Jabra Evolve3 85 Headset Review: Top Voice-Calling Performance and a Game-Changing Design

For years, Jabra has been marketing its Evolve headsets more toward businesses rather than consumers. But as more people have shifted to hybrid or work-from-home environments, the professional-grade headset market’s dynamics have shifted to the point where the Danish brand made a major design decision for its new Evolve3 85 ($487) and Evolve3 75 ($388) headsets: it left off the boom microphone and designed the new models to look like your typical premium over-ear and on-ear headphones.

While there’s no flexible boom microphone to bring the mic close to your mouth, I was impressed by how well the new models pick up your voice clearly while dramatically reducing background noise; they reduce it even more than their predecessors in the Evolve2 series. What also makes this hybrid headset/headphone stand out is its lightweight design (220 grams or 7.7 ounces) and slim profile. The ear cups are flatter than your typical over-ear headphone, and their carrying case is remarkably thin for over-ear headphones (it can fit in the side pocket of a laptop bag).

A dedicated mute button allows you toggle the headset’s microphone on and off and there’s a sensor that pauses your music when you take the headset off your ears and resumes playback when you put it back on.

Read more: Best headsets and headphones for working from home

The Evolve3 85 and Evolve3 75 have very similar specs and performance but they just have different ear pieces, with the Evolve3 75 having an on-ear design. I found the over-ear model slightly more comfortable, and I thought it sounded a little better, but the Evolve3 75 is quite comfortable for an on-ear model, is even more compact (180 grams or 6.35 ounces) and costs less. Both come with the Jabra Link 390 USB dongle — you can choose between USB-A or USB-C — that allows for quick and reliable wireless connectivity with a PC. I also used the headsets with my iPhone over Bluetooth (they use Bluetooth 5.3 with a range of 30m) and they do feature multipoint Bluetooth pairing, so you can pair two devices simultaneously.

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I plugged the dongle into a Mac Mini (you just have to make sure to set it as the audio output device in the Mac’s audio settings) and when a call came in on my phone, the headset switched over to the audio on my phone when I answered the call without a problem. Once I hung up, the audio went back to what I was playing on the Mac. I also tested the dongle and headset with a Microsoft Surface Pro (Jabra’s desktop software for Windows and MacOS is called Jabra Direct).   

This is the type of headset/headphone you want on your head when you have a lot of stuff going on in the background at home, since it’s good at filtering out background noise, including vacuums and lawn mowers (should someone be mowing your lawn outside). It would also work well if you were working in a coffee shop and had to take calls or participate in a video conference. I used it in the noisy streets of New York with my cellphone and callers said they heard minimal background noise while my voice was relatively clear and natural (even with some wind noise). Some background voices may bleed through a bit, especially when you’re talking, but they are muffled.

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Effective noise canceling but a step behind competitors’

Before they were discontinued, Jabra’s earbuds featured good noise canceling but it wasn’t up to the level of what you got from flagship buds from Bose, Sony and Apple The same can be said for the Evolve3 85’s noise canceling. It’s effective but not as strong as what you get with the Sony WH-1000XM6, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Gen 2) and Apple AirPods Max 2.

Like the AirPods Max 2, the Evolve3 85 and 75 have fabric-covered ear pads instead of leather or vegan leather. I got a good seal from the ear pads (and the headphones didn’t clamp too much), but I’ve seen a few complaints from folks claiming the seal wasn’t as good as they hoped. The quality of the seal can impact noise-canceling performance, but I didn’t have an issue with the fabric-covered ear pads and they do offer decent breathability.   

Note that there’s also a transparency mode (HearThrough) that lets ambient sound in and can be adjusted from minimum to max or somewhere in between. It does sound pretty natural, though not quite as natural as the AirPods Max 2’s transparency mode, which is arguably the best out there right now.

Good sound for music listening    

While the Evolve3 85 excels at voice and video calls, they also double as everyday headphones. Their audio quality for music listening may not be up to the level of what you get with headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Apple AirPods Max 2, but it’s still quite good. There are equalizer settings in the Jabra Plus companion app for iOS and Android (or Jabra Direct for PCs) to tweak the sound and adjust the amount of sidetone for hearing your own voice in the headphones when you’re on calls.

The sound is well balanced but doesn’t have quite the depth or definition compared to top premium headphones in this price range. Not surprisingly, the Evolve3 85 are very strong in the midrange where voices live; vocals sound clear and natural. There’s ample bass with some nice kick, but it’s a little more controlled and accurate on the Sony WH-1000XM6. I did feel the headset sounded a bit better after a break-in period of about 20 hours.     

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Battery life is impressive at up to 120 hours of music listening with noise canceling off (it’s more in the 60-hour range with noise canceling on, which is still quite good). A 5-minute charge gets you 5 hours of power and the headphones have USB-C and wireless charging, though it’s not included with lower-priced versions of the headset. 

The headphones come in a Microsoft Teams-certified option with a dedicated Teams button that gives MS Teams LED notifications that are visible on the Jabra headset (the LED on each ear piece light up red to let people know you’re on a call), quick meeting access and automatic device selection if multiple MS devices are present. If you do not use Microsoft Teams as your softphone client, Jabra says to choose the standard UC variant, which is certified for use with all leading UC platforms, including Cisco, Mitel, and Avaya, and is less than $500 on Amazon. If you use a UC variant with Microsoft Teams, the plug-and-play experience will not be available, Jabra says, but you can “set up audio and call control features manually by selecting the UC variant as the default communication device in the Microsoft Teams settings.” This can get a little confusing for average consumers, which is one of the downsides of enterprise headsets that tend to come in a few different variants.  

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Jabra Evolve3 85 final thoughts

The Jabra Evolve3 85 are certainly pricey, but their discounted price on Amazon is more palatable than their list price of $650 (and the on-ear Evolve3 75 can be had for less than $350). I think Jabra has done a nice job slimming down this headset/headphone combo, making it easier to transport (it takes up significantly less room in your bag than your typical over-ear headphones). In some ways, this feels like where other full-size headphone makers need to go with their designs, as over-ear models sometimes seem just a little too bulky.

While the sound quality is plenty good for music listening, I can see some people being slightly disappointed that it’s not even better, given the Evolve3 85’s near $500 price and the lack of support for so-called “hi-res wireless audio” codecs like LDAC and AptX Lossless. But first and foremost, this is an enterprise-level headset that really delivers on the voice-calling front, with noise filtration that removes background sounds while honing in on your voice. I was able to wear it for long periods comfortably, and it makes for a capable set of everyday headphones, even if it doesn’t quite measure up to other premium headphones in this price class for noise canceling and sound quality.