I REGRET buying Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 🤦🏻♂️ (vs Gen 1 Review)
I regret buying the Gen 2 Elite 10s. I’m sure you’re curious to know why. Like “Aaron, you loved the Elite 10 Gen 1. Wouldn’t you love the Gen 2 EVEN more? Since it’s got extra features like direct USB-C connection to the case, and Spatial stereo?” Well, the USB connection can indeed make it sound cleaner since you’re directly using its internal DAC streaming to the earbuds over LE Audio, which is why I do consider this Smart Case feature to be a substantial upgrade.
It also increases the default volume by about 30% louder compared to direct Bluetooth, but that’s because the Smart Case is actually adding another layer of volume controls. However, the default volume starts out at max volume on the earbuds which can be too loud. To fix this, what I did was to lower the earbuds to 50% volume, and finetune the exact level I needed on the source player.
Spatial Audio vs Normal
As for the Spatial Stereo feature, I somewhat like it. It does a great job of widening the soundstage to make it more airy, and improve its mids and highs reproduction which makes the audio sound crisper, but it also nerfs the bass response a little so it’s a double edged sword.
Apart from that, the Gen 1 is virtually identical to the Gen 2 in terms of features, functions, custom options in the app, and their button controls. What’s interesting about the Gen 2 is that it performs a little differently from the Gen 1 in terms of sound quality and noise cancelling.
What are the differences and how is its noise cancelling compared to Gen 1? We’re going to find out in the article, as well as mic pickup and transparency.
Microphone Comparison
Its mic pickup seems to have been slightly improved in noisy conditions. While the level of background noise reduction remains the same, but my voice doesn’t sound as muffled as Gen 1.
👉 Have a listen to the mic pickup samples.
(Microphone pickup in both quiet and noisy conditions using really loud cafe noise and some wind noise from a fan.)
Active Noise Cancelling Comparison
What about active noise cancelling? The Gen 2 is cancelling about as much noise as Gen 1, but it also applies a bit more white noise masking. The adjustment helps block the sound of human chatter a little better. But if you pay attention to the decibel meter in the following sample, it seems to cancel a little less noise overall than Gen 1. It appears that when Jabra says Gen 2 ‘cancels twice as much noise’, they could be refering to the sound of human chatter, and not overall.
Transparency Mode?
Transparency is one area where Gen 2 is an improvement. The passthrough’s brighter, cleaner, less hissing, and my voice sounds less occluded. I definitely prefer the Gen 2 for quick awareness and verbal exchanges with people. In comparison, Gen 1 feels a bit more blocked off, even on max Hearthrough settings.
Sound Quality Comparison
In terms of sound quality on its default settings, frequency sweeps show that the Gen 2 Elite 10s are tuned quite differently. Instead of being just as v-shaped, emphasising the lower bass, upper mids and highs, we’re seeing a small pulling back in the bass, upper mids and treble.
And now the emphasis is more on the lower mids around 4 - 700hz. What this means is a more subdued airiness in the soundstage, less crispness in vocals and string tracks, and less extension in the bass frequencies. I suspect this change is meant to accommodate Spatial Stereo mode, because going spatial does spice up the Gen 2’s upper mids and highs to a level roughly the same as the Gen 1.
Of course, you can correct that in the EQ settings, but out of the box, they’re going to sound a little different from the Gen 1 Elite 10.
👉 Have a listen to the sound samples.
There are two ways to look at this change. Either you love it because you find the Gen 1s a little sibilant, so now it goes down smoother. On the other hand, if you liked the Gen 1 and find it more dull, so it needs to be tweaked, Personally, I like it brighter now, so I prefer the Gen 1’s sound out of the box.
Elite 10 Gen 2 Pros and Cons
There are definite advantages of getting the Gen 2 such as the USB connection to the Smart Case. This makes it extremely flexible because now you can connect it to any source with either a USB or analogue jack, making it extremely useful for plane trips. Entertainment system no Bluetooth? Just plug and play. Easy!
Its hearthrough mode is also better, which is a huge plus when you’re on the move. Mic pickup has also been improved slightly. Apart from that, it’s not really an upgrade, especially in terms of sound or noise cancelling.
With the Gen 1, taking the earbuds out of the case automatically pulls the Bluetooth connection from previously connected devices, so you don’t have to re-pair them in settings. One drawback of the Gen 2 is it doesn’t auto-reconnect to iOS devices, so you have to initiate pairing from settings, which is not as convenient. This appears to be a bug, because on my S24 Ultra, this doesn’t seem happen. Jabra says that a firmware update is coming soon to fix this.
That is why, as a regular consumer, I do regret buying the Gen 2 because it’s simply not compelling enough as an upgrade over Gen 1. But as a reviewer, I’m not returning the Gen 2 because I know many of you would want to know how they compare to the best wireless earbuds in the market.
Even though Jabra’s not making earbuds anymore, they said they’re still going to support it for a few more years, so I’m expecting these to still be featured, at least for the next few years. As the foremost authority on Jabra earbuds, I’ve also compared the Gen 1 to 6 other versions of Jabras. Click here to read it.
If you want to check the latest prices of these earbuds, I’ve got Amazon links below.
Check latest prices:
Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2: https://amzn.to/3ZvjCRw
Jabra Elite 10 Gen 1: https://amzn.to/3EHIp9J
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