The $329 Jabra Evolve2 65 Flex improves noise cancellation on the Evolve2 65 by adding a retractable boom mic and hinges on the earcups that allow them to fold flat for storage. It carries over much of what made the previous model successful, with plush earpads and reliable mic quality. However, the Evolve2 65 Flex falls a little short of its predecessor’s strengths because its mic doesn’t reach your face and its active noise cancellation (ANC) isn’t on par with competitors. If you don’t need noise cancellation, the Evolve2 65 is still available and costs $301 less. If you want higher ANC, Jabra’s $403 Evolve 2 75 is our Editors’ Choice for noise-canceling Bluetooth headsets.
Design: On-ear comfort
The Jabra Evolve2 65 Flex is only available in black and has a nondescript look. Soft, leather-like material covers the plush foam earpads, and the headband has the same level of padding. The on-ear fit felt a little too loose for my small head, though people with larger noggins may have a better experience. For comparison, the Evolve2 75 has thicker padding around the headband and comes in black or gold beige.
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Internally, the 28mm driver provides a 20Hz to 20kHz frequency range for music. The headset supports Bluetooth 5.2, AAC and SBC Codecand Google Fast Pair. You can connect up to two devices simultaneously, although this requires plugging the included USB adapter into your computer The latter remembers up to eight devices for easy pairing. You can use the headset with any VoIP serviceBut it comes in specially made version Microsoft team or Unified Communications (UC) if required.
Hinges on the top of the earcups allow you to turn and collapse the headphones inward for more compact storage. The right earcup has a small, retractable boom mic that extends slightly to make it easy to hold and lower for calls. Two analog and four digital mics cover the 20Hz to 10kHz frequency range in both analog and digital modes. You can mute calls by raising the boom mic or unmute it by lowering it to your face A button on the top of the right earcup mutes calls, as well as invokes your device’s voice assistant when you’re not on a call. You can answer or end calls by pressing the flat round button on the outside of the right earcup. This button activates Microsoft Teams controls if you have that version of the headset.
The volume buttons on the right earcup are next to the music playback button. If you hold them (down for back, up for forward), they also handle track navigation. I prefer headsets that separate these controls because I often accidentally trigger the wrong function by holding down the button for too long.
A button at the top of the left earcup cycles between ANC, HearThrough (clarity) and Off settings, while the power/Bluetooth pairing button is at the bottom. A USB-C port is included for charging. The left earcup supports wireless charging via an optional charging stand (which brings the cost down to $389). Place the back of the left earcup on the pad to start charging. The headset doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack, but each earcup has a red busy light that you can set to turn on when you’re on a call so people know you’re busy.
The package includes a rectangular felt pouch, the aforementioned Bluetooth dongle, and a USB-A-to-USB-C cable. (Jabra sent me a USB-A model to test but sells a USB-C version). The pouch provides some structure and closes securely with an elastic band, although I would prefer if it was more protective and used a material that better resists dust, dirt and hair.
Jabra claims you can get up to 32 hours of music playback time with ANC off and up to 21 hours with it on. As for talk time, you get 15 hours with ANC and busy light on or 20 hours with ANC enabled and busy light off. The headset takes up to 2 hours to fully charge, though you can get it up to 45% in just 30 minutes. For comparison, the Evolve2 75 offers up to 36 hours of music playback and 18 hours of talk time with ANC and busy lighting.
Software: Feature rich and flexible
The Jabra Sound+ app (available for Android and iOS) lets you download the latest firmware updates, adjust audio with five-band EQBusy light programming, and even listening to white noise soundscapes. There are also six music presets if you don’t want to manually manage the EQ: Bass Boost, Energize, Neutral (default), Smooth, Speech, and Treble Boost. The app lets you adjust many aspects of the call experience, including sidetone levels, which control how loud you hear your voice in calls. I found this feature very important when I took a call with the noise cancellation on high because I initially had a hard time hearing myself. Unfortunately, even with the sidetone set to the highest level I didn’t feel natural.
You must plug the included Bluetooth adapter into your computer to access the Jabra Direct app (available for macOS and Windows). It’s almost identical to the Jabra Sound+ app, and the recent redesign has improved its layout. If you’re not interested in making any audio adjustments or seamlessly switching between source devices, you can pair the headset directly to your computer via Bluetooth.
Usability: Some fumbling required
I had no problem connecting the USB dongle to my computer and then to my headset, although I did have a bit of trouble connecting to my phone and back to the computer first. I fixed this by going to my computer’s sound settings and choosing headset as the target for sound output. Headphones are better at switching between devices when a phone call comes in than switching between songs or videos In testing, the headset seamlessly switched between audio and video Netflix Show an incoming call on my computer iPhone 14 Pro And then back again.
As with other Jabra headsets, connecting two devices at once can be tricky at times as one device may not register initially. I’ve found that pairing the headset with your phone first instead of your computer makes for a more reliable experience
I don’t like the extra step of plugging in a dongle, so I stuck to connecting the headset directly to my computer via Bluetooth. I didn’t notice any difference in audio quality between the two types of connections when watching movies, listening to music or making calls. As mentioned, the biggest downsides to using a direct Bluetooth connection are that you lose the ability to connect to two devices at once and access the Jabra Direct desktop app for sidetone adjustments. I never felt like I needed to adjust the general audio performance, although I wished I could better adjust the sidetones on calls at volume with ANC.
Noise Cancellation: Not competitive
The headset offers a decent level of passive noise cancellation, but its active noise cancellation is merely serviceable. When I tested it in a bedroom with an open window, the circuitry did a good job of blocking out most of the sound of my neighbor’s kid talking in his yard, but I could still hear cars passing by on the busy street near my house. I can still hear the click of my keyboard and the whirring of a fan.
The Jabra Evolve2 65 Flex has an ANC pass-through mode (transparency) that does a good job of hearing the sounds around you. However, it introduces a bit of an ambient buzz.
If ANC is important to you and having a boom mic isn’t a must, you’re better off with $429 Bose QuietComfort Ultra HeadphonesIt’s the best noise-canceling headphone we’ve tested. In the Bluetooth headset segment, the older Evolve2 75 performs better than the Evolve2 65 Flex in similar situations.
Sound and Mic Quality: Decent and tweakable
The headset does an average job for music playback. You can hear all the deep bass on our test track, The Knife’s “Silent Scream,” but the song sounds a little flat and lacks energy overall. Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is on board to prevent distortion and hearing loss.
The acoustic notes sound pure and bright on Yes’ “Roundabout,” but I couldn’t make out any string texture. Bass lacks any kind of depth, while vocals are difficult to understand with the default settings. You can certainly use the in-app EQ to emphasize different aspects of the music, though I found the results uneven and track-dependent.
That said, the default settings work well for Joy Woods’ powerhouse vocals on “My Days” from “The Notebook the Musical.” I hear the delicacy of his belt, which never gives way to the orchestra.
The mic did a good job capturing audio recorded in the Voice Memos app on my iPhone. My words sounded clear, although the mics took on some distortion from when I adjusted the headset.
Voice calls I’ve made on my phone sound just as good I had no trouble hearing people on the other end of the call, and people thought I sounded normal, though not exceptionally clear. Generally, I prefer longer boom mics that go closer to my face because they provide better audio capture.
Mic quality for FaceTime was equally clear, Google MeetAnd zoom Video calls on my computer and phone, and I’ve had no problem hearing anyone else on the call.
Verdict: Comfortable and capable, but noise cancellation isn’t the focus
The Jabra Evolve2 65 Flex headset looks a bit plain, but its super-comfortable earpads and crisp, retractable boom mic make it a versatile option for office work and more. We wish the boom mic were more expansive, and its noise cancellation stronger. If noise cancellation isn’t a major factor for you, we suggest you save some money and pick up the older Evolve2 65 instead. If you want noise cancellation, you’re better off spending more for the Evolve2 75, which offers better sound quality and longer battery life in addition to higher ANC.
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