JBL Live 100 Earphones Review

JBL is hitting it out of the ballpark with its well-built, reasonably priced audio products. Even their cheapest stuff sounds pretty damn good if you’re into a bass-heavy sound profile. Now, JBL just came out with one if it’s most powerful wired headphones, boasting 8mm drivers that promise to blow you away. So, let’s see what JBL can offer for 40 bucks in this JBL Live 100 Earphones Review.

JBL Live 100 Earphones Review

FIT

The Live 100 might be the best fitting JBL earphones I’ve ever tried. Light, comfortable and super secure, these buds are slightly angled to more directly fit in your ear canal. The sound isolation is also impressive, and I found it did just as good of a job at cutting out ambient sound as a cheaper noise-cancelling headphone. Like most standard earphones, the Live 100 comes with three different sized tips.

DESIGN

JBL offers a solid, durable design. No flashy crap, just a simple and elegant build that gets the job done. The cable is covered with a woven fabric that should increase longevity and minimize tangling. It also comes with a mic and remote that allows you to play, pause, skip tracks, answer calls and activate your voice assistant. But volume will have to be controlled from your phone. The T-shaped connector also look pretty tough and well-insulated. And JBL has included a cute little carry case to keep your babies safe and cozy.

SOUND

In true JBL fashion, these little buds deliver some serious oomph. If you’re loyal to pop, hip-hop or electronica, I think the low-end will make you very happy. But those who think bass-heads are hedonists might want to look for something a little more balanced. Rock music also sounds great on the Live 100 because the lows give choruses tons of mass and richness. And although JBL is not known for it’s higher frequencies, it does show a little sparkle with percussion instruments when listening to snappy pop songs. My only complaint is clarity. It’s not even a complaint because you don’t buy JBL for critical listening; impactful sound is its strong suit. But listeners of folk or classical might be disappointed by slight muddiness, especially in the lower-midrange. If you fall into the latter category, go for something like the Beyerdynamic Byron, which will give you a more accurate representation of the sound for around the same price.