Jabra is setting its sights on the premium earbuds market – but does it score a sonic bullseye?
Wireless in-ear headphones | £230| whf.cm/JabraElite10
There’s been somethingrather likeable about Jabra’s recent run of wireless earbuds. Rarely have the Danish brand’s buds quite managed to attain the full five stars, but thanks to their usual combination of pleasing designs coupled with well performing features at competitive prices, this feels like a brand moving in the right direction.
Retailing at £230, the Jabra Elite 10 are certainly competitively priced. Jabra’s ploy seems to be to offer a slightly more affordable alternative to its major competitors, with the Elite 10 sitting below titans such as Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (tested at £300) and the Award-winning Sony WF-1000XM5 (tested at £259), and alongside Apple’s flagship AirPods Pro 2 (£229).
Yes, the plastic case is unremarkable, but the buds themselves benefit from a slightly textured matt finish that feels nice in the hand, while the button-control panel on the unit’s exterior shines and gleams courtesy of a reflective, glossy finish. It all gives the impression that this is a properly premium pair of wireless earbuds.
At this level, you expect a decent variety of ear tips, and Jabra furnishes you with four sizes – small, medium, large and extra-large – to keep most bases covered. They fit well, too, with the angled-in stem combining with a slightly squashed, tapered tip to ensure that, in our experience at least, the silicone buds stay firmly in place.
Even with that rather attractive design, the new Jabra buds feel rugged and robust. There is a solidity and weight to them in the hand, while an IP57 rating ensures robust resistance to water.
We give the Jabras’ noise-cancelling capabilities a try and, while the outstanding Bose QC Ultra Earbuds and the Sony XM5 have them licked for complete sonic isolation, this underdog effort is admirable. Pure ANC works well to damp down the general hum and buzz of office life, even if voices and the occasional sneeze pop through, while HearThrough mode, tested on the London Underground, admits key announcements and voices with clarity.
Spatial awareness
Jabra has made quite a big deal of the buds’ Dolby-boosted spatial audio capabilities and, in fairness, those cheques can be pretty confidently cashed. Head tracking, which sticks your audio source to a single point in the soundscape rather than having the audio follow you around as your head m
