Today we are testing the JBL LIVE 650BTNC and thus the flagship among JBL’s lifestyle headphones. Compared to its competitors, JBL has a relatively hard time holding its own in the headphone market. One major problem that JBL has had in recent years was weak active noise cancelling. Here we are curious to see if they could improve this.
Operating the JBL LIVE 650BTNC
The Live 650BTNC from JBL feature active noise reduction, the headphones are equipped with a 3-button remote control for device control and also support Multi Connection. A touchpad is used to interact with voice services such as Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa, while the app allows you to connect the headphones and make individual sound adjustments via EQ.
device control and integration of voice services
The pairing of these over-ear headphones, which support the Bluetooth standard 4.2, is done directly at power-on via the power slider, as they are automatically set to pairing mode. The central remote control button can then be used to control the start/stop function and to answer and end calls. A separate volume control is also available, and the volume buttons can also be used for track navigation by holding down the button and pressing the plus or minus to skip forward or backward. While the remote control overall reacts reliably, it’s the good speech intelligibility during phone calls and the stability of the wireless connection in connection with various Android and iOS systems that have attracted positive attention. In some cases the range was over ten meters. It is also useful that the second paired device, whether smartphone or tablet, gives priority to calls and can be switched seamlessly.
An additional plus point is the successful integration of the Google Assistant, with which you can communicate at any time as soon as voice control is set up via the JBL Headphones app. A touchpad, which covers the surface of the left headphone shell, serves as a button to activate the Assistant, whereby this interaction also includes reading messages aloud and answering messages via voice support.
.comfort
These comfortably fitting headphones are mainly made of plastic and look robust and perfectly manufactured. The fit is rather tight than loose, so that even when jogging a stable hold is given. As the oval shells are not straight but slightly slanted, the ears are enclosed by the synthetic leather padding, which increases the shielding from the outside world. At the same time the heat development is noticeable, but within an acceptable range.
The JBL Headphones app
JBL offers app support for some headphones, including the JBL LIVE 650BTNC. With the free app, the headphones can be updated with firmware updates. In addition, an equalizer offers the possibility of adjusting the sound individually, which can be done using preconfigured presets such as „Bass“, „Vocals“ or „Jazz“ or your own settings.
Technical details
On the battery side, these foldable, space-saving and portable headphones offer a runtime of a good 26 hours, which is on a high level. Remarkably, the quick-charge function provides capacities of up to six hours after only fifteen minutes of charging, while fully charging the lithium-polymer battery via the included USB cable takes just under two hours. In ANC mode, on the other hand, the battery life is almost 20 hours, and noise reduction is also available as a wired function. According to the manufacturer, the headphones manage up to 35 hours per charging cycle in this mode. For alternative use of the 3.5 mm audio input, a mini jack cable with a one-button remote control and integrated microphone is also included in the accessories.
sound of the JBL LIVE 650BTNC
These Bluetooth headphones are balanced, have a clear sound and a high maximum volume that offers reserves. The bass, however, appears slim rather than voluminous, but is well defined and reproduces the deep bass range well. While vocals and instruments are presented very spatially, the trebles show a constant presence without noticeably decreasing. Also the well structured sound stage is not too compact and gives a feeling of three-dimensionality, especially since the sound has an appealing liveliness. Unfortunately, JBL does not offer an official 360 degree sound. In this respect these headphones are versatile and cover a wide musical spectrum. Our only criticism is that the sound is somewhat blurred and only the SBC codec is supported. Here we would have liked a somewhat clearer sound, but this is criticism on a very high level.
In ANC mode, on the other hand, there is a more bass accentuated tuning which does not cover the mid and high frequencies. This gives the sound a richer density and eliminates monotone and low frequency noise. Even the clatter of a suburban train, for example, is hardly perceptible. Even complex street noises, conversations or even a radio noticeably reduces noise suppression. A disadvantage is the existing background noise, especially since it can be perceived as annoying that the ANC mode is automatically active when the headphones are switched on. If you do not want to use the noise suppression, you must first switch it off, which is done with a separate key. Overall, the ANC does not have the same effect as, for example, Bose and Sony’s ANC.
Our conclusion on the JBL LIVE 650BTNC
JBL offers with the JBL LIVE 650BTNC high-quality headphones in the upper class, and is still priced below Bose, Beats etc. Soundwise the JBL headphones really convince us. However, the old weakness of the ANC unfortunately remains: Although JBL has improved, the competition here is still clearly better. Therefore, we can only recommend the headphones if you don’t pay special attention to the ANC, because the sound is really very good and pleasant. And also the workmanship is really convincing.
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