Jabra Elite 4 review: our full review – Frandroid

After the Elite 4 Active, Elite 3 and Elite 5 wireless headphones, Jabra multiplies the references with a new pair of wireless headphones, the Jabra Elite 4. These headphones incorporate both the physical button ergonomics of the Elite 3 and Elite 5 B. Multipoint Bluetooth Connectivity and management of the Bluetooth aptX codec, but also active noise cancellation. Here’s the full review of the Jabra Elite 4.

Jabra Elite 4 data sheet

This test was performed with the manufacturer’s headphones.

Jabra Elite 4 theme

If one manufacturer has managed to maintain consistency between its various ranges of headphones over the years, it’s Jabra. It’s simple: one Jabra earbud always looks like another Jabra earbud. Put simply, once we’ve tested one, we’ve tested almost all of them…at least from an aesthetic point of view.

The Jabra Elite 4 in its case // Source: Chloé Pertuis for Frandroid

Here the Jabra Elite 4 looks the same as the Jabra Elite 3 and Jabra Elite 5. They even largely inherit the look of their sporty cousins, the Jabra Elite 4 Active, but with a slight difference in materials and finish.

In fact, here we are entitled to very classic stemless earphones but with a slightly triangular format positioned in the ear cup. These are wireless in-ear headphones, and as such are accompanied by three pairs of silicone tips to best adapt to your anatomy.

Despite the triangular appearance of the control buttons on the outside of the ear, the headphones have overall rounded shapes that allow them to conform well to the shape of the ear. I could wear them for hours at a time and even walk in them without feeling the slightest discomfort. All plastic, but they differ from the Jabra Elite 4 Active in their material and being a little smoother – and less sticky – and their snap button, although that button has been hidden by the grippy and waterproof coating of the Jabra Elite 4 Active.

Ears of the Jabra Elite 4 // Source: Chloé Pertuis for Frandroid

Overall, the Jabra Elite 4 are otherwise comfortable earbuds that are easy to use and weigh just 4.6 grams per earbud.

The Jabra Elite 4 housing

When it comes to the case, too, it’s difficult to tell the Jabra Elite 4 apart from those of its cousins ​​at first glance. Here we have a long case measuring 64.15 x 28.57 x 34.6 mm and weighing 33.4 grams. Enough to slip it easily into a jacket pocket, a purse and even a small gusset pocket of a pair of jeans.

The Jabra Elite 4 body // Source: Chloé Pertuis for Frandroid

The case opens from the top and includes an LED indicator on the front – below the Jabra button – as well as a USB-C socket on the back. There is no pairing button here, as the connection is made directly via the headphones themselves.

Waterproofing and sports use of the Jabra Elite 4

As already mentioned, the Jabra Elite 4 are perfect for sports training. Running with them for several hours, I never felt like they would come out of my esgourdes to slip and fall to the ground. The headphones are also IP55-certified and therefore not only withstand dust, but also splashes, rain or sweat. Keep in mind, however, that the Active version is IP57-rated, so the headphones are also resistant to shallow immersion. This is not the case with the Jabra Elite 4.

Jabra Elite 4Use and Application

The Jabra Elite 4 is compatible with Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair protocols for a quick connection to an Android smartphone or Windows PC. If the device you want to connect the headphones to isn’t compatible with either of these two protocols, you can initiate pairing directly by placing the Jabra Elite 4 in your ears and then pressing and holding both buttons. From then on, the headphones will appear in the Bluetooth settings of your smartphone or computer.

Jabra Elite 4 button control

As we’ve seen, true to the Danish manufacturer’s tradition, the Jabra Elite 4 don’t offer sensitive touch surfaces, but are fitted with real physical buttons, one per earbud. Which by default allows multiple controls by pressing these keys:

• Single press on the left side: noise reduction management
• Just press right: play / pause
• Double-tap on the left: voice assistant
• Press right twice: next track
• Press right three times: back
• long press left: decrease volume
• long press right: increase volume

So here we have a management of the different listeners according to the controls. If the right earpiece is dedicated to playing and changing tracks (pause, next track, rewind), the left earpiece concentrates on the functions offered. We also particularly appreciate the option of being able to control the volume directly on the headphones.

The Jabra Elite 4 have physical buttons // Source: Chloé Pertuis for Frandroid

Also note that it’s possible to configure the double-tap on the left to not launch your smartphone’s voice assistant, but instead automatically launch Spotify via the Spotify Tap feature. Note, however, that it is not possible to change the controls offered on the Jabra Elite 4, for example by changing the controls offered for each interaction.

The Jabra Sound+ app

To further control the Jabra Elite 4, you must use the Jabra Sound + application, available on both iPhone and Android.

The application gives you access to several functions. Of course, the percentage of battery remaining is highlighted in each pair of headphones, but you can also navigate between active noise cancellation, transparent mode, or passive mode. It also offers an equalizer and presets, all right on the home page.

It’s also possible to update the headphones’ firmware, choose which noise-cancelling modes to navigate between with a single press on the left side, adjust the level of noise-cancellation, choose the voice assistant, configure Spotify, or ring the headphones to find them .

In short, we have more functional options here that get to the heart of what we should expect from a good wireless headphone companion application. However, we regret the impossibility of modifying the controls at the touch of a button, as well as the lack of a personalized listening mode according to your perception of certain frequencies, as offered by certain competitors such as JBL or Nothing.

Jabra Elite 4 Bluetooth connection

Like most Jabra wireless headphones, the Jabra Elite 4 have the advantage of being compatible with multipoint Bluetooth, based on Bluetooth version 5.2. It is therefore possible to connect them to two sources at the same time. To do this, once the headphones are in your ears, you can simultaneously press the buttons on both headphones to initiate pairing with a second source.

Ears of the Jabra Elite 4 // Source: Chloé Pertuis for Frandroid

This is a real advantage in everyday life, because with this function you can use the headphones on your smartphone and PC at the same time, which is useful, for example, if you receive a call on your computer during a Google Meet meeting.

The headphones are also compatible in mono mode and you can use just one while the second is stored in the charging case. The signal sent from the smartphone to the earbud then plays both channels – left and right – so you can enjoy the full soundtrack. In this mono mode, however, it is no longer possible to change the volume, and a single press is then inevitably assigned to play/pause.

For the latency that is inevitable with Bluetooth, especially with Android smartphones, I was able to measure a delay of 184 ms in the SBC codec and 180 ms in aptX with a Google Pixel 6 Pro. A very good result compared to the 200 ms observed with most wireless headphones. On the other hand, the lag will indeed remain noticeable, especially in mobile games. Remember that video applications such as Twitch, VLC or YouTube take this latency into account by slightly delaying the video display.

Jabra Elite 4 noise reduction

Unlike the Jabra Elite 3, the Jabra Elite 4 benefits from an active noise cancellation feature. They are equipped to make two microphones per earbud – one positioned on the outside to pick up noise and one on the inside to analyze noise that has passed the passive isolation filter.

Jabra Elite 4 active noise canceling microphones // Source: Chloé Pertuis for Frandroid

More than the active noise cancellation, it is above all the passive isolation of the headphones that makes it possible to filter the ambient noise here. In concrete terms, the Jabra Elite 4 manage very well to filter out dull and continuous noises, provided they are of an appropriate volume. This even applies to conversations and higher noises thanks to their very good passive insulation – the tips sink far enough into the ear canal.

However, the Jabra Elite 4 will have more difficulty filtering out sounds at very low or high volumes. To put this in perspective, you can enjoy your music comfortably on the Paris metro in most cases. On the other hand, next to an open window, the Jabra Elite 4 won’t be able to adequately reduce noise from the rails and bearings. You must therefore definitely turn up the volume. Conversely, when running, the Jabra Elite 4 are enough to enjoy your music without being disturbed by traffic noise.

Also note that Jabra offers you to adjust the noise reduction in its Sound+ application. However, this adjustment is not done with different levels, but with a personalized adjustment after a small test that will ask you to define the best level of noise reduction according to your environment and balance between the left and right headphones. . Note, however, that despite this test, active noise cancellation remains the same with no significant difference.

Jabra Elite 4 transparency mode

The headphones also offer a transparent mode which ensures that the passive isolation due to the silicone tips is reduced. Here, however, the function lacks naturalness. While Jabra’s Hearthrough mode allows one to remain aware of one’s surroundings or hear voice prompts, playback is unfaithful with overly muffled playback and a lack of foundation in the low frequencies.

Jabra Elite 4Audio

Jabra has equipped its wireless headphones with dynamic sound transducers with a diameter of 6 mm, which according to the Dutch manufacturer can reproduce a frequency range of 20 to 20,000 Hz.

Also, like most Jabra headphones, the Elite 4 is not only compatible with the SBC Bluetooth audio codec, but also with Qualcomm’s aptX codec. Enough to take advantage of a theoretical top speed of 384 kbps.

Jabra Elite 4 transducer grid // Source: Chloé Pertuis for Frandroid

To test the Jabra Elite 4, I connected it to a Vivo X80 Pro via Bluetooth aptX and listened to tracks on Spotify in “very high” quality, i.e. ogg vorbis files at 320 kbps, and on Tidal in HiFi 24-bit Quality belongs to 192kHz.

Jabra’s earbuds tend to produce a sound that’s strong in the mids and slightly shiny in the highs. We are entitled to very natural reproduction here, but this can prove quite tiring over time. On tracks with a rich and complex sound, like Rage Against the Machine’s Killing in the Name of, the headphones perform very well in reproducing high frequencies, but we sense a certain lack of foundation in the lower end of the spectrum.

The Jabra Elite 4 frequency response curve // ​​Source: Frandroid

As we can see from the frequency response curve above, this lack of foundation is actually explained by the bass, which is frankly lacking. The Jabra Elite 4 tend to emphasize the mids – especially the voices – at the expense of the rest of the sound spectrum. The small peak around 10,000 Hz ensures a certain precision in the highs, but the lack of bass is still noticeable.

It is all the more regrettable that the headphones offer an excellent dynamic range with great precision and good response. The soundstage is also quite wide and deep with instruments that contrast well.

Fortunately, it’s possible to use the equalizer built into the Sound+ application to correct the Jabra Elite 4’s sound signature. So we’re entitled to a five-band equalizer that we can manually tweak to add bass or reduce media. Jabra also offers six presets with the ability to save new ones. A good point to adjust the response of the headphones if desired. Especially since this equalizer really allows to correct this lack of depth in the low frequencies and enjoy an even fuller sound.

Jabra Elite 4Micro

For voice calls, as we’ve seen, the Jabra Elite 4 has four beamforming microphones. A technological choice designed to allow the headphones to best capture the sound of your voice and filter the noise around you.

However, the headphones actually have a hard time reducing ambient noise, and even in a quiet place, a constant noise, as if the wind is rushing into the microphones, can be annoying – even indoors. , no wind. The voice is also masked and if your interlocutor can understand what you need to say to them, the call experience will not be comfortable for them. Not only do the headphones struggle to filter out occasional noises like pedestrians, footsteps, or horn honks, they also struggle to process longer sounds like the lapping of running water or loud noises.

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In short, call quality isn’t the Jabra Elite 4’s forte.

Also note that Jabra offers a feature called SideTone in its Sound+ application. This activates the microphones so you can hear your sound environment for yourself. However, it can be disabled to offer active noise cancellation.

Jabra Elite 4Autonomy

For the autonomy of its Elite 4, Jabra announces up to 5:30 hours of use with the headphones alone with active noise reduction – and 7 hours without noise reduction. With the charging of the case, the autonomy would increase this time to 22 hours with noise reduction and up to 28 hours without.

For my part, by starting listening with noise canceling activated, volume of the headphones at 80% and using the aptX codec, I was able to measure an autonomy of 5h29 on the right headphone and 5h33 on the left headphone. This brings us very close to the autonomy announced by Jabra.

In terms of charging the headphones in their case, Jabra only states that 10 minutes of charging can restore an hour of hearing. For my part, at the end of those ten minutes, I noticed that the two headphones had gone from 0 to 40%. On the other hand, the load logically decreases over time and if the headphones recover 60% of their battery in 30 minutes, you have to wait a full hour for a charge from 0 to 100%.

The USB-C socket on the back of the Jabra Elite 4 case // Source: Chloé Pertuis for Frandroid

To charge the Jabra Elite 4 case, you absolutely must use a USB-C cable – Jabra offers one, USB-A to USB-C, 16cm long, but no mains charger. The case is also not compatible with Qi wireless charging via induction.

Jabra Elite 4 price and release date

The Jabra Elite 4 are already available. The headphones are available in four colors – grey, blue, purple and beige – and will be priced at €99 in France.

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