Jabra Evolve 75e review and comparison (2023)

I am looking for the best office headphones that I can take with me when I travel. For this test, GN Group sent me the Jabra Evolve 75e, the world's first UC-certified professional wireless headset.

Over the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to extensively test these professional headphones and compare them to thePlantronics Voyager 6200UCand the Bose QuietControl 30 that I've used in the past.

The Jabra Evolve 75e offers the highest quality phone calls of any over-the-neck headset I've tested, thanks in no small part to its top-notch microphone.

Combine that with a battery that lasts up to 14 hours on a single charge, active noise-canceling technology, and superior sound quality, and you've got yourself a great set of headphones that I'd rate 4.5 stars out of 5.

Jabra Evolve 75e in test

Check the current price on Amazon

Although I generally work from home, I also spend much of my working life in noisy office environments or in conference rooms giving presentations, both places where I have seen Jabra audio devices in action. But I've never owned or used any of the company's products, so I was thrilled when Jabra's marketing team offered to send me the Evolve 75e wireless earbuds for this review.

As this is not my first review.office wireless headset, had specific needs and features that they were looking for in a product, including:

• Simultaneous connection to my computer (iMac) and smartphone (iPhone)
• High-quality phone calls (ex: great microphone) with ambient noise cancellation
• Reliable Bluetooth connection
• All-day battery life
• Kompfort

The good news is that the Jabra Evolve 75e ticks all of these boxes and more, making it one of my favorite headsets for an office environment.

technical specifications

design and comfort

Jabra's wireless headphones have an on-neck design that I like. The advantage of the neckband is that I can wear the headphones all day without having to put the headphones in my ears. This is a clear convenience advantage.

While the earbuds don't retract like other neckband-design wireless earbuds, Jabra has attached magnets to the base of the earbuds. This will keep them together, reducing the chance of them becoming tangled.

The only minor issue I noticed is a slight imbalance when you put the headphones in your ears. The right headphone cable has a built-in microphone box, making the right side a bit heavier than the left. As a result, it pulls down a little more than the left side. It is not annoying and the right earpiece does not fall out, but it is noticeable.

Battery duration

The Jabra Evolve 75e's battery life is amazing! Even on long days of travel, the battery never runs out. Technically, I lost power once when I forgot to charge the headphones overnight, but that shouldn't count. The battery also lasted until 7 p.m. m. of that day.

On paper, the Jabra Evolve 75e offers the following battery specifications:

• Talk time: up to 13 hours on a single charge
• Music playback: up to 14 hours on a single charge
• Charging time: about 2 hours

active noise cancellation

What makes Jabra headphones a great travel companion is the combination of integrated Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) with Heartthrough and Listen-In modes, two features that amplify ambient noise, e.g. B. when someone talks to you. You can activate them with the push of a button.

Listen-In mode mutes music playback and amplifies conversations around you so you can hear what people are saying without having to remove your headphones. With Heartthrough mode, those conversations are amplified while you keep listening to music; the music drops a bit.

These features are particularly useful when you want to hear an announcement from the airport or when the person sitting next to you starts talking on the plane. To toggle between noise cancellation and direct listening, simply press the dedicated ANC button on the left side of the collar (next to the "mute" button). By repeatedly pressing this button, you can switch between the following modes:

• ANC a
• ANC off
• Listens

If you press and hold the mute button (hold it for two seconds), you can activate the "Listen" mode.

Related:Comparison of the best noise canceling headphones

While the active noise-canceling feature on these Jabra headphones works well, it doesn't compare to dedicated noise-canceling headphones like the Bose QuietComfort 35. But I'd say it's on par with the Bose QuietControl headphones.

The main reasons I prefer the Jabra 75e to the Bose QC35 are that the Bose is bulky, less comfortable, and its microphone sucks compared to other professional office headsets.

MICROPHONE

For me, the quality of the microphone is one of the most important factors when choosing an office headset. I work in sales and I'm on the phone all the time. So I want something that has crisp, clear sound quality and a consistent connection that never fades or breaks.

To improve call quality and block out background noise, Jabra has added three microphones to these wireless earbuds. These three microphones work together to create what is called a "talk zone" around the mouth and cancel noise originating outside of that talk zone.

For the best possible performance and noise cancellation, Jabra recommends using both earbuds during a call. This is because each of the headphones has microphones that help set up the aforementioned conversation zone. Think of it this way: If a headset is slung over your shoulder, the headset could be mistaken for where your mouth is.

In my tests, the mics performed exceptionally well, far better than any other neck bud I've tested in the past.

The headset also has a "busy light" which is used to signal to others that you are listening to something.

audio quality

As I have reiterated many times in other audio product reviews, I am not an audiophile and professional sound is not one of my main considerations when evaluating a headphone. I want something that sounds good, but I don't need to feel like I'm in a recording studio. That said, the Jabra Evolve 75e seems to produce excellent, rich sound in my ears when listening to music on my iPhone or iPad.

connectivity

You can pair the Jabra Evolve 75e headset with up to eight devices, but you can only have two simultaneous Bluetooth connections.

In my case, that meant my iPhone and iMac. To get the most out of your headset, you need a USB key (Jabra Link 370) when using your headset with a Mac or PC. Similar toPlantronics Voyager 6200UC, you can pair the headset directly with your computer, but you'll miss out on some features, including integration with VoIP applications (such as Skype).

Related:The best headphones for sports and running

Maintaining two simultaneous Bluetooth connections often results in reduced call quality and reliability. Jabra has fixed this issue by giving priority to the Bluetooth device on an active call.

This means that the headset is temporarily disconnected from your computer, for example while you are on a call on your mobile phone. This reduces the possibility of interference and greatly improves call quality and reliability.

After the call is dropped, the 75e will automatically reconnect to the other device. That is amazing and makes a huge difference. However, you can disable this behavior in the Jabra desktop app if required.

Play and call controls

The only minor issue I ran into when using the Jabra Evolve 75e relates to the somewhat inconsistent playback controls on either side of the collar.

There are three buttons on the right side of the collar, including:

• Low volume
• multifunction button
• increase the volume

On all the headphones I've used, the button between the volume buttons is used to control playback. That's also the case with the Jabra Headset 75e, but during music playback, a simple click on this button doesn't seem to do anything.

I would expect a single click to start or pause playback. Instead, you have to hold this button for a full second to pause or play music. But don't press too long (three seconds) as this will turn off the headset. I highly recommend Jabra to change this behavior to make the device easier to use.

This brings us to the second little problem: summoning a digital voice assistant like Siri or Google Play via the dedicated voice/mute button on the left.

I'm used to holding down the play button to activate Siri, but with this Jabra headset you have toCliqueclick the mute/voice button to do this. This is also counter-intuitive in my opinion, but less so than the pause/play button problem mentioned above.

In general, this is an unintelligent button layout, resulting in a lack of obvious/quick controls. This is the only area where I can take some points away from this excellent device.

Software

To optimize and personalize your headset, Jabra offersjabra directfor macOS and Windows. If you've used desktop apps from other headset manufacturers in the past, such as Plantronics Hub, you'll feel right at home with Jabra Direct.

When I first launched Jabra Direct, I was notified that firmware updates were available for my headset and USB dongle. To perform the updates, Jabra Direct had to download an additional application called Jabra Firmware Updater. (See the Troubleshooting section for more information on firmware updates.)

Please note that you can only change general software settings from the Settings tab in Jabra Direct. If you want to change the settings of the actual USB dongle or headset, you need to click the "Device Settings" button (the one with the little gear icon next to it).

To my surprise, I couldn't find an iOS app compatible with the Evolve 75e headphones. Not that I need one, but I thought one of Jabra's many mobile apps would be compatible with this headset.

other properties

If you browse your device settings in Jabra Direct, you'll notice a number of additional headset features that you may not be aware of, including:

• sound protection: Implements a decibel limit control to prevent hearing damage due to sound spikes.
• mute reminder sound: Beeps when silent during a call.
• lateral application: Have you ever tried to put your fingers in your ears while talking? It looks and feels weird, doesn't it? The same thing often happens when using headphones. SoundTone creates a more natural listening experience so you can hear your voice as you speak through your headset.
• BusyLight: A visual indicator (LED) that lights red when you are connected or receiving a call. This is a helpful tip for colleagues or my wife (who often uses gestures to tell if I forgot to take off my headphones or if I'm on the phone). With BusyLight, you can immediately see that I'm listening to someone.
• Vibration: The headset vibrates to notify you of certain events, such as power on/off, new Bluetooth connections, or incoming calls.

How does Jabra compare?

Since I have both the Plantronics Voyager 6200 UC and the Bose QC30, I wanted to share some thoughts on how they both stack up against Jabra headsets.

Jabra Evolve 75e vs Bose QC30

The Bose QC30 isn't a professional office headset, so comparing it to the Jabra 75e is like comparing apples to oranges. But both headphones have a few things in common, including:

• Neck strap design.
• active noise cancellation
• built-in microphone

I like the Bose QuietControl 30 because it has great sound quality and offers excellent noise-canceling technology, especially given its small form factor. However, the quality of the built-in microphone and its ability to cancel ambient noise isn't up to par with the Jabra Evolve 75e.

Jabra Evolve 75e frente a Plantronics Voyager 6200 UC

It makes more sense to compare Jabra and Plantronics since both brands and products compete in the same market.

As far as I know, the headphones offer comparable performance in many areas, but there are some differences. For example, the Plantronics playback controls are much more intuitive, and I like the proactive muting.

The Jabra headset, on the other hand, offers better microphone performance and battery life.

Problem solving

I have had a few issues with the Jabra 75e wireless headset, and most of them were either user caused or resolved. To save you time, here are some troubleshooting tips in case you have the same problems as me.

Firmware update

I didn't bother to update the firmware when I received the headphones. This was a mistake as the preloaded firmware was over a year old and had bugs that caused reliability issues. Looking at the reviews on Amazon, I couldn't help but think I had the same problems, until I updated the firmware. Therefore, I recommend updating the firmware of your USB dongle and headset as soon as you receive the device.

Updating the USB dongle was easy, but the Jabra firmware updater couldn't find my headset, which I had previously paired with my Mac.

What the firmware update app doesn't tell you is that you need to connect the headset to your computer via USB before starting the update. I wasted almost an hour troubleshooting assuming Jabra could update the firmware wirelessly. By the way, the exposed USB (charging) port is located at the bottom right of the collar. I don't know why Jabra didn't cover it to keep out dust and dirt.

Punch position of the USB-BT-Dongles

When using the Jabra 75e headset with a PC or Mac, it is the USB dongle that maintains a Bluetooth connection between the two devices. The problem with iMacs is that Apple has placed the USB ports on the back of the screen. This is not ideal as it can increase the risk of interference. If you are experiencing reliability issues, see if the connection improves by moving within line of sight of the USB BT dongle.

The reason I suspect the dongle placement is a problem is that the connection quality between the headphones and my iPhone is noticeably better than it is on my iMac.

Jabra Evolve 75e Manual

When I first opened the box for these headphones, all I found was a quick start guide that doesn't explain how all the buttons work. This caused some frustration, as I couldn't even figure out how to reliably start and stop playback.

So I recommend reading the product manual, which you can find on the Jabra support page. here is onedirect connectionFor your comfort. Jabra also offerstechnical specificationsIs adata sheetyou might be interested

Conclution

The Jabra Evolve 75e UC is an excellent office headset offering unmatched microphone and call quality for a neck-worn device.

I mentioned in a previous review that the proximity of the microphone to the mouth plays a crucial role in call quality. That's still true and it's also the case with the Jabra Headset 75e, but the company has also managed to cleverly use microphones on both earbuds to create what's known as the talk zone, further improving call quality.

Additionally, the headphones feature a comfortable ear cup design, magnetic ear cushions that connect to prevent tangling, and solid, if not best-in-class active noise cancellation. Combine that with all-day battery life on a single charge and you have a winner in my book.

Overall, I'm very happy with the Jabra Evolve 75e and would recommend it to anyone looking for a new wireless headset for the office.