Review: Jabra Elite Active 75t

This winter we tested the wireless earbuds Jabra Elite 75t, which we praised in the clouds for a very effective passive noise reduction, excellent fit and excellent sound quality with a lot of depth.

Now it’s the successor Jabra Elite Active 75t that has landed on the test bench, and you must apologize to us if reading this test provokes a faint feeling of deja-vu.

There is almost no difference between the two products, especially when it comes to sound quality.

In short, the changes can be summarized as follows: Compared to its predecessor, the Jabra Elite Active 75t has received IP57 certification, which means that the plugs are now completely waterproof for up to 30 minutes at a depth of one meter. The predecessor with IP55 certification was only splashproof.

For that pleasure you have to pay a couple of hundred kroner extra. Otherwise, the two products are identical.

The sound of the Jabra Elite Active 75t

But even if it is in itself a minor change, the new IP certification makes the Jabra plugs particularly suitable for training. You can sweat and run in rain as much as you want, which you did well to be careful with if you had predecessors in your ears. In fact, you can swim with the Jabra Elite Active 75t without any problems. Something we have documented, among other things, with OnePlus 8 Pro, which has also been waterproof!

The Jabra Elite Active 75t is also treated with a special rubber surface, which together with a tight fit holds them in the ear during running and training.

Just like the Elite 75t, the Elite Active 75t also comes with three different EarGels, so you can adapt them to every ear. This makes the earplugs so snug that they shut out all outside noise. Even though the Jabra Elite 75t does not have active noise reduction.

Instead, Jabra calls the technology passive noise reduction, but for my sake they have to call it what they want. It works so well that you really need the built-in ability to set the so-called HearThrough function, which uses the plugs’ built-in microphones to let the user hear their surroundings over the music.

A subwoofer in your ears

The same can be done when using the earbuds for mobile calls. This function is called Sidetone, and allows the user to hear their own voice, which otherwise easily resounds hollow in the head due to the cheese bell effect (occlusion).

Otherwise, the speech quality is also of the best nature. And that applies to both oneself and the conversation partner.

The Jabra Elite Active 75t has the same special sound as the Jabra Elite 75t, and the included app offers an equalizer function that allows you to adjust the sound so that the overall sound image is strong and harmonious with lots of bass, powerful midrange and plenty of air in the top.

Out of the box, the bass is way too prominent. It rumbles at the bottom, almost as if the bass drum creates feedback through the microphone it is recorded with. And voices may sound a little sharp. With the Smooth EQ function, the sharpness of the voices is removed, but not the hump in the bass. Fortunately, you can fine-tune each setting yourself, and just lower the bass frequencies a bit in the 5-band equalizer. Then it sits.

With the right sound settings, the Jabra Elite Active 75t can sound very balanced and nice – or become so bass heavy that it feels like walking around with a subwoofer in your ears! Choose for yourself.

A small challenge is the operation of the plugs. You can of course use the self-explanatory app, but all functions can also be operated via two buttons on the left and right earplugs, respectively. The only problem is that there are legally many different functions and combination possibilities on such plugs, and Jabra is no exception. Give yourself time to get to know them.

Conclusion

It is not so careful that the Jabra Elite Active 75t does not come with active noise reduction. Instead, an almost perfect fit ensures the so-called passive noise reduction, which is so effective that you can fortunately use the earbuds’ four microphones to lock in sound from the surroundings.

The sound quality is excellent, and with IP57 certification, which makes the plugs completely waterproof, as well as the almost perfect fit, the Jabra Elite Active 75t is also more than suitable for its actual purpose, namely to listen to music or to talk during fitness and training.

If we are to find anything to criticize, it must be the somewhat complicated operation. And that some of us think they’ll get too bass heavy right out of the box – but luckily that can be adjusted.