JBL Live 770NC Review – Major HiFi

We all know the name JBL from their popular product line of consumer headphones, earbuds, speakers, and other accessories. Their headphones are always reliable and fun, made for an audience who are looking for bass and solid ANC. Their latest over-ear headphones are from their Live product line, with the 770NC. These headphones sit at $199, so let’s see if they offer something more for JBL fans to bite on.

What You Get

• JBL Live 770NC headphones
• USB-C Charging Cable
• Detachable audio cable
• Warranty/Warning
• QSG

Look & Feel

This is a pretty standard design for JBL. They have an identifiable construction that works, even if it comes off as plasticy and toy-like. The 770NC has a cool blue finish that gives off a stylish look, especially with its nicely knitted fabric covering on its headband. The ear cups are quite small but fit over my big ear without much fuss. It doesn’t feature a ton of breathable room, but my ears feel secure and there’s not a ton of added pressure on my head.

Design & Functionality

The 770NC has a 40mm dynamic driver, which gives the headphones a good amount of loudness. Sometimes Bluetooth headphones can have an issue with not being very loud, but with the 770NC you can reach a comfortable gain with plenty of headroom to spare. Having good ANC helps with this too, and the 770NC has very good noise-canceling. The level of isolation here is perfect for daily commutes and airplane travel. There are also ambient awareness and talk-through options that are all accessible with customizable gestures. These gestures are very responsive and feel as natural as a button click. You can download the JBL Headphones app, which houses these features in addition to an in-app EQ, Personi-FI sound personalization, and spatial audio modes.

Bluetooth

The 770NC has fast pairing and a stable wireless connection through Bluetooth 5.3. This Bluetooth offers a multipoint connection, as well as LE Audio which could eventually support Auracast.

Battery Life

I’ve been impressed by how much better wireless headphone batteries have become, with the recent EarFun Wave Pro featuring a mammoth battery life for such little money. The JBL Live 770NC features fifty hours of battery life with fast charging. Without any extra features being used, the 770NC could get up to 65 hours of playtime, surpassing even the Sennheiser Momentum 4.

Soundstage

The 770NC does the best it can spreading out its stereo field with its limited space. Sometimes it can be quite surprising, but the imaging still feels constrained. There’s great left and right channel balance though, as the soundstage can communicate some distinct positioning for what you usually get from JBL. You can hear some forward presentations with most vocals and some instruments that give the 770NC some form of a spherical shape, but the way the bass is pushed makes everything feel way too solidified. This helps in spatial mode, but it cannot fix how the individual elements are organized in the mix.

Low End

JBL has an in-house sound profile that is full of thick and bodied bass. Without EQ, the bass is already very dominant, but it doesn’t have a ton of shape to it. You get a rich bloom of bass tone consistently throughout the sound signature, with only the idea of individual notes buried in there somewhere in the fog of resonance. However, nothing is probably going to stop you from enjoying this textured surface that makes most high-energy tracks a ton of fun to listen to. It might not be the most organized bass, but it’s still one you can feel the impact of.

Mids

Without EQ, this is your typical v-shaped sound signature. The mids are mostly recessed, but to a degree that is non-destructive and fitting for certain genres of music. Nothing feels hollow, giving the mids a mostly inoffensive presentation. Vocals are clear and are the most dominant area of the frequency response. Adjusting with EQ adds some snap to certain notes, but don’t expect for anything beyond a surface level of detail to appear.

Highs

There’s a satisfying presence of high frequencies here that add a nice sheen to the top end of the headphones. It’s mostly used to add color, with a light shimmer resonating throughout. It extends the height and overall identity of the treble, which only needed minor bumps in EQ for me to bring out crisper details.

Summary

The Live 770NC is chock full of features and mostly gives you everything you would want from a pair of wireless headphones made by JBL. Its tuning is by no means perfect, but its textured, fun bass and highs are easy to enjoy for most listeners. Other options like spatial audio, ANC, and touch gestures are all in good form, adding to the Bluetooth experience in unique ways.

The JBL Live 770NC is available at Audio46.