JBL LIVE 650BTNC

These comfortably fitting over-ears are primarily made of plastic, and appear robust and perfectly finished. The fit is tight rather than loose so that there is a stable hold even in the event of an intermediate sprint. Since the oval-shaped shells are not suspended straight but slightly slanted, the ears are enclosed by the imitation leather upholstery which enhances shielding from the outside world. At the same time, development of heat is perceptible, but this stays within acceptable levels.

Device control and voice service integration

Pairing of these over-ears, which support Bluetooth standard 4.2, is done directly when they are switched on via the power slide button as they are automatically set to pairing mode. The central remote button can then be used to control the start/stop function and to accept and end calls. In addition, a separate volume control is available, and the buttons can also be used for title navigation by holding down the button and pressing the plus or minus to jump forward or backward. While the remote responds reliably overall, it is the good speech intelligibility when telephoning and the stability of the wireless connection, in conjunction with various Android and iOS systems, that have attracted positive attention. In some cases, the range was over ten metres. It is also useful that two coupled devices such as a Smartphone and tablet give priority to calls and can be switched seamlessly.

An additional plus point is the successful integration of Google Assistant, which allows you to communicate at any time as soon as voice control has been set up via the JBL Headphones App. A touch pad, which covers the surface of the left headphone cup, serves as the button to activate the assistant, this interaction also covers reading out messages and answering them using voice support.

Sound

These Bluetooth headphones are balanced, have a clear sound and a high output that offers reserves. The slightly springy basses appear slim rather than voluminous, well defined and reproduce the deep bass range. While vocals and lead instruments are presented in a spacious manner, the trebles show a constant presence without noticeably decreasing. Even the well-structured sound stage is not too compact and conveys a sense of three-dimensionality, especially as the sound has an appealing liveliness. In this respect these headphones are versatile and cover a wide musical spectrum. The only thing worthy of criticism is that the sound is a little blurry and only the SBC codec is supported.

In ANC mode, on the other hand, there is a more bass-driven tuning that does not cover mid-range and treble. This gives the sound a richer density and eliminates monotonous, low frequency external noise. Even the rattling of a sewing machine, for example, is hardly noticeable. Complex street noise, a kettle boiling or the kitchen radio do noticeably reduce noise suppression. One drawback is the existing background noise, especially as it can be perceived as annoying that the ANC mode is automatically active when the headphones are switched on. If you don’t want to use noise suppression, you have to switch it off first, which is done via a separate button.

JBL Headphones App

With the free app, the headphones can be refreshed with firmware updates. In addition, an equalizer offers the option of individually adjusting the sound, which can be done using preconfigured presets such as “Bass”, “Vocals” or “Jazz” or your own settings.