Jabra Elite 45hIt isn’t every day that you find the one thing in your life you didn’t know you needed, but today is that day.

The Jabra Elite 45h is honestly an absolute bargain; these headphones have the sound and design quality of high end brands but without the price tag. I love the design, love the app, love the EQ but most of all, I love the ability to wirelessly achieve great audio quality without compromising on style, comfort or battery life.

Jabra really did their homework, delivering in the Elite 45h a stylish headset with staying power and superior audio quality. From a guaranteed 50 hour listening capacity in a single charge, you’d be hard pressed to identify any other competitor with a similar offering.

 

DESIGN
Sleek, minimalist and light, the Elite 45h with their memory foam cushions are so good you’ll forget you’re wearing them. I’m trialling the Titanium Black headphones and my only gripe is that when walking fast they initially slipped. This was easily fixed by adjusting the headband. The earphones don’t just move up and down with the band, they also swivel for a better fit. They come with a simple USB-C to USB-A cord which can easily work in with your current variety of adapters. Foldable, comfortable and lightweight, they come with a black drawstring bag that easily fits into your backpack, handbag or simply leave them around your neck. They’re no bother and light enough to be comfortable without getting in the way.

Jabra Elite 45h headphone packaging

 

SOUND+ APP
Easy to download, available via IOS and Android, the Jabra Sound+ App started with the MySound personalised profile in order to test my hearing. As I can no longer hear mosquitos (yes, I’m that old), I was interested to see how it would adjust the audio quality to suit my hearing levels.

The test involved tapping whenever I heard a sound – apparently my right ear has issues. A few more questions ie. gender, age, etc and we were away. The Sound+ app did its thing and created the perfect audio environment for my aging auditory receptors. I asked Miss 16 to try the Elite 45h; interestingly she said the sound was weird and the right ear was louder than the left. Full marks for the hearing test!

Jabra have form in hearing aid development. Their parent company, GN Group, is heavily involved in intelligent audio solutions including hearing aid development. To have this technology available is very helpful in customising their products for consumers; Jabra really do care that you get the most out of their products and it shows.

The Sound+ app enables the user to manually change the EQ, preset your own or simply listen via the available music settings. With the flick of a finger, you can adjust the bass, tweak the treble or completely flatline and start again. Visually appealing with a clean and logical layout, it enables the user to adjust any setting and edit your widgets.

Registering your Elite 45h’s is easily done through the settings cog (top right hand side), which also provides a ‘Find my Jabra’, Quick Start Guide and User Manual. Headset firmware, settings, personalisation and online FAQ is also readily available in the same area.

 

BATTERY 
Jabra aren’t lying. I’ve been wearing these headphones every evening for two weeks now and the headset is still telling me the battery level is high. Am I hearing things? No. I checked the Elite 45h battery by plugging them in and yup, still at 91%. With a slated 50 hours battery life from a single charge, Jabra have also come up with the fastest charge in this category. Plug them in for 15 minutes and get up to 10 hours listening time. That’s excellent for those on the go or for working whilst travelling or even catching one of those things with wings that used to carry us to far away lands… #lifeinthetimeofCovid

 

SOUND
The clarity of both calls and music is superb. You can block out the world around you through Soundscapes on the app which enable you to mask noise by choosing white noise, pink noise, rainforest sounds and so on. It is very effective and practically obliterates the sounds of teenagers, dogs, television, power tools, yelling and low flying helicopters. I was so calm listening to the ocean waves I fell asleep wearing them twice, much to the annoyance of the yelling teens. Ah, Generation Z, your time will come.

The audio quality is excellent. The tonal aspect is up to you through your own saved preset or use the available music presets – either way, you won’t be disappointed. I’m used to wearing heavier cabled Bose headphones at work and I’ll be honest; the Elite 45h may be lighter but the sound quality is identical.

 

CALL QUALITY
Jabra utilises 2-microphone call technology that means walking, working and talking is second nature. I could comfortably type this article whilst taking a call without fear of sound drop outs or lag. The sound quality was a little tinny at first but I soon figured that was due to my personalised preset for classical music. A small tweak and the depth of sound returned. You can adjust volume and answer/hang up using the buttons on the top of the right headphone.

Added points for incorporating multi-platform voice assistants. The Elite 45h works easily with Amazon Alexa, Siri® and Google Assistant™ and communication was no issue.

 

PAIRING
Pairing is easy – push the on button of the headphone forward until they say ‘pairing’. Yes, that simple. Look for Jabra Elite 45h on your device and you’re in business. Except Sony Bravia televisions – nothing pairs with them. *mutters* But I digress.

 

ISSUES
None so far. There’s a little lag between the headset and the app recognising the headphones are on but that’s nothing to worry about. The headphones tell me how many devices I’m paired to on start up and that’s helpful as I can easily multitask between my mobile and laptop.

 

CONCLUSION
The Jabra Elite 45h wireless headset retails at $179 and is available through Jabra, JB HiFi and other reputable retailers. Jabra have some discounts available if you sign up to their website so consider this before purchasing. In a nutshell, these headphones are so comfortable, and the battery life is so good, you’ll rarely have to put them on because quite frankly, you will never want to take them off. They’re that good.

Lis Petersen

Photo Credit: Thanks to Miss 16 for modelling the Jabra Elite 45h. No, you cannot keep them.

 

DRN Editor's ChoiceLis is so impressed with the Jabra Elite 45h that she’s giving them the Editor’s Choice Award. Well done Jabra!