I have been using and loving JBL earbuds for a while now. Despite having used a few brands, from Sony to Xiaomi to Panasoinc, every time I returned to my JBL Live Pro 2. Well, now I am taking a new pair of JBL earbuds for a spin to see if they can dethrone my Live Pro 2’s, and the short answer is, I have a new favourite pair of earbuds.
What’s so great about the JBL Live Beam 3’s?
The first and most obvious thing is they have a screen. They aren’t the first JBL earbuds to have a screen, but it’s the first time I have used one, and I have been as surprised as anyone how much I loved this.
The first reason is you can super easily set the image on the lock screen using the app on your phone. It took seconds before the generic image was replaced with the Decepticons logo. I mean, photos of my kids, of course… ba ba da, more than meets the eye….
Then when you are playing music, it shows some of the controls, meaning you don’t have to pull your phone out to pause, skip songs, etc. When you are on a call, it gives the basic call controls as well. On top of that, it includes things like the time and battery status for the buds and case. These may seem like minor things, but they are incredibly handy.
What about the ear buds themselves?
I mean, a screen is great and all, but your earbuds should be good earbuds too. Well here, they excel. The sound quality is a notable step up from some of the older premium buds. Whether I was listening to podcasts, jamming some BABYMETAL, or listening to the sultry tones of The Black Dahlia Murder, I was blown away at the sound quality these beauties pumped out.
The buds come with the usual sound profiles and options, but I was still super impressed with the ANC on the buds. I know there are brands that do it slightly better, but with the right ear pieces, the ANC is excellent.
Best of all, the battery has been given a boost too. The buds on their own can get between nine and 10 hours without a charge, which is insane. The case offers up to three charges too, so with the buds going in and out of the case continuously, that’s roughly 36 hours. To quote myself, that’s insane. If you do long stints of straight listening, like if you’re sanding and painting the house, hello Spring *sigh*, then nine hours should be long enough. If you do bursts like an hour or two here and an hour or two there, then you basically shouldn’t find yourself running out of juice.
What about taking calls?
Previous JBL earbuds did a solid job if you need to use them for this, but they keep getting better. You can use them to take calls with the buds in your ears, and as long as you aren’t dealing with wind, then they are great. But it’s a bit awkward if you want to talk quietly, as the mic is quite a distance from your mouth. Well, the coolest thing here is you can choose to use Private Call Mode, where you can use one of the buds for a mic and hold it to your mouth.
It’s so simple, it’s GENIUS!
They aren’t going to top a high-end headset, but these are ear buds. They do a good job given they are earbuds, and people had no idea I wasn’t talking into my phone when I spoke to them. So for ear buds, they are damn top class.
So should you get some?
Allow me to put it this way. I have found my day-to-day ear buds. Seriously, they aren’t the cheapest, but they aren’t the most expensive. I would take these over low- and high-end ones in a heartbeat. JBL has been turning me into a fan through no other way than exceptional earbuds. So in short, JBL Live Beam 3 is the best I have used to date!
