Jabra Elite 4 - This Is Not an Ad

I shouldn't have to say this but some of our beloved Newstalk ZB audience seem to be under the mistaken impression I get paid to do these product reviews.

I assume when comments like that are left on our website and social media streams they're alleging we've set up some kind of elaborate marketing opportunity for any interested tech manufacturers to pay to have their products featured on the Newstalk ZB technology page, cunningly disguised as an objective review.

I'm here to tell you nothing could be further from the truth. Not only are the makers of these gadgets and services not paying ZB (or me personally) for the privilege, it's not even part of my job. Technically, NOBODY is paying me to do this.

Crazy right?

Even though it takes many hours to write these reviews, photograph the devices and above all else, actually use them in every-day real life, this is basically just something I enjoy doing.

Don't get me wrong; I'd love to get paid for it. I'd love to do it for a "real" job and then I wouldn't have to get up in the middle of the night to work in breakfast radio.

And I get it. When people see the vast majority of my reviews are basically positive - if not glowing - it's easy to be cynical and assume I've been monetarily incentivised to hand out another four stars.

The truth is... I'm just not that interested in reviewing bad products. And that's literally because I'm not being paid. Why would I spend my time trying to use something I suspect is going to be terrible? And why would I waste your time telling you about it?

Anyway, I just wanted you to know what you read here is my honest opinion. And I wanted you to know that because I don't think I've ever said a bad word about Jabra.

The Jabra Elite 4 earbuds are just the latest in a very long line of quality devices from Denmark's 150 year-old trusted name in audio excellence.

As far as I can tell, there's only one thing wrong with them; no wireless charging. I've put that right at the top so you know I'm not just some mindless, Jabra yes-man. I've said it plenty of times before but if there's one product that really suits being plonked down on a wireless charging pad when not in use, it's a set of earbuds in their case. Alas I'm chained to a USB-C cable with the Elite 4s. Oh well. At least I'm getting up to 5.5 hours music time on a full charge with ANC on. (28 hours including the case)

Yes, despite the fairly low price-tag of NZ$149.00 the Elite 4 earbuds offer breathtakingly effective Active Noise-Cancellation, which to my ears seems to work as well as other, more expensive Jabra models. Which is to say, the ANC works very, very well - right up there with the best of any manufacturer.

The ANC is adjustable via Jabra's Sound+ app. I don't just mean cycling through On, HearThrough and off, which you can also do with single presses on the lefthand bud. There's the option to really fine-tune things to your environment for maximum effect, proving very handy in the office or on a plane.

There are other customisations available here, although perhaps not quite as many as you might find on offer with more premium-priced earbuds. There's no real ability to customise what the buttons do but that's fine by me because they do exactly what I would want them to anyway; Play/Pause/Skip etc with single, double or triple presses on the right bud, ANC on the left and all-importantly, volume up and down with long presses on either side.

This is just the way I like it - many earbuds don't have on-board volume controls at all and as I've discussed previously, I prefer Jabra's physical, clicky buttons over other capacitive touch controls that tend to be a lot more hit and miss.

There is a "Find My" function in the app too, a feature that couldn't be more suited to something as lose-able as earbuds.

So, without trying to sound like some kind of pointy-headed music snob, I'm currently listening to Mahler's "Symphony No. 2 in C Minor" via the new Apple Classical app. I know - pretty fancy, right? Anyway, if you're not familiar with it, during the third movement there's a couple of cool bits where a typewriter is used as part of the percussion. So you've got a whole orchestra and a typewriter - and it's important to have just the right amount of typewriter in the mix; too much and it just gets silly. Not enough and well, what's the point? The Elite 4 buds are able to accommodate the scale of this sonic balancing act with impressive accuracy. The triangle comes through pretty nicely too. Just saying.

Inkeeping with the minor key theme, I have now swapped to "Songs in A Minor" by Alicia Keys. The tracks on this album are much more stripped-back than the blast of a symphony orchestra but most are underpinned by a powerful backbeat which certainly sounds beefy enough via the 6mm speakers.

The whole aural experience is warm, without being fuzzy. The details are all there without cutting through too crisply. Of course, you can tailor the EQ to your preference using the Sound+ app.

As you can see by now, the Elite 4 earbuds are very well-endowed considering their affordable price; good battery life, great sound, faultless connectivity (Bluetooth 5.2) with multiple devices and available in four colours; Grey, Light Beige, Lilac or Navy Blue. Yes there are a couple of small compromises - most notably the lack of wireless charging and an IP55 rainproof rating as opposed to the IP57 dust, water and sweat resistance of the more expensive Jabra buds - but that shouldn't deter most people.

Best of all, nothing fits like Jabras do, no matter which model. The Elite 4s are ultra-comfy, they're perfectly balanced and above all else, they stay in. Awesome value.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Jabra Elite 4.