Best JBL Headphones on a Train, at the Gym or on a Flight
JBL's names are the quickest guide: Tune, Live, Tour, Endurance. Which model suits the commute, the gym and long flights, with battery and water ratings.
The Tune 780NC, about $150, is the JBL to buy for a commute. For the gym, take the Endurance Peak 4, about $130; for long flights, the Tour One M3 Smart Tx, about $450. The Tune 530BT, about $60, is the cheapest worth having.
JBL sells dozens of headphones at once, with the last generation sitting beside the new one, so the name is the quickest guide. Tune is the cheap line, Live is the middle, Tour is the top and Endurance is for sport. On the Tune and Live headband models a first digit of 7 means over-ear and a 5 or 6 means on-ear. NC at the end means noise cancelling.
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The Tune 780NC for commuting
At about $150 it is the cheapest over-ear model with noise cancelling in the newest Tune line. JBL calls the noise cancelling adaptive, meaning it adjusts itself to the noise around you, and the Ambient Aware and TalkThru modes let outside sound in when there is an announcement to catch. JBL gives it 50 hours with noise cancelling on. It folds flat and weighs 225 grams. JBL Tune 780NC on Amazon
The on-ear version, the Tune 680NC, has the same battery figures for about $110.
Earbuds are easier to carry, and the Tune Beam 2 has adaptive noise cancelling and an IP54 rating against dust and splashes. With noise cancelling on, JBL gives 10 hours in the buds and 30 more in the case. JBL announced it at about $100, and its US store now lists it at about $110. JBL Tune Beam 2 on Amazon
The Live Beam 3 at about $230 is the step up: LDAC, an IP55 rating and the touchscreen case. That is more than double the price, and for a train or a bus we would not pay it. JBL Live Beam 3 on Amazon
The Endurance Peak 4 for the gym
About $130 for earbuds rated IP68, which JBL describes as waterproof and dustproof. They hang on ear hooks that JBL says keep the fit secure. It is the first Peak with noise cancelling. JBL gives 12 hours in the buds and 36 more in the case with noise cancelling off, or 8 plus 24 with it on. JBL Endurance Peak 4 on Amazon
The cheaper choice is the Endurance Race 2. It is also IP68, with noise cancelling and the same 12 plus 36 hours, but it is held in the ear by a wing tip where the Peak has a hook. JBL announced it at about $80. JBL’s US store and Best Buy now list it at about $90. JBL Endurance Race 2 on Amazon
Running outdoors with an ear on the traffic calls for the open-ear Endurance Zone, about $180 and also IP68. Leave the headband models at home: JBL states no water or sweat rating for any of them.
The Tour One M3 for long flights
The Tour One M3 Smart Tx is about $450. The Smart Tx is a small transmitter that plugs into a 3.5mm or USB-C socket and sends the sound to the headphones without a cable. JBL names the in-flight entertainment system as one of its uses and gives the transmitter an 18-hour battery. The headphones run 40 hours with noise cancelling on, and the noise cancelling uses eight microphones. JBL Tour One M3 on Amazon
Harman announced this model at $399.95. Abt now lists it at $449.95.
That is a lot of money for a transmitter. The Live 780NC at about $250 and the Tune 780NC at about $150 both come with a USB-C to 3.5mm cable for wired listening, and both run 50 hours with noise cancelling on. That is longer than any flight there is. JBL Live 780NC on Amazon
Among earbuds, the charging case of the Tour Pro 3, about $330, works as a transmitter in the same way. The buds last 8 hours with noise cancelling on before they need the case. JBL Tour Pro 3 on Amazon
The cheapest JBL worth having
The Tune 530BT, at about $60, is an on-ear headband model with a 76-hour battery, the same figure JBL gives for the dearer Tune models, and JBL says five minutes on the charger adds five hours. It connects to two devices at once. It has no noise cancelling and no water rating. JBL Tune 530BT on Amazon
JBL does sell cheaper. The wired Tune 530 is about $35, and the Tune 135BT and 235BT, wireless earphones joined by a cable, are about $40 with a 25-hour battery and an IPX4 splash rating. We would still pay the extra $20 for the 530BT and its three times longer battery.
The Tune 730BT at about $90 is the same set of features in an over-ear shape. JBL Tune 730BT on Amazon The earbuds at this price are the Vibe Beam 2, about $65, with noise cancelling and an IP54 rating. JBL Vibe Beam 2 on Amazon
Eleven models by battery, water rating and price
Prices are US list prices, rounded. For the newest models that is the figure in JBL’s own announcement, such as the one for the current Tune line. Older models have gone up since launch, so those use the list price shown by Abt, a US electronics shop that sells JBL, and the two it does not stock are explained above. Shops often sell below list, so treat these as ceilings.
| Model | Type | Battery, by JBL’s figures | Noise cancelling | Water rating | Bluetooth | US list price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tune 530BT | On-ear | 76 hours | No | None stated | 6.0 | about $60 |
| Tune 730BT | Over-ear | 76 hours | No | None stated | 6.0 | about $90 |
| Tune 780NC | Over-ear | 76 hours, or 50 with noise cancelling on | Adaptive | None stated | 6.0 | about $150 |
| Live 780NC | Over-ear | 80 hours, or 50 with noise cancelling on | True Adaptive 2.0 | None stated | 6.0, LDAC | about $250 |
| Tour One M3 Smart Tx | Over-ear | 70 hours, or 40 with noise cancelling on | True Adaptive 2.0 | None stated | 5.3, LDAC | about $450 |
| Vibe Beam 2 | True wireless | 10 hours, plus 30 in the case | Yes | IP54 | 5.3 | about $65 |
| Tune Beam 2 | True wireless | 12 hours, plus 36 in the case | Adaptive | IP54 | 5.3 | about $110 |
| Live Beam 3 | True wireless | 12 hours, plus 36 in the case | True Adaptive | IP55 | 5.3, LDAC | about $230 |
| Tour Pro 3 | True wireless | 11 hours, plus 33 in the case | True Adaptive 2.0 | IP55 | 5.3, LDAC | about $330 |
| Endurance Race 2 | True wireless, sport | 12 hours, plus 36 in the case | Yes | IP68 | 5.3 | about $90 |
| Endurance Peak 4 | True wireless, ear hooks | 12 hours, plus 36 in the case | Adaptive | IP68 | 5.4 | about $130 |
The earbud figures are with noise cancelling off. “None stated” means JBL’s product page gives no water rating at all. JBL names a Bluetooth codec only on the Live and Tour models, where it is LDAC.
JBL Tune vs Live, and the other lines
Tune is the entry line. Headband models start at about $60, and noise cancelling starts at about $110 with the on-ear Tune 680NC. The Vibe line has the cheapest true wireless earbuds, from about $65.
Live costs about $100 more at the over-ear size. For that the Live 780NC adds LDAC and the system JBL calls True Adaptive Noise Cancelling, with six microphones. The battery figures are close: 80 hours against 76, and 50 each with noise cancelling on. The Live earbuds come in a charging case with a touchscreen.
Tour, the top of the range, is the Tour One M3 headphones and the Tour Pro 3 earbuds. Endurance is the sport line, and the Race 2, Peak 4, Zone and Pace are all rated IP68.
Sense and Soundgear are open-ear models that sit outside the ear canal, so you still hear what is around you. The Sense Lite and Soundgear Clips are about $150 and the Sense Pro about $200. Quantum is gaming headsets with a boom microphone, and JBL announced the wired Quantum 250 at about $80. Junior is headphones for children.
Battery, water and codec figures
Noise cancelling costs hours. The Tune 780NC drops from 76 to 50 with it on, and the Tour One M3 from 70 to 40.
IPX4 and IP54 cover splashes, and the 5 in IP54 adds protection from dust. JBL describes IP54 and IP55 earbuds as water and dust resistant. For heavy use, look for IP68: JBL says the Endurance Race 2 earbuds can survive being submerged deeper than a metre in fresh or sea water. The rating belongs to the earbuds. The Race 2’s charging case is only IPX2.
The newest Tune and Live headband models are on Bluetooth 6.0, which JBL says uses less power and cuts delay. Everything else in the table is on 5.3 or 5.4. If sound lagging behind a film or a game is the worry, look at aptX low latency headphones and the transmitters they rely on.
JBL names LDAC on the Live and Tour models. Its Tour Pro 3 announcement says LDAC works on Android 8.0 or later and is not supported on iOS, so iPhone owners should not pay extra for it.
Most of these work with the JBL Headphones app, which has an equalizer, and on Android you can also use a separate equalizer app.
Older JBL models and their replacements
The Tune 750BTNC gave way to the Tune 780NC, and the on-ear Tune 600BTNC to the Tune 680NC. The Club name has left the headphone range: the Live 680NC, on-ear at about $160, and the Live 780NC sit where the Club 700BT and Club 950NC did. The Reflect Flow is gone too, since JBL’s new sport earbuds all carry the Endurance name, and the nearest match is the Endurance Race 2.
JBL prices in India
Harman’s Indian announcements put the Live 780NC at Rs 15,999 and the Live 680NC at Rs 11,999. The Tour One M3 was announced at Rs 34,999, or Rs 39,999 with the Smart Tx transmitter.
