Review Jabra Elite 5 Wireless Bluetooth

Jabra Elite 5 : Wireless Bluetooth 

Stylish Bluetooth in-ears with high-quality sound and smart features

The Jabra Elite 5 are true wireless in-ears for audio enthusiasts with an active everyday life. Hours of stylish music listening with great sound, active noise cancellation and ambience mode should be possible for a fairly affordable budget. In addition, the headphones from the Danish manufacturer have some telephone and smart features as well as an app connection to personalize the in-ear experience.

Scope of delivery and appearance of the Jabra Elite 5

In the small box of the Jabra Elite 5 there is a charging case that houses the button headphones. There are also three pairs of colour-matched silicone eartips in different sizes. Two of the pairs are hygienically sealed.

The Jabra Elite 5 are available in two colors: in titanium/black for friends of classic colors or gold/beige for those who like it a bit more eye-catching.

The outer sides each consist of a function key. According to the manufacturer, ear shapes and auditory canals were measured and evaluated for the universal fit of their ergonomic shape. The headphones comply with the IP55 protection standard and are therefore protected against dust and even water jets. So it's no problem with the Elite 5 to take "Singing in the Rain" at its word during in-ear listening.

Technology

Six miniature microphones ensure noise cancellation and enable the in-ears' call functions. The Elite 5's ANC feature is hybrid active noise cancellation. The internal and external microphones should help the in-ears to reduce both ambient noise and noise in the ear canal. An ambience mode is also on board. The feature here is called "HearThrough". This function reliably lets through ambient noise. This means that train announcements are not overheard and the in-ears do not have to be taken out of your ears, even for short conversations.

The Elite 5's 6mm diaphragms deliver audio from 20Hz to 20kHz. This corresponds to the typical human hearing range. For telephone calls, the range is limited to the frequencies between 100 Hz and 8 kHz, which are important for speech. Unfortunately, Jabra does not provide information on the maximum sound pressure level. The wireless connection to the smart device is established by the in-ears via Bluetooth 5.2. Accordingly, they also offer a multipoint connection. It enables connection to two devices at the same time. In addition to SBC and AAC, the higher-resolution aptX codec is also used as codec.

handling

To pair the Jabra Elite 5, simply hold both buttons for three seconds. Fast pairing or Microsoft Swift can also be used with Android and Microsoft devices. The pairing and connecting of the in-ears are accompanied by a female assistant voice. Large tool tips are also displayed on Android devices while the initial Bluetooth connection is being established. Setting up these headphones is correspondingly easy. However, the other functions require a little learning effort. Because no fewer than 13 different functions can be controlled with the two buttons on these earbuds. The Elite 5 surprised in the test on an Android smartphone with a control for the ANC feature that can be called up via the status bar. On top of that, all the battery statuses of the headphones and the charging case are also displayed there. Incidentally, the earbuds automatically detect wind noise and then automatically switch on the ANC feature.

battery life

The Jabra Elite 5 allows you to listen to music for seven hours with ANC activated. Without ANC, this is possible for two hours longer. The charging case is then ready for up to three charging cycles. Accordingly, these in-ears can be operated for a total of 28 hours with ANC and without ANC for up to 38 hours without additional power supply. A small LED on the back of each earphone not only indicates the pairing status, but also the charging status of the integrated battery. Thanks to its quick charge function, ten minutes of charging is enough for one hour of music enjoyment. The full charge is reached after three hours. An LED on the front of the charging case indicates whether it is ready to charge the in-ears. If this is not the case, the case and headphones are charged via USB cable. The color-coordinated charging cable that is included is chic, but very short at just under 20 cm in length. If the Elite 5 are not used for a long time, they still do not discharge after a short time. Because they wait in standby for up to 275 days to be woken up again.

wearing comfort

The fit of the Jabra Elite 5 is very comfortable. They fit the auricle and the auditory canal almost optimally. There is no need to stop playback when removing an earphone. The in-ear pair then automatically switches to standby. If the removed headphones are placed in the charging case, the other can continue to work in mono mode. In addition, the control of the in-ears is reliable and the latency between the key command and the execution of the respective action is sufficiently fast.

App connection

With the associated Jabra Sound+ app (iOS, Android), the sound of the Elite 5 can be individually adjusted using the equalizer. Three optimized presets are available with the hearing profiles “Pendulum”, “Public” and “Private”. In addition, an individual hearing profile can be created with the MySound feature using a hearing test and personal information. And the app itself can also be personalized thanks to widgets. "Spotify Tap" is also offered as a special function. With it, Spotify on the connected smart device can be resumed from where it was last stopped with a tap of a finger.

ANC and button functions can also be easily adjusted individually here - just like the choice of voice assistant. A little surprising is the app's Soundscapes feature. There are soundscapes to relax and fall asleep again. Unfortunately, if audio is played here, the previous media application loses its focus. In order for the button functions of the in-ears to be able to control Spotify & Co. again, the corresponding app must first be brought to the foreground again.

The equalizer is easy to use in the app. His presets differ significantly from each other and are all practical. They show once again the tonal potential of these headphones. As an extra special bonus feature, your own Elite 5 can then also be located worldwide via app. A great function not only for forgetful people, but also (at least in the short term) for investigating theft.

Sound of the Jabra Elite 5

The Elite 5 cleanly reproduce every frequency range. In that sense, their sound is balanced. On first hearing, however, it is its transparent and amazingly open highs that are particularly striking. These in-ears also reproduce mids in wonderful detail. Singing and speech sound differentiated accordingly. However, depending on the production, they tend to have a subtle hissing sound. Guitar music, such as rock, alternative and metal, also benefits from the fine resolution of the mids. With the Elite 5, music lovers get a cool rather than warm sound. Anyone who likes transparency and crystal-clear sound will be really happy here. In addition, the Jabra Elite 5 for pop, EDM and urban music offer rich bass down to the deep bass range.

In terms of volume, these in-ears are sufficiently strong. And the tonal dynamics are also convincing. As promised, emotions are conveyed here. The tonal depth gradation is impressive. It lets you rediscover some reverberation rooms in well-known music productions. The internal acoustic shielding is successful and the ANC feature works reliably. The tonal changes when switching on the noise suppression are marginal. The only effect on the sound of the music material is that the bass then appears slightly fuller and rounder.

The Elite 5's Ambience mode, on the other hand, is only helpful at very low volumes. Above all, he lets voices through. However, this happens so quietly that the actual purpose of the function is not really fulfilled. Here the otherwise convincing tonal tuning of the Elite 5 is exceptionally not so successful. Nevertheless, listening to music with these headphones is simply fun.

The Jabra Elite 5 offer everything true wireless fans could wish for. High sound quality with a lot of transparency in the highs and mids meets emotional sound dynamics. You only have to look further if you are looking for a strong Ambience mode. Apart from that, great sound, an effective ANC feature, telephony functions, ease of use and a long maximum operating time as well as extensive personalization of the headphones via app are offered. All this makes the stylish Jabra Elite 5 for 149 euros RRP a worthwhile purchase for music lovers with a penchant for smart technology.

1.     +balanced sound
2.     +detailed mids and open highs
3.     +Qualcomm aptX codec
4.     +comfortable operation
5.     +Individualization via app
6.    +effective noise cancellation
7.     +dust and jet water protected
8.     +global positioning
9.     +Spotify Tap

•     -marginal hissing in voices
•     -weak ambience feature
•     -short charging cable