Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones Review

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Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones

I offered a first look at the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones last week. We now have a firm price and shipping date- they will be available starting March 25th and will cost $249- so I wanted to offer up a more complete look at these rather pricey headphones. I covered a good bit of the initial ground in my ‘First Look’ post (read it) so I’ll try not to be redundant.

Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones

As I noted, the headphones are being positioned, in part, as wireless headphones designed for use in the real world. As such Jabra tested them to make sure the cable can hold up to 33 pounds, the band can be bent 10,000 times and the hinges will hold up for 3,500 uses. And yes, the headphones can be dropped from 6 1/2? and survive. All of that is good and well but if $250 headphones aren’t comfortable and don’t sound good what’s the point. So are the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones comfortable? Do the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones sound good? In a word- yes.

Lets dig in a bit deeper.

Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones

The headphones fold up into a fairly small package. Honestly I don’t see how they could have made them any smaller and kept the plentiful ear cups and strong build-quality. Obviously the bag won’t protect the headphones from being crushed but it does make a convenient way to stow the headphones and cables and keep them dust free. Still, I would have preferred to have a form-fitting zippered hard case. After all these are headphones you’ll want to keep with you pretty much all the time. As such, a case would have been a nice addition.

Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones

Two cables are included with the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones. Both are strong, bright, no-tangle fabric cords. They are hard to miss and go well with the subtle highlights on the outer ring of the earcup. I have used and reviewed a lot of headphones and I really appreciate companies using thick, heavy fabric cords. They not only look and feel good but also tend to hold up especially well. They also make clear a company’s commitment to offering a quality product.

Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones

The audio cable plugs into the left ear cup. The 3.5mm plug that goes into the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones is straight but the 3.5mm plug that goes into the media device is at a 45 degree angle. That’s always good as it ultimately results in less stress being placed on the 3.5mm plug.

Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones

The cable has an inline multi-function button that allows you to control your music and calls when using the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones in wired mode. I appreciate having the option to use the headphones as wired or unwired since I can see certain circumstances where wired mode will be easier or, in the case of flying, required. Another great feature is that the Bluetooth and headset connections are automatically disabled when the 3.5mm cable is connected.

Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones

On the corded model of the Jabra Revo Headphones the 3.5mm cable can plug into either the left earcup or the right one. That’s a convenience I hadn’t expected to appreciate as much as I do. Unfortunately that is not the case on the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones. The 3.5mm plug is on the left earcup and the USB to microUSB cable plugs into the right earcup for charging the headphones.

Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones

The left ear cup houses NFC connectivity. To use it you simply turn the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones on and hold an NFC-enabled device up to the left earcup. If you do not have an NFC-enabled device you simply turn on the power button and hold it for three seconds. From there you can pair the headphones as usual. The Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones offer voice-guided pairing which is a nice touch.

The right earcup is touch-enabled and takes a bit of time to learn. Tapping the middle button will play or pause music. Swiping a finger along the outer ring of the earcup in a clockwise direction will increase the volume. Swiping in a counter-clockwise direction will decrease it. Double tapping the left side of the same outer ring (toward the back of your head) will skip back. Tapping the right side of the same ring (toward the front of your head) will skip forward. I do like the touch-enabled feature of the headphones but found myself fumbling a bit at times. I also found the music blasting in my ears once when I accidentally swiped forward and went toward maximum volume.

The middle button also functions as a call button when you are using the headphones wirelessly. Tapping the multifunction button once will answer or end a call. Pressing and holding the button will reject a call and double tapping it will redial the last number dialed. And if you are using the Jabra sound app (a free download with a unique unlock code included with the purchase of the headset) tapping the button on the left earcup will launch it.

Since the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones come from a company that made its mark with Bluetooth headsets (my very first headset was a Jabra) it comes as no surprise that these headphones come with the ability to handle two calls at once. To put a current call on hold and answer an incoming call (“Hi Jon, nice to speak to you but the person calling is more important, please hold for a bit…”) simply press and hold the multi-function button for two seconds.

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Here’s a look at all of these various functions. As I noted previously, there is a small learning curve when first using the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones.

The Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones takes two hours to charge, offers 12 hours of music and talk time and up to eight days of standby charge. Its wireless range is 33 feet and up to eight different devices can be paired at any one time. They weigh 8.47 ounces,  have 40mm dynamic speakers and have a frequency range of 20Hz – 20 kHz..

All that is good and well but what about comfort and sound? Well there is good news on both fronts.

Comfort:

I have been using the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones non-stop since they arrived last week and am finding them to be among the more comfortable on-ear headphones I have used. I could’t sleep yesterday and was on the computer by 4am. I didn’t want to wake Elana so I used the headphones non-stop until she came into the kitchen some 3 1/2 hours later. At one or two points the pressure form the headphones became a tiny bit uncomfortable but a slight shift in their position immediately fixed the issue. Even Elana, who doesn’t like on-ear headphones, commented that they are quite comfortable. Will you want to wear these for eight hours straight without giving your ears a break every now and then? Probably not but that holds true with any on-ear headphones.

It is also worth noting that while these are not noise-canceling headphones they do an excellent job of blocking out sound. They are so good that I pretty much jumped through the roof when I didn’t hear Elana come in behind me and she tapped on my shoulder.

Sound:

Simply put, I’m impressed with the sound. It is as full and rich as you are going to find with headphones that are streaming music over Bluetooth 3.0. The sounds gets even better when you use the Jabra music app and select one of the preset equalizer option. I should, however, warn you that on iOS devices the app takes time to load all your music each time you launch it. The time lag is an annoyance that may well result in me not using the app. I suspect this is an issue with Apple’s implementation of 3rd party apps accessing your music collection since I have found something similar with most other 3rd party music apps that access your iTunes library. It is also worth noting that, when using the app, the music stops briefly when a new email alert comes in. That means you’ll want to disable email alerts or not use the app. Even without the app however the sound coming from the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones is terrific and I am enjoying the headphones tremendously. I can recommend these without hesitation!The Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones also include a Dual Microphone with the company’s “Noise Blackout”.

As Jabra explains, microphones with Noise Blackout have “an aggressive noise filter” that is coupled with two microphones. Together they use Digital Signal Processing (DSP) software to remove noise and offer clearer conversations. In my testing I found the microphones to be decent but not great. It isn’t really a surprise considering the fact that the microphones are on the ear cups and, as a result, are rather far from your mouth. There is, after all, a reason Jabra’s high-end Bluetooth headsets use a boom that brings the microphones closer to your mouth.

The Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones combine cutting edge wireless technology with good aesthetics and sound in a package that has been shown to easily put up with the use and abuse that comes from using and carrying headphones in a wide range of settings. You can learn more on the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphone product page. We’ll update with purchase links when the headphones go on sale. The Jabra Revo Wireless headphones are now on sale. You can buy them here through our Amazon Affiliate Store.

MSRP: $249

What I Like: Tough; Attractive; Feature-packed including NFC pairing; Strong cloth cables for charging and wired mode; Touch-enabled controls; Sound very good; Block out a good amount of ambient sound

What Needs Improvement: Soft carrying bag rather than a protective hard case; Cause a bit of ear fatigue after extended periods of use

Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.

2 Comments on "Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones Review"

  1. The price point is aimed on going after beats by dre.I think this are way better and I have a lot of different beats.That said beats will still out sell them because of who makes them and a lot of buys are youth cause they look stylish.

    • Agreed on all counts. Beats are largely a style play and a very successful one at that. These have all the features I would want save active noise cancellation (which would be great) and sound terrific. I was wearing them in Manhattan yesterday and they were awesome. Yes, Beats will keep selling well and will likely continue to outsell it in huge numbers but for my money these are the better play. —

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