If you want to buy new in-ears and spend a little more money on them, you’ll probably find the JBL Live 300 TWS. These are currently being sold for € 149.94 * (testing time: 112 €).
According to JBL, for this price you can get completely wireless headphones, which are said to have high sound and recording quality and a battery life of up to six hours. With a charging case, this can be extended by an additional 14 hours.
JBL also advertises the integration of Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant and a TalkThru function to enable you to listen to the outside world. The following test shows whether this total package of functions is sufficient to justify the price of the headphones and how the various features perform in practice.
Technical details (manufacturer information)
| Driver: | 5.6 mm |
| Frequency range: | 20 – 20,000 Hz |
| Impedance: | 16 Ω |
| Weight (total): | 67.3 g |
| Capacity / battery life: | 55 mAh, 20 hours with charging case |
| Specials: | ear detection, Ambient Aware, Google Assistant, TalkThru, IPX5 certification |
Scope of delivery
The Live 300 TWS comes with some accessories. In addition to the headphones themselves, JBL also supplies silicone attachments in three sizes as well as additional silicone rings in four sizes, through which the headphones can be adjusted. In addition, the aforementioned charging case, a short USB-C charging cable and various instructions are included.
In our test, the headphones are shown in blue, but JBL also offers them in black and white at the same price. The color scheme applies both to the headphones themselves and to the charging case.
Design & workmanship
The Live 300 TWS is based on a cylindrical case, which contains the speaker membrane, the electronics and the battery. From there, the sound waves are directed into the ear through a taper. The headphones are held in position by the silicone caps that can be attached to the taper. The silicone rings, which are located further back and can also be replaced, are used to secure the ear in place: they are hooked over the ear canal and are designed to prevent them from falling out.
The material used for the headphones is plastic throughout, which is pleasant to the touch. The processing quality of the headphones is excellent: the individual housing parts are very firmly connected to each other without any optical flaws.
The charging case also uses plastic throughout. It is used for charging and transporting the headphones: It can be opened and the headphones placed in the recessed slots. Charging is done by three metal contacts, each of which rests on the corresponding contact surfaces of the headphones.
The workmanship of the charging case is also impeccable: the plastic used here feels just as high-quality, and the case is once again very stable. The flap hinge has a little play when loaded sideways, but that is not dramatic in practice.
Sound quality & practice
The sound quality of the JBL Live 300 TWS is impressive. The sound image is characterized in particular by the precise, voluminous bass; and the headphones also perform very well in the middle and higher frequency ranges. The sound is detailed and, in our opinion, definitely worth the price.
The JBL Live 300 TWS deliver a similarly positive picture in terms of usability. The headphones are still comfortable after a long period of wear and they fit tightly enough for sports. The operation is also good: it is done via the touch surfaces on the outside of the headphones, which convert the typing and wiping movements very reliably.
The headphones only get some of their functions from the corresponding app, which is clearly laid out and allows a more extensive configuration. There you can, for example, activate the automatic pause or switch off and the TalkThru and Ambient Aware modes. Both modes can be activated after an initial configuration, but also by wiping the headphones.
The Ambient Aware mode uses the microphones in the headphones to record the outside world and feed it directly into the headphones. This allows you to stay in the action while listening to music without losing too much of the sound quality. We find this mode very useful and successful – especially for conversations.
The TalkThru mode, which also records the outside world, goes in exactly the same direction. At the same time, it pauses the music so that you can talk undisturbed. This mode works just as well, but you can hear a little background noise due to the microphone recording.
Battery life
In terms of battery life, the Live 300 TWS does quite well, but they are far from setting new standards. We ran it with a somewhat above average volume, which we find unpleasant for continuous use – the measured battery life should be a minimum value for real use.
With continuous music playback, the headphones achieved a battery life of about four and a half hours per charge with these settings, which could be increased to a total of 17.5 hours with the charging case. Unless you regularly take long trips without music breaks, the battery life of the JBL Live 300 TWS should therefore be sufficient for most situations.
Conclusion
The JBL Live 300 TWS are sold for € 149.94 * (test date: 110 Euro), which places the headphones in the high-priced segment. The expectations placed on them can be fulfilled: The app is very successful and additional functions such as TalkThru, Ambient Aware and the well implemented touch operation are important to assert themselves. In the test, we especially liked the last two mentioned, even though the ambient noise is accompanied by a noticeable background noise.
The Live 300 TWS can also hold its own in our eyes in the core disciplines of battery life, processing quality and sound quality. The bottom line is that we find the headphones very successful in almost all points.
Anyone who is prepared to spend the necessary money on the headphones, and who considers at least some of the additional functions to be necessary, should take a closer look at the JBL Live 300 TWS.
JBL LIVE 300 TWS
Workmanship
Wearing comfort
Sound quality
Features
Value for money
92/100
In-Ears with high sound quality and many, well implemented functions.
