Lightweight, foldable Bluetooth on-ears deliver bass-rich, powerful sound quality and a comfortable fit. JBL’s Tune 500BT also scores points for their rechargeable battery and multipoint connectivity, which allows the pairing of two devices. However, the headphones do not provide an additional audio input for wired use.
JBL’s handy Tune 500BT wireless on-ear headphones are comfortable to wear, provide up to 16 hours of battery life with fast charging and offer a great-sounding bass response. A 3-button remote with a built-in microphone for controlling Android and iOS devices is also available.
The Bluetooth on-ears design is the same as the wired version JBL Tune 500 and is characterized by a flexible suspension with tiltable, swivelable and retractable headphone shells. As a result, the headphones are space-saving, collapsible, easy to transport and adapt to your head very well. The soft padding on the hanger and shells provide a good fit with a firm hold that will not cause any pressure, even when worn for extended periods. The on-ears, which are primarily made of plastic, work well overall and details such as a metal-reinforced folding mechanism provide robustness.
The fast-charging, 300mAh lithium-ion battery provides up to 16 hours of operation. The battery level in combination with an iOS device is indicated by a display next to the Bluetooth symbol. If this is empty, the quick-charge function allows for a one-hour use after just five minutes of charging time, so that nothing stands in the way of spontaneous use. However, a full charge using the included USB cable takes up to two hours. The headphones do not have an audio input, though, so there is no possibility of wired use. In my opinion, this would have been more desirable over the inclusion of the fast-charging function in order to provide an alternative method of listening.
Device Control
The on-ears support the Bluetooth 4.1 standard and offered stable ranges of about ten meters in a field test with various Android and iOS devices—a respectable result, especially since the pairing was so user-friendly. Holding down the power button turns the system on and puts it into pairing mode. As soon as the connection is established, the central remote button on the right headset shell serves to control the start/stop function as well as to accept and end telephone calls. Incoming calls can also be rejected by keeping the button pressed. For volume control, however, separate plus and minus buttons are available, which can also be used for track navigation. To do this, press and hold down the plus button to jump forward and backwards.
The headphones are equipped with a multipoint connection function and can be paired with two devices at the same time. This prevents, for example, missed calls on the phone while a tablet is being used, as playback is automatically interrupted and continued after the call. Speech intelligibility when making calls is good on both sides.
Sound
The Bluetooth variant of the Tune 500 also has a high output, which offers bass-intensive listening pleasure even at low volume. The punchy, rich bass foundation reaches into both the low bass and the fundamental tone range but does not cover the middle and highs, so that the sound does not seem one-dimensional. Despite its presence in the lower frequencies, the sound image is clear and the on-ears have a well-structured stereo image, which makes them versatile if the match fits your own listening habits. At the same time, bass-driven music styles such as hip-hop, R’n’B and electro come into their own and benefit from high sound quality, so that listening to music is a fun experience.
Technical specifications
- Ear couplingOn-ear
- Typeclosed
- Transducer principledynamic
- Frequency response (headphones)20 - 20.000 Hz
- Impedance32 ohms
- Weight without cable115 g
- Cable length120 cm
What's in the box
- USB charging cable
Special features
- BT version: 4.1
- BT profiles: A2DP v1.2, AVRCP v1.5, HFP v1.6, HSP v1.2
My left ear cup of these headphones stopped working? Is anyone else facing the same problem? How can I fix this?
I have the same thing! Turns out I am deaf on one ear.
I had the same problem! One side just went very faint and then completely stopped working after less than a month of purchase. I took it back and they said it is a common issue with this model and it’s not fixable so they just replaced it with a new one.
Any good for gaming?
Brilliant for gaming as before I had to mute the xbox so no one could hear the noise but now I can have the noise on and not annoy others.
I got these jbl tune 500 bluetooth headphones for Xmas and they are exactly what I am looking for as my other headphones started to change languages and break apart slightly. These new ones are brilliant as I can now do my music programming without annoying everyone in the house with my music. I highly recommend these they are easy to use and very simple to set up and connect I will buy more of these in the future.
This thing is a complete piece of crap. It is so tight it feels like it is going to crush my head. It works fine in stereo mode and doesn’t work at all in headset mode. The sound is garbled, other side can’t hear me. DO NOT BUY THIS!
This headphones DO HAVE an external jack in. You were wrong
Hi!
No, these headphones do NOT have a jack in. But the JBL Tune 500 (without BT) have!
Hey guys, I just want to say I would give these headphones a 9.5/10 rating based on the price, performance, reliability and comfort of the headphones. All my previous headphones/earphones would give in after about 4- 5 months but these JBL headphones have lasted a whopping THREE YEARS! Come marathon sweat, rain, falling from my head to the floor multiple times a day, these headphones are here to serve their purpose: reliable high quality sound. They are affordable, comfortable and feel great.
Cap, mine broke the first time I dropped them from waist height.
Any good for gaming? Will it fall off easily while I’m playing basketball? Does the mic work good?
What happen on my headphone its coming on and off automatically with 1 minutes or 30 seconds
the sound is in stereo? because I read that they only had mono sound. Tk
I have no sound on left side im disappointed please is there any way to fix. I just purchased them a month ago. there were not cheap I spent about 90 for them. unfortunately I did not save the receipt or the package. I guess I’m sorry for your luck!
Where did you buy it?
Can you please confirm if the Tune 500BT variant is the exact same as the wired 500 model build and sound-quality-wise minus Bluetooth? Are there any differences at all?
This is of no use if you are planning to use it for online meeting or classes. This is just not headphone, it got mic as well but if that doesn’t work with online meeting tools then what’s the use of it. I do not like this product at all. JBL might have missed a crucial piece of component to make it work for online meetings.
There is an awful noise in the background of the headphones, drives me insane.
For that, I can’t use them, and would not recommend.
Turn off the cardi B music and it will fix itself
I have an issue when calling with this device. Because there were noise came out from headphones with jamming noise. It’s hard to hear and also unable hear the caller’s voice.
I wouldn’t buy this again, an absolute garbage! After a few months the right side just completely gave up (looks like it’s a common problem for others as well). Sometimes it takes 3-4 minutes to connect to either to my laptop or to my phone or only finds the device if I constantly turn it off and on. It is also so tight on the ears that I have red marks for hours afterwards. The sound is decent though but I will never buy JBL ever again, such a disappointment.
The JBL T500BT broke after 10 months. The left earbud doesn’t work sometimes, the bluetooth connection sometimes has a terrible click after connecting to a source. The left AND right plastic elements were broken, the headset covers are now fixed with adhesive tape. a shame, really a shame. i really like the sound of JBL. And that, although I otherwise use DJ headsets and the quality is of course completely different. I’m thinking of buying the JBL again. but it would just break anyway and that’s why I won’t buy it
Hallo
you sell headphones without screw heads thats why they is broken
https://disk.yandex.com/i/OSaHMb2fxQJAqQ
Please modernise you quality control department
Hi Dmitry
Unfortunately, you misunderstand something. We are neither dealers nor do we sell headphones. We are an online magazine that tests headphones. Please contact your salesperson. Thank you