I was able to test the Jabra Elite 10, the manufacturer’s new high-end wireless earphones. These active noise-canceling earphones retail for $249.99. Here’s my first review of the Jabra Elite 10.
In a nutshell
The Jabra Elite 10 are available in Europe since August 31, 2023 at a price of €249.99. This is the manufacturer’s flagship model, and these wireless earbuds promise improved active noise reduction (ANC) as well as excellent mic quality for calls and support for Dolby Atmos sound. MSRP for the US market is set as $249.99, with pre-orders live on the brand’s online store.
I was soon able to test them out at IFA 2023 in Berlin. While I await my full test, I’d like to share with you my rather positive first impressions of the Jabra Elite 10. The manufacturer has made great strides in active noise reduction. Until now, this had been its major shortcoming compared with industry giants such as Apple, Sony, Bose, and Sennheiser.
Design
The Jabra Elite 10 are semi-intra earphones. Their form factor is very compact and I found them comfortable to wear. They are IP57 certified and feature physical buttons as well as wear sensors.
Pros:
- IP57.
- Compact form factor.
- Comfortable, semi-in-line format.
- Port sensor.
- Volume controls on earphones.
Weak points of the Jabra Elite 10:
- Charging case is not IP certified.
The Jabra Elite 10 come in two colors: white and beige, with a matt finish. The earphones are also rather compact and discreet in the ear, despite weighing 5.7 g per earphone. The charging case is easy to stow in the pocket, its hinge seems solid and the earphones are well secured inside.
The Jabra Elite 10 are IP57-certified for water and dust resistance. You can, in theory, immerse them for 1h30 under 1 meter of fresh water. They’re perfectly feasible for sports.
I found them very comfortable to wear, and the fit in my ears was more than adequate. I still like the fact that there are physical buttons on each earpiece, as well as a wear sensor to pause the music automatically when the earpieces are removed. You can also use a single earphone in mono mode.
The Jabra Elite 10 are in a semi-in-ear format, like the AirPods Pro 2, for example. They’re in-ear, so they fit in your ear canal, but they don’t go as far as conventional earpieces. This design choice limits the feeling of obstruction that bothers many users.
Audio & microphone quality
The Jabra Elite 10 features larger 10 mm drivers and more microphones, with three per earpiece. They promise excellent mic quality for your calls.
Obviously, I can’t comment on the audio and microphone quality of the Jabra Elite 10 based on my very brief use during IFA 2023. I’ll tell you more in my full review.
On paper, the manufacturer is sending out some heavy hitters. The speakers are larger than on the previous flagship model, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro. We’re moving from 6 mm to 10 mm diameter drivers. The headphones can reproduce a standard frequency range of 20 to 20,000 Hz, and support only the basic SBC and AAC audio codecs.
The Jabra Elite 10 also feature three microphones per earpiece instead of two. And they support Dolby Atmos sound with Dolby’s head-tracking function.
This feature provides 360° sound that adapts to your movements in space. On the show floor, and despite the ambient noise of the IFA show, I found it worked rather well. I look forward to testing this feature further.
Jabra Elite 10 special features
The Jabra Elite 10 feature active noise reduction (ANC). The manufacturer promises that this function has been considerably improved. And my first impressions seem to confirm this.
Jabra promises that the active noise reduction of the Jabra Elite 10 is twice as effective as that of its previous models. The earphones analyze not only external noise but also the noise in your ear canal to adapt the intensity of the noise reduction.
Jabra has integrated a new chip specifically dedicated to noise management. The earphones also detect and analyze sound leakage to adapt the ANC to the different environments and sound scenarios you find yourself in.
During my test session, I was unable to manually modify the ANC intensity, whereas this was possible in transparency mode. I hope this will be corrected in a future update.
Autonomy & recharging
The Jabra Elite 10’s battery life is pretty standard for its price range. You can get up to 6 hours of listening with ANC and 8 hours without. The headphones can be recharged up to 4 or even 5 times with the recharging box, which supports wireless recharging.
Pros:
- Good battery life, on paper.
- Wireless charging.
Cons:
- 3 hours for a full charge via the box.
With 6 hours of listening time with ANC and 8 hours of listening time without ANC, the Jabra Elite 10 are in the upper mid-range of this price range. Of course, I wasn’t able to verify that these values promised by the manufacturer are accurate. I’ll do so in my full review.
I like the fact that the charging box allows the headphones to be recharged at least four times on a single charge. The three-hour full recharge from 0 to 100% seems a little slow to me. Especially when the manufacturer claims that five minutes of recharging recovers the equivalent of one hour of listening.
Technical data
| Technical data | |
|---|---|
| Product | Jabra Elite 10 |
| Image |  |
| Design | Format: Intra | port detection | physical controls | IP57 |
| Weight per earpiece: 5.7 g | Housing weight: 45.9 g | |
| Case dimensions: 24.4 x 46.9 x 65.4 mm | |
| Audio | 10 mm driver | 360° audio |
| Frequency response | 20 – 20,000 Hz |
| ANC |
|
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| SBC and AAC codecs | |
| Multipoint | |
| Battery life |
|
| |
| Price | $249.99 | 249,99€ |
Conclusion: My first opinion
The Jabra Elite 10 are clearly interesting high-end wireless headphones. They are less expensive than their competitors from Sony, Apple, Sennheiser, or Bose at launch.
Jabra promises to have made huge strides in active noise reduction, and my first impressions make me very optimistic about this score. It really is what Jabra headphones have lacked up to now.
Jabra is also the only manufacturer to really work on the quality of its microphones. In this respect, they are far ahead of the rest of the market.
I’ll tell you in my full review whether they deserve the top spot in our selection of the best wireless headphones with active noise reduction.
What do you think of the Jabra Elite 10 after reading this first test? Which features would you like me to examine in particular during my test? What do you want to know about these wireless headphones?
Jabra Elite 10
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