Forget Apple AirPods or Google Pixel Buds, these are my perfect headphones for 2020

What do I want from a truly wireless pair of headphones? That is always the question I try to ask when reviewing new headphones.

With all the different devices that are temporarily implanted in my ears each year, they all start to look and sound quite similar.

As a result, I end up looking for something different, something that stands out. For example, the artificial intelligence features of Google’s Pixel Buds briefly wowed me. The unusual bean shape of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Live caught my eye. It looks like Apple’s next fitness-enhanced AirPods will claim the crown of ‘most innovative earbuds’ next year.

But what is ultimately important is how well the headphones work. headphones. That means providing a great sound experience, excellent noise cancellation, and fulfilling its primary function of playing music with little interruption.

The Jabra Elite 85T are those headphones. The recently released headphones feature the best active noise cancellation I’ve ever used for in-ear headphones. They also feature great EQ controls, excellent mic quality, and impressive surround sound options. But, most importantly, they sound great. The Jabra Elite 85T are true all-rounders.

I had this revelation cooking dinner one night. I have an open-plan living room and kitchen, so my partner watches TV while I burn food with headphones on. Unintentionally, this has become one of my key headphone tests in the running. Can I lock everything else without turning up the volume, but quickly switch to a grilleless ambient mode when I see my partner saying “it’s on fire”?

The Jabra do it well. The ambient mode, known as “HearThrough” is really clear. It doesn’t sound as scratchy as digital as it does with other devices. Sounds clear and, well, usable. There’s still white noise in the background, but it’s muted compared to other devices like Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Plus. I have the left earphone programmed to switch between ANC and ambient mode for this exact purpose.

However, the real star of the show is Active Noise Cancellation (ANC).

The Elite 85Ts allow users to toggle between five levels of noise cancellation. Here’s why it’s important: If you don’t want to use Ambient Listening mode to better hear your surroundings, you can turn ANC off. This also reduces the connected feeling you often get with in-ear ANC headphones. The 85T’s relatively short cheek pads help with this too.

At max ANC level, with a solid setting that provides good passive noise cancellation and music at medium volume, you could block just about everything, but you could adjust that too.

I think a lot of people are confused about what the ANC is. It is not supposed to block all sounds by itself, only certain constant, low frequency sounds. You need a combination of passive noise cancellation with a good fit and a good ANC to avoid distractions. Apple’s AirPods Pro have this combination and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Live have ANC, but no passive noise cancellation due to their open design. The Jabra Elite 85T does a better job than both.

You will never avoid all the noise, unless you have industrial-grade hearing protectors used on construction sites. But for small and compact hearing aids, the Jabra are some of the best at eliminating unwanted noise. When you are locked up sharing a house with another person, or with several people, having a concentrated moment to yourself without noise distractions is, and has been, invaluable.

Audio playback quality is greatly enhanced by ANC. You can hear a much closer approximation of what the sound engineers originally intended than with other more leaky headphones. The Jabra Elite 85T offers a clear, detailed and balanced sound with an excellent base. Some headphone manufacturers are guilty of overdoing the base to compensate for other audio flaws, but Jabra headphones deliver deep, rich base sound without being too much. As a Hip Hop fan, this is important for navigating the nuances in the lower frequencies between tracks. In short, they sound great and are currently my favorite headphones to use in terms of sound quality.

The music equalizer is also unmatched. Jabra offers users the option of adjusting, at a granular level, the low, mid and high frequencies (bass, mid and treble) for their needs, rather than simply offering a handful of presets. If you’re a tinker who likes to get the most out of your music, this is incredibly useful. So when Skepta says ‘producer X on the buttons’ I can pretend it’s me at the console adjusting the sound levels, despite not knowing what those buttons do and having no knowledge of music production.

However, not everything is simple. All of that tech comes at the expense of size – they’re pretty chunky compared to lighter headphones like Google’s Pixel Buds. The fit is good, but they also feel a bit more precarious for the size and weight. That’s compounded by the design, which doesn’t feature clear wingtips like Google’s Buds or a special ergonomic design like Samsung’s contoured Buds Live. The Elite 85Ts are yet to be fought over, which includes a few trips to the gym, but it often feels like they’re on the verge of taking a trip.

Despite my design concerns, the Jabra Elite 85T headphones are the all-rounder headphones I can trust. The ANC is appropriately aggressive, the ambient mode offers a quick switch out of isolation with minimal distortion, the sound quality is outstanding, and the EQ settings are detailed enough to allow me to cosplay like a pro without the terrifying complexities of the world. real being a Pro.

They consistently perform well above expectations in the important areas and as such have become my favorite headphones. The AI ​​magic of other headsets sometimes serves as a distraction from fundamentally important features. Jabra’s device nails the basics and offers high-end reliability, which is all you can ask for in a pair of headphones.