60-second read: Jabra Elite 7 Active earbuds review

Being able to listen to music through a pair of excellent headphones like the Jabra Elite 7 Active while you’re exercising is a game-changer – it can help get you fired up for the next heavy set or alleviate the boredom of long base miles with an audiobook.

There are two problems here – traditional over-the-ear headphones are too hot for most activities, and earbuds, while cooler in use, are less secure and can be shaken loose. Various solutions including neckbands and ear-hooks have come and gone over the years. All of them are pretty rubbish, and the deeper you venture into the budget headphone category, the less likely you are to get a comfortable fit.

Designed specifically for high-energy activities, the Jabra Elite 7 Active earbuds have a special grippy coating and waterproof internals to protect from sweat. Can this combination solve a problem as old as the headphones themselves?

Verdict: Snug and secure with a rich and punchy soundtrack. Battery life is great but I’ve had a few anxious moments where I (nor the app) can find them, and people often complain of background noise on calls when I’m in the office.

What’s good?

The Jabra Elite 7 Active earbuds add “ShakeGrip” technology to the already brilliant Jabra Elite 7 Pro, and an IP57 water and dustproof rating means you can run in the rain without issue.

That special coating combined with a pretty tight ear-canal fit (once you’ve worked out which of the rubber grommets is the right size for you) means they really don’t budge, even during high-impact activities like riding a mountain bike.

It’s soft and comfortable in your ear and the earbuds don’t have to have wings to hold them in place. I find things that are a bit annoying in everyday life are unbearable while exercising, and at no point have these earbuds bothered me.

That’s handy because Jabra says eight hours of listening time in total are possible and I’ve certainly never had them go flat. In that instance, you can get half an hour of listening time after putting them in the case for five minutes.

The active noise cancellation is really powerful and rivals some over-ear headphones I’ve tried. The Jabra app allows you to tailor the level that is best for you, and there’s also a HearThrough mode so you can retain situational awareness. Useful when running or riding near traffic.

Finally, the sound is absolutely brilliant – so rich and deep despite originating from a small 6mm source. Again, these earbuds have the sound quality to rival a pair of over-ears, and that is very impressive.

What’s okay?

Given that these active earbuds are likely to spend their life being thrown into a gym bag or stuffed into a shorts pocket, the Find my Jabra function could be better. It’ll tell you where your earbuds last connected to your phone, but not exactly where they are right now.

Any negatives?

Unlike the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, these earbuds don’t feature bone conductor technology for better voice isolation on calls. That’s not a huge loss if you only ever use them at the gym, but if you want an all-in-one solution, it might be more of an issue.

Quite often in a noisy office, I have to mute myself to stop other conversations from bleeding into our video call, while my other colleagues (often in the same environment) don’t. And that’s a bit annoying, but ultimately not the end of the world given the price.

More items to consider

How the product was tested

I wore these earbuds on my cycling turbo trainer to see how they coped with sweaty indoor training, and also on my Santa Cruz 5010 mountain bike where I tried to dislodge them with things like steep, technical downhill, big drops and a long jump line.

Adam Binnie is the Affiliate Operations Editor and reviewer for WhatsTheBest, specialising in bikes, fitness, cars, parenting and cooking.

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