Jabra Elite 8 Active review: back to basics
Are the Jabra Elite 8 Active the toughest earbuds in the world? According to Jabra, they are. These earbuds can handle dust, water, and sweat. They've even passed testing to a military standard. Ideal earbuds for workouts, right? But do they sound good too? Find out in this review.
In this article
Pros and cons
Here are the pros and cons of the Jabra Elite 8 Active. See at a glance whether these earbuds are right for you.
| Pros | Cons |
| ✔️ Excellent sound ✔️ IP68 (fully dustproof and waterproof) ✔️ Very comfortable ✔️ Multipoint connection ✔️ANC |
❌ Physical button controls ❌ Steep price tag |
Jabra Elite 8 Active specifications
- Price: ~€190
- Chipset: unknown
- Codec: ACC, SBC
- Bluetooth: 5.3
- Range: 10m
- Frequency response: 20 Hz - 20000 Hz
- Case battery: 750 mAh
- Playtime: 8 hours with ANC/14 hours without ANC
- Cable: Usb C
- Waterproof rating: IP68
What stands out to you most? For us, it's the battery in the charging case. 750 mAh. That's a lot.
Jabra Elite 8 Active sound
The Jabra Elite 8 Active aren't Jabra's top-of-the-line earbuds. The Elite 8 Active focus more on durability and use during workouts. But when it comes to sound, they do more than just fine.
Sound quality score: 8.5
The earbuds deliver pleasant, mostly clear sound with good bass. Even when you turn the volume way up, the quality stays excellent.
You can control the Jabra Elite 8 Active earbuds with the Jabra Sound+ app. It includes an equalizer to adjust the sound to your taste.
Choose one of the six presets shown in the image below. Or adjust everything just the way you like it and hit Save. You can create and save up to ten custom presets.
No, this isn't the new MacJabra, or the golden arches your kids spot every time you're on the highway. These are my equalizer settings in the Jabra app. Pretty tasty too.
Microphone: are the Jabra Elite 8 Active good for calls?
The Jabra Elite 8 Active earbuds are ideal for listening to music while you work up a sweat. But they're also a great choice for the office and your workspace at home.
Microphone score: 8
Connecting the earbuds to your phone and laptop is very smooth with Bluetooth 5.3. So bring on those phone calls and online meetings. They can feel like a competitive sport sometimes too.
Bluetooth 5.3
The Jabra Elite 8 Active have Bluetooth 5.3. So what, you might be thinking? Well, with earbuds, it's important to have the latest version. Why? The higher the version, the better. Compared with its predecessor, Bluetooth 5.3 offers these advantages:
- Devices connect to each other faster;
- Lower power consumption for both devices;
- Faster data transfer;
- A more stable, reliable connection;
- A more secure connection (privacy);
- Better performance in areas with lots of wireless signals.
With multipoint connection, you can connect the earbuds to 2 devices at once. Listening to music on your phone when a Teams call comes in on your laptop? Pause the music on your phone so the earbuds can play the audio from your laptop.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active earbuds have 6 microphones in total. The 3 microphones in each earbud pick up ambient sounds while you listen to music.
With ANC on, ambient sounds are filtered out. During phone calls, though, we notice that some background noise still gets through. Even so, our voices come through clearly. Listen to the audio clip below.
You might think earbuds with this many microphones would leak like a sieve. But nothing could be further from the truth. They have an IP68 rating, making them fully dustproof and waterproof.
A run in pouring rain or a seriously sweaty workout with these earbuds? No problem. You can even drop them. They can take a knock, thanks to their military MIL-STD-810h certification.
MIL-STD-810h
The Jabra Elite 8 Active have been tested to the MIL-STD-810h standard. MIL stands for military. STD stands for standard. Developed by the US Department of Defense, this standard consists of a series of tests to determine whether electronic equipment can withstand extreme environmental and weather conditions. Equipment is tested for resistance to, among other things:
- high/low temperatures;
- thermal shock;
- rain;
- sand and dust;
- humidity;
- salt fog.
The tests are extensive and go much further than the more familiar IP certification.
Fit: how do the Jabra Elite 8 Active feel?
When you're working out, you're focused on your goal. You shouldn't have to worry about your earbuds staying put or irritating your ears. They need to fit securely and comfortably.
A lot of thought has gone into this with the Jabra Elite 8 Active. The earbuds are easy to put in and feel immediately secure in your ears. That's thanks to the oval silicone ear tips, the silicone coating, and the shape of the earbuds themselves.
The shape keeps the earbuds firmly in place and creates a good seal in your ear canal. That helps both comfort and sound, because less ambient noise gets into your ears.
The earbuds come with 3 sets of silicone ear tips in sizes S, M, and L.
To be completely honest, I hate working out. I do it because I make myself. I don't enjoy it. And now I'm training for a quarter marathon. That's well over an hour of running. An HOUR! At least. For me, anyway.
Fit score: 9
When I'm running, I want my mind to be somewhere else. Not on how many kilometers or how much time I have left. That just makes it drag. I also don't want distractions like how my earbuds work or how comfortable they feel. I want to just listen to music and let my thoughts wander. Get completely lost in it. Daydream. Hope the time goes by as quickly as possible.
Look, this is how flushed my face gets after running just over 10 km in just over 1 hour. But I made it again, thanks to the Jabra Elite 8 Active.
It's not something I'd recommend, though. You're sharing the road and need to stay alert. So: don't try this at home!
But it works for me. And that's why I can say I'm extremely happy with the comfort of the Jabra Elite 8 Active. They sit securely but comfortably in my ears, even while running. And I can wear them for hours without irritation. Lovely!
ANC: how good is the noise canceling?
The Jabra Elite 8 Active have adaptive hybrid active noise canceling. Active noise canceling (ANC) uses microphones to detect ambient noise and produces an opposing sound, also noise, that effectively filters it out.
According to Jabra, adaptive hybrid active noise canceling is 1.6x more powerful than their standard ANC and automatically adjusts to your surroundings. The aim is to instantly filter out unwanted noise from wind and other extreme conditions.
ANC score: 8
Well, although the Jabra Elite 8 Active's ANC did impress me, I have to be honest: they didn't live up to that promise. I could still hear the wind while running with these earbuds.
Alongside ANC, the Jabra Elite 8 Active also have Hear Through mode. This uses the microphones to pick up and pass through ambient sounds instead. That's safer when you're using the earbuds in busy traffic.
Soundscape
Want to shut out ambient noise? Not in the mood for music, but can't stand the silence? That's where Soundscape comes in. You'll find it in the Jabra Sound+ app. You can mask silence and ambient noise with one of the 12 sounds shown below.
I tried it, and some of the sounds really do help me relax. Rainy Day, for example. Working quietly with the sound of rain in the background is calming. Who would have thought?
Well, although the Jabra Elite 8 Active's ANC did impress me, I have to be honest: they didn't live up to that promise. I could still hear the wind while running with these earbuds.
Alongside ANC, the Jabra Elite 8 Active also have Hear Through mode. This uses the microphones to pick up and pass through ambient sounds instead. That's safer when you're using the earbuds in busy traffic.
You can hear the opposing sound ANC produces by putting the earbuds in without playing music. You'll hear a faint hiss in the background.
Not all ambient noise gets filtered out. But it's pleasantly quiet while working. I can enjoy my music without hearing my coworkers' chatter.
Earbud controls
You control the earbuds using physical buttons on their sides. The controls are simple and work well. But not everyone will like the buttons, because pressing them pushes the earbuds a little further into your ears.
A single press on the right earbud pauses or plays music. Press the left one to switch between ANC and Hear Through mode. To skip to the next track, press the right button twice. Press it three times to go back to the previous track.
To turn the volume up or down, press and hold the right or left button, respectively. These last actions can feel much less comfortable.
Controls: 7.5
How do the Jabra Elite 8 Active touch controls work?
| Action | Left | Right |
|---|---|---|
| Press 1x |
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| Press 2x |
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| Press 3 times |
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| Press and hold |
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The Jabra Elite 8 Active earbuds have in-ear detection, which pauses your music or mutes your phone call when you take at least one earbud out. Putting at least one earbud in answers or unmutes a call. You can turn off in-ear detection entirely in the app.
Battery: how long can you use the earbuds?
The Jabra Elite 8 Active earbuds and charging case provide a combined 56 hours of listening without ANC. Once the earbuds run out after 14 hours, the charging case can recharge them up to 3 times.
Using ANC cuts listening time considerably. The earbuds then last 8 hours, with another 24 hours from the case, for a total of 32 hours.
Fully charging the earbuds and charging case takes up to 3 hours in total. A 5-minute charge gives the earbuds another 1 hour of music.
Battery score: 8.5
You can check the battery percentage of the earbuds or charging case in the Jabra Sound+ app, or in your phone's or PC's Bluetooth settings.
Battery percentage in the app (left) and your phone's settings (right)
The LED on the front of the charging case also shows how much battery it has left. Green means there's plenty of charge. Orange means the battery level is medium. Red means it's time to charge the case.
There's also an LED inside the charging case that lights up when you put the earbuds in. It uses the same colors with the same meanings as the LED on the front. This one shows the earbuds' battery level, not the case's.
The charging case
The charging case isn't the smallest available. That's partly because it holds a hefty 750mAh battery. That's good for 42 hours of listening without ANC and 24 hours with ANC.
The case is rectangular with very rounded corners, especially at the bottom. They're so rounded that it can't stand upright. But since the USB port is on the bottom too, the case is meant to lie on its back.
You also lay the case on its back to charge it wirelessly with a Qi-compatible wireless charger. An LED tucked into the front, below the lid, serves as the battery indicator.
The Jabra Elite Active 8 don't have a button on the case for pairing mode. Instead, press both earbud buttons at the same time while wearing them.
The charging case has a simple plastic exterior. Inside, there's a silicone coating where the earbuds sit for storage and charging. This silicone coating gets dirty quickly, so it needs regular cleaning.
The silicone coating inside gets grubby quickly.
Conclusion: are the Jabra Elite 8 Active good?
| Rating | |
| Sound | 8 |
| Microphone | 8 |
| Fit | 9 |
| Battery | 7.5 |
| Controls | 8.5 |
| ANC | 8 |
Our conclusion: the Jabra Elite 8 Active are good-quality earbuds with a lot to offer. Their build quality, comfort, and high IP rating make them a great choice for workouts. They sound really good too. The ANC isn't perfect, but it pleasantly surprised us.
Beyond workouts, these earbuds work very well for everyday use. For example, you can use them for meetings and calls at your desk. The large battery in the charging case also keeps you listening for a long time.
But a few downsides stood out too. We're not big fans of physical buttons, although you don't have to press very hard on the Jabra Elite 8 Active. The inside of the charging case, where the earbuds sit, also gets dirty quickly. And despite Jabra's claims, you can definitely still hear wind with ANC on.
Thank you!
Thanks for reading this Eardopes review of the Jabra Elite 8 Active. We hope it helped you get a clear picture.
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- Also check out our article on AirPods alternatives
- See the best earbuds for running or in the gym
- Also check out our hands-on look at the Eardopes B6 pro.
