I can see why, for people who do that all the time, that's a dealbreaker.
(Though, IMHO, the solution would not be Jabras but something like the Beats Studio over-the-ear's -- at least that's what I would get. Better isolation, but still W1 connectivity convenience.)

[doublepost=1548537573][/doublepost]

The wife and I were just commenting the other day about how people who wear these (especially the AirPods), look a little foolish. They really ain’t flattering and just look like some bad ear piercings.

This is why it's so hard to take seriously random comments on the internet.
The "internet" can simultaneously hold the opinions that "people only buy Apple because of fashion" AND "people who use Apple look like dorks"!

It's a wonderful growth moment in life when you realize that it DOES NOT MATTER if you look foolish...

 

[Daytona 360]

The article also missed a major feature of the 65t Elite - HearThrough. It uses the built in mic on the earbuds to passthrough ambient sound to the headset.
Want to talk to your co-worker without removing your earbud? Check.
Waiting at a fast-food restaurant for your order number to be called, but still want to listen to whatever you are listening? Check.

And you can enable or disable it with a double-click on the headset.

 

[HJ24]

I have to heavily disagree with this review. Although the W1 chip provided a greater range & better connection for the airpods. Jabra has the airpods beat since you can have 2 devices connected simulataneously and the audio will switch to whichever is playing the content. This along with better customizable ear fit (at least for me), made me return the airpods and get the Jabra's

 

[FyerFyer]

Just saw this vid:

 

[neutralguy]

"with the Elite 65t offering noticeably better audio". Oh for the days of professional reviews. This absolutely means nothing. Is there some way to measure the response curve? Some people say it sounds better when the bass is way boosted, but that does not actually mean a better sounding or performing speaker. The best speaker accurately reproduces the sound as it is supposed to sound absent any colorizing.

And Apple does have EQ curve setting, under Music, Playback, EQ (if you must). I play my music flat, because that is the way the artists intended it to sound. You only need EQ if you desire a specific response, have bad ears and have to compensate, or have bad speakers and need to compensate.

If you wanted to hear the way artists intended it to sound, then you won't be using airpods.
[doublepost=1548548784][/doublepost]

Yeah I’m not sure the hearing aid look is a positive for the Jabras.

How will you feel when the new hearing aids come out looking like airpods?

 

[schataut]

Jabra 65T & Airpods are the only ones thst worked for me

My friend has the Jabra 65T and I was told he has issues with voice/lip moment sync while watching youtube videos .. but looks like you don't have that issue .. weird. Not sure if it's related to difference in firmware version.

 

[EdMan]

I’m now intrigued by the Jabra's. I have Airpods and Bose Soundsports. I use the Airpods exclusively when I’m not in the gym. They just felt too slick in the gym and would fall out doing certain movements. The Bose are great for working out but stick out too much and can be fickle at times with their operation. Sometimes the left bud disconnects or has trouble connecting.

 

[fairuz]

Bluetooth is 1980s technology youngling.

Eh, not Bluetooth as we know it. Looks like in 1989 (barely the 80s) they invented some wireless alternative to RS-232 that nobody adopted.

 

[alexandr]

I mean.. the Airpods are pretty butt ugly, so..

I own the Jabra's, and I primarily bought them because Apple has never made earphones with good sound quality. I was downgrading from a wired pair of Shure 535's, but I'm still pretty impressed. I don't know what the review is talking about, re: pairing automatically. Every single time I put my Jabra's in, there's audio feedback to tell me they've turned on, and immediately tells me how many devices they're connected to (anything I ever paired them with the first time). They then work instantly. I've also never found them uncomfortable, and I've worn them on business trips, and long flights.. not an issue I ever experienced.

Airpods were never an option for me, because (to me) they look stupid, and the sound is no good.

Jabra's option is solid.

as i said to someone else - totally subjective. i think airpods look and sound perfectly fine(comparing to apples wired) while the jabras are ugly as hell. can't speak to the sound quality as i never put them in my ears. i use wired bowers & wilkins and i don't go "ugh" when i switch to airpods...
i say let's use whatever makes us happy

 

[Afro Blu]

Picked up the Jabara Elite 65T a week ago. So far they sound great when playing music. But I wish I could get them to go a bit louder during calls. The fit is much better than I was expecting after reading about them falling out in reviews. I think when that happens they just haven’t been seated properly. They fit tight, but my ears are on the smaller side. Gonna look at getting some comply tips so they are a little more comfy.

 

[shankar2]

Airpods are great but battery life is one year max, and to replace them costs around US $75 per piece! that's about as much as a new one... it's a hit product but Apple needs to improve battery and lower replacement costs..

 

[Ollé]

Damn, that was the most biased review I've read in a long, long time.

 

[hebus]

If you wanted to hear the way artists intended it to sound, then you won't be using airpods.
[doublepost=1548548784][/doublepost]
How will you feel when the new hearing aids come out looking like airpods?

Interesting about ear aid, for 2 weeks I am testing new ear aid, small enough in the ear, invisible, that I can use my AirPods with them... especially useful when I have a conference call at work... AirPods being very great for conf call, even without ear aid.

For now it is the right solution for me... ear aid with Bluetooth are not frequent and need some external devices you need to take with you all the time.

 

[Abazigal]

It's a wonderful growth moment in life when you realize that it DOES NOT MATTER if you look foolish...

Or that fashion is decided by the times.

I remember lots of people here mocking the appearance of the AirPods when they were first announced. Or the memes about they would go dropping out left and right. This wouldn't stop them from going on to sell a ton, and celebrities left and right have no qualms about wearing them in public. Even the once-mocked price tag is now considered quite affordable compared to its more expensive brethren.

Today, the success of the AirPods is undeniable, its look has largely been normalised, and we are on the cusp of the next iteration.

Can't wait for it to be refreshed.

 

[iZac]

I just wish they had a matte black version of the Airpods

 

[trimlock]

I've owned the airpods and now the Jabra's 65t elite. I'm one of those who purchases their items on function over form and thus formed zero opinion on if I looked fabulous wearing them. Both are great tools to transfer sound from your phone to your ears and I'd have no problems recommending either of them. I preferred the airpods more over the Jabra's but they would fall out during workouts and then I discovered Jabra's "fit" ear pieces.

These don't really do anything better than the airpods per-se and are comparable price wise. The fit (and also controls) is the big difference and the Jabra's excel at staying snug in your ear. They can be really buggy though, that left ear piece can be a pain the @$$ to get synced up correctly but it is a rather easy fix; place in case and removing again usually re-syncs the piece.

The case is the biggest engineering fail of the entire product though. Its big and the door is an abortion of a design. The case also has a hilariously bright green light to let you know its plugged in, because ... this was somehow necessary.

The App is ok, its got a semi-gimmicky EQ function, and a few other functions I'll most likely never use but it has all the guides to the earbuds and this works without an internet connection too. Another thing about the app: it lets you turn off hear through.

Hearthrough - this thing is useless, the reason why each earbud has 2 microphones is the second one acts a transfer function so you can hear "noise" on the other side. It is delayed, it is noisy and it is very annoying, but that's just my opinion. Never turning this on again.

Noise cancelation - there is no cancelation on this device, the Jabra's "block" noise by blocking the canal with the device. It is effective!

Button selection - One of their biggest advantages over the airpods. Its hard to "accidentally" select something and the tactile switching is also soft enough that you don't have to stab your ear drum trying to indent the button. Each side has their different selections and controls are easy to remember. If you forget, just load up the app.

Call quality - No ones complained about the call quality of these when I've talked to them so I'm going to assume they do a good to good enough job of transferring your voice through the phone/device as well.

Since these are a friction fit they will cause fatigue, and I was fairly sure I wouldn't like these at all. Surprisingly the fatigue doesn't set in for a while, I can wear these for hours at times. The airpods I could wear for ever, but its not very useful if the device keeps falling out of my ears.

The Elite Sport has a heart rate monitor (re: it has a third sensor). I was really considering paying extra for this but I have no idea how well this works seeing as it would base your heart rate off the inside of your ear, near the canal.

 

[torana355]

The only good thing about the Apple airpods is the W1 chip. They sound absolutely terrible, have no isolation and look rediculous when you use them. The 65t's are in another league to be honest.

 

[Beards]

I suffer from a quite distinctive hearing loss, especially with the right ear. The onset of not hearing correctly precludes the use of hearing aides for both ear canals.
As such for any form of sound I require whatever headphone/earphone etc to have a greater degree of volume and space.
My question therefore asks:- “of the Jabra/Airpods/any other wireless in-ear, which system provides the greater volume and frequencies”?

 

[hebus]

I suffer from a quite distinctive hearing loss, especially with the right ear. The onset of not hearing correctly precludes the use of hearing aides for both ear canals.
As such for any form of sound I require whatever headphone/earphone etc to have a greater degree of volume and space.
My question therefore asks:- “of the Jabra/Airpods/any other wireless in-ear, which system provides the greater volume and frequencies”?

Well, my main motivation to buy the Elite 65t was to be able to modify the response curve, there is something in the Jabra App... But at the end, the sound for call is not fantastic and the AirPods are far better in sound quality when in conference call... then useless... But you can alter the response curve, but not distinct between left and right unfortunately, my deficiency earring is worse on the right for example. The sound can be loud because of the intra nature of this earbud.

BTW, why you can't have ear aid ?

 

[Beards]

Well, my main motivation to buy the Elite 65t was to be able to modify the response curve, there is something in the Jabra App... But at the end, the sound for call is not fantastic and the AirPods are far better in sound quality when in conference call... then useless... But you can alter the response curve, but not distinct between left and right unfortunately, my deficiency earring is worse on the right for example. The sound can be loud because of the intra nature of this earbud.

BTW, why you can't have ear aid ?

Many thanks for your honest and clear reply.
A response curve would definitely help especially if it amplified the right over the left. However, it is a shame there is no control between the left/right ear buds.

As to your final question:- Not sure what you are asking sorry. I do wear hearing aides. The only issue being they cannot connect to say my iPhone. For general conversation I wear them but for listening to podcasts/TV over Bluetooth and music I would wear ear buds. My current headphones (Plantronic Backbeat Pro) are great but heavy and hot.