JBL Live 500BT headphones review: Premium design and sound output make it a winner at the price

Price: Rs 9,999
Rating: ****

Specs: Over the ear headphones, 50mm drivers, Bluetooth 4.2, built-in microphone, voice assistant support, touch controls, 231 grams



JBL launches its new Live series of headphones in India recently. The series includes five headphones starting from Rs 2,499 going up to Rs 12,599. Our review is based on the JBL Live 500BT which comes in a various colour options and at time of writing, its available for Rs 7,899.

The Live 500BT scores on its premium design and feel. You get a fabric finish on the headband with an embossed JBL logo on top while the earcups have large JBL logos in glossy finish. The headband as well as earcups use memory foam for padding and therefore they are extremely comfortable to use for long durations. We loved the fact that the earcups can be folded as well as kept flat – great for portability and storage.

On the right side are all the control buttons including a slider power switch, multifunction button, volume controls, a button for Bluetooth pairing and one for the Ambient Aware/TalkThru(more about this later). Both the earcup’s outer panel are also touch sensitive and can be used to invoke your assigned voice assistant or hear notifications. The trouble is we often ended up with accidental touches while trying to access the control buttons. There is also a 3.5mm jack on the headphones for wired used when required (a wire is included in the box).

JBL has kept two features common on all the headphones in the Live series. First is the Ambient Aware function which allows you to hear the ambient sounds while listening to music. Second is the TalkThru feature which also lets you hear the ambient surrounding sounds and also lowers the volume of music playback in the headphone – handy if you want to speak to someone without taking off the headphones.

In the audio output department, the headphones use 50mm large drivers for output. This is further enhanced thanks to the large over the ear earcups design that does basic amount of noise isolation. We used the headphones with a Oppo K3 smartphone and it delivered bass heavy output even with the default equalizer setting. We liked that the headphones balanced the high tone with the bass very well to deliver a rich experience. Bass lovers will love the output and you can further deepen the bass effect from the companion app if you prefer that.

Its microphone is the only disappointing factor. In a quiet room, it works well but if you are in a slightly noisy area such as a busy office, the microphone fails to work. We were repeatedly told of being inaudible on voice calls when used in an office. JBL claims the headphones deliver over 30 hours of battery – with volume kept at 75%, the headphones managed to give close to 30 hours backup on a full charge. There is no official support for fast charging, but a 15-minute charge gives you enough battery to last 2 hours of usage.

At its price, the JBL 500BT wins with its premium design and sound output. However, there are quirks in its controls and the microphone is a letdown. In the same price it faces tough competition from the Sony WH-XB700 that offers similar bass heavy output, 30 hours of battery life and USB Type-C port with fast charge support.