Jabra Elite 5 review - TWS headphones with aptX and long runtimes

Both the charging case and the earphones of the Jabra Elite 5 are made of matte plastic and are available in black, gold-beige, and titanium-black. Everything looks cleanly manufactured and of high quality. The magnets integrated into the case reliably lock the earphones in their charging sockets. Wireless charging (Qi) is also supported.

The three included attachments of the Jabra Elite 5 allow you to adjust the fit in the ear canal to your own needs. Each earphone should be rotated slightly into the ear canal so that the body of the headphones partially pushes behind the anthelix. This is to ensure the tightest possible fit. We like the wearing comfort of the Elite 5. They do not exert too much pressure but remain noticeable. The fit is very tight, which is why you never feel like you can lose them when you move. 

For the sound output, the Jabra Elite 5 uses comparatively small drivers with 6 millimeters, which are similar to those of the Elite 4 Active and characterized by low noise. The sound is not particularly voluminous due to the weak low-frequency ranges, but the high tones are quite precise. Android users have an audible advantage in media playback due to the aptX codec, because the low tones, in particular, are a bit flatter again under iOS (AAC).

The voice quality benefits from the treble-heavy sound because voices are recorded very clearly and naturally, provided a call takes place in a fairly quiet environment. The noise suppression quickly reaches its limits in louder offices or even in traffic, so the Jabra user cannot be understood as well.

With HearThrough, the microphones can be used to direct voices from the environment into the ear. Thus, conversations can be held without having to take out the headphones. The button on the left earpiece is factory-set to switch between this mode and ANC, so the feature is quite practical in everyday use and also works well. However, our review sample always sounded a bit hollow and the HearThrough was permanently accompanied by audible noise.

The passive damping of the Jabra Elite 5 is relatively weak and improves noticeably with activated noise cancellation (ANC). Smaller humming or fan noises are completely eliminated, and street noise is at least reduced. However, miracles should not be expected, but the given performance is good for an in-ear headset.

THD (total harmonic distortion): Harmonic distortion measures the ratio of non-linear distortion (harmonic components) to the original signal. THD only takes the fundamental frequency component into consideration. Distortion factor is often used synonymously with THD, but it is computed in relation to the overall signal.

THD+N (total harmonic distortion + noise): This value is comparable with THD. But it also includes the noise power in the RMS, in addition to the harmonic power.
For the measurement, a low-harmonic sine wave (1 kHz, > 0 dB) is played through the headphones being tested. The resulting audio is measured using a linear microphone (approx. 1 cm away) fitted in a dummy head. 

Both values are given as a percentage. The lower the value, the better the signal fidelity.

We performed the battery runtimes test of the Jabra Elite 5 with an adjusted volume of 65 dB(A) and activated ANC, with maximum noise reduction. With over six and a half hours, the TWS headphones achieve very good runtimes, not least due to their quite large batteries.

With a charging time of ten minutes, an hour of battery life should be possible. However, a full charge takes around three hours, which is quite a long time. The earphones are charged via the case, which can be supplied with fresh energy via USB as well as wirelessly.

The Elite 5 headphones are available directly from Jabra at the time of the test for 120 Euros but are usually cheaper in stores like Amazon (from 99 Euros).