Jabra is back! Last year, they released 2 brand new earbud models: the flagship Elite 10 and the sports-focused Elite 8 Active. The Jabra Elite 10 vs Elite 8 Active are the best Jabra earbuds yet.
Jabra used to be a major player. Their Elite 65T and later the 75T were ahead of most of the competition when they came out. However, the rest of the market caught up and pulled ahead, particularly with sound quality. I don’t think their recent Elite 7 Pro or any of the many others in their recent confusing lineup have had quite the same impact.
The Elite 10 and Elite 8 Active bring some crucial improvements that make Jabra the top player again. So, in this review, I will delve into all the key differences between Jabra Elite 10 vs Elite 8 Active.
Charging cases
Charging cases appear identical in size and features between the 10 and 8 Active. They support wireless charging, and a new addition is an LED indicator on the inside to show the earbuds’ charging level, with the outer LEDs indicating the case’s battery level. I’d still consider these to be pocket-sized, but compared to previous cases, they are considerably bigger.
Battery
You get up to 8 hours (6 hours with ANC) on a single charge with the Elite 10 and up to 36 hours (27 hours with ANC) with the charging case.
With the 8 Active, you get 14 hours (8 hours with ANC) on a single charge and 56 hours (32 hours with ANC) with the case.
That is massive! I’m not sure exactly why the Active model lasts so much longer, but it boasts one of the best battery lives I’ve ever seen in a pair of earbuds. Of course, using ANC will lower this, but the battery life is still great. This is the first key difference between the two.
I made sure to actually test the battery life and ensure it lives up to Jabra’s claims. Indeed, it does. In fact, the Elite 10 even surpassed their touted claim, and I was listening well above 50% volume.
Design/fit/comfort
The earbud design is different as well. The 10s are slightly larger but also have an all-new shape and a softer, more grippy outer texture.
The 8 Active pair maintains a similar shape to what we’ve seen before and once again offers a tough silicon exterior with Jabra’s ShakeGrip™ technology. As a result, the Actives deliver a secure fit in the ear even without wingtips. I tested this while running and lying down on a workout bench. While it’s not the tightest and most secure fit I’ve ever experienced, achieving this without wingtips is impressive.
The interesting thing about the Elite 10 design is that it more closely resembles the Elite 85T in terms of the fit. Not only do we have these similar overall-shaped ear tips as opposed to round, but they also don’t plug deep into your ear canal like the 75T, the 7 Pro, and to some extent, the new 8 Active as well. They provide a more gentle seal, similar to the 85T. It’s almost like a semi-open design, and I personally much prefer this because it’s more comfortable, yet you still get a good seal in the ear.
Durability
Of course, the fit isn’t the only factor for workouts. Not only does the 8 Active offer longer battery life to suit ultra-long workouts, but the earbuds also have greater durability.
The Elite 10 offers an already excellent IP57 rating for dust ingress and can be submerged underwater. But the 8 Active goes even further, boasting an industry-leading IP68 rating for even greater dust and water protection. Plus, there’s an IP54 protection on the charging case as well. So although they look identical, the 8 Active case is actually more durable. The earbuds have undergone military-grade testing, including thermal and shock testing. Jabra claims these to be the world’s toughest earbuds, a claim I’m inclined to believe from my experience so far.
Controls
The Active‘s tougher enclosure changes the controls. The physical button is located underneath the rubber exterior, making it a bit more difficult to press.
The Elite 10‘s button is more obvious, especially with this two-tone finish. Thanks to the shaped designs, though, you don’t press the ear tip into your ear canal when using the controls. So physical buttons work well here, especially for workout earbuds. You get more precise control than what touch controls offer.
The controls customization is really in-depth too. Not just for the music controls, but there are separate controls for phone calls, and even the wearing detection has some cool extra features. For instance, you can have automatic answering of calls simply by putting the earbuds in. You can have phone calls muted when you remove one, and you can choose whether activating here through Jabra’s transparency mode or muting your music or letting it continue playing. Combining this with free Hey Google support, you’re looking at a really great control system all around.
Connectivity
Most of the connectivity features return, but the biggest improvement is the upgrade to the latest Bluetooth 5.3. So, Jabra Elite 10 and Elite 8 Active are Bluetooth low energy ready. Otherwise, we still have Google Fast Pair for instant Android setup, Swift Pair for instant Windows setup, and there’s a two-device multi-point as well. Spotify Tap also returns, and as I said, we get hands-free Google Assistant support. The one slight downgrade is that there’s no more Alexa integration.
Active noise cancellation
Now for the noise cancellation, Jabra makes it clear that the Elite 10 has superior performance with their Jabra Advanced ANC™, while the 8 Active has their Adaptive Hybrid ANC. So, you can expect the performance difference to be like the 85T versus the 7 Pro.
The 8 Active‘s ANC is significantly improved from the predecessors, though. It comfortably beats the 7 Active and Pro and even outperforms big names like Sony’s LinkBuds S and Technics AZ60M2. It’s really good performance, especially for Jabra’s supposed second tier of ANC.
And then you’ve got the Elite 10. I was hoping these could finally challenge Jabra’s clear ANC winner, the 85T. And I actually think the new model just about beats them. It’s very close. I went back and forth a few times, but the new tents have better low-end cancellation, and that’s what sealed the deal. They’ll be better on a flight, for example.
The only sad part is there’s no adjustment slider for the ANC with either new model. It’s all just adaptive, but the performance, as I said, is fantastic, and the new Elite 10 even breaks into the top 4 of all time for ANC. The transparency or HearThrough mode is adjustable, though, and is pretty good. It’s slightly clearer with the Elite 10 compared to the 8 Active, but both offer good performance. And it’s nice you can choose between voice prompts, tones, or just nothing when switching modes.
Sound quality
If that was the trade-off required to bring in the new sound quality improvement though, I’ll happily take it. I’ll start off by mentioning the main new feature, which is Dolby Audio for the 8 Active and Dolby Atmos for the 10s. So both of these bring forms of spatial audio. But the key difference is that the 10s have Head Tracking for a slightly more immersive experience.
That’s the highlights that would dominate Jabra’s marketing, but actually, the more significant improvement is simply in the quality of the sound. The 10s do have an edge, but even the 8 Active would have been Jabra’s best-sounding earbuds yet and by a long way. This was an area of relative weakness for Jabra, but not anymore.
The Elite 10s feature 10 mm drivers compared to the 6 mm ones in the 8 Active, building upon the template of the 8 Active and subtly refining it. You can hear greater depth in the low-end frequencies, resulting in a slightly richer and fuller sound. However, these earbuds aren’t bass-heavy. If anything, the balance is even better, with perhaps a touch more clarity as well.
While it’s not quite enough to challenge the market leaders, Jabra is now knocking on the door. I suppose many of you might be deterred by the lack of a high-res codec, but these earbuds, particularly the Elite 10, sound great. It’s one of the biggest improvements over a predecessor I’ve seen with earbuds.
I should also mention that you get a fairly basic customizable EQ along with some preset options. Jabra also has this Soundscapes feature which offers some high-quality ambiance and white noise sounds.
Jabra Elite 10 vs Elite 8 Active: which should you buy?
When deciding between the 8 Active and the 10s, the choice should be obvious.
If your priority is sports, you’re going to want the Active model. They’re incredibly durable, have an amazing battery life, and they’re probably going to stay in your ears a bit better.
But for basically everyone else, the Elite 10 is the clear winner. You get stronger ANC, higher quality sound, and for me, the deal breaker is the improved comfort.
As I said, Jabra is back!
I hope you liked this in-depth review. Thanks for reading!
You may also want to read my latest JBL Vibe Beam and EarFun Air Pro 3 reviews.
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