Author’s Blurb: I’ve always hated wireless earbuds. I’m just someone who has somehow managed to avoid moving with the times, sticking to my trusty wired Apple earbuds that I’ve been using since 2016. Like they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s been my philosophy for the tools I use to listen to music.
As someone who’s generally unenthusiastic about a lot of things, for me to confidently say that something’s changed my life is to give it the highest form of praise.
I’m not trying to sell anything to you, nor was I paid to write this review. I went into this experience filled with doubt that I would fall for these wireless earbuds.
Before we continue, let me make my case for my initial stance. Having used nothing but wired earbuds my entire life (since getting my first phone at about age 10), it’s no surprise that I trust them the most.
Their wires have also saved my phone(s) countless times when I dropped them with the earbuds plugged in.
I’ve never been particularly picky with sound quality either—as long as it sounds clear and has decent bass, I’m satisfied.
But colour me surprised with how fast my mind changed when I first tried on the Jabra Elite 75t.
First Impressions
I received a Gold Beige pair in its compact case, which came in a box containing 3 different EarGels (earbud tips), a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, and a warning and declarations booklet.
No user manual is included. You can download a digital version online instead.
To be honest, it wasn’t love at first sight. I immediately harboured prejudices.
“They weren’t going to fit my ears comfortably, the sound quality wouldn’t be anything impressive, having to keep the earbuds in their case so I won’t lose them would be so annoying, having to charge the earbuds and their case is extra work,” my excuses went on and on.
How wrong I was about all that.
I’ve never liked silicone earbud tips, wired or wireless, because they always felt odd and uncomfortable, like the air was getting sucked out of my ears.
However, the pre-mounted Jabra EarGels fit my ear canals perfectly, and I haven’t changed their size since.
While the sensation still took some getting used to, I no longer noticed the initial unfamiliar discomfort after a few days.
Having to keep the earbuds in their case also eventually became a habit.
Charging was no issue at all. I’ve been using the earbuds for a good month now (on an average of about 3 hours/day, 3-4 days/week), and I can count the number of times I’ve had to charge the case on 2 fingers.
Of course, I had to charge the earbuds more often by placing them in the case, but Jabra claims that it can charge up to 1 hour of use in just 15 minutes. So far, I can’t prove them wrong.
Fully charged within 2 hours, the earbuds can last up to 7.5 hours of accumulated use, and the charging case stores around 20.5 hours of battery (taking only 2 hours 20 minutes to charge), giving a total of up to 28 hours of battery.
Let’s Talk Sound
Pairing was easy, and after the initial pairing to my phone, the earbuds would automatically connect once I took them out of the case (as long as my phone’s Bluetooth was still on).
The first thing I said to my colleague when I tried the Jabra elite 75t was, “I’ve never heard every individual instrument in my music before.”
My favourite genre is heavy metal (any Dir En Grey fans out there?), and on my basic pair of wired Apple earbuds (not AirPods), the instruments sometimes sound blended into one another.
That context should give you an indication of how clear the sound quality of the 75t is in comparison. Again, I wasn’t immediately welcoming this change in my hearing, but now my standards are higher thanks to it.
But I’m still no audiophile by far—I simply know what I love, and what I love is bass.
The default setting for the earbuds wasn’t hitting my itch for bass enough, so I downloaded the app to adjust it, and let me tell you: my music has never sounded better.
Call quality was decent; I could hear the other person well, and vice versa.
Do note that the 75t doesn’t have noise cancellation, but they drown out sound well enough to require a HearThrough feature (one press of the left earbud’s button toggles it on and off).
More To Explore
That’s not the only thing you can do in the app though. You can create Moments, which are personalised settings for your music depending on your surroundings.
Not a necessity for me, but could be useful for those who use the earbuds in vastly different locations like the office and public transport.
What I found useful was being able to see the individual battery percentages of my earbuds and its case. Prior to downloading the app, I only relied on the coloured lights for that information.
You can also use the app to find your earbuds if you lose them, or for updating your earbuds.
Verdict
In general, I really liked not being restricted by wires, the comfort and fit of the Jabra Elite 75t, their sound quality for music and calls, and the physical button controls on each earbud instead of tricky touch controls.
While there are more controls, the ones I most commonly used were:
- 1 click on the right earbud to play/pause and answer/end a call
- 1 click on the left earbud to turn HearThrough on/off
- 2 clicks on the left earbud to skip to the next song
If you press and hold the right button for a few seconds, it’ll increase the volume and if you do the same on the left, it’ll decrease the volume.
However, I found those controls quite tough to manoeuvre—I was always in fear that I would raise the volume too high, so I wouldn’t hold down the button long enough which ends up pausing my music instead.
So, I would adjust volume through my phone/laptop manually.
Other than that, I really don’t have any major complaints about the 75t. Would I purchase them for RM949?
I’d still struggle with the price, but after having tried them myself, I believe they’d be worth the investment down the line.
Here’s an overview of its pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| Sound quality is clear and crisp, without sounding ‘tinny’ (thin) | No noise cancellation |
| Excellent battery life for both earbuds and case | Volume controls with the buttons are tricky to master |
| App for music personalisation and value added information | |
| Easy Bluetooth pairing |
Bottom Line: Since picking up the Jabra Elite 75t, I have not gone back to my regular Apple wired earbuds. I just can’t turn my back on the 75t, not after how well my experience with them has been. I’m a changed woman.
- You can read more of our VP Verdict series here.
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