Jabra Elite 75t vs. Elite 65t: Should you upgrade?

Jabra Elite 75t

The Jabra Elite 75t are what a great iteration should be. They take what made the Elite 65t great and improve upon the important features that matter. They're more comfortable, sound great, last longer, and bring in USB-C for charging. You miss out on active noise cancelation and a wireless charging case, though.

Jabra Elite 65t

While not as good as the Jabra Elite 75t, the Elite 65t are still a solid choice, especially for their price. They still sound great by current standards, have decent battery life, and can fit pretty comfortably. They're bigger in size, however, and Micro-USB charging isn't all that convenient anymore.

You may thinking this is a no-brainer because the Elite 75t are the newer model. It is hard to argue with longer battery life, a smaller size for better comfort, improved sound, a nicer case, and USB-C for charging, but the Elite 65t still hold their ground.

Jabra Elite 75t vs. Elite 65t: Picking the right spots

From the start, Jabra did right by the Elite 75t by shaving down the form factor by about 20% to make them much easier to wear for more types of ears. The Elite 65t weren't as reliable that way, as the earbud could sometimes wiggle loose and fail to maintain a proper seal for the ears. Jabra made a tangible difference with the Elite 75t, making them one of the most comfortable and lightweight true wireless earbuds available. It's also a bit suprising the Elite 75t case was the first to have magnets so that the buds would fit more securely. It's a contrast that becomes obvious when putting the Elite 65t buds back in their case, where the lack of any magnets doesn't add the same sense of security.

The case comparison is only starker when factoring in the USB-C port on the Elite 75t over the Micro-USB one on the Elite 65t. While neither of them support wireless charging, USB-C makes charging less annoying when you already have that cable lying around for other products.

Jabra also gave a much-needed boost to the Elite 75t battery life, which can go up to 7.5 hours per charge. The Elite 65t only get five hours. When you include the charging case, the Elite 75t gives you an extra 20.5 hours of listening time. That number smashes the 10 hours from the Elite 65t's case. While both are fairly small, the Elite 75t case is easier to handle and stands up nicely on its own, or fits just about any pocket.

Comfort is going to be a little subjective, but the Elite 75t should be better. They're more stable than the Elite 65ts and the improved seal pays off for overall sound quality. With that extra comfort also comes an easier time wearing them for longer periods. Both earbuds come with multiple ear tip sizes in the box to help find the right fit.

There isn't a huge gap between these two on sound quality. They both sound great, even right out of the box. The Elite 65t were already one of the best in the industry when they launched, and the thick and warm sound is as bright and detailed as it was from the start.

The Elite 75t don't present any major change in how they sound, but the improved fit does help. There's more bass in these because of it, and it plays really well with the mids and treble. They're not going to be the most bass-heavy true wireless earbuds out there, but they also don't have to be. The sound signature is nice, even if it might sometimes feel a bit muddy with certain tracks.

Jabra's Sound+ app has a basic five-band equalizer you can use to customize the sound more to your liking. It's not anywhere near as deep as a proper EQ would be, but it's user-friendly, and you can save whatever presets you create.

Both earbuds also feature HearThrough, which is what Jabra calls its ambient sound mode. When on, you can hear background noise to maintain awareness of your surroundings without taking the earbuds off. It sounds good on the Elite 75t, though not as good as that of the AirPods Pro, which is among the best in that regard.

An unfortunate oversight is that you can't use the left earbud independently for neither the Elite 75t nor Elite 65t. The reason why is because of the design, which has the left earbud acting as a dummy earbud that merely receives the signal from the right one, which is the side that ultimately pairs with your playback device via Bluetooth. You'll want to keep the right earbud safe and not lose it because the left is aimless without it.

Jabra Elite 75t vs. Elite 65t: Should you upgrade?

The Elite 65t aren't scrubs by any stretch of the imagination. If you can handle what they don't have relative to the Elite 75t, you won't have a real problem with what they do have. If you were looking to go the other way, however, battery life may be the biggest reason why. The Elite 75t deliver an additional 2.5 hours of listening time, along with the extra 10.5 hours from the charging case. If you're an Elite 65t user tired of lower battery life, the Elite 75t would be a worthy upgrade.

Otherwise, hold on to your Elite 65t if you're happy with them. They're still a really good pair of true wireless earbuds, even in 2020.