Jabra Elite 5 – BT, Hybrid ANC earphones – Quality at a low price (AV review)

The Jabra Elite 5 is the middle child – under the Elite 7 Pro/Active and above the Elite 4 Active and Elite 3. At $219, they offer very good value and performance and some reasons to choose them over the Elite 7 Pro.

Let’s talk first about Jabra. It is part of the GN Group, established over 150 years ago. It is the only company sharing advanced audio tech to create consumer headphones, professional headsets, and hearing aids. The single-minded purpose – to make your life sound better.

It is not necessarily a brand you consider against Samsung, Sennheiser, Apple Airpods, Bose, or Sony. But if you don’t, you will miss some class-leading features, great neutral sound, and effective ANC (where applicable). They’re fighting words – be warned, if you don’t include them, it is your peril.

Australian Review: Jabra Elite 5

Website	Product Page and PDF Manual
Price	$219
Colours	Black
From	Jabra online and major retailers like JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman
Warranty	2-year ACL
Country of Origin	Danish design and made in China
More	CyberShack Jabra news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First impression – same design cues – Pass+

Jabra has done much research to come up with the current design, shape and fit. It works well and is used across the range.

These come in Matte Black (Jabra Online exclusive), Gold Beige (closer to skin colour) and Titanium Black. I really like the Gold Beige – it blends in very well with lighter skin colours.

Jabra Sound+ App – Pass+

Comprehensive Jabra Sound+ App for Android and iOS – far more so than other apps. For example

• ANC level slider
• Hear through slider
• Neutral, Speech, Bass Boost, Treble Boost, Smooth, Energise and custom EQ
• Mask noise around you – 12 different white/pink noises
• Find Buds
• Quick access notification screen (on a smartphone)
• Auto-pause and in-ear detection
• Auto answer calls on/off
• Sidetone and intensity slider
• Firmware upgrade

All settings are downloaded to the buds, so the app is not required after setup.

Voice assistants – Pass+

Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri via a double press on the left button. It defaults to the Android smartphone setup.

Comfort – Pass

It comes with Small, medium and large silicone EarGels. As usual, a good fit is needed for effective passive noise reduction.

They do not sit too far into the ear canal but fit up against the Concha. We tested each bud for about 4 x 2 hours, and because they are small, they don’t trap heat. They claim in-ear pressure relief.

They stay in the ear during jogging and exercise.

BT 5.2 Codecs – Pass+

It has SBC, AAC and Qualcomm aptX and supports Windows and Android fast pair. The effective range is 10 metres (tested). It supports BT Multipoint to two hosts. There is no Hi-Res or scalable.

Note that the Elite 7 Pro/Active does not support aptX, which makes these a mid-range star. See What is a Bluetooth aptX codec, and should you care? (Sound guide).

Battery – 7-9 hours – Pass+

• 7/9 hours ANC On/Off
• Approx 20/27 hours in the case
• USB-C Charge time with case 3 hours
• Fast charge 10 minutes for one hour
• Qi Charge
• USB-C charge 5V/1A/5W or any PD charger
• Sleep mode after 15 minutes

I particularly appreciate the Qi charge case – it will fill the case and buds in about four hours.

Sound – Pass

It has relatively smaller 6mm drivers, but they perform well. We use the default flat settings, and the EQ does make a difference.

The signature is close to neutral – neither adds nor subtracts from the source content. There is adequate high-bass, but it lacks the oomph that mid-bass adds. Still, it is satisfying enough – not head-banging. Mid and Treble are fine.

I would say that they lack the dynamic range of the Elite 7 – it is good but not great sound and not bad for the price.

Hybrid ANC – Pass

A Qualcomm QCC3050 chip powers the hybrid noise cancellation. It uses microphones outside and inside the buds to identify ambient noises and cancel them out. It is more adaptive to circumstances than straight ANC. Of course, a good fit is required to cover passive noise reduction.

The App has a slider to vary the level of ANC. Even at 100%, it is not up to the levels of the Sony WF-1000XM4, Sennheiser Momentum 3 or the Technics AXZ60. Subjectively it is about 80% there.

Hear through – Pass

It, too, is adjustable; while it is clear enough, it is not at the flagship level.

Hand-free – a perceptible difference – Pass

Three mics per bud (voice, noise cancelling feed-in and feedback) are excellent in the office or outside. Test callers said the voice sounded clear and natural. Sidetone is adjustable – excellent. But in windy environments, noise cancelling was inadequate.,

You can also use these in mono mode as well.

Spotify Tap mode – Pass

You can enable these to play from Spotify playlists. Details here.

Auto pause/Auto mute – Pass+

When you take the buds out, it pauses the music and resumes when you put them back in. Auto mute mutes the mic if you remove one bud.

IP55 – better than most – Pass+

IP55 is better than most buds that claim IPX4. These are seat and rain-resistant.

Touch controls – Pass+

Instead of capacitive touch, it uses physical touch plates that are more reliable. You can change the touch settings in the app.

CyberShack’s view – Jabra Elite 5 are good midrange BT, ANC earphones

As long as you don’t expect the absolute top-drawer performance, these meet or exceed every test parameter.

You could look at

• JBL Live Pro 2 ANC ($199)
• LG Tone Free FP5A ANC $199
• Samsung Galaxy Buds2 ANC ($219)
• JBL Live 300 ANC $229

I think the Jabra Elite 5 is the pick of the crop.

Rating Explanation – Jabra Elite 5

Features: 90 – aptX, ANC, three mics per bud, QI charge, decent battery life

Value: 95 Well priced and offers more than competitors

Performance: 85 – good all-around sound and ANC commensurate with the price

Ease of Use: 90 – the App adds considerable value

Design: 90 – decent fit and comfort