As a fitness professional, I get asked a lot about what products are best. Shoes, sports bras, socks, and about a million other things too. Probably the thing that people are most scared to buy before trying is earbuds or headphones. Runners who need music are serious about their audio being ON POINT. They need something that will work well, that will stay in your ears, and that will feel comfortable. And like many other things in this universe, there are a lot of options. Do you need the $400 ones? Will the $60 ones fit the bill? Do you want something that goes in your ear or just outside of it? Where do you go from here?
Enter Jabra. Jabra is a well-known company in this arena. They create amazing cutting-edge products and they are affordable for what you get in return. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a pair of Jabra Elite 7 Active headphones and they check all the boxes. Designed and engineered in Copenhagen, Jabra scanned 62,000 ears to create these amazing earbuds.
One of the most important things for an athlete to consider with earbuds is how durable they will be. The Elite 7 Active headphones are “workout-proof” with IP57-rated durability as well as a 2 year warranty. They are waterproof and sweatproof, so that means if you sweat like you’re in a monkey costume in Death Valley or you’re caught in a monsoon on a run, these puppies won’t be ruined.
Another factor that’s important is sound, especially since we all run outside a lot. These earbuds have “HearThrough” technology at the tap of a button, which allows the user 5 different levels of sound with the 4 (yep, 4!) microphones inside. This Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) option means you can listen to only the sounds you want to hear. Using the Jabra Sound+ app that you install on your phone, you can personalize the sound to your hearing preferences. You can decide how much background noise you want to hear, if any. I like to be able to hear the sounds of the road when I’m running on the roads, but I want to cancel more sounds when I’m listening to music in a coffeeshop while writing a blog review. Now, I can do both.
Mono mode is also a nice feature, which allows the earbuds to work independently. Sometimes I like to run with only one earbud in because it makes me feel safer running in busier areas. I can keep one ear to the road and one to the music, and if you choose this mode on the Jabra earbuds, you can still get the same high-quality wireless sound from a single earbud. You can also charge the one you’re not using to save on battery time. Score!
The 6mm custom speakers on these are awesome too. Music and audio books, the two mediums I employee my headphones mostly for, come through so clearly. Rich bass, nuanced treble, and everything in between sounds phenomenal on these. The MySound technology has a customizable equalizer so you can truly adjust the earbuds to your preferred settings. You can use these for taking phone calls as well, and the SAATI Acoustex® mesh will offer you some wind protection for outside.
The battery on the Jabra Elite 7 Active lasts for 8 hours. This is enough to get you through most races and long runs. But my absolute favorite thing about the Jabra headphones is that they have a wonderful little carrying case that has the ability to charge them while they are in the case. Yep, you read that right. If you’ve got this convenient carrying case, you’ll get up to 30 hours of charge time. They also charge super fast. A 5 minute fast charge will give you up to an hour of power.
But are the Jabra earbuds comfortable? ShakeGrip™ technology, a special Liquid Silicon Rubber, ensures these earbuds have a super sleek fit. They are soft yet firm enough to withstand lots of movement. There are a few shapes and sizes of eargels for them, so you can pick the ones that work best for you. I have small ear holes and many earbuds fall right out, especially when I’m moving. But the first time I wore these, for a hilly half marathon, they never needed readjustment and stayed put so well that I forgot they were in my ears.
Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that these earbuds, though durable, are extremely light. They are just 5.5g each and 16% smaller than Jabra’s previous smallest earbuds, and people barely notice them in my ears. The re-engineered EarGel™ design is great too, as they have a nice tapered fit that molds to the shape of your ear.
The next time I get asked about earbuds, I know which ones I’ll be recommending. Look no further than the Jabra Elite 7 Active earbuds. These are perfect for athletes and for casual use as well.
Company:
Products & Price:
- Jabra Elite 7 Active ($179.99) – Find it on Amazon here
Specs (from website):
- Powerful sound on the go
- Noise-isolating design
- 2 microphones for clear calls
- Designed for a secure comfortable fit
- Advanced audio engineering. Free your workout with Jabra ShakeGrip™, for the ultimate active fit.
More about Jabra:
Our story: We’re Jabra; a world-leading audio and video brand. We create intelligent headsets and communications tools to help professionals work productively. We engineer wireless headphones and earbuds so people can enjoy better calls, music, and media. And we craft pioneering video conferencing solutions for better, more inclusive meetings (wherever you’re working from). All this is possible because, as part of the GN Group, we have consumer, professional and medical-grade sound expertise, all under one roof.
Thank you to Jabra for providing us with a sample pair. Please read our transparency page for info on how we do our reviews.
