Right now, it apparently all hardware and software — including, but not limited to, Our digital landscape—Has fallen victim to rampant price inflation. But wireless headphones did the opposite. Gone are the days of annoying connections, closed ecosystems, low battery life, and high prices. For a little over $100, now you can get quality wireless headphones works seamlessly with both Android and iOS and can clean floors with models that cost twice as much as two years ago.
Models like Jabra’s new Elite 4 Active are proof that there’s no longer any reason to spend big bucks on headphones on a daily basis. The noise cancellation, good mic, great water resistance, ergonomic fit, and decent color make them some of the best, even at our modest $120 price tag. they.
Jabra Reborn
If you’re not interested in the beginnings and growths of the wireless headphone industry, you may remember the last time Jabra from its absolute dominance in the era of Bluetooth headphones — the kind your uncle did. worn in 2006 as an overweight Secret Service agent.
In recent years, Jabra has made a number of best wireless headphones around, especially headphones. They compete directly with the highest-end models like Samsung and Apple, and often outperform them in durability and sound.
But when Apple and others push more advanced models called Pro or Max, Jabra has begun to bring much of its flagship technology down to more affordable earbuds. Instead of forcing you to pay more for noise cancellation, audio transparency and the fruit of thousands of ears laser scanning to match ergonomics, Jabra is sharing features this, although not having the same overall performance, in products like the Elite 4 Active.
The new model dominates at the lower price point, even though it’s only 90% as good as the higher-end options from Jabra. It feels like we’re dealing with the company’s new third generation of headphone design: First, it makes some of the best Bluetooth headphones, then some of the best earbuds. Now you can find its amazing technology for below average prices.
Full specs
I’m a huge fan of headphones that I don’t appreciate, which is part of what makes the Elite 4 Active so appealing. I’ve hauled them up the ski hills, splashed them on a rainy Portland run, and used them outside while pruning my berry bushes this winter. A two-year warranty and IP57 rating mean they’re ready to deal with almost anything the world throws at them, though they won’t automatically pause when you take your headphones off to chat with your neighbors — you’ll want to use see-through listening instead, which transmits external sound through a single tap on the headset.
Not that you’ll want to get rid of them: The Elite 4 Active are so comfortable and secure, they feel like they’re custom-molded. They also stick to Jabra’s durability claims, at least for now: The soft blue plastic of the buds still looks like new.
Passive noise isolation — the amount of noise they emit without active noise cancellation — is excellent, thanks to the secure fit. With active noise cancellation, you’ll essentially hear nothing; I often have to turn on the ambient sound mode to hear my wife around the house.
There’s EQ and other settings inside Jabra’s Android app, but in the end I didn’t need to do much with adjustments or standard settings. The headphones have tight and punchy bass and fairly unobstructed mids, allowing the instruments to come apart in a good mix. I used to experiment with Apple Music during the recent launch of Spotify-Joe Rogan, so most of the sample tunes I listened to via playlists and radio stations were created by Apple. Everything from jazz to indie pop sounds great, though you won’t get the sparkling clarity you’ll enjoy with over-ear headphones that cost more than twice as much.
