JBL headphones in the test: The best over- and in-ears

The JBL in-ear headphones are available for just 75 euros (as of April 2022). Tune 230NC TWS. Apart from the unclean highs, the sound is really good, and the battery life of almost 8.5 hours is pleasantly enduring. The adaptive noise cancellation is also fun, but it doesn’t quite come close to the ANC of comparable JBL headphones. For the price, the equipment is still great.

COMPUTER BILD does not rely solely on the experienced ears of several testers: in addition to listening tests, the editors carry out numerous measurements in the laboratory in order to test headphones objectively and reproducibly. At the center is an artificial head from Brüel & Kjær, whose rubber ears are fitted with sensitive microphones on the inside. A measuring device from Audio Precision can be used to find out to what extent headphones reproduce all pitches at the correct volume, i.e. have a balanced frequency response of 20 to 20,000 Hertz. The artificial head and measuring device record any interference frequencies from the headphones, so-called distortions. Taken together, they are referred to as the distortion factor. Also important: How loud do headphones play on average smartphones? Values ​​above 100 decibels (dB) are considered hazardous to health and lead to devaluation.

In the soundproof test chamber, the so-called loudness is measured – i.e. how much noise the headphones emit to the environment: A highly sensitive microphone is 1 meter away and “listens”. The determined value is given in sone; Volumes above 1 sone disturb fellow passengers on the train, for example. All of this data is included in the test table and results in the test grade with the listening test.

JBL enthusiasts often wonder which of the company’s headphones is the best. Of course, there is no general answer to this. All of the company’s Bluetooth devices are different. As the name suggests, JBL in-ear headphones end up in the ear, often directly in the auditory canal. And even at this point there are big differences in design: with a rod or as a button in the ear? Both are possible. If you don’t like that, you also get strong technology with the JBL over-ear headphones, which easily takes on the competition from Apple, Sony, Bose and Philips. What you might not know: Since 1969, JBL has belonged to Harman International Industries, which in turn has been a 100 percent subsidiary of Samsung since 2017.

Many JBL headphones are suitable for sports activities. This is especially true for the company’s in-ear models. This is reflected in the pleasant wearing comfort and a secure hold, but also in the protection class. That’s how they bid JBL Live Pro+ and JBL Tune 230NC TWS the protection class IPX4, which protects the technology against splashing water. That’s enough for sweaty activities. Headphones are the front runners in this area Reflect Flow Pro.

The world of JBL headphones is big, varied and above all technically really strong. Whether outstanding over-ear models like that JBL Tour One or great in-ears like that JBL Live Pro+. It even gets sporty with them JBL Reflect Flow Prothat not only sound good, but are also wind and weatherproof. Hardly any other company offers such a wide range of technology that is also convincing in terms of quality.