advantages
- Solid build quality
- Wireless listening via Bluetooth
- Good sound quality
- Dolby Digital Plus via app
disadvantage
- Touch controls can be a bit confusing
- Headband is a bit tight
key specifications
- Evaluation Price: £199.00
- Bluetooth wireless
- 40mm dynamic driver
- Dolby Digital Plus amplification via app
introduction
Wireless headphones are pretty much everywhere now. Although some see Bluetooth headphones as a gimmick, the Jabra Revo wireless headphones certainly work well and deliver wireless sound to your ears.
The Jabra Revo Wireless headphones produce super-clear, rich sound that can be further enhanced with the Jabra Revo Wireless Sound app, which brings Dolby Digital Plus amplification into the mix. The only downside is that even at £199 the headphones are more of an investment than an impulse buy.
Jabra Revo Wireless – design and features
The Jabra Revo Wireless headphones offer a very compact and slim design. This makes them incredibly suitable for travel and also a dream for commuters.
Travel-ready design features include collapsible earcups for easy storage and portability, a durable and strong aluminum frame, steel hinges, and a shatterproof, snug-fitting headband. However, the metal construction means they aren’t the lightest headphones out there.
Of course, the most notable hardware feature of the Jabra Revo Wireless is that it’s wireless, and the good news here is that setting it up to connect to your phone or MP3 player via Bluetooth is a fairly simple process.
On the side of the headphones you will find a dedicated on/off/pairing switch. Simply hold the button in the “pairing” position for three seconds until the blue light flashes. There’s even a helpful, if slightly annoying, Dalek-style voice that whistles through the headphones to instruct you on how to pair your device with them.
If you have an NFC (Near-Field Communication)-enabled device, it’s even easier, as you simply tap your device on the left earcup.
The Jabra Revo Wireless headphones are designed to be highly tactile and interactive. With turntable touch control (essentially touch-sensitive pads on the side of the earbuds), they allow the listener to play, skip and pause music, as well as manage incoming calls. You can also use the Turntable to adjust the volume by sliding your finger across the Turntable Touch in a circular motion.
Other features of the Jabra Revo wireless headphones include an additional 3.5mm jack connection, which allows you to continue listening if the battery dies while using Bluetooth. You can take calls hands-free even when the cable is not connected because a microphone has been built into the headphones. When using the cable, it has a multi-function button that lets you answer calls and play/pause music – similar to the Turntable Touch’s features.
The wireless battery life for the Jabra Revo wireless headphones is pretty impressive, with up to 12 hours of wireless music/talk. However, charging takes about 2-4 hours with the included USB cable. The flashing red battery icon on the side of the Jabra Revo Wireless headphones is a useful feature that lets you know when they need to be charged. However, since the battery icon is placed rather awkwardly at the bottom of the headphones, the indicator can be difficult to see.
Jabra Revo Wireless – Dolby App
The Jabra Revo Wireless Sound app that comes free with the headphones might seem like a bit of an overkill when the connected device also has its own music player. However, it offers some audio improvements.
The Dolby Digital Plus button in the app is a great feature as it lets you instantly differentiate between sound quality. It adds fullness and bass weight. Alongside this, the Jabra Sound app also has bass and high-frequency adjustment, as well as a preset equalizer option, allowing you to tailor the sound to suit your sound preferences.
The Jabra Revo Wireless headphones also have a Jabra Sound app button on the headphones, which launches the corresponding app on your phone. The downside to all of this is that the sheer volume of function buttons on the headphones can seem a bit confusing and unnecessary. Here a lot is touched and knocked on the auricles.
Jabra Revo Wireless – Sound quality
The Jabra Revo wireless headphones offer impressive sound quality for such compact headphones. With a 40mm dynamic speaker on each side, the sound is rich and clear, while the padded memory earphones are designed to cancel out most of the noise and also mold to your ears.
While they’re not noise-cancelling headphones, the clear sound quality of the Jabra Revo Wireless means you don’t have to blow up your music to hear it. With that in mind, these headphones will be very loved by other passengers on your train journeys.
By far the most impressive feature of these headphones is the Dolby Digital Plus Enhanced Sound (enabled via the included Jabra Sound app). The enhanced Dolby Digital Plus sound offers a rich depth to the music that unfortunately comes with the price tag. With the amount of features packed into the headphones, it’s easy to get distracted by the sound quality. And if you are willing to do without all the fancy extras, you can get better sound for the same price elsewhere.
verdict
Designed with the commuter in mind, the Jabra Revo wireless headphones offer great sound quality, Bluetooth wireless connectivity and solid build quality. While the robust design is a key feature, it can also be a minor pitfall, as the Jabra Revo Wireless’ headband isn’t the most comfortable due to its tight fit.
The headphones are built to last though, which is why their price tag falls towards the higher end of the spectrum at £199. With all the extra features like the touch-sensitive Turntable Touch earbuds (which can be quite confusing), it’s the rich sound quality that outweighs it – particularly the Dolby Digital Plus feature in the app, which really boosts the sound for bass lovers.
points in detail
value 7
Design & Features 7
Microphone quality 7
sound quality 8