Danish brand Jabra has announced two new earbuds at the IFA Berlin 2023 global technology show that expand the top end of the Elite wireless earbud range. The brand says the two models are its most advanced earbuds to date with spatial sound, advanced active noise cancellation, optimal battery life and compact design. The Elite 10 features Dolby Head Tracking which preserves the orientation of musical sources when you turn your head.
“Jabra has been successful by identifying user needs and then applying our unique audio engineering capabilities to meet those needs,” says Calum MacDougall, senior vice president at Jabra. “For Elite 10, we focused on comfort and calls and music performance to meet the need for all day use from music to meetings. For Elite 8 Active, we meet the need for users to be confident to use their earbuds, wherever they are, from work to work-out.”
Jabra Elite 8 Active
Jabra Elite 8 Active earbuds
The Elite 8 Active is for outdoor types and is made to a “military standard for ruggedized electronics”. Jabra says it passed the test for the US Military Standard for Ruggedized Electronics (810H). The new earbuds offer IP68 full water and dust resistance, Dolby Audio, and Jabra ShakeGrip. Jabra uses a silicon rubber compound that keeps the buds in your ears when walking, running, cycling or doing anything active.
Jabra says they are watertight when submerged up to 1.5 metres, and are corrosion resistant, having passed High Accelerated Corrosion Testing (HACT). “This requires the earbuds to pass 11 full cycles of testing, including enduring 2 hours in 40°C temperatures with 93 percent humidity, going through a 15-minute splash test in salt water, and surviving a 15-minute 40°C heat drying test, to successfully prove their anti-corrosion credentials.”
Adaptive hybrid active noise cancellation optimised the ANC performance to the environment you are in, while “wind neutralising hear-through technology” muffles wind interference.
The Elite 8 Active has 6 microphones, offers up to 8 hours of battery life and 32 hours when housed in the case.
A firmware update will support Bluetooth Low Energy for increased power efficiency playing music, and the LC3 and LC3plus codecs for improved audio quality.
The Elite 8 Active is available in caramel, navy and black. Pre-orders begin September 1 with sales instore from September 15 at JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Officeworks, The Good Guys, Amazon and Jabra.com.au. Recommended price: $329.
Jabra Elite 10
Jabra Elite 10 earbuds
The Elite 10’s signature feature is Dolby head tracking. Jabra says it’s the first time it has used it in earbuds. Dolby head tracking is useful where distinct sounds come from specific directions, such as when listening to an orchestra. With Dolby head tracking, the orientation of sounds is preserved even as you move your head. It’s additional to the standard Dolby Atmos on the Elite 10.
As with the Elite 8 Active, the Elite 10 has Jabra’s Advanced Active Noise Cancellation which Jabra says uses infrasonic waves to measure the ear canal and algorithms to detect noise leakage and wind conditions. The earbuds will automatically switch to the highest ANC gain in noisier environments and reduce the gain in quite places, it says.
Jabra says it has improved the comfort of the fit with a semi-open design that relieves are pressure, allowing users to walk and talk in comfort.
The Elite 10 offers 6-mic call technology, and 6 hours of battery life, and 27 hours when housed in its case. You get a portable cradle for wireless charging.
The Elite 10 isn’t as hardy as the Elite 8 Active with IP57 water and dust resistance instead of IP68. But you do advanced audio features in return. The Elite 120 also supports Bluetooth multipoint so you can connect to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously and choose the audio source you want.
The Elite 10 is available in cream, cocoa, titanium black and glass black. Pre-orders begin September 1 with sales instore from September 15 at JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Officeworks, The Good Guys, Amazon and Jabra.com.au. Recommended price: $379.
