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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    5. Xbox One Compatibility
    6. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset vs Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Dec 16, 2022 10:16 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Sep 06, 2023 08:19 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Picture

Variants

  • Steel (Black)
  • EM12 (Black)

Our Verdict

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset

Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone

The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a better mono headset than the Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset. The Mpow is more comfortable, has easier-to-use controls, looks and feels better-built, and has a better-balanced sound profile. On the other hand, the Steel's battery life is much longer, and the headset is certified IP54 for dust and water resistance. The boom mic on the Jabra Steel also does a better job of separating your voice from background noise, making it better-suited for noisy environments.

0

Check Price

 
Black
EM12
B&H

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

5.4
6.4

Noise Isolation 
 

0.5
4.1

Comfort 
 

6.0
7.0

Bass Accuracy 
 

1.8
4.5

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Design Picture 2
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Design Picture 2

Type  

Mono Earbud
Mono In-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

6.0
7.0

Comfort Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Comfort Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.02 lbs
0.01 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0 lbs
0 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

5.6
5.3

Controls Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Controls Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Decent
Good

Feedback  

Good
Good

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

No
No

Microphone Control  

Mute/Unmute
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

Voice Assistant
No

Show text

Breathability 
 

Breathability After Picture  

Avg.Temp.Difference  

Portability 
 

9.8
9.9

Portability Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Portability Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Portability Picture

 

2.5"
1"

 

0.3"
0.6"

 

0.5"
0.5"

Volume  

0.4 in³
0.3 in³

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

0.0
7.5

Case Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Case Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Case Picture

Type  

No case
Hard case

 

N/A
2.7"

 

N/A
2.7"

 

N/A
0.7"

Volume  

N/A
5.1 in³

Show text

Build Quality 
 

6.5
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Build Quality Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

7.5
7.5

Stability Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Stability Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Angled Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Side Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Front Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Rear Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Top Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset In The Box Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

-13.02 dB
5.58 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-3.2 dB
-4.23 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

7.9
9.6

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Consistency R
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Consistency R

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.42 dB
0.09 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Raw FR R
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Raw FR R

Bass Accuracy 
 

1.8
4.5

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

11.1 dB
7.73 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

89.8 Hz
10 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-20.17 dB
8.49 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

-3.73 dB
8.79 dB

High-Bass 
 

8.95 dB
8.57 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

5.2
7.6

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

6.37 dB
3.18 dB

Low-Mid 
 

10.23 dB
5.07 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

1.63 dB
-0.45 dB

High-Mid 
 

1.5 dB
-0.21 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

4.6
6.7

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

7.2 dB
4.38 dB

Low-Treble 
 

7.43 dB
-0.39 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

4.78 dB
4.85 dB

High-Treble 
 

-12.54 dB
-15.23 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

4.5
5.9

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

4.32 dB
3.28 dB

Dips 
 

2.3 dB
1.15 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

0.0
0.0

Group Delay  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Group Delay
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Group Delay

Phase Response  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Phase Response
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Phase Response

Weighted Group Delay 
 

N/A
N/A

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

N/A
N/A

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

N/A
N/A

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

2.4
1.4

PRTF  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset PRTF
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Distance 
 

N/A
N/A

Openness 
 

9.8
5.8

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

1.6
0.8

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Virtual Soundstage
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No
No App

Show text

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

5.7
7.1

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

1.220
0.468

WHD @ 100 
 

0.779
0.270

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

1.20.0
Unknown

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Bluetooth 4.1
Bluetooth 4.2

Codec 
 

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Silicone (small)

Microphone 
 

Boom
Integrated

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

0.5
4.1

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-0.37 dB
-9.72 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

0.07 dB
-2.31 dB

Mid 
 

0.47 dB
-5.65 dB

Treble 
 

-1.57 dB
-21.31 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

8.6
9.3

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

29.88 dB
25.3 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
Yes

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

Yes
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Show text

Recording Quality 
 

7.1
7.3

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

334.17 Hz
293.44 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

3.52 dB
2.9 dB

HFE 
 

7,346.09 Hz
7,452.94 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.938
0.809

Gain 
 

8.58 dB
3.47 dB

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

6.5
5.7

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Speech + Pink Noise  

Speech + Subway Noise  

SpNR 
 

17.03 dB
8.34 dB

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

5.8
5.0

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

6.3 hrs
3.3 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

6.3 hrs
3.3 hrs

Charge Time 
 

1.6 hrs
1.7 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Standby mode
Standby mode

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

No
No

Charging Port  

micro-USB
Proprietary

Show text

App Support 
 

4.5
0.0

App Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset App Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone App Picture

App Name  

Jabra Assist
No App

iOS  

Yes
No

Android  

Yes
No

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
No

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
No

Show text

Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

8.6
7.7

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.1
4.2

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
2 Devices

NFC Pairing 
 

Yes
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

170 ft
77 ft

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

196 ms
284 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

230 ms
194 ms

Android Latency 
 

199 ms
218 ms

Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Wired 
 

0.0
0.0

Cable Picture  

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset Cable Picture
Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

No
No

Length  

N/A
N/A

Connection  

No Wired Option
No Wired Option

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC/PS4 Analog 
 

No
No

PC/PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

Xbox One Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

No
No

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
2.2

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
Wired USB dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
Yes

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
USB

Show text

Check Price

 
Black
EM12
B&H

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset

Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone

Comments

  1. Comparison

Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset vs Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone: Main Discussion

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