Jabra Elite 7 Pro Review

Superb design, good selection of customisable features and strong IP rating combine to make the Elite 7 Pro an earbud to consider, but the competition is predictably tough.

Introduction

The latest true wireless range from Jabra arrives with each earphone training their sights to appeal to a range of prices and prospective audiences.

We’ve already looked at the affordable Elite 3 as well as the fitness-based Elite 7 Active and Elite 4 Active, all of which earned recommend badges. Now it’s the turn of the Elite 7 Pro.

Think of the Elite 7 Pro as an Elite 75T replacement and its spec makes more sense. And the new earphone has no plans to oust the Elite 85t, which continues as Jabra’s premium option. So, elite by name, elite by nature?

Design

• Super-small size
• Terrific fit and seal
• Physical buttons

The Elite 7 Pro continues Jabra’s ongoing obsession with miniaturising its true wireless earbuds. The shape of the earbuds slots snugly into the ear and guards well against external sounds. The ease of which Jabra’s earbuds fit into the ear has always been a hallmark and that remains the case with the Elite 7 Pro.

16% smaller than their previous smallest effort (Elite 75T), Jabra has added frequency-dependent pressure vents to the Elite 7 Pro’s housing for added comfort, as well as crafting a new EarGel design for the ear-tips. The idea is the thickness of the outer gel varies for each size, creating a more tapered and rounded fit that’s ‘anatomically’ optimised to fit whichever ear it goes into.

While I wouldn’t say I forgot I was wearing the Elite 7 Pro, their presence isn’t overbearing in the way other more bulbous efforts can be, and at no point have they even skirted with falling out. They offer an excellent fit, and you could conceivably use them for gym and workout use.

Interaction with the earphones is through physical buttons. Like the Elite 85t, you don’t have to apply much pressure to generate a response, and the earbuds don’t dig in either. For those who don’t like the effect of earphones burrowing into the ear, the Elite 7 Pro may serve as a welcome halfway house.

Available in choice of three subdued colours (Gold Beige, Titanium Black and Black), the charging case is titchy in size. That makes it great for stashing away in a pocket and build quality is good, so smudges are likely to be only thing to worry about for wear and tear.

Features

• Feedforward ANC
• Customisable sound and ANC settings
• Strong waterproof rating

The Elite 7 Pro come with noise cancellation, though it’s not the hybrid form found in the Elite 85t that’s a combination of feedforward and feedback methods – here you get feedforward ANC that only blocks sound from penetrating through. While that may be cause for concern given the Elite 7 Pro’s price proximity to some very capable hybrid ANC earphones, I think what Jabra have done is ultimately a sensible choice.

And that’s because the fit and seal of the Elite 7 Pro is so snug that a more advanced form of ANC isn’t necessarily needed. And I’d imagine the fact the earphone is so small counts against having enough room for the microphones needed for hybrid ANC anyway. What you get is a noise-cancelling performance that’s quietly impressive in terms of how much noise it stops.

Sounds will still poke their way through – the sound of cars going past or the hum of a freezer in a supermarket – but the Jabra comfortably does away with the brunt of the surrounding environment to the point where you’re free to get on with things without intrusion. The effect is better than some other similarly specced models around this price. I’m impressed.

The HearThrough performance is rather exaggerated in that it amplifies what’s around you a lot more than if you were to take the earbuds out. But it’s still effective in providing some awareness, though the ‘loudness’ of the noise does give rise to a sudden flood of audio, especially in busy areas.

In the Sound+ app there are many ways to customise the Elite 7 Pro’s performance, from determining how strong the active noise cancellation is, to creating your own equaliser settings or choosing from a selection of presets (Neutral, Speech, Treble boost and so on). You can also tweak the order of those widgets or get rid of ones you don’t use as much.

The app also offers the Soundscape mode, which masks noise around you by playing sounds like a waterfall or pink noise. Whether you’ll get much use from it or even remember it’s there is up for debate, but it is there. Also included is a ‘Find My Jabra’ feature if you lose the buds. It requires location access from your smartphone, but the data is not sent anywhere else.

Hit the cog icon in the top-right corner and you can update the headphones’ firmware, choose a voice assistant (Alexa and Google are supported), and personalise the ANC/audio performance in a few ways.

There’s MyFit, which plays a tone to measure the earbuds’ fit and seal. You can personalise the noise cancellation in terms of how much you want to hear; create a personal hearing profile by reacting to a series of beeps and configure the mapping for controls. There’s plenty of ways to make the Elite 7 Pro uniquely yours, all within a logically laid out app interface.

The IP rating has been boosted beyond the Elite 85t to IP57 (dust, water and sweat protection) although the case is not up to the same standard. There’s Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity and an update in February 2022 added Bluetooth multipoint support for switching between two devices on the go. Streaming codecs top out at AAC like the Elite 7 Active, while the cheaper Elite models (Elite 4 Active, Elite 3) get aptX support.

Battery is up to 8 hours, and 30 overall with the option of charging via USB-C or wireless charging with a compatible Qi plate. Plug them in for five minutes (via USB) and you get an hour back.

Sound quality

• Even, unspectacular sound
• Not as good as the Elite 85t
• Assured levels of detail and clarity

The Elite 7 Pro straddle that line of a balanced presentation and not wanting to add much colour, and so I wouldn’t call them the most characterful of listens. Their tone is neither crisp nor warm – I might describe it best as plain but not in an unkind way, more that they’re not a ‘showy’ pair of headphones.

Using the Neutral EQ bass isn’t overstated, and high frequencies aren’t sharpened. It’s a steady, even sound that has the result of working solidly across a range of music genres.

Clarity is well handled across the frequency range, the Elite 7 Pro showing daylight between high, mid and low-end frequencies. Detail levels benefits from this with instruments and voices appearing within the soundstage as you imagine they should, easily distinguishable from one another.

Vocals are handled with distinction; John Legend’s soulful voice in Where Did My Baby Go is captured with a good deal of texture, the pitch of his voice and the way he stresses notes throughout the song reproduced well. However, I wouldn’t use the Speech EQ in the Sound+ app if you’re thinking it brings more clarity – it makes vocals sound a little thinner.

I’d make the argument that bass is lacking depth compared to the similarly priced Beats Fit Pro or Bowers & Wilkins Pi5. The soundstage is not the widest either but fine enough, and just to add more nit-picks, the Jabras aren’t the most dynamic or assertive. Tap the Energize EQ setting, and it brings a bit more kick to proceedings at the top and bottom of the frequency range, but the midrange sounds a little recessed and vocals a little distant.

Compare the Elite 7 Pro to the Elite 85t and the latter offers a greater dynamism, width and verve – a performance that cements the Elite 7 Pro’s position below it in the pecking order. Call quality is very good and one of the better earbuds I’ve tested recently. The person on the other end of the line did say my voice was a bit low (they were on speakerphone), but that background noise was kept to a minimum. An impressive feat considering I was on a main road with cars, trucks and buses frequently going past.

The Elite 7 Pro won’t blow any doors down, but they are a respectable effort from a sound perspective.

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