The Jabra Elite 8 Active are high-end sports earbuds. They're an updated version of the Jabra Elite 7 Active True Wireless and have a similar soft silicone coating that helps keep them in place. They have a durable design and are rated IP68, making them dust-tight and resistant to water submersion, so they're a solid choice for running or working out. Like the Elite 7, they have an ANC feature and a companion app that lets you customize the sound and controls. This newer generation also adds a virtual surround sound feature.
Our Verdict
The Jabra Elite 8 Active are great for sports and fitness. They're intended for exercise and have a comfortable, stable fit, so they won't fall out when you're moving around. They're rated IP68, meaning they can withstand dusty trails or heavy rain when you're out on a run. Their controls are easy to use and allow you to change the track or adjust the volume without pulling out your phone. They don't have the best noise isolation performance, but their 'Hear-Through' mode lets you hear ambient sound when you want to stay aware of your surroundings.
- Very stable fit.
- IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.
- Well-built and comfortable.
- Just okay noise isolation.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active are decent for commuting and traveling. They're comfortable, well-built, and rated IP68 for dust and water resistance, so they can withstand drops and spills. They last over eight hours of continuous use with ANC on, so they can get you through a long flight or ride without recharging. However, the ANC doesn't do a good job of blocking out rumbling bus and plane engines.
- Well-built and comfortable.
- 8.75-hour continuous battery life.
- Just okay noise isolation.
Mic can sound a little distorted.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active are decent for office use. They have a comfortable fit for long days at the office and last for more than eight hours off of a single charge, so you won't need to recharge halfway through the day. They also support multi-device pairing, so you can stay connected with your phone and computer simultaneously. However, their ANC feature doesn't perform well. They do a good job with ambient chatter, but don't block as much bass-range noise, like traffic outside your window.
- Well-built and comfortable.
- 8.75-hour continuous battery life.
- Just okay noise isolation.
Mic can sound a little distorted.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active are Bluetooth earbuds and can't connect with PlayStation or Xbox consoles. Their latency is high for PC gaming, too, so you'll notice a delay between your game audio and video.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active are wireless-only headphones; you can't use them for wired gaming.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active are good for audio reproduction accuracy. They have a warm sound profile with a punchier bass than our target response, a balanced mid-range, and a treble that follows our target well. Their peaks and dips demonstrate an overall smooth sound. Plus, the stereo matching is good, and the drivers generate inaudible levels of harmonic distortion.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active have alright noise isolation. Their ANC is okay and focuses mainly on environmental noise in the high bass and mid ranges, but it's not especially strong. The passive isolation in the treble range is more effective, but overall, the noise isolation won't fully block out your environment.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active have a satisfactory microphone performance. Your voice sounds bright and full-bodied, but a bit distorted and a little unnatural. Their noise handling is great, and they filter out most of the background noise, or at least prioritize your speech above the din.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active have great frequency response consistency. Once you find the right ear tip size, your audio sounds very similar across listening sessions.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Apr 15, 2026:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog.
- Updated Apr 09, 2026: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.1, which features minor updates to our sound tests.
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Updated Jan 27, 2026:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.0, which adds the following tests: Stereo Mismatch, Group Delay, Cumulative Spectral Decay, PRTF, Harmonic Distortion, and Electrical Aspects. We've added new performance usages and updated the text throughout the Sound tests and side-by-sides.
- Updated Dec 23, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.0, which updates our sound tests and performance usages. You can read more about this in our changelog.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Jabra Elite 8 Active come in five different colors: 'Black', 'Mint', 'Navy', 'Dark Gray', and 'Caramel'. We tested them in 'Navy'; you can see the label for the unit we tested here. We expect our results to be valid for the other color variants as well.
If you encounter another variant, let us know in the forums, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Jabra Elite 8 Active are higher-end earbuds meant for sports and workouts. They're very well-built and have a high IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, like the Jaybird Vista 2 Truly Wireless, which is good if you need a pair of rugged earbuds for your trail runs or bike rides. They have a very stable fit despite not having any stability fins or ear hooks, which gives them a more casual look than sports buds like the Beats Powerbeats Pro Truly Wireless. Their ANC feature does an okay job of isolating you from the world, but if you want to block out distractions at the gym, the previous model of these earbuds, the Jabra Elite 7 Active True Wireless, still offer a better performance.
If you're still looking for earbuds, check out our recommendations for the best wireless earbuds for running and working out, the best Jabra earbuds and headphones, and the best earbuds and in-ear headphones.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active and the Jabra Elite 10 are similar headphones with slightly different strengths. The Elite 8 Active are better for sports, thanks to their higher IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. While both are very stable in-ear, the Elite 8 Active have a silicone-like coating that's more grippy. However, if you're not looking for dedicated sports buds, the Elite 10 are the better option since they have a stronger noise isolation performance and support Dolby Atmos for virtual surround sound.
Jabra Elite 8 Active are better for sports than the Jabra Elite 7 Active True Wireless. The 8 are sturdier, have a higher IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, and have a slightly bigger bud design that makes them more stable. However, the 7 have a better noise isolation performance, especially with bass-range noise like rumbling engines.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active and the Beats Fit Pro True Wireless are both sporty earbuds, but the Jabra are more well-rounded. The Jabra are more comfortable, better built, and have a longer continuous playback time. Their companion app also offers a graphic EQ if you want to adjust their sound to your liking, and they support multi-device pairing, so you can stay connected to your PC and smartphone simultaneously. That said, the Beats have better noise cancelling.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active and the Jaybird Vista 2 Truly Wireless perform pretty similarly, but the Jabra have a few advantages. Their continuous battery life is significantly longer, and they come with a case that holds more extra charges. Their controls are customizable. That said, you might like the Jaybird's stability fin design. Their parametric EQ also gives you more control over the sound than the Jabra's graphic EQ.
Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.
You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
Test Results
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