Jabra Elite 65t Review: Still good, but lost in the competition

When the Jabra Elite 65t true wireless earbuds were first released, they made a great first impression. They weren’t perfect, but viable options were so limited at the time that they won by default just by actually being good and delivering on what they were intended to do: play music and last long. Now we’re a few years into the true wireless craze and there are a plethora of options to choose from, so how do the Jabra Elite 65t ‘buds hold up now that we have some truly great options to pick from?

Editor’s note: This post was updated on March 8th, 2020 to reflect changes in pricing and include a new conclusion comparing them to newer options available.  

Who are they for?

• Gadget enthusiasts. If you like having the newest gadgets made for convenience over sound quality, you’ll like these.
• People who take calls. The microphone here is top-notch. It’ll be clear that you’re not talking on your phone, but your voice will come through fine even in a gusty environment thanks to the wind noise-reducing microphones. They’re also pointed towards the mouth slightly to help with getting a better sound which is nice.

How’s the build of the Jabra Elite 65t?

Once you pair them, you never have to repair the Jabra Elite 65t earbuds. Just take them out of the case and they auto-connect.

Like most of the true wireless earbuds currently available, the Elite 65t are made of plastic. So if you’re expecting a premium material design, you’re going to have to look elsewhere. The good news is that the plastic build means these are lightweight and don’t feel like they’re weighing down your ears. I was also really impressed with how well they fit. Normally, I feel the need to replace the ear tips with Comply memory foam ones for isolation and fit purposes. But the silicone tips that come with the ‘buds by default did a good enough job at both that I didn’t feel the need to. Whether I was walking around the apartment or running at the gym, I didn’t have them fall out of my ears once.

The Jabra Elite 65t also has an IP55 rating, so you don’t have to worry about rain or spills destroying your investment… just don’t try swimming with them. Although I used them at the gym twice, I’m not entirely convinced that they’ll be fine after months of corrosive sweat. Design-wise I actually really like the way these earbuds look. They’re a little closer to the vision I have of humanity in the future where everyone is wearing little wearable earbuds like in the movie Her (which I am so down for).

Each earbud has a button responsible for controlling different aspects of playback.

Although I see them all the time, I still think AirPods and even the new AirPods Pro look a little ridiculous. The Jabra Elite 65t look more discreet and, in a weird way, a little more professional. I feel less like a hypebeast wearing these out in public and more like someone just wearing earbuds. There’s also a small part at the bottom of each ‘bud with microphones inside, and since Jabra has a long history of making microphones for in their headsets, I’m not surprised that these work very well for phone calls.

On either earbud is a button that lets you do certain things like change songs and adjust volume, but what I like most about them is how much surface area they cover. The left earbud actually has two different buttons, each with a small ridge that lets you feel where to press. Now it may be because I have little dainty fingers, but I have no problem getting an accurate click on the button I intended to press and never accidentally hit the wrong one. They aren’t the most tactile buttons I’ve ever used on a pair of true wireless ‘buds, but I think that’s a good thing. If they’re too click-y, then you get a suction effect in your ears every time you want to adjust the volume, which can get uncomfortable really fast. This is a problem that I had with the Jaybird Run, since the buttons were too stiff for my liking.

How’s the connection strength?

The Elite 65t earbuds have great microphones for calls, and when you’re done just pop them back in the case.

As far as connection goes I was disappointed in the Elite 65t. They were fine, but that’s about it. Drops were very rare, but they did happen despite them using Bluetooth 5.0. In a four-hour time span, the music stuttered twice, which isn’t bad at all but I still have to mention it. I can understand if I’m across the room, but if my phone is in my pocket, I don’t think it’s too much to expect no stutters. Beyond that, there’s a significant lag in audio when watching videos on your phone and dialogue doesn’t match up with what a person is saying. This became more or less noticeable depending on what I was watching.

Obviously, this isn’t a problem if you don’t watch a lot of videos, but if you spend your commutes catching up on your favorite shows or YouTube channels then it’s something to be aware of. Surprisingly, these do have the AAC codec which shouldn’t have bad lag, but as our testing shows AAC doesn’t play well with Android so unless you have an iOS device you might experience this problem.

The Elite 65t earbuds aren’t large and bulky, making them a nice everyday pair of ‘buds.

On the bright side, I love that once you pair them to your phone you almost never have to do so again. Every time I open the charging case and remove the earbuds they automatically pair to my device before I even get them in my ear which is impressive. The same is true when I put them back in the case. I don’t have to turn them off or do anything extra besides take them out of my ear and place them back in the case for them to automatically disconnect. It’s a small thing that makes a big difference, just ask anyone who uses AirPods. It’s one of its best features.

These are also better than the original AirPods in that they actually have built-in playback controls. The left earbud lets you control volume by clicking left or right, and you can also skip between tracks by holding down the two buttons. The button on the right earbud pauses or plays music, and if you hold it down, you’ll activate your phones’ personal assistant like Siri or the Google Assistant. Now they also come with Alexa so if that’s your assistant of choice, you’re covered there too.

How’s the battery life of the Jabra Elite 65t?

We spend a good portion of our time trying to objectively test the performance of headphones and speakers here at SoundGuys, which includes battery life. As you can imagine, accurately testing how long a product lasts can take up a lot of time. Thankfully (not so much for him), executive editor Chris Thomas makes sure each product is put the same tests.

In the case of true wireless earbuds, this means having them set to an output of 75dB(SPL) and playing music on loop for hours at a time until the battery is drained. You can learn more about how we test by clicking here, but in the case of the Jabra Elite 65t, time hasn’t treated them so well. When the Jabra Elite 65t first came out, they were best in class with just under 6 hours of constant playback. While that’s still impressive considering the average tends to be around 3-4 hours, they’ve been outpaced since their initial release.

While still above average, they’re no longer the best in this category. Now there are options like the JLab Epic Air Sport which get around nine hours of constant playback and the Powerbeats Pro which can get more than ten. The charging case can give you an additional 10 hours of battery life, and if you’re running short on time you can quick charge the ‘buds in the case. Charging them for about 15 minutes will give you 1.5 hours of playback which is solid, but no longer the best here either as the Powerbeats Pro can provide you with 1.5 hours in 5 minutes.

How do the Jabra Elite 65t sound?

The charging case adds an extra ten hours of battery life and is small enough to fit in your pocket.

Let’s start off with what I like about these ‘buds, which is the microphone quality. Just listen to how clear my voice is at about the 05:30 mark in the video. Even though I’m talking through the Jabra Elite 65t in a completely different room and standing about three inches away from my AC with it on full blast, you can still make out every word I say, which is impressive.

The Jabra Elite 65t lack bass, but you’ll still be able to hear it just fine.

Unfortunately, I’m not that impressed with sound quality. The Jabra app lets you go through a few EQ presets, but I found it didn’t really make a huge difference in overall quality.  So the low-end in the song Night Air by Jamie Woon was underemphasized and didn’t really give me the same bump that I’m used to. This is to be expected considering the small size of the drivers, but it still isn’t great considering there are some wired earbuds that get the job done just fine.

If you’re a basshead, the Elite 65t earbuds aren’t for you. It’s not fair to expect too much out of drivers so small, but notes that fall below roughly 300Hz are hard to make out at all. I’m used to the rolling bass throughout the song really weaving its way through the track, but here it drops out at times. Things get a little better when it comes to the mids as that’s where vocals lie. Due to the lack of emphasis that’s put on the lower notes, instruments are easy to pick out and separate even if they’re lacking detail.

Notes in the highs don’t sound any better and high volumes can introduce some annoying distortion. You can hear this at 0:58 into the song Horchata by Vampire Weekend. When all of the instruments come in together, the bells and cymbals all but disappear as the snare drums just completely take over (not in a good way).

Should you buy the Jabra Elite 65t?

Even in 2020, the Jabra Elite 65t are still a really good pair of true wireless earbuds. The best part about them is the price. While there are better true wireless options out there like the Sony WF-1000XM3, the new AirPods Pro, and even the newer Jabra Elite 75t, all of those options are going to cost you a pretty penny. If you’re not worried about having the newest features and just want a solid pair of true wireless earbuds, these are hard to pass on. Especially since you can usually find them now for less than $100. Compare that to the AirPods Pro which are $250 or the Jabra Elite 75t earbuds which are around $180, these are a steal. The biggest practical difference that you’ll see between these and the newer Jabra Elite 75t is the better battery life and connection strength, but if that’s not super important to you, then these are a great deal.