Jabra Elite 75t Review: Improving over time

The Jabra Elite 75t was released in late 2019. Yet, even after a year since its release, it is still very much relevant. Since its launch, the Jabra Elite 75t has seen an update to introduce Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and improvements to its calling functionality. But with a lot of True Wireless (TWS) solutions now available in the market, how does it stack up?

Design and build quality

Compared to other TWS headphones, the pair of Elite 75t is small. Jabra has done well to take care of ergonomics with the headphones fitting quite well in your ear. Out of the box, you get various rubber seals depending on your ear size, but the standard one installed out of the box worked fine for us.

For a natural seal in the ear, you need to slightly rotate the earbuds locking them in place. This allows them to stay in your ear even during intense exercise sessions. Furthermore, the IP55 water and dust resistance goes a long way to make these durable. However, one complaint we have about the design is the button placement. Its quite a large function button which makes it too easy to press at times. This leads to many accidental presses which become annoying when they add up.

Aside from this, the Elite 75t has a fairly simple build. The earbuds are made of plastic and have a glossy finish that attracts smudges quite easily. Of course, this helps with keeping them lightweight hence we are not too bothered by this choice from Jabra. But we wish the ‘L’ and ‘R’ labels on the earbuds were clearer. As for the headphone’s case, it is made of a similar material. We suspect it will accumulate wear and tear over time but are happy with its design.

The case is able to stand up and offers a magnetic lid. Moreover, the way it opens makes it comfortable to quickly access the earbuds from inside. The hinge can feel a bit cheap but we do not think this will be a major problem in the long run. Likewise, the Type-C USB port for charging the case also makes the Elite 75t future proof.

Functionality

We touched on the Jabra Elite 75t’s functionality earlier with its function button. But looking at the headphones in more detail, they connect to accessories via Bluetooth. A big advantage it has is that it is able to connect to two devices simultaneously, which allowed up to switch between out computer and smartphone seamlessly. But, with only AAC support, those looking for aptX support will be left a bit disappointed.

To pair the headphones, you simply keep the function buttons pressed for 3 seconds. The pairing process is simple with the earbuds flashing blue alongside a voice prompt to find the pair from your device’s Bluetooth menu. We also recommend you pair up the Jabra Elite 75t with its Sound+ mobile application. This allows you to personalise the listening experience, tailoring it to your ears.

The application is extremely useful and responsive. It not only gives you information about the battery life of the earbuds and case but also ways to personalise the sound experience, which we will discuss more in a later section. Aside from connectivity, you also get some controls via the Jabra Elite 75t. You can hold the left function key to increase volume whereas holding the right function key decreases it. But because this does not allow granular control, we think volume control directly from your device will be a better experience.

When listening to audio, the earbuds also support pausing when one of them is removed. But unfortunately, you cannot use only one earbud to do the same. Other gestures include a single tap, double tap and triple tap of the left earbud to toggle between sound modes, skip a track or return to a previous track respectively. A single tap on the right earbud pauses or plays content whereas a double tap triggers your assistant. You are able to to tweak these via the Sound+ application according to your preference though.

Sound quality

We think with the Jabra Elite 75t is designed for working out more than analysing minute patterns in sound. So if you are a true audiophile looking for such details, you may be disappointed. As someone who is not an audiophile, I could still notice a few let downs with sound. Where the Jabra Elite 75t shines is in mid-tones. They are clear and the listening experience is great. However, the headphones have an inherent property to over-emphasise bass. Especially with its music preset on ‘Bass boost’, the overpowering bass leads to a lot of loss in detail. For the high-tones, it is a mixed bag. In 80 per-cent of music, it is not a problem but sometimes, the sound can outright be unpleasant with extended listening leading to headaches.

With the Jabra+ application, you have a good chance to tune audio according to your ears. For example, the music presets we talked about. Out of the ones curated, ‘Smooth’ works the best for a wide variety of scenarios. You can also personalise your experiences with ANC and equaliser tuning. This seems to help a fair bit but we felt ANC was a bit harsh at times. It caused pressure in the ears which made extended use without listening to audio extremely uncomfortable. To tackle this, we wish the amount of ANC could be toggled but unfortunately that is not the case.

The good thing about the Jabra Elite 75t is that it works fairly well without ANC too. The natural seal of the earbuds is great in that aspect and you even have a ‘HearThrough’ option. This allows you to listen to your surroundings without removing the earbuds which can come in handy during conversations, accessible via a simple tap on the left earbud’s function button as mentioned earlier.

Battery life

You will not be too disappointed with the battery life on the Jabra Elite 75t. With ANC turned off, you can expect 6-7 hours of usage on a single charge. With ANC turned on, this will drop to 3-4 hours. The earbuds have helpful lights on their exterior which light up in green, orange and red signifying battery levels. For the case too, the exterior LED light is helpful to understand its battery levels.

With a fully charged case, you can recharge the earbuds 4 times before having to charge the case. Charging the earbuds takes 30-40 minutes when inside the case whereas the case itself charges in 1 hour 30 minutes. This is much faster than what Jabra specifies although it may be the case because we are using a Huawei 40W Supercharging brick. For those who prefer wireless charging, newer variants of the Elite 75t support this as well.

Conclusion

For long term usage, the Jabra Elite 75t offers a good experience. If you want to be able to connect to up to two devices and listen to casual multimedia, there is nothing wrong with the earbuds. Moreover, it offers a great layer of ruggedness with its IP-rating and for 95 per-cent of the audience, it will be a good fit when working out. The only drawback with the Elite 75t is its lack of aptX support and average sound quality, which may not be enough to satisfy the demands of a true audiophile. But with its current feature set and constant support from Jabra, it should be in your list of products to consider if you are in the market for a TWS pair of headphones.