The Jabra Steel is a mono headset designed for taking phone calls in rough environments. It has a portable, stable design, but it's not the most comfortable headset, and its ear-hooks feel thin and easily breakable. While it has an excited, v-shaped sound profile, it's not meant for casual listening, especially as it seriously lacks low-bass. At the same time, this sound makes voices shrill and piercing on phone calls.
Our Verdict
The Jabra Steel is poor for mixed use as this headset is designed for taking phone calls. While portable and stable, it can be fatiguing on the inner ear to wear, and it lacks any noise isolation, most likely by design, making it less than suitable for commuting or sports. It's not meant for listening to music, and its excited v-shaped sound profile isn't great for critical listening. Its sharp sound can also impact vocals. It's Bluetooth-only and isn't recommended for gaming as there's likely too much lag.
- Boom microphone comes with two windscreens.
- Microphone captures voices clearly.
- Bright, piercing sound profile negatively affects voices.
- Stiff ear-tips can be uncomfortable to wear.
- Microphone struggles to separate voices in loud environments.
- Poor companion app.
The Jabra Steel isn't recommended for neutral sound listening. It's a mono Bluetooth headset designed for making phone calls and not listening to music.
The Jabra Steel is disappointing for commuting. It doesn't block out almost any noise, and it can be fatiguing on the inner ear to wear. However, you can easily make calls on the go without worrying about your battery life as this headset goes into standby use when you're not on a call. It can also fit in most pockets when not in use.
The Jabra Steel is good for taking phone calls while running. It's portable and stable, although the ear-hooks could come away from your ears if you shake your head too hard. It's not the most comfortable, and its mono headset design barely blocks out any noise. However, this can be a good thing if you like to run outdoors and need to be more aware of your surroundings.
The Jabra Steel is disappointing for office use. It can be fatiguing on the inner ear during long calls and doesn't isolate almost any background noise. However, it doesn't leak too much sound, which is nice for those around you. This headset isn't for casual listening, but if you're making calls at the office, its battery can get you through your workday as it has a standby mode to help you conserve battery life.
The Jabra Steel isn't for wireless gaming. This headset is Bluetooth-only and isn't compatible with PS4 or Xbox One. While you can use it with any Bluetooth-enabled PC or mobile device, the latency will likely be too high for competitive gaming.
The Jabra Steel is a Bluetooth-only headset that you can't use wired.
The Jabra Steel is disappointing for phone calls. While its boom microphone has a decent recording quality, it struggles to separate voices from background noise, especially in loud environments. Unfortunately, this headset also has a sound profile that makes voices sharp and piercing, which won't be nice to hear if you make many phone calls. On the upside, it doesn't reduce almost any background noise by design, so you can still hear your voice.
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Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Jabra Steel is a mono headset designed for taking phone calls. While Jabra focuses on producing good microphones for taking calls, this headset and its boom microphone don't stand out compared to the brand's other headphones. It also has an excited, v-shaped sound profile that isn't very suited for voices.
If you're looking for more, check out our recommendations for the best Bluetooth headsets for phone calls, or if you're looking for something more sports-related, the best earbuds for running and working out.
The Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset is slightly better for phone calls than the Plantronics Voyager Legend Bluetooth Headset. The Jabra leaks much less audio, has a significantly better recording quality, and does a better job at separating your voice from background noises. On the other hand, the Plantronics is more comfortable, has better controls, looks and feels more premium, has a better-balanced sound profile for phone calls, lasts longer off a single charge, and has a much better app with a ton of customization options.
The Plantronics Voyager 5200 Bluetooth headset is a better mono headset for phone calls than the Jabra Steel. The Plantronics is more comfortable, has better controls, and has a more even sound profile that suits speech better. However, the Jabra's boom mic has a better recording quality.
The Mpow EM12 Wireless Earphone is a better mono headset than the Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset. The Mpow is more comfortable, has easier-to-use controls, looks and feels better-built, and has a better-balanced sound profile. On the other hand, the Steel's battery life is much longer, and the headset is certified IP54 for dust and water resistance. The boom mic on the Jabra Steel also does a better job of separating your voice from background noise, making it better-suited for noisy environments.
The Jabra Elite 75t Truly Wireless are better overall headphones than the Jabra Steel Bluetooth Headset. The Elite 75t are more versatile for everyday use. They're comfortable, have a better-balanced sound profile suitable for music or calls, and their companion app even lets you customize their sound. Still, if you want to make a lot of phone calls, the Steel has a better overall performing microphone.
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