Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 Review

Verdict

There was arguably no better pair of workout-focused true wireless than the Elite 8 Active in 2024, but with improved sound, a better fit, and enhanced noise-cancellation, the Elite 8 Active Gen 2 is now the model to beat.

Introduction

Jabra’s exit from the consumer headphone market in 2024 showed just how tough the market has become. The Elite 8 Active Gen 2 marks its last pair of fitness-focused earbuds.

Following on a few months after the Elite 8 Active launched, the Elite 8 Active Gen 2 share some of the updates that Jabra added to its flagship Elite 10 Gen 2 earphones, though the result is little more than just freshening things up.

I felt the Elite 8 Active were one of the best workout-based true wireless, but the Elite 8 Active Gen 2 are even better.

Design

• Shakegrip tech
• New smart case
• Smaller design

Unlike the Elite 10 Gen 2, which didn’t alter its appearance much aside from a change in colours, Jabra has deemed fit to make the Gen 2 version of the Elite 8 Active smaller – and I think it’s a smart choice.

The one problem I had with the Elite 8 Active was the fit wasn’t the most secure. Jabra doesn’t rely on wing-tips, preferring to use Shakegrip technology to ensure that it stays in your ears during workouts. I found that while the Elite 8 Active stayed in my ear, I had to readjust them fairly often as they would move about and the seal would loosen.

That’s not a problem with the Elite 8 Active Gen 2, which not only stays put but doesn’t move about in my ear. The comfort levels are just as good as before but the seal is more secure, which means that during runs and gym workouts I’m not having to fuss about with the fit. I would have though bigger is better in terms of size but Jabra has proven me wrong on that front.

You get small, medium and large ear-tips to find a comfortable and secure fit.

The emphasis with the Elite 8 Active Gen 2 is on surviving everything you throw at it – they’ve passed US Military Standards for ruggedised electronics (810H), along with Jabra’s own corrosive tests (Highly Accelerated Corrosion Testing). The earphones themselves are rated to a high IP68 rating, which means they’re waterproof (for about 30 minutes) and resistant to dust. The case itself is rated to IP54.

I’ve dunked these headphones into a glass of water for some time and they’ve survived, though don’t assume they’ll be in perfect working condition once you take them out. They do need some time to dry, one of the earphones produced some weird high pitch noise when I tried to use it, but a day later they were perfectly fine. I was slightly worried that I’d broken them.

Jabra sticks with physical buttons, which always provide that sense of comfort and knowledge in that you won’t suffer from missed swipes and the like with sweat fingers. Onboard volume control is supported, though be aware that if you activate voice control (Google Assistant), you lose the ability to control volume through the earphones themselves, which is a bit annoying.

The case is the new LE Audio smart case that can retransmit audio from analogue sources wirelessly to the earphones (useful, say, for plugging into the running machines at the gym). Plug them in and tap the button on the front and you’ll start hearing audio through the headphones.

The colours have been refreshed with an olive, coral (exclusive to the Jabra website), navy and black option available.

Features

• Adaptive ANC
• Bluetooth LC3 Audio
• Sound+ app

There’s no change in the Elite 8 Active Gen 2’s wireless support, with Bluetooth 5.3 that supports multipoint for dual-device connection, as well as streaming in SBC, AAC, and Bluetooth LE Audio. It’s slight shame Jabara never seemed interested in higher quality codecs such as aptX Adaptive and LDAC for its premium earbuds.

There is Google Fast Pair (for Android devices) and Microsoft’s Swift Pair (for Windows devices), to get the Elite 8 Active Gen 2 hooked up quickly.

Battery life remains on similar terms, so while Jabra claims 8 hours per charge I reckon you could get more than that at default volume. An hour’s drain at 50% volume saw it drop around 10% (the left earbud was a little more), so 10 hours doesn’t seem out of the question. A five-minute charge offers another hour of performance.

What has changed is the noise-cancellation performance, which has been improved. The Elite 8 Active Gen 2 employ Adaptive Hybrid Noise-Cancellation, which is not as powerful as the Elite 10 Gen 2, but using the new buds on runs and in the gym, traffic was noticeably quieter and wind noise successfully suppressed. Indoors there was barely a sound to be heard of the gym equipment in the background.

A pink noise test to compare the old Elite 8 Active and Gen 2 model saw the latter reduce and thin out noise much better. And with a better fit, the seal is less prone to being broken, making for a more consistent performance.

The HearThrough mode is clearer too, and it latches onto people’s voices with more confidence so if you wanted to hear what’s been said, that is possible, which again is a step up from the original Elite 8 Active.

The well-appointed Sound+ app allows for customisation of the sound with a five-band EQ and several presets. There’s also Dolby’s Spatial Sound feature (this version doesn’t have the head-tracking the Elite 10 Gen 2 has. You can also customise the controls, the amount of noise you hear in the HearThrough mode, activate Spotify tap, and choose between built-in Google Assistant or the default option on your device.

Sound Quality

• Clearer, more balanced performance
• Better vocal
• Less bass depth than before

The Elite 8 Active were bass-heavy, which is often the tuning with workout headphones. The Elite 8 Active Gen 2 flip this on their head with a performance that’s a) more balanced and b) clearer.

It’s a similar change Jabra enacted with the Elite 10 earphones. Bass only becomes noticeably richer with the volume pushed up, but at normal levels a listen to Bodyrox Yeah Yeah shows there’s more detail and clarity present across the frequency range. That has the impact of a slightly clearer performance with vocals in the midrange; though this revised tuning does mean that if you liked the bass depth of previous Jabra true wireless, there’s a reduction in bass depth and extension with the Elite 8 Active Gen 2.

With GoGo Penguin’s Atomised, the high frequencies sound slightly brighter where the original sounded richer but reined in, so there’s less need to tweak the audio with the Treble Boost EQ like I needed to with the previous true wireless.

There’s also higher levels of definition where instruments and sound effects are concerned, so with the Elite 8 Active Gen 2, it feels as if you’re hearing more of what’s present in the track.

In terms of dynamism, there’s not much going on, but that’s been the case with several Jabra true wireless earphones I’ve tested. Reproducing the highs and lows in a track doesn’t seem to be of interest for Jabra.

Focusing on the vocals with Annette Askvik’s Liberty and there’s a better sense of definition provided to her voice, but her singing also sounds more natural than before. The Elite 8 Active have a hazy quality with vocals but the new model clears that up well. With Jacob Collier’s Sky Above and the vocals sound lighter, defter, and clearer, dropping the warmth for a performance that’s a clear improvement on what came before.

Lastly, the Dolby Spatial Sound feature goes for the same effect at attempting to create more depth and pushing vocals more forward in the sound mix. The effect sounds warmer, the soundstage is slightly smaller, and there’s less detail and definition to voices and instruments – at least it doesn’t sound as distorted as it did on the Elite 8 Active. It’s better but not as convincing a jump in quality as it was with the Elite 10 Gen 2.

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