I live in earbuds, using them to and from work, when I do chores around the house, everything. I mean, how else can you do the dishes without a podcast? I don’t even know! I regularly use JBL earbuds as I love them, but the high-end ones are pricey. So I got the chance to take the much cheaper JBL Wave Beam 2 for a spin to see if they are worth it for people that are looking for jams on the go at a lower price.
What do they do well?
Looking at style, there is nothing cheap looking about these earbuds. It has one of the slip top cases where the stems of the buds slide in. A lot of the more expensive buds come in a case where the side opens up, but I rate ones where the top opens up as it’s easier to make the charging connections over a longer time.
Like other JBL earbuds, they come with heaps of tips to get the fit that is right for you. This immediately cancels out a lot of the passive sound around it. Then it comes with JBL’s excellent ANC (Active Noise Canceling). Honestly, with ANC on and the right fit, these could have easily been mistaken for a much more expensive pair of buds.
The battery life of around eight hours with ANC on, and around 30 hours of charge from the case is damn solid.
What don’t they do so well?
The biggest thing is the sound. Like higher-end earbuds, the JBL app works with them, making them super easy to set up to get the sound settings you like most. If playing with those settings isn’t your jam, then they sound perfectly fine out of the box. The only issue is, the sound is only OK. Higher bass and higher pitch sounds didn’t sound so great and sometimes got a bit tinny.
The mics, of which it has four, are again perfectly OK. The people I spoke to could hear me well as they did a good job isolating my voice, but it did sound a little bit muffled. With a rating of IP54, they aren’t waterproof. There is nothing about the build quality that makes me worried they will let water in, but it’s something to be aware of.
Should you get them?
Honestly, if you are looking to get a pair of earbuds for under $100, these are bangers. You can’t expect the best sound quality at that price, and good ANC. Listening to them at lower volumes, you shouldn’t notice any issues. The JBL Wave Beam 2 is excellent for the price.
