Now, this is a company that shouldn’t take any introduction. No matter where in the world that you call you home, you have likely familiarized yourself with the JBL brand in one form or another (or many). They are one of the biggest players in professional audio, covering everything from DJs to full-size concert experiences. For consumers, they deliver headphones to speakers of all sorts of flavors, and the list goes on from there.
Of those headphones that come from this brand, there is a new one that broke into the world this year. It is the JBL Club 700BT wireless Bluetooth headphones. A pair of headphones that cater to the world of club-goers, DJs, rap enthusiasts, and other genres that take advantage of bassy undertones that don’t always get the spotlight they need depending on what headphones you have paired it all with.
Competing against the likes of Sony (Extra Bass series) and Koss (ie, Koss BT540i), these do deliver the bass. They aren’t top shelf by any means, but they do sound decent. The mid-range of frequencies sound good but aren’t perfect. They do feel as though they are missing something, so don’t expect audiophile sound by any means. I’d say average more than anything, and the highs can be a bit exhausting (albeit, crisp when they need to be).
We found ourselves keeping to tracks like dub-step, house, chill, old-school hip-hop, newer genre rap, and other tracks that fall in between these. We felt that most of the other genres just don’t bring out the potential in these. There are some exceptions when you focus on bands like Korn or Primus, but you won’t be flocking to Dire Straits or Phil Collins.
They are comfortable for short runs, but they could benefit from a little more coverage around the ear vs on the ear for maximum comfort. Padding is a bit nice but does settle in after some time, so not perfect (again, I’d use the word “average”).
Thankfully, they do feel quite durable as if they were made to last. They would be perfect for taking on the go and throwing in a bag (again, DJs could easily be attracted to these). The material quality proves to be durable enough and they hold their shape just fine.
Where they start to rack up additional points is in the features. Bluetooth 5.0 with up to 50 hours of use on a single charge, and less than 2 hours charge time (via USB-C). These are meant to chase down the Energizer Bunny and give him a run for his money.
You get your normal controls that include volume, track control, Bluetooth pairing mode, and power. As well as a few extras that include a bass boost a semi-configurable option via the app ( Ambient Aware or TalkThru assignment options) for listening in on your environment without having to remove them from your ears. I still find it to be more rude to leave them on while someone is trying to talk to you, but that’s a personal thing that doesn’t seem to be a common idea since more headphone models are picking up this type of feature every day.
If you place the headphones down, they do automatically shut off after a while to help preserve that awesome battery life. Then, the final added bonus is that you also get support for Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
It does come with an auxiliary cable for taking them wired with. This could help if the battery runs dry or if you are using them with a device that doesn’t support Bluetooth. You also get the USB-C to USB cable for charging them with, and a soft bag/pouch to store everything in.
Our Conclusion
They make for an interesting option coming from a renowned company. They work great for the genres they are meant for, and not so much for others, where they become a bit average or even exhausting at times. We do like Sony’s Extra Bass series a little better when it comes to range + the added bass boost performance. This is where price comes into play since they need a little more of a positive impression within the mids as well to really stand out with what else is out there. There is no noise cancelation, which is unfortunate since they bothered to add Ambient Aware and TalkThru options. So they sound “ok” and they have plenty of “boom”, but they fall short of being “top shelf” with a $149-$199 price tag. We are still glad that someone snuck us a moment with a pair to find out.
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Our Rating | Average Price* $149-$199 | ||
*Average price is based on the time this article was published
Specifications:
- Frequency response (Passive): 16 Hz – 40 kHz
- Frequency response (Active): 16 Hz – 22 kHz
- Sensitivity: 100 dB SPL@1 kHz / 1 mW
- Maximum SPL: 93 dB
- Maximum Input Power (Passive): 1000 mW
- Microphone sensitivity: -24 dBV@1kHz/Pa
- Impedance: 32 ohm
- Driver Size: 40 mm dynamic driver
- Weight: 283 g
- BATTERY TYPE: Lithium Ion Polymer Battery ( 3.7 v / 610 mah)
- Power Supply: 5 V 1 A
- Charging time: <2 hrs
- Music play time with BT on: 50 hrs
- Bluetooth transmitted power: <4 dbm
- Bluetooth transmitted modulation: GFSK, _x001F_/4 DQPSK, 8DPSK
- Bluetooth frequency: 2.402 GHz – 2.480 GH z
- Bluetooth profile version: A2DP 1.3, AVRCP 1.5, HFP 1.6
- Bluetooth version: V5.0
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