Most ANC (active noise cancellation) tends to be included in on-ear or over-ear headphones—it's far less common among in-ear pairs.
That makes Jabra's $199.99 Elite 65e a bit of an outlier in the Bluetooth earphone department.
While Bose has long maintained dominance with the QuietControl 30, Jabra gives the company a run for its money in the value department.
For $100 less, the Elite 65e earphones offer an excellent audio experience and strong noise cancellation.
They don't outperform the QuietControl 30, but they don't have to in order to earn our Editors' Choice for affordable wireless in-ear noise cancellation.
Design
Available in black, the collar band-style Elite 65e earphones are well designed, easy to use, and fit securely in the ears.
The left end of the band houses the ANC/HearThrough button, as well as a Mic button for voice assistance (or muting).
There are three buttons on the right—a central button controls playback, power, and pairing (when held for three seconds), and two outer plus and minus buttons handle volume.
Track navigation is combined with the volume buttons, making it easy to accidentally skip a track when you mean to adjust the volume.
Tapping the central button, meanwhile, dials the last person you spoke to.
This is annoying, to say the least, and one of the only features here we're not fans of.
If you can get past this, however, things get much better.
Around chin level on the right cable, there's a larger-than-usual mic compartment.
The mic for fielding calls offers excellent intelligibility.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we could clearly understand every word recorded—a rarity with Bluetooth earphone mics.
There are three total pairs of silicone eartips included, as well as three pairs of earfins that rest against the ear to provide a more stable fit—the tips and fins come in small, medium, and large sizes.
The eartips are somewhat irregularly shaped—more like ovals than the typical circular eartips we see.
The in-ear fit is, as a result, secure without feeling quite as intrusive as some in-canal eartips.
Jabra employs a 15mm dynamic driver in each ear for the audio, and uses a three-microphone system to react to and cancel out ambient noise.
These ambient mics also can be used in HearThrough mode, allowing you to monitor your surroundings without removing the earhpones.
The earphones carry an IP54 rating, which means they're protected against dust and light splashes. In other words, these are probably not the ideal choice for exercise if it's raining or if you get really sweaty.
To be fair, they're not marketed that way, but wireless in-ears are commonly used for the gym and jogging, so you've been warned.
It's not required in order to use the Elite 65e, but there is a free companion app, Jabra Sound+, that allows you to customize the EQ settings to boost or cut bass, mids, and treble to your liking.
You can also enable noise cancellation using the app, or enable HearThrough mode.
A Concentration mode that plays pink noise, which is very cool, and you can also choose to listen to the sound of ocean waves.
If the app is lacking one feature, it would be the ability to adjust the overall level of noise cancellation, as you can with the Bose QuietControl 30.
In addition to the charging cable and earfit accessories, the earphones ship with a neoprene zip-up pouch.
Since the collar band is rigid, there's no folding or winding, however, so the pouch has a somewhat large footprint, but at least is quite flat, making it easy to carry.
Jabra rates battery life at roughly eight hours for active noise cancellation and 13 hours for music playback with no ANC.
Your results will likely vary somewhere between those two numbers, depending both on your volume levels and how often you use the ANC.
Performance
The ANC does a great job of eliminating drones or hiss-like sounds—low-end rumble on airplanes, or the whir of an AC unit will be tamped down dramatically by the Elite 65e's mics and circuity.
Furthermore, it's one of the rare examples of ANC that doesn't add an obvious amount of high frequency hiss to the equation.
To be clear, some hiss is added, but it is at a far lower volume level than we typically hear, and in that regard can actually compete with Bose's ANC.
Where Bose still emerges victorious, however, is in the ability to cut out office chatter and other noise—Jabra doesn't eliminate human voices nearly as well, nor the sound of heavy typing.
That's nitpicking slightly, tough—don't forget that Bose charges $100 more.
For 33 percent less money, the Elite 65e's ANC performance is not 33 percent less effective.
Jabra also avoids the common pitfall of many wireless ANC options in that the ANC here has no obvious effect on audio performance.
Speaking of audio performance, there's a lot to like.
The default sound signature is nicely balanced, delivering a solid bass-forward experience, and don't forget that the app lets you fine-tune the sound signature to your preferences.
In its default setting, on tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the earphones deliver a strong bass response that doesn't distort at top, unwise listening levels.
The drivers don't distort even when boosting the bass EQ to its maximum setting.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Elite 65e's default sound signature.
The drums on this track sound thunderous, perhaps a bit more so than necessary, and we can hear that the high-mids and highs are also quite sculpted and boosted.
The tape hiss in the track is brought forward from the background, and Callahan's baritone vocals sound rich, but are also laced with some sibilance.
No worries—you can dial back the frequencies in the high-mids and highs a tad and the sibilance disappears, and you can also tame the bass depth if you wish.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives the ideal amount of high-mid presence to give its attack the punchy edge it needs, but the highs are a tad too boosted—the vinyl crackle that's usually a backdrop for the track comes forward in the mix, and the vocals suffer from sibilance.
But again, a minor tweak in the EQ fixes this.
The sub-bass synth hits on this track are delivered with pure power, and you can go gonzo on them with the EQ, or dial things back to a more moderate realm.
If you can't tell, I'm a huge fan of user-adjustable EQ, especially when it's paired with capable drivers.
It makes for happy ears and a versatile listening experience.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get too much bass presence in default mode, but there's a solid brightness to balance it and keep the higher register brass, strings, and vocals in the forefront of the mix.
And of course, you can adjust this too.
Conclusions
While Bose still sits atop the ANC mountain, Jabra's Elite 65e earphones are easy to recommend for $100 less.
You get powerful audio performance that is completely adjustable to your tastes, and the ANC itself is quite good.
If $200 doesn't sound like a budget offering, just know that you can't go any lower without making a serious sacrifice in the noise cancellation department.
That makes the Elite 65e a tremendous value, and our Editors' Choice for budget-friendly in-ear noise cancellation.
If your budget allows, the aforementioned Bose QuietComfort 30 is still our top pick for wireless in-ear ANC, but we're also fans of Libratone's Q Adapt Lightning earphones, although they aren't wireless.
If you don't need noise cancellation, meanwhile, consider the JBL Reflect Fit and the Shure SE215 Wireless.
Pros
Powerful, bass-forward audio that can be fine-tuned using EQ bands in the free app.
Strong noise cancellation.
Comfortable in-ear fit.
Relatively affordable.
View More
The Bottom Line
The wireless Jabra Elite 65e earphones deliver excellent audio performance and noise cancellation for the price.
Most ANC (active noise cancellation) tends to be included in on-ear or over-ear headphones—it's far less common among in-ear pairs.
That makes Jabra's $199.99 Elite 65e a bit of an outlier in the Bluetooth earphone department.
While Bose has long maintained dominance with the QuietControl 30, Jabra gives the company a run for its money in the value department.
For $100 less, the Elite 65e earphones offer an excellent audio experience and strong noise cancellation.
They don't outperform the QuietControl 30, but they don't have to in order to earn our Editors' Choice for affordable wireless in-ear noise cancellation.
Design
Available in black, the collar band-style Elite 65e earphones are well designed, easy to use, and fit securely in the ears.
The left end of the band houses the ANC/HearThrough button, as well as a Mic button for voice assistance (or muting).
There are three buttons on the right—a central button controls playback, power, and pairing (when held for three seconds), and two outer plus and minus buttons handle volume.
Track navigation is combined with the volume buttons, making it easy to accidentally skip a track when you mean to adjust the volume.
Tapping the central button, meanwhile, dials the last person you spoke to.
This is annoying, to say the least, and one of the only features here we're not fans of.
If you can get past this, however, things get much better.
Around chin level on the right cable, there's a larger-than-usual mic compartment.
The mic for fielding calls offers excellent intelligibility.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we could clearly understand every word recorded—a rarity with Bluetooth earphone mics.
There are three total pairs of silicone eartips included, as well as three pairs of earfins that rest against the ear to provide a more stable fit—the tips and fins come in small, medium, and large sizes.
The eartips are somewhat irregularly shaped—more like ovals than the typical circular eartips we see.
The in-ear fit is, as a result, secure without feeling quite as intrusive as some in-canal eartips.
Jabra employs a 15mm dynamic driver in each ear for the audio, and uses a three-microphone system to react to and cancel out ambient noise.
These ambient mics also can be used in HearThrough mode, allowing you to monitor your surroundings without removing the earhpones.
The earphones carry an IP54 rating, which means they're protected against dust and light splashes. In other words, these are probably not the ideal choice for exercise if it's raining or if you get really sweaty.
To be fair, they're not marketed that way, but wireless in-ears are commonly used for the gym and jogging, so you've been warned.
It's not required in order to use the Elite 65e, but there is a free companion app, Jabra Sound+, that allows you to customize the EQ settings to boost or cut bass, mids, and treble to your liking.
You can also enable noise cancellation using the app, or enable HearThrough mode.
A Concentration mode that plays pink noise, which is very cool, and you can also choose to listen to the sound of ocean waves.
If the app is lacking one feature, it would be the ability to adjust the overall level of noise cancellation, as you can with the Bose QuietControl 30.
In addition to the charging cable and earfit accessories, the earphones ship with a neoprene zip-up pouch.
Since the collar band is rigid, there's no folding or winding, however, so the pouch has a somewhat large footprint, but at least is quite flat, making it easy to carry.
Jabra rates battery life at roughly eight hours for active noise cancellation and 13 hours for music playback with no ANC.
Your results will likely vary somewhere between those two numbers, depending both on your volume levels and how often you use the ANC.
Performance
The ANC does a great job of eliminating drones or hiss-like sounds—low-end rumble on airplanes, or the whir of an AC unit will be tamped down dramatically by the Elite 65e's mics and circuity.
Furthermore, it's one of the rare examples of ANC that doesn't add an obvious amount of high frequency hiss to the equation.
To be clear, some hiss is added, but it is at a far lower volume level than we typically hear, and in that regard can actually compete with Bose's ANC.
Where Bose still emerges victorious, however, is in the ability to cut out office chatter and other noise—Jabra doesn't eliminate human voices nearly as well, nor the sound of heavy typing.
That's nitpicking slightly, tough—don't forget that Bose charges $100 more.
For 33 percent less money, the Elite 65e's ANC performance is not 33 percent less effective.
Jabra also avoids the common pitfall of many wireless ANC options in that the ANC here has no obvious effect on audio performance.
Speaking of audio performance, there's a lot to like.
The default sound signature is nicely balanced, delivering a solid bass-forward experience, and don't forget that the app lets you fine-tune the sound signature to your preferences.
In its default setting, on tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the earphones deliver a strong bass response that doesn't distort at top, unwise listening levels.
The drivers don't distort even when boosting the bass EQ to its maximum setting.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Elite 65e's default sound signature.
The drums on this track sound thunderous, perhaps a bit more so than necessary, and we can hear that the high-mids and highs are also quite sculpted and boosted.
The tape hiss in the track is brought forward from the background, and Callahan's baritone vocals sound rich, but are also laced with some sibilance.
No worries—you can dial back the frequencies in the high-mids and highs a tad and the sibilance disappears, and you can also tame the bass depth if you wish.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives the ideal amount of high-mid presence to give its attack the punchy edge it needs, but the highs are a tad too boosted—the vinyl crackle that's usually a backdrop for the track comes forward in the mix, and the vocals suffer from sibilance.
But again, a minor tweak in the EQ fixes this.
The sub-bass synth hits on this track are delivered with pure power, and you can go gonzo on them with the EQ, or dial things back to a more moderate realm.
If you can't tell, I'm a huge fan of user-adjustable EQ, especially when it's paired with capable drivers.
It makes for happy ears and a versatile listening experience.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get too much bass presence in default mode, but there's a solid brightness to balance it and keep the higher register brass, strings, and vocals in the forefront of the mix.
And of course, you can adjust this too.
Conclusions
While Bose still sits atop the ANC mountain, Jabra's Elite 65e earphones are easy to recommend for $100 less.
You get powerful audio performance that is completely adjustable to your tastes, and the ANC itself is quite good.
If $200 doesn't sound like a budget offering, just know that you can't go any lower without making a serious sacrifice in the noise cancellation department.
That makes the Elite 65e a tremendous value, and our Editors' Choice for budget-friendly in-ear noise cancellation.
If your budget allows, the aforementioned Bose QuietComfort 30 is still our top pick for wireless in-ear ANC, but we're also fans of Libratone's Q Adapt Lightning earphones, although they aren't wireless.
If you don't need noise cancellation, meanwhile, consider the JBL Reflect Fit and the Shure SE215 Wireless.
Pros
Powerful, bass-forward audio that can be fine-tuned using EQ bands in the free app.
Strong noise cancellation.
Comfortable in-ear fit.
Relatively affordable.
View More
The Bottom Line
The wireless Jabra Elite 65e earphones deliver excellent audio performance and noise cancellation for the price.
