JBL UA Sport Wireless Train

The housing of these headphones continues the sporty aesthetic, with a black headband and ear cushions that are more than adequately padded for comfort. The padding itself is made of a breathable material that’s both sweat-absorbent and fast-drying. Furthermore, the ear cushions can be removed easily for hand washing should the need arise.

The earpieces themselves can be folded thanks to metal hinges, allowing you to compact the headphones down to a more discreet size for easy transportation. The entire design showcases a clear attention to detail and high levels of workmanship, with a robust aesthetic that convinces it will hold up well to regular listening during sporting activity.

JBL specifices a runtime of approximately 16 hours after a full charge. For the purposes of charging the 610 mAh battery, you’ll find a Micro-USB cable included with the main headphone model. Thanks to a quick charging option, you can slash charging time to just five minutes, with approximately one hour of runtime then available to you. Should this not be enough for you, you can disable Bluetooth functionality and opt for conventional connection with the supplied mini jack cable.

In Practice

At 241 grams without the cable attached, these headphones are relatively lightweight and sit comfortably and securely on the head thanks to a non-slip design. An adjustable headband and quality padding also serve to secure them in place during longer periods of listening on the go. What quickly impressed me about these headphones is the user-friendly controls. There are two protruding buttons clearly showcases that allow for volume adjustment and jumping between tracks during music playback. A third button can be found in the centre that takes charge of start/pause functions, as well as call handling and the option to activate a voice assistant if connected to a smartphone. A further slide switch activates the handset or triggers pairing. It might sound very conventional and much like the competition, but in practice, you’ll really appreciate how user-friendly it all is, with minimal fumbling guaranteed.

A special feature worth mentioning is the so-called “Talk Thru Function”. Simply press on the logo on the right earpiece to trigger it, with music playback reduced significantly and the microphone and noise-cancelling capabilities activated for clear communication. Speech intelligibility is fair, although I did think things could have been slightly clearer. On the other hand, speech quality is generally strong when applied to telephone calls.

In contrast to traditional touch functionality offered by so many competitors, Talk Thru serves a permanent switching function. This makes a lot of sense, particularly when you consider that in the fitness arena, you may have your hands attached to the device for a particular period of time. However, what did puzzle me here was that the discreetly operational noise cancellation properties cannot be used in music playback mode.

Sound

The 40 mm dynamic drivers deliver decent response and output. Powerful and balanced sound are assured, at least in relation to the price you’re paying here. However, if you’re someone who tends to listen at higher volumes, you may find yourself disturbing training partners, with the some degree of sound leakage proving a minor hindrance.

Audio playback demonstrates a detailed and open sound image that’s not too hard. There’s also quality resolution when it comes to the stereo image. The bass range is tight and not emphasised beyond what it should be, while low basses, dynamic and tonal differences are clearly reproduced. You can also expect a lack of pressure, although I do admit to preferring the sound output at higher listening levels. Finally, the central mid-range of vocals and acoustic instruments is a pleasant and harmonious affair. All in all, this JBL headphone model offers universal suitability to all manner of genres and styles. One final nag is that I found the lack of information about supported Bluetooth codecs an issue, particularly for an established manufacturer like JBL.