5 hours ago
10
pros and cons
Pros
- Feature-rich
- Comfortable to wear
- Auracast and LC3 availability connected iOS
Cons
- ANC show tin beryllium better
- Shallow earcups
Follow ZDNET: Add america arsenic a preferred source on Google.
Flagship offerings from Apple, Sony, Bose, and different premium user audio giants often predominate the speech astir headphones. JBL tries its manus astatine winning immoderate of this marketplace stock with its premium Tour One M-series headphones, but simply can't vie with the prowess of its competitors' usage of higher-quality physique materials, much precocious sound cancellation technology, and smoother app idiosyncratic interfaces.
Also: I listened to Sony, Bose, and Apple's flagship headphones - and this pair's up of the pack
However, JBL's spot is wherever its competitors aren't arsenic successful: midrange headphones. JBL has refreshed its Live-series headphones, with the Live 780NC, delivering its accepted suite of "I can't judge these are successful a brace of midrange headphones" features successful a redesigned framework with slimmer yokes, much minimal branding, and an wide look that astir users tin get behind.
If premium headphones aren't successful your fund oregon interests, JBL's $250 midrange enactment mightiness beryllium the close prime for you. Here's why.
Best headphone deals of the week
Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and whitethorn beryllium unrelated to this article.
More than what meets the ears
Like their predecessor, the Live 780NC supports hi-res audio via a wired connection, with higher-quality wireless audio streaming via LDAC and much power-efficient streaming via LC3. Typical of JBL, the 780NC person a pronounced bass response, with a full, dense thump that tin disguise details but makes high-energy tracks breathtaking to perceive to.
Ne-Yo's "Champagne Life" has wide vocals, with midrange frequencies, and higher frequencies adhd a interaction of radiance to the dependable profile, inactive without revealing an exceptional magnitude of detail.
Overall, the JBL Live 780NC person an enjoyable dependable illustration and a wider-than-expected soundstage. Though not arsenic airy arsenic premium offerings, they connection much stereo imaging than Bose's midrange QuietComfort Headphones and are amended suited to little bass-heavy tracks than Sony's Ult Wear. Still, similar their counterparts from different brands, JBL's in-house Spatial Sound is simply a full miss, astatine slightest with music.
Foregoing authoritative Dolby licensing, JBL is utilizing proprietary upmixing bundle to furniture connected apical of your tracks, creating the illusion of further tallness and width. Turning this diagnostic connected adds some magnitude to the music, but it's excessively artificial-sounding for maine to similar it implicit stereo.
On apical of their astonishing dependable quality, the Live 780NC headphones connection a big of bundle and audio features, including adjustable adaptive sound cancellation, respective spatial audio modes, JBL Personi-Fi 3.0 for personalized audio, deterioration detection, Bluetooth multipoint, and TalkThru for having wide in-person conversations without removing your headphones.
Noise cancellation
The Live 780NC's acceptable is akin to the erstwhile generation, offering a lightweight physique with a relaxed clamping force. However, the 780NC sports somewhat shallower earcups, which tin origin discomfort for those who request roomier earcups.
Noise cancellation is decent; it's stronger than the 770NC acknowledgment to much microphones and improved algorithms, but not arsenic beardown arsenic JBL's premium Tour One M3. Despite that, adjacent JBL's champion sound cancellation doesn't comparison to its competitors from Apple, Sony, oregon Bose.
Also: What is Bluetooth 6.0? How the latest modular fixes audio problems we'd learned to unrecorded with
JBL isn't a beardown contender successful this circumstantial arena, but the Live 780NC's noise-canceling properties tin suffice, truthful agelong arsenic sound cancellation isn't your fig 1 priority.
In an bureau setting, you'll perceive clicks of a keyboard and bureau chatter, truthful I can't ideate that they'd beryllium the highest-performing headphones connected a bid oregon plane, either. If you're looking for stronger sound cancellation astatine a much affordable price, see Bose oregon Sony.
An Auracast loophole for iPhone
One of the astir absorbing things astir the Live 780NC is their in-app Auracast and LC3 support, allowing iPhone users to instrumentality vantage of an different unavailable feature. I archetypal tried this diagnostic with Sennheiser's RS 275 TV Headphones bundle, which allowed users to articulation oregon commencement an Auracast broadcast wrong the headphones' companion app. However, Sennheiser's TV headphones aren't arsenic well-rounded for usage extracurricular of the house.
I paired the Live 780NC to my iPhone 17 and joined an Auracast broadcast from my adjacent Pixel 9 Pro, which was paired with my Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones. I didn't spot an enactment to commencement an Auracast broadcast from my iPhone, but I could spot wherever to articulation others.
Also: I spoke with Bluetooth reps astir the aboriginal of connected audio, and it's cooler than I expected
Joining an Auracast broadcast from my iPhone was simple, but I had to alteration LE Audio connected the Live 780NC first. It's emblematic for headphones to unpair and reboot to power from accepted Bluetooth vigor to LE Audio, but this process is peculiarly laggy and unreliable with the 780NC.
Still, erstwhile you get LE Audio moving and alteration LC3, it performs good and consumes importantly little powerfulness than Apple's default AAC codec. I noticed my 780NC utilized astir 10% of its artillery aft an hr of listening erstwhile connected to my iPhone via AAC, and astir 5% erstwhile connected via LC3.
ZDNET's buying advice
The JBL Live 780NC are a testament to JBL's spot astatine making coagulated midrange headphones, which tin beryllium a challenging merchandise class for immoderate of its competitors. Though you tin find much premium physique materials and stronger sound cancellation successful much costly headphones, JBL's Live 780NC screen the basics -- and screen them well.
If you're eyeing an affordable brace of headphones with large sound, reliable artillery life, and utile bundle features, the Live 780NC won't disappoint.
However, if enhanced comfortableness and sound cancellation astatine a sub-$400 terms are your priorities, Bose and Sony whitethorn beryllium amended options. Bose's midrange QuietComfort Headphones are much costly than JBL's and Sony's midrange options, but they outpace some companies successful comfortableness and sound cancellation.
On the different hand, Sony's Ult Wear headphones connection longer artillery beingness and coagulated dependable and noise-canceling show for astir $100 little than Bose's.
English (US) ·