Jabra Elite 4 Wireless Earbuds, Active Noise Cancelling
Jabra Elite 4 Wireless Earbuds, Active Noise Cancelling, Discreet and Comfortable Bluetooth Earphones with Spotify Tap Playback, Google Fast Pair, Microsoft Swift Pair and Multipoint – Dark Grey
From the brand
Speakerphones
| Dimensions: | 6.41 x 2.85 x 3.46 cm; 42.6 Grams |
| Model: | 100-99183700-98 |
| Batteries Included: | 3 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
| Manufacture: | Jabra |
| Dimensions: | 6.41 x 2.85 x 3.46 cm; 42.6 Grams |
| Origin: | China |
This is my 2nd pair of Jabra Elite ear buds and I am soooo happy with them. Takes about 2 mins to set up and they’re good to go out the box. Would highly recommend
ANC seems weak, but the tight fit blocks out most noise anyway.
Sound quality is decent enough.
Mic is ok, but not a replacement for my headset for work / office.
App is basic.
Battery life and case all good.
All in all, a decent bit of kit for the money.
The buds themself were relatively simple to connect to my phone, and at first glance seem to be quite similar to other earbuds.
One of my main issues is something which is common amongst all in-ear earbuds and that is the silicone ear gels provided done fit that well in my ears and provide discomfort after wearing them for a short period of time and that I have to resort to custom ear gels from a 3rd party seller.
The buttons on the buds are quite sensitive and sometimes catch accidental movements or will sometimes pause which can be more of an issue when out running. One thing to note is that like with any buds it will take time to get to grips with the controls and the various touch patterns
The quality of sound was comparable with some of the more premium earbuds on the market but do require some finetuning before they are useful for both gaming and music.
Overall a decent set of earbuds at the price point but nothing particularly special
Other things: the controls on the buds are not great, not intuitive. The sound for music is not great, and the ANC is not really existent – but I didn’t expect it to be.
All in all, if the connection would be consistent, I would be happy. But so far after 1 week, it’s not!
Firstly, they are one of the most comfortable pair of headphones I’ve tried. Usually, I am a medium size in ear buds and accept the headphones would never be super secure as the small earbuds are usually too small. I tried the small earbuds and they were a perfect fit. I’ve never worn in-ear headphones and felt I could do many active things in them for fear of them falling out of my ear. I’ve worn these to the gym, whilst running and also whilst trampolining and they’ve stayed in place perfectly.
The sound quality of the headphones is great, and this is helped by being able to customise your audio specifications/preferences using the Jabra App. The only thing I would say is that the noise cancelling feature for me personally, could be a bit better. I still feel like outside sounds are seeping in, and even thought the first time it hadn’t been activated – but that’s minor.
The use of the headphones is very straightforward with answering and hanging up calls, and pausing, playing as well as skipping songs.
Battery life is amazing! I charged them fully when I first received them and two weeks later I’ve only just had to charge them again recently – and I have been wearing them daily for 45 mins – 1 hour every day.
These are my first pair of Jabra headphones and I am definitely impressed with the app, ease of use and battery life – I would definitely look at purchasing more of this brand in the future.
The Jabra Elite 4 wireless earbuds offer the same impressive audio performance, comfortable fit, and a sleek design as my old pair, but with some new features added into the mix. Straight out of the box they were easier to setup and were good to use in a few minutes, the app was easy to connect to and do some bespoke set up if i wanted to. I liked the fact they automatically connected with my spotify and phone, rather than having to search for the device to pair with. There was options to change ear pads in, but i didnt need to change them.
The ANC is just as good as my previous pairs, with a touch of the left hand ear bud changes between the sound options – denoted by a small noise, i preferred the previous versions, where a voice told you what sound mode you are in, ie hear through, ANC or off. But thats just my preference. You can tell the difference between the modes.
After using them out and about for both dog walks, listening to podcasts, and taking phonecalls, the sound and call quality is great as i now expect from Jabra. Top marks all round with no issues at all. I havent used the function yet, as the battery life is great, but the option to just use one ear bud is great. With my current ear buds, one is fully functioning, which means both dont work, at least with these, i can just use one if needed to extend both battery life or if i need to keep one ear free! A per my previous pair, the USB-C charging case is a useful accessory, charging them back up after a few minutes, and is great feature.
The feel of the product and the quality of the buttons isnt on par with the higher elite series i have, the buttons arent as responsive o pressing, however, at around half the price, its a small sacrifice!
I generally wear these walking to work, or walking the dog, so out in all weather, they appear to be a bit more resistant to rain compared to my previous ones, which is a massive bonus!
The app is the same as the previous versions, and allows you to tweak the sounds to your own requirements. I dont bother really, but i may do in the future.
Overall, the Jabra Elite 4 earbuds are a solid choice for users seeking high-quality wireless earbuds without an outrageous price tag, like my previous pair, i would highly recommend these ear buds!
The charging cable is very short, I expected it to be at least a metre long. When charging the earphones, I have to place them on the floor, which isn’t ideal. The headphones can be a bit uncomfortable to wear for a long time, not sure if that will change over time or if I have to change the earphones tips. Learning the controls takes a bit of time to get use to, navigating the volume, forward/reverse play ect, but overall, I’m generally happy with this product and would recommend it.
Where it isn’t quite as strong is the ANC isn’t quite as good. It still works but there is a little more noise pollution. I suspect this may be because the fit in the ear isn’t quite as snug (I’ve tried using the different gel bud sizes but that didnt help) The other issue is the buttons. You have to press them quite hard and deep to get them to work, which makes it tricky when you’re double/triple tapping, especially when running. Thankfully I dont have to do it very often but the other Elite models worked better for this.
All that being said, for the price, I think it’s a pretty decent package and you’d probably have to pay close to double that amount to get a handful more features.
The Jabra Sound+ app provides a streamlined setup process and allows users to customize their noise-cancelling experience, while the USB-C charging case is a useful accessory. The earbuds’ battery life of around 4 to 5 hours of continuous use with ANC on which somewhat disappointing and a hindrance on the enjoyment of the product. Some users may find the eartips to be of a slightly lower grade than what should be available for the price tag, although, the earbuds did come with three different sizes of eartips and whilst running they did not come loose. Overall, the Jabra Elite 4 earbuds are a solid choice for users seeking high-quality wireless earbuds without an outrageous price.
The headphones are also incredibly comfortable to wear, with soft cushioned earpads and a lightweight. With their small ergonomic size, they sit very well in my ear and can handle a lot of movement without
moving or falling out which is great and that made the fear of losing an ear bud go away very quickly.
The Jabra Elite 4 are rated at IP67, which makes them sweat, dust & waterproof allowing to use them at home, at the gym or outside for your commute.
The Jabra Elite 4 headphones not only perform well, but they also look sleek and stylish. The design is modern and minimalist, with a slim profile and a matte finish that gives them a premium look.
The Jabra sound+ app made the out of box experience a breeze to setup the headphones the way you like, and it included a personised noise cancelling tuning experience. The noise cancelling can handle a good amount of noise before any outside noise bleeds in. I would have liked a few more EQ music pre-sets.
The Jabra buds don’t have the longest battery life, around 4 to 5 hours of constant use with ANC on. The charging case has a USB-C connector, but the cable provided is too short to be useful.
My verdict is the Jabra Elite 4 headphones are a firm contender for the mid-range price point. They pack enough features, great immersive audio and great looks in a tiny package that’s easy to fit in your pocket or purse.
At their default settings, the earphones have a very ‘flat’ sound. The Jabra Sound+ app is essential to modify the EQ to get the most out of the ear phones, and they are certainly capable of generating plenty of bass. Unfortunately the sound stage is quite limited compared to my Anker earphones; I suspect this is due to the the ‘smaller’ 6mm drivers.
Sound isolation is excellent even in the absence of active noise cancelling (ANC). The ‘HearThrough’ functionality works as intended. Battery life is average. I also like the fact the Jabra app provides an indicator of battery reserve for each earphone and the case. Lastly, the fit is excellent and remain in my ears despite working out.
Ultimately I think the Elite 4 Active are a good pair of earphones for everyday use or exercising. I suspect most people will find the sound quality good enough for their needs although unlikely to cater for audiophiles or enthusiasts.
Update June 2023:
The sound quality is improved after ‘breaking’ the earphones in. However, the mic qualtiy has a lot left to be desired. It’s a shame, because these are the most comfortable earphones I’ve had the pleasure of trying. Most of them give me ‘fatigue’. I’ve replaced them with the EarFun Pro 3 – whilst these do not sound as good, the microphone is much better for audio calls.
The Jabra set is very small and discreet. The earbuds won’t stick out from my ear when I wear them, so there’s very little rubbing on my running cap when I wear with a cap. Also, thanks to the low profile, they don’t tend to catch wind noise as much as the big and bulky Sony when I run outside. That’s a very unexpected plus that I did not think of before hand. And one more plus is that I can comfortably wear this pair inside my motorcycle helmet. No need to spend extra on a Bluetooth headset!
The earbuds functions and features are quite standard, but with the press buttons instead of touch – I suppose this is geared towards physical activity usage when you sometimes wear gloves, or use under wet condition (e.g. rain, sweat). You have the ability to control play/pause (press on the right side), turn on and off ANC (press on the left side), and more importantly adjusting volume (press and hold the left to decrease, and do the same for the right to increase). The volume function is omitted in many other brands (Sony included, until they updated their software recently!) so that’s a very pleasant surprise to find out Jabra included this – and they don’t even mention it in their instruction! I do find the buttons require a little too much force to press and hope they would revise it in the next model with a lighter press.
One more time, the set is designed to be used during physical activities so convenient features like stopping music when taken off isn’t available. I think this has to do with the removal of infrared sensors on the earbuds themselves – these sensors don’t work very well in wet conditions anyway, so removing them to use for physical activities makes sense to me.
With regards the mic quality, I can confirm that these work very well. I haven’t had any occassion when the caller complains about not being able to hear me, and I have made calls during running with running cap on, or even whilst wearing motorcycle helmet. Be careful when wear this and talk in public though, because this set is too small, sometimes people will mistake you for talking to them (happened to me a few times!).
Battery life lasts forever that I forget that these need charging sometimes. The case does not support wireless charging, but an USB C charger is widely available these days and I just charge it whenever I remember. The case has a light in front which lights up when you open the lid, and the light changes colour based on its battery level (green – full, yellowish – 40-60%, I think, and red for low). Very intuitive!
Last and not least, about ANC quality, I must say it depends on the environment. Here I am comparing directly to the Sony WF1000XM3, which is called ‘the king’. The Sony has better ANC when it’s not windy. However, once the wind picks up, the Sony will produce a lot of wind noise whilst the Jabra won’t, so in that case, the Jabra wins.
All in all, I find the Jabra Elite 4 Active an excellent pair of Bluetooth earbuds. It may not have the best ANC quality on the market, but it does everything else perfectly. And for my own need, I find that I reach out to the Jabra more often than the Sony just because it’s smaller and easier to use.