True Wireless JBL Deep Bass Sound Earbuds, Bluetooth 5.2

5.0 out of 5 stars

Top quality audio after a few adjustments

This review is about the audio features of the JBL Vibe Beam earbuds.I’m an audio engineer so audio quality is very important to me. As such, I use wired connections as much as possible to maintain the integrity of the audio signal. However, many newer consumer-level products no longer have audio jacks, so I finally decided to invest in some wireless earbuds as a backup to the other earphones and headphones that I use. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money as I didn’t foresee myself using this product very much, and since this is my first foray into wireless audio earphones, if they were just ok or they broke after a while, then I wouldn’t feel too bad about the little money that I spent. Also, I wanted to focus on finding wireless earbuds with excellent audio quality first as I already have an excellent high-end bluetooth earpiece for cell phone use, and I wouldn’t be using this product as a bluetooth headset for my phone.After doing much research, I chose the JBL Vibe Beam’s as they were at my price point, I’m familiar with JBL products, and I could reasonably expect that they were likely deliver the high audio quality that I’ve come to expect from JBL products. In my research, I read reviews that complained about the harshness of the high end with high frequency instruments like cymbals or the lack of bass, so I was a bit concerned.When I received and started listening to my JBL Vibe Beams I understood what people were talking about. However, to correct the issues, first, one must have a great fit of the earbuds in their ears. I’m fortunate, in that with the medium tips that were already installed on the Vibe Beams, they made a snug fit in my ears right out of the box. If you find that these earbuds do not fit well in your ears it might be worthwhile to invest in a separate set of variable sized earbud tips, or try tips from one of your other well-fitting earbuds, if you have them. Once the earbuds were seated properly in my ear, that took care of the poor bass issue. (I have not worn them long-term so I can’t speak to them falling out of my ear, as others have mentioned, but they seem to stay in pretty well.)For the misaligned frequency response issue, fortunately, the JBL Headphone app that you can install on your cell phone includes a ten-band graphic equalizer that you can use to make adjustments to the frequency response of your earbuds. After listening to several of the reference tracks I use to check new audio equipment or my mixes against, I found that the only adjustments needed were carving out some of the upper midrange and making a very slight boost in the bottom end of the lower frequency spectrum. I’ve included a screenshot of my EQ curve which I based on the Bass preset in the JBL app. You can’t tell as there is no dB scale on the side, but I needed to cut or boost by only 1-2 dB. I find that my new EQ curve gives a more balanced frequency response than what came out of the box, and matches up well against the reference speaker system and headphones that I use for my audio mixing and mastering work. I invite you to use my EQ curve as a starting point and adjust as sounds best to you.I also read reviews complaining about the apparent lack of volume of the Vibe Beams. I connected the JBL’s to several different sources (phone, computer, TV, MP3 player, etc.) and I found that the overall maximum volume (with limiter off) is relatively lower than wired speaker versions. However, the input to the JBL’s is relative to the maximum output of the source itself. I found that the loudest level I could get came from my iPhone and the lowest level output came from my MP3 player (which probably doesn’t offer much output anyway being a tiny portable unit). As a comparison, I did a side-by-side test of the JBL’s with my wife’s AirPods (2nd gen). What I found was that the JBL’s offered an almost identical audio output level as the AirPods with any of the sources I used so that confirmed that the output level of the JBL’s has more to do with the source (and the source material as some songs are mastered at a lower volume than other songs) than with the earbuds themselves. During my test, I put the JBL’s at their maximum volume output (one tap at a time on the left bud to raise the volume). Also, I noticed during my testing that the AirPods had a pleasing midrange sound perfect for listening to podcasts or watching video, but the JBL’s excelled at full-range sound on the bottom and top ends of the frequency spectrum which made them sound much better over all and well-suited for music or listening to explosive action scenes in movies.And speaking of movies, the JBL app has a switchable audio/video mode. The video mode reduces the latency of the delivery of audio against picture, so there isn’t a noticeable lip-sync issue with dialogue in a scene. However, there is a slight degradation in the audio quality of ‘video’ mode versus ‘audio’ mode, but you will have to make the determination if the change in audio quality is acceptable to you.As a side note, I included a picture of the inner side of the earbuds. The ‘L’ and ‘R’ designations on the earbuds are tiny as you can see, plus they are the same color as the earbuds themselves, so they are very hard to see. I wish JBL had made the L/R letters bigger or at least made them a different color so they would be easier to see.The pairing process was fairly easy with all my bluetooth-capable devices and the range was good, only dropping out after walking approximately 60-70 feet from the source. There was one momentary dropout during my listening but that could be due to my wife using her AirPods the same time as I was using the JBL’s.I can’t speak to the other features of the JBL Vibe Beams as I don’t intend to use them, but as far as audio quality goes, with just a few minor tweaks, these bluetooth earbuds can go from sounding like a $50 pair of earbuds to a $500 pair of reference earphones.

811 people found this helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars

Good sound quality and battery life

Great sound quality, bass and effects are above the price I pay for this. The battery life is great, based on my use I charge either once or twice a week and it charges within 30-45 mins from very low to full. The touch sensors on the buds were a shocker because they actually work great. Ideal for music and podcasts etc. Poor noise cancelation though, can be used for calls but it picks up background noise from far away. All in all, great headphones for the price.

9 people found this helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars

Finally! Something that stays in my ears!

I’ve now gone through 3 sets of AirPods. They never stayed in my ears! Even the AirPod Pros would fall out, including one that fell out of my ear, rolled into the street, and was run over by a bus. I’ve had the JBL ear buds for 30 minutes now and they fit perfectly! The sound is great and I had no trouble connecting them to my iPhone. Highly recommend and the price is great.

16 people found this helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars

Works good, worth the price!

I was looking to get a new pair of AirPods, as I’m still on the first generation and they’re starting to die out. I found these and am on a budget so decided to try them instead. I really like them, they work just as well as my AirPods and that’s all I cared about! I also like that there’s different earbud sizes, so they fit in my ear better, my AirPods always fell out but these feel more secure. They also come in cute colors, I got the mint and they definitely look more blue than green but that’s okay. Tapping on the side to pause/skip also works way better than my AirPods ever did. I have no reason to not like these so far!Edited: I finally wore these to the office and the sound quality is not as great as I had originally thought, it was almost distracting, I definitely noticed a difference vs my AirPods. I think these would be great for kids or as a workout headphone but not for an everyday headphone.

2 people found this helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars

Great phone call quality and great sound but….

Unfortunately the battery life is terrible. I work as a service advisor at a large dealership. I use the right ear peice only most of the time so I can clearly hear customers and technicians, but still hear and receive messages and calls. I love how clearly I can hear people on phone calls and how well they can hear me. Unless I’m in the back shop with the loud noises from the mechanics (of course). I only get about a half of a work day before I hear the friendly female voice say “battery low”, and I’m forced to put the right one back in the charging case and switch to the left, which is not preferable as I use my left ear to answer the work phone.My only other negative is that you can’t use the find my feature if they’re in the case. The other evening as I was emptying my pockets to go to bed I noticed they were missing. It turns out they fell out of my pocket while home TV and it it took me a while to find them. It would’ve been nice to be able to find them quicker.On the positive side though.I love the ambient aware feature so I really can have conversations without taking them out.They are comfortable and stay in my ears even on my 7 mile bike ride home after work.The sound quality for videos and music are great, no complaints there.When these die or I lose them I’ll definitely stay with JBL. Either these again or I’ll see if there’s one with a little better battery life.Overall you can’t beat the price for what you get.

3 people found this helpful