- JBL announces its new Live 780NC and 680NC headphones
- Not to be confused with the Tune 780NC / Tune 680NC, unveiled last September
- Oh, and there’s also a portable AI karaoke speaker
The Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) aren’t the only best wireless headphones worth spending big on; you might not associate JBL with premium headphones, but the hugely successful brand has a few mid-range options, with two more on the way.
The company has just announced two new pairs of cans – not to be confused with the two 780- and 680-suffixed options revealed last September and available from November – both upgrades on pairs released in 2023.
And unlike the Tune 780NC and 680NC unveiled six months ago, this new “Live” duo cost a little more than the mid-range or budget headphones I associate the brand with.
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The first release from the duo is the on-ear JBL Live 680NC, which costs $159.95 (about £120, AU$230, but we’re waiting to hear about these gadgets globally). This set of headphones features an upgraded 40mm driver, improved noise cancellation, 80 hours of battery life and a redesigned look (all compared to the 670NC).
Then there’s the over-ear JBL Live 780NC, which costs $249.95 (about £190, AU$360). This is pretty much like the other model, but an over-ear proposition. They have a larger number of microphones for more accurate noise cancellation, EQ designed to work at lower volumes, and something called ‘Personal Sound Amplification’, which sounds like a listening test, although JBL’s press release doesn’t elaborate.
Key takeaways? Compared to the X70NC or Tune prefix models, the Live series sees slight tweaks and improvements across the board, and they look more premium… but are also slightly more expensive. Such is life, I suppose; the year of price increases continues.
The keynote speaker is in the house tonight
Lest we forget, there’s a third gift under JBL’s tree: the PartyBox On-The-Go 2 Plus, the latest in its line of portable speakers-cum-karaoke machines. It offers 100W output, with two tweeters and a woofer, and lasts for 15 hours on a charge.
The selling point of this $419.95 (about £320, AU$600) speaker is the brand’s JBL EasySing technology, which can identify and reduce vocals in songs so you can sing along without competing with the singer. It also appears to have technology that lets you record your song, reduce background noise and boost pitch if you struggle to sustain the high notes (or even faithfully carry a tune).
All of these have the ‘AI’ marketing label stamped across them, but when you read between the lines, it appears to be the specific task-algorithmic type of AI (rather than the actively super-intelligent, steal-our-jobs, bad kind of AI).
The PartyBox comes with a wireless microphone, which appears to be what facilitates these features, but JBL also sells them separately: there’s EasySing Mics for $199.95 (about £150, AU$280), and Mics Mini for $179.95 (about £130, AU$250, AU$250). Flip, Charge and other JBL speaker lines.
The best noise canceling headphones for all budgets
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