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This is Stuff We Swear By, a new series in which our editors expound on an item they use (and love) on a daily (or near-daily) basis.
Item:Jabra Elite Active 75t Earbuds
Description: The Elite Active 75t is the Cadillac of the criminally underrated Danish audio brand’s earbud line, built specifically for those with an active lifestyle.
How I use it: It would probably be easier to list the activities during which I don’t use them, but in short, any time I’m doing something physical. Running, bicycling, skateboarding, jumping rope, hiking, paddleboarding — if I’m sweating, there is an approximately 99.5% chance the Jabras can be found in my ears.
Why I swear by it: Based on the list of activities above, the #1 reason I call these “the best earbuds I have ever owned by a country mile” is because they stay put. Period. No matter how aggressive my movement, they stay snugly ensconced in my ears delivering the tunes. Anyone who frequently works out with earbuds in will tell you that this is a big deal. While I’m not entirely certain that the two are actually connected, it also doesn’t hurt that they’re comparatively low-profile when judged against other popular high-end earbuds.
Owing a great deal I’m sure to the noise-isolating fit, the sound is rich and robust, and they get pretty damn loud as well — something I’ve found lacking in previous earbuds. They could still maybe go a tad louder, but I am also a person known to listen to music at an irresponsible level, so it’s probably for the best that they don’t. So far the only connection issue I’ve noticed is when I left my phone on the front porch and tried to run off without it.
Thanks to intuitive tap controls, they’re also easy to control without stopping what I’m doing. I know pausing and skipping tracks isn’t a particularly rare phenomenon in the world of earbuds, but the Jabras also allow me to control the volume, and in the past I’ve also been generally frustrated with earbuds that don’t work exactly like they say they will with total consistency. With the Jabras I never worry about that.
Durability has been another huge plus — Jabra advertises the Elite Active 75t as waterproof and I feel like I’ve put that to the test. Whether sweating profusely, running through heavy rain or catching an errant (or possibly intentional) splash of lake water courtesy of my brother’s SUP paddle, these things are getting put to WORK day in and day out and still sound/function every bit as great as the day I took them out of the box.
In terms of battery life, for something I use literally every single day, the infrequency with which I have to charge the case (which in turn charges the buds) is pretty astounding. Furthermore, I haven’t noticed the battery life getting shorter over the time that I’ve owned them. Being able to stick the case on my phone’s wireless charging pad is also mad convenient.
Added to all this, the Jabras have a couple cool extra features that elevate the overall experience. Chief among them is HearThrough, a feature that uses tiny microphones to pick up ambient sound and transmit it back through the buds — fully adjustable and great for when you need a little extra situational awareness. There’s also a handy Jabra Sound+ App that allows me to adjust everything from how much of my own voice I hear on a call to the amount of bass I’d like on a particular playlist. I don’t use it all that frequently, but when I do I always get a smile out of the results.
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