14.11.2019

The market for wireless headphones is quite crowded with all sorts of brands and no-name stuff aiming to make your wallet lighter. And whilst the temptation to think that if there is a recognisable name attached the product will be good is the way forward having a set of utterly garbage sounding B&O headphones has opened my eyes to that reality.However, by and large the name brand stuff is generally better, and Jabra certainly meets that expectation.Firstly, my go to headphones for the last three years of gym use have been my Bose Soundsport ones which, have been superb. Great sound, comfortable and the Bluetooth connection has allowed me freedom to use a large crowded gym with no dropouts or interference whilst being over 25m from my phone at times.They still work perfectly but are showing wear and tear which, is to be expected after a lot of use.So, these Jabra headphone earbuds are being compared to some of the best sounding gear out there.And they hold up well. Really.The setup is super simple. Just connect via the usual Bluetooth connection on your phone in whichever way you normally do so. I have a Samsung middle of the range phone and these headphones were on line in seconds.You can of course download the Jabra app but really? Do you need another way to access your music? I don’t and stuck with my Amazon Music app where my account is. I have subscribed to the Hi-Res service and whilst I’m sure that were I a bat I could find fault, as a reasonably normal human being, the sound quality is superb – which it should be given the higher than CD bitrate.So, using a decent mobile and hi-res streaming service I’d say that I’m as good as a target audience as can be.Once connected you simply play your music and enjoy which is easy on these items.The sound is clear, musical and well balanced with a quality that one would hope for in a well-known brand. The base is good and better still does not drown out all else. I know that some people want epic base above all else but not me. I want all the sound to be as the artist wanted it with a good balance of the low and high. My musical preference is rock and metal which that suits but maybe if you are into dance or similar you would only want the low-end boom. I’ve also tried this with classical and once again the Jabra headphones work a treat with a clear musical tone.Comparing these to my Bose headphones I’d say they were very much on a par for quality of sound. Maybe the Bose ones add a touch more base but they are also far larger and stick out of the side of your head like an extra would have working on a Star Trek spaceship bridge comms panel. The Bose units go a tad louder but have an automatic sound level stop which you must override in order to do so. Not the end of the world but slightly irritating. These Jabra ones don’t have that, and you can push them to the maximum without the sound nanny stopping you.That being said, the sound level isn’t stupidly high and whilst almost certainly above ‘safe guidelines’ when maxed out isn’t overly bombastic. Loud enough to distract you in a gym but not so much you feel like you’ve been to a Motorhead concert. What can also be said is that even at maximum the sound is still un-distorted and perfectly clear.Build quality is very good and on a par with my Bose ones which, are double the price.Fitting is similar to Bose earpieces with small extended ear ‘wings’ that help locate the bud. These do work meaning that the part of the headphone that sticks into your ear canal is comfortable and does not require jamming into your lug to remain in place. Even when working out I’ve found these comfortable and secure at the same time.The earbuds are connected via a cord and in the middle a flexible memory metal section that hangs around the back of your neck. The Bose units just have the cord and what tends to happen is that the cord ends up on one side of your neck or the other whereas the Jabra unit sits mid-point and doesn’t shift. I like that.These are close to Action Man flesh tone and being a child of the 1970’s reminds me of the NHS hearing aid colour that quite a few older WW2 era folks had. Black or some other jazzy colour would be preferable to be honest.You can of course use these on your phone to make calls, so you get to look like the madman or woman walking down the street talking to yourself. Whilst convenient I honestly prefer to use the phone minus headphones and mic if only because it makes me make the call as short as possible.There is an inbuilt Alexa app accessed by a small button. Which I’ll never use because as much as I like Alexa at home there’s no way, I’m going to be walking down the street shouting. ‘Alexa’ every time I want to change a tune. Particularly given that it’s hardly an onerous task picking a mobile up when its about 6” from my hand. I guess eventually when the entire world is used to looking like nut jobs talking to themselves I’ll speak to my headphones, but that’s a long way off yet.If I have one niggle it is that I have noticed using these with Audible and pausing, sometimes there is a bit of hesitancy and a period of unintelligible voice output. Not all the time but every once in a while. I'll drop a star for that in the interests of being completely fair. Also the packaging is a premium effort and of course designed to give the impression of high end quality - which it does. However, I'm beginning to feel it's time we tried to cut back on this sort of thing in the interests of being a bit more conscious of waste.Overall, given the price I’d have to say that these are a winner. Sound quality as good as my Bose units and in a lighter more discrete package.

11.5.2019

These headphones are nicely presented in a Jabra yellow and grey themed box. Opening the box reveals a a card offering a “welcome to superior sound” and a small box stating that “superior sound starts with a superior fit”. I expected the box to contain different sized earbuds but all I found was a multi-language booklet that contained 4 pages of instructions in English and a USB-A to Micro-USB cable.I followed the instructions carefully, unbending the ear hooks and inserted the earbuds near to my ears. They didn’t fit into my ears but seemed to hover nearby.The Unique Selling Point of these headphones is that they allow you to stay aware of your surroundings rather than isolating you from the outside world.This is really useful when running as it allows you to hear cars approaching and other hazards. It also prevents you from missing passenger announcements when commuting. At first, I was a little cynical about this as I like to enjoy a wide dynamic round of sound when listening to music. Noise isolation is also very useful when listening in a noisy environment such as a gym or an underground train. However, for many other situations when working in a quiet environment such as my office at home, it is useful to be able to listen to some music but still be able to hear the front door bell ring if the postman arrives! I speak from experience of having missed several deliveries from Amazon in the past.The earphones have a clear sound with a good soundstage that makes it easily to follow individual instruments. Whilst middle and treble response is good, deep bass notes are often absent. I tested these earphones for many days over a wide range of music. I found that I enjoyed listening to my favourite music through these earphones as the clear sound made up for the lack of deep bass response. The earphones remained in place whilst using them for a variety of physical activities: the flexible ear hooks did a good job of keeping them in place.I then tried to adjust the earphones to see if it was possible to obtain a better bass response by improving the fit. I found that if I pushed the earphones into my ears, the bass was much improved but this didn’t last for long as the earphones soon popped out of my ears. I also found that the sound output was not high and if pushed to maximum volume, there was a considerable amount of distortion. Subjectively, the sound level at maximum volume from these headphones corresponded to the sound level at around 60% volume when listening via the similarly priced Jaybird Tarah earphones.Interestingly, despite a lack of noise isolation, there is little sound leakage from these earphones. I was able to sit next to my wife on the sofa and enjoy my music without disturbing her. My wife has smaller ears than me and found that she obtained a far better fit from these earphones than I did.These are quite bulky and heavier than most of my other earphones. However, the earphones are well balanced, with an equal volume and weight around each ear and it is quite easy to forget that you are wearing them. Another advantage of the earphones sitting just outside the ears rather than inside the ear canal is that they do not become covered with earwax!It is really convenient that they can be charged by plugging in any micro-USB lead directly into the earphones without the need for a proprietary adapter. The battery life is excellent, exceeding the specified 9 hours. However, at this price, I would have expected these earphones to come with a case or pouch to keep them clean between not in use.In summary, these are earphones for those who wish to enjoy music whilst remaining in touch with their surroundings. It did take me a few days to get used to them and make my mind up about them. This is where Amazon’s no-quibble return policy is ideal for risk-free extended home testing.

14.6.2019

Taking the normal earphone approach and turning it on its head, the Jabra Elite Active are "open" earphones that claim to provide a full sound whilst still allowing you to hear the world around you. This is likely to be a benefit during sports use at which the they're targeted, where you might want to hear things like traffic or other people. But do they provide a full sound? Yes, as it happens.After angling these into your ear - I found the best way to do this was to turn the back out, slot them in, then move the back to my head - and bending the top bracket around, the Jabra really do stay in place. Running with these is no problem at all; there's not even a jostling sound as you move.A cable between the two is made of a smooth material, unlike some brands which have oddly decided to go with fabric that scrapes on skin or clothes.Pairing was super quick and easy, and has worked flawlessly every time since. Friendly voice notifications (which are apparently customisable via their app) give you updates on what's going on, and a multi-colour LED (a rarity on earphones) lets you see at a glance some of the actions you've performed; green for power on and red for power off is more useful than you'd think.The bass is impressive for "open" earphones, and I'd imagine is as good as you're likely to get. One downside is that in a noisy gym, I wasn't able to get the set quite as loud as I wanted, and nor could I seem close the air gap further to bring them in. But they were still just fine, and the music still proved a great distraction.Using them for calls works well, and your usual button functionality is available. There are apparently two microphones, which you'd guess is for noise cancelling. However, when using them outside there was still noticeable but manageable wind noise present from my side. The microphones must only be on one side too, as only tapping on one of the ear buds resulted in sound being sent down the line.It still seems that my search for common sense controls continues, with even the Jabra set becoming a bit confusing with push buttons on both sides. The up-down volume control is simple enough thank goodness, but one side does one set of things, and vice versa. Perhaps over time they'll make more sense and it's a matter of getting used to them.As a final note, even after all of my testing, running, and fiddling over multiple sessions, the battery is still two-thirds full. You get the usual feedback to your mobile device which can show you the battery level on-screen, and once you've emptied it then charging is via a standard Micro USB connector. There isn't a cover for this port, which makes me a little concerned about sweat ingress, though the IP67 rating means that overall the set will be fine.This is a competent headset that provides surprisingly rich sound for an open design. They stay in place when you put them there, are comfortable during exercise, and last a long time. They're very slightly let down by the minor points above, but are still an exceptional and solid choice.

20.9.2019

Reading through the other review for these earbuds, I'm very surprised such mixed reviews. I've quite a collection of bluetooth headphones, to my wife's displeasure, and these are among the best I've tried. It's somewhat to my surprise too, as I also own the similar Jabra Elite Sport model, and was quite disappointed with those.They fit into your ears using these odd hook shapes, that nestle into the folds of your ear. These are much better than over the ear types, and are very secure. It's worth playing with the different sizes supplied to find the best fit as it really makes a differnce to the comfort and the sound quality. Interpretations of sound quality on earbuds is personal at best,but I found these excellent, partly to the snug way they stay in your ears. Earbuds usually work their way loose for me, gradually ruining the sound, but these stay firmly attached. Sonic quality is very, very good, with a nice even 'transparent' sound. If you're a bass fiend then you're going to be disappointed, but if you prefer a neutral tone to your music with no colouring then these are excellent indeed. The stereo separation in particular is incredibly good - the intro to Donna Summer's 'I feel Love' for example really lets you hear where those fading-in synths are coming from, and the transparent tone separates the layers of sound out. There is no mushy noisenhere - you really do get the feeling you're hearing what the guy in the sound booth at the mixing studio was hearing.Controls are good, and intuitive. Some bluetooth headphones have you pressing buttons as hard as possible, or force you to learn weird morse-code button presses to get what you want, but this pair does the obvious - one push - louder, long push, next song, and vice versa. Easy. Phone calls are not something I use headphones for, feeling far to self-concious to appear to be talking to myself, but a trial call gave clear audio and the other party good hear me perfectly despite a fair bit of background noise. Charging is via a usual micro USB connection, and you can still use them when it's charging. Battery life is pretty good, and an audio voice tells you how much battery is left when you turn them on,Other nice features are the magnetic earbuds, which click together and at the same time disconnect the headphones and turn them off. Unclip them, and they turn back on and immediately reconnect which is a really useful feature. The necklace design takes some of the load off your ears, increasing comfort, and makes temporarily taking the earbuds out much easier, as you can just drop them around your neckThere is an app to go with these, because of course there is, which allows you to tweak the EQ and has a few gimmicky features like remembering where you were when you last turned them off to help you find them again. The EQ is pretty subtle and doesn't do an awful lot, but it' s nice to have the option.Great headphones. They look good, sound pretty amazing, and I'm using these as my main headphones. Recomended.

17.10.2019

My Jabra Elite 45e Wireless Earbuds arrived in a stylish box with a fully charged, ready to use for up to 8 hours. They are simple to use, and ready to be paired with my Bluetooth device. No apps required, so less fuss or memory space on my iPad. They come with three sizes of bud eargels and separate soft outer earwings in small, medium and large, (plus a short charging usb cable). They are easy to swap over. To pair the earbuds to your device simply hold the multi function button on the volume control for three seconds, your device with the Bluetooth on should easily find it. The memory wire neckband is soft and light and remembers the shape of your neck for comfort.The controls are on the right side with a mute and voice button further up and a multifunction button further down to control volume and on and off. The buds have magnetics on them that attach when they’re not in your ears, this automatically turns them off to save on the battery, until you put them in again.The Jabra Elite 45e has a built in voice control that works with Alexa, Siri or Google Assistant, I found Alexa very easy to ask for my music, news, weather and travel information. I did ask her to tune into BBC radio 2 but I got other radio stations instead so not quite there. It did send me travel information to my device though.My music sounded great through the earbuds, though i could still hear other noises around me but I tend not to listen to music too loud. I walked all around my house to see how far it could go without dropping the Bluetooth connection, i found it dropped out about thirty feet away (9 metres) though did come back though dropped a few times after that, though stayed constant when I walked upstairs about 25 feet away. I tried to test it on my mobile phone to make a call with them, but I just couldn’t pair them with my phone’s Bluetooth even though it could see the Jabra earbuds, I kept getting a message saying I needed a pass key?? So couldn’t test them for calls. I removed them from my original paired iPad but it was easy to re-pair them to that.So the sound clarity is really good but there are issues with Bluetooth connectivity and pairing to a second device (my android smart phone), I tried to pair them on my hubby’s Amazon Fire (latest one) but had problems there too. I am familiar with pairing Bluetooth devices including headsets/earbuds but these stretched my patience. The instructions are very simple (4 small pages) but no help pages for this kind of situation.They come with a 2 year guarantee and look a quality build, i wish they also came with a carrying case, but alas they don’t.Overall I think they are well made and straightforward to set up, but the instructions could be more comprehensive when issues do arise (Like pairing to a second device and Bluetooth dropouts). So they lose a star from me. Please see my photos too, I’m wearing the small size earbud eargels and wings. I hope my review will be of help to you.

14.10.2019

Jabra Elite Active 45e-------------------------There are spare headphone buds - they're sealed in the included little box with the paperwork. There's a selection and it's best getting whichever one fits best, as a lot of any noise cancellation comes from the fit of these.I know a lot of people disagree, but I think their best feature is the ambient noise levels. The headphones are loud enough so that you can hear them clearly without having to have full volume, yet you can still hear outside just enough to be safe - cars, bikes, people, all the things that might hit you, but wind noise and ambient hum is quite nicely cut out.The sound quality is as you'd expect from Jabra, it's really good.

24.5.2019

Jabra Elite Active 45e-------------------------There are spare headphone buds - they're sealed in the included little box with the paperwork. There's a selection and it's best getting whichever one fits best, as a lot of any noise cancellation comes from the fit of these.I know a lot of people disagree, but I think their best feature is the ambient noise levels. The headphones are loud enough so that you can hear them clearly without having to have full volume, yet you can still hear outside just enough to be safe - cars, bikes, people, all the things that might hit you, but wind noise and ambient hum is quite nicely cut out.The sound quality is as you'd expect from Jabra, it's really good.

9.6.2019

The Jabra Elite Active 45e Sports Earphones consists of a pair of in-ear earphones for audio listening, can also be used while taking part in leisure activities and also for hands free mobile phone calling.These are distinct and attractively designed in navy blue consisting of earphones connected to an over ear hook and ear wings. Very comfortable to wear ... one of our son's has been using these headphones for college and he confirms that you can almost forget that you are wearing them.Once fully charged these earphones should give you nine hours of use. They also have a 10 metre (33ft range). I found these incredibly easy to pair with either my Kindle Fire or my iPhone 8,

15.5.2019

These earbuds are ideal so long as you are using them as intended, that's to say when active. They're the first earbuds I've used which genuinely stay in place, even when rapidly moving your head, looking down etc. Also they don't attempt to block sound by using close fitting silicon tips or active noise cancellation, so you can hear traffic, people speaking etc. Consequently, these would be hopeless on a train or plane when you'd still hear kiddies bawling etc.Audio quality on music is acceptable, as good as you can expect with Bluetooth without Apt-X protocol. I listened to 256Kbps MP3 I'd ripped from CD and only when you pushed up the volume did it get harsher and 'shouty'.

1.12.2019

We have tested quite a few wireless Bluetooth headphones now, and are still looking for 'the ones' , so were pleased to be given the opportunity to test these 'Jabra Elite 45e Wireless Earbuds with Memory Wire with Alexa Built-In, Copper Black'. I can't honestly say that I had ever heard of the brand Jabra, but they seem to be highly regarded, and these earbuds certainly are well designed and made. They are of the type which has a wire around the back of your neck in use, which honestly I prefer to the completely wireless ones, as without melding them to your ears so tightly that your ears need syringing after wearing, I do find that they ALL tend to drop out occasionally. These are well-balanced,

8.5.2019

The Jabra Elite Active 45e is a Bluetooth headset designed for sports, such as jogging. It claims to be waterproof, but is a bit vague about whether that means you can swim with it on - then again, I guess that is going to be tricky unless your phone is waterproof too!First impressions are good - they are nicely packaged, and feel sturdy. They are easy to turn on and they paired with my iPhone on the first attempt. They are slightly tricky to fit the first time - there is a hook which goes over each ear, and the cable which connects the two phones is quite short, so getting them both aligned is a bit fiddly, especially if you have long hair to contend with.Once fitted, they are very comfortable.

27.5.2019

The sound reproduction on these headphones is great - as good as any I've had from a pair of portable headphones. The only point they could be improved on is the top end - I found it slightly tinny at times, but this is a minor complaint and is far from a deal-breaker. The sound isolation isn't as good as other headphones I've tried, but as these are designed as a pair to be worn when exercising I can see why this wasn't a priority - you want to be able to hear what's going on around when running or cycling etc.I found the form-factor a little odd - again, I know that these are designed for an express purpose so understand the design decisions behind their shape,

8.5.2019

Before I received these in-ear earphones, I was slightly sceptical about how comfortable the design would be. However, I am pleased to report that they are very comfortable and feel secure in the ear. There is only one ear tip supplied, and the fit is a loose "in ear" fit rather than making your ears full bunged up which I dislike. A loop fits inside the ear and there is also an over ear hook which is flexible so you can adjust for fit and comfort. Once in my ears, the earphones have stayed put even when I've been exercising. The sound quality is good. There is a very slight hiss when they are switched on but this disappears when you start to play music. You can adjust the sound using the equaliser within the Jabra app,

12.7.2019

My experience with headphones over the years has been extremely varied, commencing with the standard issue headphones that came with cassette (tape) players, before moving onto the in ear headphones that were supplied with the early generation Apple iPods, then the large over ear headphones that became popular a number of years ago (all of the above are wired) and finally the Bluetooth variant of the same. Now, I have the opportunity to try out these Bluetooth in ear headphones.My requirements of headphones are very simple - they have to be comfortable and they have to provide good sound quality.As far as comfort goes, I really can't fault these headphones.

6.10.2019

+ good sound quality+ excellent battery life+- so-so in-ear fit- slightly heavy lead- controls a bit awkwardOverall, I'm very impressed with these. I guess choose the kind of earphones that suit you: these don't go deep into your ear canal, like some, but sit comfortably just inside your ear.I've had the deeper variety in the past, and have always been undecided on having that kind of air-tight fit, where it feels like the liquid in your head is being used to amplify the bass. I've come to prefer these, shallower fitting ones. Although the noise cancelling might not be absolute, the quality of the sound and the comfort is great. So, take your pick, I guess.The sound quality is excellent; great bass response (too much,

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