Jabra is a known brand when it comes to audio products for both B2C and B2B customers. The company has been making great strides in the enterprise market with its Evolve range of headphones.
Continuing that tradition, the company recently introduced its new pair of premium headphones – the Jabra Evolve2 85, targeted at the enterprise segment. The latest headphones come with features like Active Noise cancellation, 10 built-in microphones, up to 37 hours of battery life, and more. I got the chance to use the new Jabra Evolve2 85 headphones for a while and this is what I think about them.
Design and Accessories
The latest wireless headphones from Jabra are built upon the Elite 85h with some enhancements like more microphones, a boom mic, and enterprise-friendly features. Coming to the accessories, you get a carrying case with a hard-shell design along with a charging stand. There is also a 3.5mm audio cable along with a BT adapter.
The headphone is probably one of the most well-designed and comfortable headphones I have ever used till now. The device features a minimalistic design and is available in Black and Beige colour options. I got the former for review and man, it looks extremely premium right out-of-the-box!
There are two large earcups that are covered with a soft leatherette material. I liked the memory foam used in the earcups as it was soft and comfortable to wear all day long. The band also comes with the same material so that it can rest comfortably on your head. There were times when I wore it for a full day straight and didn’t notice them on my head for the entire duration. The clamping force was not very tight, which made it easier to wear for a prolonged period.
The lower part of the left earcup houses two connection pins for charging, using the stand that comes with the box. The base of the left ear cups offers a 3.5mm jack, a USB Type-C charging port, indicator, power and BT toggle switch. There is also a switch just above the toggle that allows you to select different sound modes: ANC, HearThrough, and Off. The outside of the right cup comes with a multi-function button that allows you to answer or end the call. There is also a retractable boom arm for answering calls.
Moving on to the right ear cup, you get three buttons for media control. One can use them for controlling volume, next/previous track, and play/pause music. The buttons were not the strongest aspects of these headphones. They were small for my liking. This is especially the case with the three buttons present on the right ear cup. I felt that there should have been some markings or icons to make it easier to understand the working of the buttons.
Jabra Sound+ App Features
The Jabra Evolve2 85 offers a host of customizations through the Jabra Sound+ application. The app is available for both Android and iOS platforms. I downloaded the application on my iPhone 12 Mini and found the interface to be user friendly. The app gives you clear guidelines on setting up the device. It also lets you control various features of the headphones.
The first thing you will notice on the app is the battery level of the headphones. It also lets you choose between different Sound Modes: ANC, HearThrough, and OFF. You can also control the sensitivity in the HearThrough mode via the application. It also comes with a Music equalizer with a five-band graphic EQ that allows you to customise different frequencies as per your need. If you don’t want that, it also has different Music Presets to match your taste.
Then there is Soundscape, which is probably the best feature of the app. This plays different sounds like ocean waves, rain, storm, and more. This gave me the vibe of sitting next to a waterfall or a beach. Lastly, the app has a Busylight feature, which you can turn on or off. The light is present on both the earcups and illuminates when you are on a call or you can also light it up to tell your colleagues that you are currently busy.
Apart from this, the application also allows different settings for calls, music, and more. I liked the level of customisation you get with the application. For example, I can customise the loudness of my voice during a call, enable the auto-answer feature when I move the boom mic, and more. However, there was one thing that kept bothering me. The headsets didn’t show up in the app if I had paired them before opening it. I had to first turn off the headphone, open the app and then turn on the headphones so that it could finally show up in the application. This is a frustrating experience and I hope the company will fix this in a future update.
Sound and Call Quality
What makes the Jabra Evolve2 85 best for any professional is the retractable boom microphone. The company claims that the headphones come with 10 microphones, which works with its digital chipset to provide a top-quality calling experience. I like the way boom mic works on this headphone: all you need to do is pull down the arm near your mouth and just move it back up into the groove once you finish your call. The whole mechanism is so smooth that I ended up doing it multiple times just for fun! That said, here are a few things I noticed during the testing:
- The call quality is superb and people on the other side of the line will hear your voice crystal clear.
- Calls were majorly distortion-free and the headphones will reproduce your natural tone for others.
- It offers impressive noise handling as, even in a busy environment, those on the other end had no trouble understanding me.
- The integrated microphone also does a decent job, but it is nowhere close to the boom microphone.
- When you move back the arm to the groove, it automatically mutes the call and vice versa.
Coming to the sound quality, the bass is even, while the mid response is quite neutral on the headphones. The latter is essential when you are talking to someone on a call for a clear and detailed voice. Overall, I quite enjoyed the sound profile of the headphones as they delivered a balanced output. In Sweet Dreams by Alan Walker, the bass felt punchy and tight. The vocals were firm and I didn’t feel the highs were pinching. In I’m Yours by Jason Mraz, the mids were handled well, but I felt the highs could have been slightly better.
Moving on, the headphones also come with Active Noise Cancellation that works just fine. Once you turn it on, it eliminates the fan sound and some chit chat going in the background. However, it does not eliminate loud sounds like horn noise and more. But that is okay since you will majorly use this at work. The HearThrough mode allows you to get familiar with your environment. I like the fact that you can set the sensitivity, which is helpful in multiple situations.
Battery Life and Charging
Another strong point of the Jabra Evolve2 85 has to be the battery life. The company claims that you can get up to 37 hours of battery life. And it stands tall on this claim. During the testing, I got close to 32 hours of playback time with the ANC turned on. Simply put, if you fully charge the device, you can easily get three to fours of battery backup on mixed usage. The headphones also come with a Sleep mode, which helps to conserve battery life. The mode puts the headphones to sleep when you put them away. You can also set the time limit to activate this feature via the Jabra Sound+ application.
Moreover, the headphones can be charged using a standard USB-C cable or using the charging stand. During the testing, the headphones took close to two hours to get fully charged through the charging stand, which is good. However, if you are short on time, then 15 minutes of charge can still give up to 8 hours of playback time.
Should You Buy Jabra Evolve2 85?
The Jabra Evole2 85 headphones are well-balanced headphones that deliver some great call quality and are packed with great features. The headphones are priced at Rs 55,101, which is quite an investment. But keeping in mind that these headphones are designed for the enterprise segment, they make a good proposition. However, if you consider them for personal usage, you might want to take a look at ANC headphones from Bose, Sennheiser, and others before buying them.
