I was offered the Jabra Talk 65 headset for a review, and I decided to try it for nostalgic reasons.
I have had a good number of mid and high-end headphones and earbuds around for review. Most perform well and some are exceptional. But the Jabra Talk 65 was really a curious thing.
I mean, these days everyone is looking for noise-cancellation headphones that completely isolate you from the world, and here we have a headset that doesn’t promise it – actually it only hangs from one ear, leaving the other one completely open to the sounds around you.
My first Bluetooth headset was an Ericsson HBH-10 circa 2000, which was also the first Bluetooth accessory ever. This was followed by a Jabra BT2000 circa 2003, so it’s just apt that almost 20 years later I have a new Jabra headset in my hands.
A lot has changed since then. Bluetooth itself has progressed and the Jabra Talk 65 has evolved too, supporting the latest Bluetooth 5.1 standard.
Interestingly the new Jabra Talk 65 has still similar design features from my original BT 2000, as it hangs from behind your ear with the earbud being positioned just at the entrance of your ear canal.
It certainly sounds better too. Not noise-cancellation better but the more reliable connection is pleasing, with a 10mm speaker.
Battery life has also improved, with up to 14 hours of talk time – and with a 17-day standby time, I can go days without having to recharge it. And recharge is now done via a USB-C cable, the same used in large number of other devices, from phones to laptops and tablets.
The main use for the Jabra Talk 65 is mainly phone and conference calls. Being a Bluetooth device supporting multiple profiles (including A2DP, AVRCP, HPF and HSP), it can also be used to stream music directly into your ear – but it will be mono. It can pair with up to eight Bluetooth devices (phones, tablets, TVs, computers and more) and maintain a connection with two devices at the same time.
Also interesting is the presence of a NFC chip, so that you don’t even have to worry about pairing it with a NFC-equipped phone. Just tap the phone on the body of the Jabra Talk 65 and they will connect and be ready in a second or two.
It is incredibly light, weighing only 20g and its body is flexible, allowing you to even swivel the boom mic around so you can use it either on your left or right ear – whatever you want.
With two MEMS microphones it actually does have a noise-cancellation circuitry but only when capture your voice during calls. This makes it extremely useful when talking while outdoors, driving or walking.
The Jabra Talk 65 is great to use while driving. Since it is illegal to use a phone while driving and wearing headphones or earbuds completely isolates you from external noises, having a mono headset is actually an advantage. You can answer calls hands-free, thanks to its multifunction button and still be aware of external sounds while driving.
You can use it while walking down the street, even without worrying about the few drops of rain coming your way, thanks to an IP54 rating.
The main interface is the already mentioned multifunction button to answer and terminate calls, plus power on/off, volume up and down buttons. It can’t be easier to use.
The Jabra Talk 65 is available in New Zealand now.
