The Jabra Elite 65t Truly Wireless are truly wireless headphones with a decent overall performance. They're easy to carry around, have an impressive passive noise isolation performance, and a stable fit. They also support multi-device pairing, so you can be connected to your computer and smartphone at the same time and have a companion app with a graphic EQ and presets to tweak their sound to your liking. Unfortunately, their unorthodox design is a little bulky and may not be so comfortable for all users. Their charging case lid is a little loose and lacks magnets to keep the earbuds in place.
Our Verdict
The Jabra Elite 65t are alright for neutral sound. They have a somewhat neutral sound profile that lacks a thumpy low-bass and a bright treble range. Their passive soundstage is also perceived as closed-off and small, so it doesn't sound very immersive. Luckily, their companion app offers a graphic EQ and presets so that you can tweak their sound to your liking.
- Graphic EQ and presets available.
The Jabra Elite 65t are good for commute and travel. They have a portable design, barely leak audio, and have an impressive noise isolation performance for headphones without an ANC. While they're able to reduce background chatter, they struggle to cut down bass-range noise like bus and plane engine rumbles. They also may not be the most comfortable to use for long trips.
- Lightweight and breathable design.
- Good build quality.
- Struggles to cut down bass-range noise.
The Jabra Elite 65t are great for sports and fitness. They're breathable, lightweight, and portable. They also have a stable fit and a fairly easy-to-use control scheme once you get used to it. However, they may move around a bit or slip out from time to time depending on the size and shape of your ears.
- Lightweight and breathable design.
- Good build quality.
The Jabra Elite 65t are satisfactory for office use. They're able to passively isolate office chatter around you, and they don't leak too much audio, so you shouldn't disturb your colleagues if you like to listen to audio at high volumes. Unfortunately, their 5.1-hour battery life may not be enough to get through your workday without pausing for a recharge. Their fit could also become fatiguing after a couple of hours of continuous use, depending on the shape and size of your ears.
- Impressive passive noise isolation.
The Jabra Elite 65t are compatible with Bluetooth-enabled PCs, but their latency is too high for wireless gaming. They aren't compatible with the PS4 or the Xbox One.
The Jabra Elite 65t are truly wireless earbuds that only support Bluetooth, so they can't be used for wired gaming.
The Jabra Elite 65t are decent for phone calls. While you should still be understandable by whoever is on the other end of the line, you might find your voice sounds thin and muffled. That said, the mic does a good job of separating your voice from moderate ambient noise around you, which is handy if you're taking a call from a busy street.
- Impressive passive noise isolation.
Changelog
- Updated Aug 11, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
- Updated Mar 18, 2021: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
- Updated Feb 05, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Jabra Elite 65t come in one color variant: 'Titanium Black'. They come in another variant called the Jabra Active Elite 65t Truly Wireless, which we've also tested.
If you come across another variant, please let us know in the discussions and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Headphones
The Jabra Elite 65t have a slightly angular design that separates them from the Jabra Elite 75t Truly Wireless and Jabra Elite 85t Truly Wireless. However, they don't feel as well-built and their slightly larger earbuds may not be as comfortable for all listeners. That said, they have a customizable sound profile and they're able to isolate a lot of ambient noise passively. They also support multi-device pairing with up to two devices at a time.
See our recommendations for the best true wireless earbuds, the best noise cancelling headphones under $200, and the best headphones for running.
The Jabra Elite 3 Truly Wireless are better in-ears than the Jabra Elite 65t Truly Wireless. The Elite 3 are more comfortable, have better controls, and their sound profile is more neutral, which some users may prefer. Their battery performance is better, too. However, the Elite 65t support multi-device pairing and have a better noise isolation performance.
There's practically no difference between the Jabra Elite 65t Truly Wireless and the Jabra Evolve 65t Truly Wireless other than the microphone performance. The Evolve 65t come with a proprietary USB dongle that gives a better recording quality which is audible when you listen to the two recording samples. However, without the dongle, you can expect similar performance between the two models. Overall, the Elite 65t might be a better option for most, unless you often make calls on a travel laptop or at the office.
The Jabra Elite 65t Truly Wireless are a slightly better truly wireless headphone than the Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless, but not by much. The Jabra have a more reliable wireless connection that supports Bluetooth 5.0. They also have better isolation performance that's more suitable for noisy environments, thanks to their in-ear fit. You can also customize the sound profile of the Jabra, and they're a bit more compact to carry around thanks to their smaller case. The Bose, on the other hand, have a much more comfortable earbud fit. They also have a more neutral sound profile and feel more durable and better-built than the Jabra. Their case is also sturdier, despite being a bit bulky to carry around.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are better overall performing earbuds than the Jabra Elite 65t Truly Wireless. The Samsung are more comfortable, have a better-balanced sound profile out of the box, and offer a longer continuous battery life than the Jabra. However, the Jabra have one more charge in their carrying case than the Samsung, an auto-off feature, and they can be paired with up to two devices at the same time.
Test Results
The Jabra Elite 65t have a unique design. The earbuds are slightly larger than most truly wireless in-ears and are angled. The bulkier part of the earbuds sits within the notch of your ear, but they're not as noticeable thanks to the contrasting gray exterior, which is reminiscent of old-school Bluetooth headsets. This makes the Elite look a lot smaller when wearing them. However, their overall build quality and craftsmanship feel a bit cheaper and less premium than other wireless in-ears like the Jabra Elite 75t Truly Wireless and the Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless.
The Jabra Elite 65t are reasonably comfortable. The angled earbuds are shaped to fit within the contours of your ear without needing stability fins. However, for some, the large size of the earbuds can push against your ear, so it can feel fatiguing to use them beyond a couple of hours. While you can swap out the tips for one of the three sets provided, you can't change or adjust the shape of the earbuds themselves, so they're not the best choice if you have smaller ears. If you're looking for smaller buds, check out the Sabbat E12 True Wireless, the OnePlus Buds Truly Wireless, or the improved Jabra Elite 75t Truly Wireless.
The Jabra Elite 65t have an alright control scheme with physical buttons, but the control layout can be a bit confusing at first. They have two main buttons on each earbud, which allow you to play/pause your music, skip tracks forward and backward, control volume, and activate voice assistance for either Siri or Google Assistant. Using the controls can sometimes break the air-tight seal of the in-ear fit, however, and force you to push the bulky earbuds against your ear, which isn't ideal.
The Jabra Elite 65t, like most other truly wireless in-ears, are very breathable headphones, which make them suitable for more intense sports. The larger earbuds trap a bit more heat within the notch of your ear than typical in-ears, but it's a negligible temperature difference that shouldn't make you sweat more than usual.
The Jabra Elite 65t are very portable and can easily fit into most pockets. They're about the same size as the Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless so they're a bit bulkier than most truly wireless designs, but on the upside, their case is a lot more compact.
The Jabra Elite 65t have an alright case. It should protect the headphones from minor impacts and drops. However, the case doesn't have magnetic strips to hold the headphones in place and it has a loose lid. If the case falls even from a short distance, the lid can open, causing the earbuds to tumble out. You can even force it open just by squeezing the sides of the case. The relatively low profile of the case would have been on par with that of the Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless or Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless if the build quality was a bit more thought out.
The Jabra Elite 65's build quality is good. The earbuds are thick, dense, and durable. While they don't look quite as premium as some of other truly wireless in-ears like the Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless, they feel sturdy and durable enough that they shouldn't get too damaged from a couple of accidental drops.
The Jabra Elite 65t have good stability. They've got a unique shape that doesn't require additional stability fins. Once in your ears, they don't move around much. However, the larger size of the earbuds may not be as stable for all listeners.
- Jabra Elite 65t headphones
- 3x Earbud tips
- Charging case
- Micro-USB to USB-A charging cable
- Manuals
These headphones have a fairly well-balanced sound profile. They have a bit of boom, which fans of bass-heavy genres may like. However, their treble range lacks some detail, which can make vocal-centric content like podcasts sound a bit veiled. Luckily, their companion app offers a graphic EQ and presets to help tweak their sound to your liking.
The Jabra Elite 65t's frequency response consistency is excellent. Assuming you can achieve a proper fit and an air-tight seal using the assortment of tips that come with the headphones, you should be able to get consistent bass and treble delivery every time you use them. However, since the buds are quite big, some people may have difficulty getting a perfect seal with them, causing a drop in bass.
The Jabra Elite 65t's bass accuracy is very good. They're underemphasized in the low-bass range, so they lack thump and rumble. However, the rest of the range is slightly overemphasized, resulting in a punchy, boomy sound. However, some users may find their high-bass a bit overwhelming.
The Jabra Elite 65t have amazing mid accuracy. The mid-range is mostly flat, which results in clear and present vocals and lead instruments. While there's some overemphasis coming from the low-mids, your mix shouldn't sound too cluttered. The dip in the mid-mids slightly nudges vocals and lead instruments to the back of the mix.
The treble accuracy is good. The dip in the low to mid-treble can result in veiled vocals and instruments as well as dull sibilants like cymbals. However, the peak towards the end of the mid-treble can also make sibilants sharp and piercing, especially on overly bright tracks.
The Jabra Elite 65t's peaks and dips performance is good. The extended peak from low-bass to low-mid adds a touch of extra boom, thump, and punch to your mix. The dip in the mid-mids nudges vocals and lead instruments to the back of the mix while the uneven mid-treble makes sibilants like cymbals slightly dull and or very piercing.
The Jabra Elite 65t's imaging performance is decent. The weighted group delay falls below the audibility threshold, resulting in a tight bass and transparent treble. The L/R drivers of our unit are also well-matched in phase response, ensuring a stable stereo image. However, the amplitude and frequency response are mismatched, so some objects like voices or footsteps may not be accurately placed within the stereo image. Note that these results are only valid for our unit and yours may perform differently.
Like most other in-ears, the Jabra Elite 65t's soundstage is bad. This is because creating an out-of-head and speaker-like soundstage is largely dependent on activating the resonances of the pinna or outer ear. The design of in-ears and earbuds fully bypasses the outer ear and doesn't interact with it. Because they're also closed-back, their soundstage tends to be less open than that of open-back headphones.
The weighted harmonic distortion performance is good. The level of distortion rises a bit in the higher frequencies but still falls within good limits, which should result in a clear and pure audio reproduction.
These are the settings used to test the Jabra Elite 65t. Our results are only valid when listening using these settings.
The Jabra Elite 65t's noise isolation performance is great. While they struggle to block out the low rumbles coming from bus and plane engines, they perform much better in the mid and treble ranges. In these ranges, they're able to cut down a significant amount of noise like ambient chatter and the hum of an AC unit.
The Jabra Elite 65t's leakage is outstanding. The overall leakage is below the noise floor of an average office, making them a good choice if you like to crank your music up.
The recording quality of the Jabra Elita 65t's microphone is okay. While your voice sounds muffled and thin, it should still be relatively easy to comprehend. If you're looking for a better mic, check out the Jabra Evolve 65t Truly Wireless which has a similar design and sound performance.
Update 12/01/2021: These headphones have been updated to test bench 1.5. In this update, we made changes to the way we test noise handling. We now use a subjective evaluation of our audio clips. This new method has resulted in different results than what we had reported in our previous test bench. As a result, the scoring of this box has changed, and we have updated our results.
The microphone is good at noise handling. Even in moderately noisy environments like a busy street, your voice should be heard clearly. However, you can still hear background noise while you speak.
The Jabra Elite 65t have a mediocre battery performance. They last barely over five hours, which may not be enough to make it through your workday without giving them a charge sometime in between. Luckily, the case comes with two additional charges, giving you about 15 hours of playtime in total. When inactive, they also automatically turn off after one hour. However, note that battery performance can vary according to usage, so your real-life experience may vary.
The Jabra Sound+ is a good app. You get a graphic EQ plus presets, noise cancelling options for the mic to reduce wind and ambient noise, and battery data and location-based triggers that change your settings based on whether you're at work or home. While it lacks an adjustable auto-off timer, overall, it's a good app that improves your experience with these earbuds.
The Jabra Elite 65t have good Bluetooth connectivity. While they don't support NFC pairing, they do have simultaneous multi-device pairing with two devices, so you can easily switch between your PC and phone. They also remember your last eight synced devices for auto-pairing once you open the charging case. Unfortunately, like most other Bluetooth headphones, they have high latency on PC and iOS, making them less than ideal for watching a lot of video content or gaming. While it's a bit lower on Android, some devices and apps may compensate for audio latency differently, so your real-world experience may vary.
These are truly wireless earbuds that don't have an audio cable or a wired connection. However, they come with a micro-USB to USB-A cable for charging their carrying case.
