I had a nightmare scenario last week: I got one mile into my eight-mile run, only to have the batteries of my wireless headphones die. I then had to suffer an hour (who am I kidding? It was more like 80mins) of nothing but my heavy breathing, traffic, rowdy college students and squeaky right trainer to listen to. You see, I have always found that music increases my performance, blocks out any annoying brain chatter and generally just makes my runs more enjoyable. My current Bluetooth headphones only last three hours per charge, so I was more than happy to find the Elite Active 45e with nine hours per charge arrive on my desk.
These Earbuds come attached to a neckband that allows you to hang them around your neck when not in use, and being wire-connected also improves the sound quality over completely wireless earbuds. The 45e comes with one-size-fits-all earbuds - the earbuds felt rather big in my ears, but thanks to the over-ear fit they remained secure and comfortable, as the weight was distributed around the ear instead of putting all the pressure just on the inner ear. There are two microphones built into the 45es, which helps improve the quality of phone calls, whilst the Jabra sound technology removes noise from calls, letting your voice be heard clearly above any noise around you. The noise-cancellation can be switched off and on; Jabra Sound+ App you can personalise your sound to suit your surroundings, customising the way Sound+ delivers your sound and allowing you to select your preferred voice assistant from Amazon Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant and more. There is a voice button which can instantly activate Alexa (or whichever you choose).
The neckband is constructed with flexible memory wire that remembers the shape and contours of your neck - you can bend the neckband and it will revert to its intended shape. The battery lasts nine hours off of a single two-hour charge, and it has an IP67 rating to protect against rain and sweat. The sound quality, as you might expect from Jabra, is excellent: powerful bass, layered and rich mid tones and clean, vibrate high tones. The connection was stable throughout our testing and the sound quality remained bright and clear at both high on low volumes.
These headphones might not be the most discrete or even the most comfortable, but with a good battery life and excellent sound quality, they can change even the most gruelling run into enjoyable experience with the right tunes. RRP £89.99
4.5 out of 5
Pros
Brilliant and enjoyable sound quality
Nine hour battery life
Fast recharge (15mins provides 1 hour)
IP67 rating
Bluetooth 5.0
Connect two devices simultaneously
Lightweight and secure fit
Two microphone noise reduction technology
Cons
Only one set of earbuds included
Not the most discrete
No protective carry case included
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