What do you get when you take Jabra’s tech and stuff it into an even smaller package? We take Jabra‘s latest elite wireless sports earbuds and give ’em a go.
Jabra is honestly no stranger to making wireless goods, especially those which are geared to the sporty sort. One of their latest wireless offerings is the Jabra Elite Sport, a pair of earphones designed to be low profile and with a snug fit for the days when you hit the gym; especially since it’s capable of being your own personal trainer that can keep track of your reps.
Build
The Jabra Elite Sport doesn’t seem to be all much out of the box. A pair of relatively tiny things, they fit in your ear with the help of some foam or silicon earbuds and a bunch of eargels for that proper fit. Speaking of earbuds, out of the box you will get three pairs of foam and silicon earbuds each, with three sizes of eargels. The units themselves are water resistant and covered with a rubberised coating, so you don’t have to worry about them flying off when they get inevitably drenched in sweat.
The left side earbud houses the volume controls while the right side has the power button as well as the function button you need to operate the Jabra Sport app, but more on that later.
The Elite Sport also comes with a nifty little hard carrying case that also doubles as a charging case. This is pretty similar in concept to that of Samsung’s IconX earbuds that were released in the latter half of last year, but with somewhat larger size. The case also doubles as the charging cradle for the earbuds, so you might want to make sure you never lose them.
Comfort
As far as comfort is concerned, the Elite Sport is a bit of a hit and miss. If you’ve read some of my previous audio reviews, you probably already know that my ear canals aren’t quite the same size, and usually demands that I use different size earbuds for any in-ear earphones. In this case, however, I managed to use the same fit size of foam earbuds with no issue so I didn’t have to swap out to different sizes. That said, the headset does, in fact, do well in not falling out during more rigorous movements but you might still encounter some discomfort while wearing the earbuds for long periods of time.
Maybe this won’t be the case for everyone (each individual will have their own fit) but it’s quite nice that Jabra includes multiple sizes of earbuds as a standard for most of their products.
Sound quality
If you’re in it for the music, this isn’t really one for you. While the mids and highs are sort of decent, I can’t speak much for the bass. But the music quality is quite passable if you just want to ding them on for a trip to the gym, but those looking for a truly great musical experience might not find what they are looking for here.
On the other hand, call quality is absolutely superb, as expected from Jabra.
Functionality
This is where the Elite Sport really shines. On top of being able to coach you without having to operate from your phone, the earbuds are also able to accurately count your reps as you go along. Like many of its sporty kin, the Elite Sport keeps track of your heart rate and will log your activities and exercise while the app is running.
After your workout, the app will give a quick rundown on your statistics, like your heart rate and whether or not your exercise was strenuous (likely based on your heart rate). To activate the training run, all you need to do is to hold down the button on the right side and it will start up. No need to have your phone out and fiddle with it to get started, which I really like.
As a plus, you can still listen to your music while having the app coach you through your exercise, as the trainer will simply lower the volume of your music while it is speaking. Otherwise, it will be playing like normal so you don’t have to worry about the app dominating your entire workout and leaving you with no entertainment. Doesn’t work quite as well while doing cross training in my opinion, as you will be doing lots in short bursts so the trainer does seem somewhat disruptive if you’re trying to catch your tunes.
On their own, the earbuds can run for about 3 hours worth of continuous use, which is pretty expected for any earbuds of this sort; but the case offers an additional 6 hours of juice, so you can get about 2 extra charges out of that alone.
Verdict
Given that the Jabra Elite Sport retails a good RM1259, it’s a wee bit expensive for what it can do but at least it does it well. It makes for a pretty decent workout coach, and while the music quality isn’t the very best, it’s still pretty decent everything considered. The device could use a bit more battery life but not many people will be spending over 3 hours at the gym so as long as you have the case with you, it’s a non-issue. Also, due to the size of the earbuds, it’s quite possible to accidentally lose them if you’re not careful, so you better make sure they stick to that charging case like glue.
Overall, it’s not a bad set of extremely portable earphones but if you’re on a budget, one of its more affordable siblings might be up your alley.
