So, I have been using the Enter the JBL Live460NC headphones. I got these because during my initial tests, the Right out the gate, I could already tell that these didn’t feel as snug and tight as the first JBL Live400s I had. That was an immediate red flag for me because one of my major sticking points and a dealbreaker is whether or not the headphones stay on my head during training. These were slipping and sliding despite a fairly strong grip. I presume it also has to do with the material at the point of contact. Either way, they didn’t stay in place, and that is an instant disqualification.
These headphones do have a pretty cool feature when using Spotify. The music pauses and stops playing when you adjust or pull them off. That is somewhat cool but was also getting a bit annoying, and I was already thinking of turning it off. Sometimes I adjust for comfort, and every time I did, the music stopped. That was kind of irritating.
The sound quality was okay, but after testing the Beats and the Bose over the ear headphones, there is simply no comparison in the audio quality. However, they do sound way better than the Rewinds they are meant to replace. The buttons are nicely situated and big enough for even fat fingers like mine. Connecting these to my iPhone over Bluetooth was simple and effortless.
I tried to use these with Smule for karaoke. The Bluetooth sync seems to actually be slightly better than the others, but background noise is prevalent. If you have any external noise, it will be picked up, such as the AC and so on. Once I turned off my AC the recording was clean and almost in sync. It did require a minor adjustment to the timing.
I also tested using these with Telegram. The audio sounds pretty decent when recording and listening from the headset. Even with my AC on in the background, the quality was decent.
I wore them for a while while cleaning the kitchen, and my ears did feel a little fatigued after doing dishes. But honestly, it’s the same with the Rewinds when I work out, hence the adjustments for comfort I mentioned before.
The real test was training though. While working out, they really didn’t feel as secure as the Live400 did. That was disappointing. While using the stair climber they felt like they could fall off. Then while stretching and doing forward folds, they didn’t stay in place and slipped forward. Finally, the ear pads absorbed all the sweat I was releasing, and I had to clean and squeeze out the excess liquid.
These are a decent pair of headphones, but for my needs, this pair isn’t going to work. There are too many potential pitfalls that I noticed after just one workout. Unfortunately, these are going to get returned and my search continues. For now, the Rewinds will continue being the chosen ones.
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