Jabra Evolve2 85 Review

I wrote a lengthy word document comparing these Jabra Evolve2 85 (E285) vs Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II (QC35II) vs Bose Noise Cancelling 700 (B700) vs Sony WH-1000XM4 (SX4) (in order of when I received them), fit for a blog, but this is Amazon, so I’ll shorten it. This was almost entirely written up during the week I had all four headsets for direct comparisons.Microphone and PlaybackQC35II recordings were consistently louder than the E285. But the E285 did a far better job of removing background noise than the QC35II and was notably better than the SX4, as evidenced by my recordings while drumming. It’s neck and neck as far as clarity of voice goes. The B700 was not tested because there were enough other reasons not to even consider them.Akin to the E285, the SX4 are quite good as far as pick-up goes. But unfortunately, they were a little too good (or simply worse at distinguishing background noise). A co-worker and I had a Zoom meeting with ourselves in the same closet (to maximize productivity), switching between the headsets. Whoever had the E285 could hear themselves through the headset. At first, I thought it was because of the function where you hear yourself through the headset. But alas, upon one of us leaving the room, the echo went away. This meant the SX4 was picking up the other’s voice! The main killer of the SX4 is that you have no way to mute yourself from the headset. As a pair of headphones to be used in the office, this is crucial. You never know when someone may decide to butt in your closet (or office, for most people) and shout “HHHHEEEYYYY!!”. In contrast, the E285 offers two ways to protect yourself from such intrusions – by raising the boom arm or by pressing the button on the boom arm, leaving you to look down simply in resignation at said co-worker without having disrupted the meeting. The one drawback with the E285 is that sometimes the first word or two don’t quite make it through, so you may develop a stutter of your introduction. “I’m Jason – oh – I’M JASON – oh you can hear me now? I’m Jason”. Good news is, you shan’t be soon forgotten. Despite this, it’s more favorable than not being able to mute myself, though I can understand disagreement with this point. Win for E285. Runner up is SX4.Audio Output - DISCLAIMER - I’m not an audiophileE285 and SX4 audio sound better than the QC35II but primarily because I can use an equalizer and increase bass (obviously this is the most important factor). Even if the QC35II had better hardware, it’s not as accessible and therefore is a moot point. I couldn’t get the “thump” from the B700 no matter what I tried. The B700 does have an EQ, but it’s far more basic than what Jabra and Sony offer, like a ball point pen vs a fountain pen. Sure, the ball point will get the message across, but one can’t deny the fountain pen its grace as it glides like butter across the page, leaving streaks of variable line widths and drawing you in –sorry, wrong review. Honestly, it was difficult to tell the difference between the E285 and SX4. I think the amount of bass you get is comparable, however I think the SX4 is capable of producing an ever-so-slightly louder sound. Win for SX4. Runner up is E285.BrandBose: wanted my location and would ask for it every time I open the app (and wouldn’t allow usage without accepting beyond the standard Bluetooth connection process). These are headphones. You don’t need my location. There are two different apps and both suck, but the one for B700 is especially awful (Bose Music). Just the first time using the app for setup, it crashed. It periodically failed to detect the headphones, even after the latest firmware instalment. It’s worth mentioning the Bose Music app is far worse than the other Bose app (QC35II uses Bose Connect). I had far too many connectivity issues within the first hour to justify keeping the B700 (yes, I requested a return within an hour).Jabra: doesn’t require my location. Instead, it lets me know if I desire to give it my location, it will use it to locate my headphones. No, but thank you for giving me an actual choice!Sony: same as Jabra, though with a caveat. The SX4 offers more utility when given Location permission, which will be addressed later on. They were not pertinent to me, however, so my location remains an enigma for Sony and Jabra (and Bose). Tie between E285 and SX4.ANCWhen standing in front of running water, QC35II had slightly better cancellation, but not a noticeable difference without actively concentrating. When playing on a drumpad, the E285 did a noticeably better job than the other headsets. It sounds like the pad is being muffled (which is what I’m looking for), whereas the others don’t quite succeed. During testing of the QC35II, whether ANC was on/off, there was a ceaseless light static (with no audio playing). I thought it quite odd and luckily, it didn’t happen again, but I suppose it could. With the QC35II, when the drum pad was hit, there was a tang sound, like the residual sound from tapping on a pan, as opposed to the muffled thumping the E285 gives. Perhaps with a constant noise the QC35II does a slightly better job filtering, but the E285 does a better job with impact noises (or maybe it’s just higher frequencies). Again, B700 was not put through this test because it sucks. The SX4 did a better job than the QC35II, but not as good as the E285 (though it was perfectly satisfactory).In addition, the hear-through function of the E285 is awesome. With the QC35II ANC off, it sounds like the microphone is picking up sound and then replaying it in the speakers. In contrast, the E285 hear-through, which has adjustable levels, almost makes it sound like you’re not wearing them (tested at maximum hear-through). The SX4 has essentially the same feature, with an added “Focus on voice” option. I couldn’t tell a difference when that was on/off. Besides that, the SX4 didn’t do as good a job at allowing sound through as the E285. Win for E285. Runner up is SX4.ConnectivityThe E285 and SX4 have longer ranges than the QC35II. The E285, most of the time, reconnects automatically when coming back into range. Unfortunately, I don’t remember specifics about the SX4. QC35II, SX4, and E285 have a 3.5 mm jack. Why doesn’t the B700? Because it sucks.Double-connection to my PC (independent of range): E285 is easier because it’s just plug-and-play, no downloads or “connecting”. The QC35II and SX4 are only Bluetooth, so you have to do the standard “add device”, etc. One annoying thing about the SX4 is you have to use the app to establish a Bluetooth connection to another device. Not a big deal, but for comparison’s sake, the E285 is better. Didn’t bother trying the B700 because of the numerous issues with just one connected device. An added feature of the Jabra is Jabra Direct, a software you can download to better manage your Jabra. It gives you a few more options and is worth using, in this writer’s humble opinion.Response time: the QC35II and B700 have a slightly faster response time when pausing media than the E285. The SX4 is the fastest, though we’re talking minute (not 60 seconds) differences. The E285 is on the cusp of being slow enough to be annoying, but not quite. The E285 and SX4 also have the cool feature of pausing media when the headphones are removed from your skull. Again, the E285 feel lack-luster in comparison because they take approximately 4 M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-I seconds to pause, whereas the SX4 is half that time. For the E285, I’ve noticed the ear detection only works properly when playing music from your phone and not the PC. When using it with the PC, if I remove the headphones, the music will pause as it should. But it doesn’t resume when I put them back on. If I pause the music with the button, then remove the headset, it resumes. Again, cool feature, but needs work, especially when using it with the PC. So SX4 is better about ear detection (presumably because it’s laser-assisted).App connectivity: some issues with E285. Some issues with SX4. Some issues with QC35II (Bose Connect). LOTS of issues with B700 (Bose Music). Unfortunately, apps are prone to some bugs every now and then; unless you’re Bose Music, in which case you’re a swarm of locusts after a century rest furiously attacking unsuspecting victims taking what was supposed to be a nice meander down the side of the Nile River. Does it remind you of a curse? It should. I succumbed to believing the $400 I used to purchase them came from the time I was standing on a burial ground when my check came through my account. I can’t say which of the two (Sony/Jabra) had more, so neither bothered me much. Winner is SX4 (better media response time). Runner up is E285.Voice AssistantCouldn’t even get B700 to work. First off, I have to change the “action” button from ANC control to activate voice assistant (so you can’t have both functionalities at the same time). However, once button mapping was adjusted accordingly, I click the button and it says “open your Google Assistant settings”, with no further instructions. I open the Home app, and once again, no further instructions, so I didn’t get it working. I didn’t spend anymore time on it because in contrast, the E285 and SX4 worked exactly as expected. No setup or anything, I just pushed the button and my assistant came up. The caveat for the E285 is you have to pull down the boom arm to use the feature (you can still press the action button with the boom arm up and have the assistant prompt, but because the arm is up, the microphone is off so it’s pointless). Perhaps Bose has better functionality when used with Alexa, but I use Google so I’m not bothering with testing that. Tie between E285 and SX4.I know this is extremely nit-picky, but the Bose assistant’s voice is far more annoying than Jabra or Sony. She sounds like an actual robot as opposed to someone I wouldn’t mind meeting.ControlsThe QC35II and E285 have essentially the exact same button layout and functionality. The key difference is the action button on QC35II. It can be EITHER for voice assistant or cycling through ANC. On the other hand, you can access both functionalities on the E285, with the caveat of lowering the boom arm first for the voice assistant. The other difference is placement of the power button. On the QC35II, it’s a lateral switch on the side of the right ear cuff. On the E285, it’s a vertical switch on the bottom of the left ear. I literally don’t have a preference between the two. However, I do have a preference for the other buttons. While in the same place (the action button on the QC35II is in the same place as the ANC cycling button on the E285), the QC35II has a much more noticeable difference between the volume buttons and the play/pause, which I like better. All the buttons are bigger and more defined, plus the volume buttons are slightly raised, making it even easier to know what you’re pressing. On the E285, the buttons take up less surface area and are rather flat.Muting is definitely easier with the E285 because you simply raise or lower the boom mic. Though it also takes a little longer. The QC35II is more annoying because you have to press two buttons at the same time (the volume buttons).After just a little use of the “touchless” controls (B700 and SX4), I can see their usefulness. It’s certainly easier to play/pause music and use the Voice Assistant (which is no easier to actually setup because Bose sucks). Changing volume is annoying because every click up/down requires an extra swipe. As debilitating as this is, one would not likely be changing by a bunch of increments at a time. Between the B700 and SX4, I found the pole in the B700 to be much more in the way and therefore the SX4 provides better usability. After more use of the touchless controls, I much prefer the them over the physical ones. Win for SX4. Runner up is E285.Comfort and StyleWhile the B700 has the tightest grip, it actually slides off the easiest, I guess because the top band is the slimmest of the pickings. Also, it’s far easier to accidentally move the ear cups because they’re really loosely attached to their sliding pole. The silver of the QC35II is pretty sweet and the headphones are slimmer on the head than the E285. They also have an ever-so-slightly tighter grip. I’m able to pick up these minute differences thanks to my unusually small, child-like head. I doubt their grips would make any difference whatsoever for most users, but I prefer the QC35II. Though I’ve been wearing the E285 for a little over an hour and was so comfortable, I had to look to my left to see which headset I wasn’t wearing. So both are very comfortable, but for comparison’s sake, it’s a win for QC35II. Runner up is E285/SX4 (just as comfortable). Don’t care to spend time rating the B700.ExtraThe E285 has the hear-through feature, which I really like because I use ANC only when there are sounds I actively don’t want to listen to, like from mine or my roommate’s drumming, running water, laundry, phone call, or pooping with the fan on. Other than those times, I want some awareness of my surroundings because there’s nothing more frustrating than trying to get the attention of someone with headphones on (especially at work). In addition, the E285 and SX4 have ear detection (discussed previously). The E285 has a great way of handling multiple calls with its huge button on the right cuff. You can switch between two phone calls by putting one on hold and accept/end/reject calls using it. This is RARELY used, but it’s cool.IssuesB700: flat out sucks with just ONE connection. I’m constantly having to manually re-connect, and not just a simple “re-connect”; I mean force-stopping the app, forgetting the headset from my phone and vice-versa, holding down the Bluetooth button to make the app realize it’s there, allowing my phone to pair, etc. Over and over. Can’t imagine the issues I’d be having if I set it up with two devices.Others: my biggest issue was trying to connect QC35II with my Google Assistant. Besides that, functionality of the QC35II was pretty much flawless. Speaking of Google Assistant, there’s some variability with functionality with the E285. At the very least, the action button on the arm activates the assistant. But sometimes the input for said assistant is on the phone rather than the arm. Most of the time it works as expected. I think the additional connection to the PC adds complexity that needs to be vetted out for seamless functionality for the E285.Final verdict, best to worst: E285, SX4 (killer - no mute function, worse hear-through), QC35II (killers - older BT connection, worse audio, poor ANC). Literally wouldn’t buy B700.UPDATE: It’s been several weeks since I returned all but the Jabra Evolve2 85 (I use it 3-10 hours every single day) and my final rating is four stars. When it works, it’s great. But it doesn’t work all the time, unfortunately. The busy light is almost totally useless because it only works while on an actual phone call (not meetings from Zoom or Teams). It has trouble establishing priority between my phone and PC (no Jabra direct - only comes with one which is on my home PC and not my work laptop and an extra is wayyy too expensive). Audio and microphone randomly disconnects from Teams meetings even though Teams says it’s connected. The E285 has an edge over the SX4 when it comes to office use. But if muting yourself directly from your headset isn’t important to you and you’re not typically in a noisy environment during calls, then I would honestly recommend the Sony WH-1000XM4.

To start, I’ve used my Jabra Evolve 80 for many years, and I love them. They recently broke, and I needed an upgrade. I finally landed on the Jabra Evolve2 85 since they are supposedly the latest and greatest flagship model from Jabra, and I wanted to try wireless headphones out.Let’s start with the good, because it’s a short list, and some of the many bad points are REALLY BAD.The Good- Decently comfortable (though slightly less than the Evolve 80s in my opinion)- ANC is ok (more on this in a minute)- Mic boom is nicely stowable and seems slightly better in physical design than the 80s- They look niceThe Bad- ANC (active noise cancelling) and sidetone/hear through (where you can hear your voice a little in the headset) CANNOT BE USED TOGETHER. Seriously, wtf. The old Evolve 80s and almost every other Jabra headset can do this just fine. This is supposedly because they chose to put the sidetone/hear through mic on the earcup instead of the mic boom. They claim this is by design and intentional, but this is a bug, not a feature. This means you have two choices when on a call (arguably the time you most need noise cancelling).Option 1: Disable ANC and hear everything around you. You can BARELY hear your own voice even in this state, it’s bad.Option 2: Enable ANC and not be able to hear yourself almost at all. It feels like I’m underwater.This alone is truly baffling. If I had known this going in, I never would have purchased this extremely expensive headset. ~$400 for me at the time of purchase.- Mic sounds notably worse than the Evolve 80s when I listen to recordings of myself.- The wireless connection randomly lags and glitches out for a few seconds many times a day, sometimes repeatedly in a short period. This is super distracting while listening to music. Seems like maybe it’s CPU-based? I’m on a really powerful mac. I find this unacceptable.- The audio quality seems overall poor. Volume highs and lows while speaking seem really unpredictable and hard to get to a good spot. I find the louder people in calls irritating my ears a lot more than on my 80s when at a comparable volume setting.- The earcups do not seal well against my head unless I very specifically position them every time I put the headset on. I don’t have this issue with the 80s.- Maybe it’s a mac thing, but sometimes when I turn the headset on or take it off my head and put it back on, it will act like it’s connected but no audio will play. I have to switch output devices back and forth to get it to work again.- The mic mute button is a small button near the end of the mic boom. This means to mute yourself, you have to fumble around with the mic boom and make loud noises that other people can hear. This is an awful design choice. Why not put it on the earcups like nearly everyone else does?Overall, I am extremely unhappy with these headphones. I can’t believe it made it out of their company in its current state. I purchased a new pair of the older and cheaper Evolve 80s and will be returning these 85s as soon as I possibly can.

In a sea of headset options, these stand alone. The over-the-ear design is comfortable on the ears and I’ve had no fatigue after wearing them for several hours every workday. The wireless range is also a huge plus, allowing me to join monotonous, repetitive meetings while completing other monotonous tasks around the house. And the quality is great, I can hear my coworkers clearly and music sounds great (just keep in mind they’re not audiophile level and you’ll be satisfied).I was initially worried about the boom mic arm ripping off the headset after some time, but over three years later, the mic is still attached and moves down as smoothly as it did on day one. I was having an issue with my mic where coworkers were unable to hear me for some time after I moved my mic arm down and going off mute. I’ve noticed this issue mentioned in other reviews as well. After calling Jabra support, I reset my headset and haven’t noticed the issue since! I’m sure the issue is caused by multi-device connectivity, so something to be aware of if you choose to use this headset with other devices at the same time.Other features I love are the charging stand (super easy to set down and charge), the Teams integration, and the fantastic battery life (I’ve rarely had these run out of charge). Three years later and this headset is still on top of the game. Hope other manufacturers take notice and give this some competition because the only negative aspect, the price, is just a bit too high.

Pretty pricey, but they are high quality and very comfortable. They do a phenomenal job blocking out background noise, both noise that you hear and blocks background noise from the microphone.

Great for home office….comfortable enough for long flights, good noise cancellation and microphone, good case…no complaints so far - battery life seems good