JBL Tune Beam 2 Review: Punchy Sound Meets Powerful ANC

JBL Tune Beam 2 is the most recent actually wi-fi stereo (TWS) by the corporate, launched as part of the Tune Series 2 in April. The TWS arrives two years after its predecessor, Tune Beam, and comes with considerably improved specs and new options. This improve seems to be a part of the Los Angeles, California-based audio large’s current shift in technique, which now we have additionally seen with its different gadgets. JBL now seems to be specializing in providing feature-rich gadgets with intensive customisation, which is smart given the present market state of affairs.

For Rs. 5,499, it enters the market in a aggressive phase that isn’t solely focused by audio corporations but in addition by smartphone producers. This signifies that the JBL Tune Beam 2 not solely has to compete with the {hardware} capabilities of manufacturers like Sony and Skullcandy but in addition with the ecosystem integration and software program compatibility of smartphone manufacturers corresponding to Realme and OnePlus.

The JBL Tune Beam 2 comes with improvements on each fronts, that includes spatial audio, efficient energetic noise cancellation (ANC), and the brand new Personi-Fi 3.0-powered personalised audio profile. Over the final month, I’ve been utilizing the TWS as my every day driver to grasp the expertise they ship and discover out whether or not JBL has packed the earphones with sufficient energy to woo a various client base. Let’s get right down to the brass tacks.

JBL Tune Beam 2 Design and Features: Basic however Comfortable

• Size – 33.4 x 22.6 x 25 mm (Earphones); 61.5 x 29.15 x 47 mm (Case)
• Weight – 5.2g (Each earphone); 42g (with case)
• Water and mud resistance – IP54 (Earphones solely)
• Colours – Black, Blue, and White

I obtained the Blue variant, and actually, I just like the pastel-like color on it. The case design of the JBL Tune Beam 2 would not provide a lot to jot down house about. It has a generic soap-like oval-vertical form with an upright profile, in keeping with traditional JBL designs. It is barely cumbersome, and when pocketed, you’ll really feel its presence. The top-hinged lid contains a agency magnetic closure, and the matte plastic physique has a gentle, tactile really feel. There are three vertical LED lights on the entrance to point pairing and cost ranges and a USB-C charging port is positioned on the backside.

The earphone case has a plastic physique with matte end. They really feel premium to the touch and maintain.

The case is pretty minimalist, aside from the JBL brand marked on the entrance and the product identify engraved on the again. Although the case seems premium, the lid does barely squeak and creak even with the slightest push. Notably, in the event you’re extra accustomed to the flatter pebble-shaped, horizontally-oriented circumstances (suppose Realme Buds Air 7 Pro or the OnePlus Buds 3), this one will take a while to get used to.

Opening the lid reveals the stem-style earbuds with LED indicators that will help you know once they’re on and are paired. JBL upheld the expectations with its comfy, gentle silicone ear ideas. While every ear is completely different, mine had been a cosy match even throughout sweaty gymnasium classes. At simply 5.2g, the earbuds are light-weight, and I didn’t expertise any inconvenience even after hours of steady use.

The earbuds have a matte end on the high and a shiny end on the skin of the stem, the place the contact sensors are positioned. Despite the matte end, pulling out the earbuds was generally uncomfortable, as their form made them slippery. I’d have most popular a bit extra grippier texture.

JBL Tune Beam 2 earbuds characteristic an IP54 ranking, which suggests they’ll deal with the occasional dusty palms, sweat and lightweight rain. As is the norm, the earbuds do include gesture-based contact controls that help you management playback, choose up incoming calls, and toggle ANC and ambient consciousness modes. The controls may also be customised through the companion app. The controls are fairly touch-sensitive; nevertheless, there have been cases the place I needed to faucet a few instances earlier than it registered an interplay.

JBL Tune Beam 2 App and Specifications: Options Aplenty

• Driver – 10mm
• Companion App – JBL Headphones app
• Gesture controls – Yes (faucet)

The JBL Tune Beam 2 earphones are appropriate with the JBL Headphones app, which is accessible on each iOS and Android gadgets. The app opens a window to numerous customisation settings, in addition to the corporate’s new Personi-Fi 3.0 characteristic, which lets you personalise the gadget’s sound profile primarily based in your sound notion.

Here, I must level out that my expertise with the companion app was not very clean. In a number of cases, the app wouldn’t join with the earphones regardless of them being paired, and I must reconnect the earphones to entry the settings. On different events, navigating by means of the app was a sluggish expertise.

(*2*)

The earphones include JBL’s Spatial Audio which provides a layer of depth to the listening expertise.

But when the app connects, you can see three major sections, General, Audio, and Others, to tweak your audio expertise. The first options controls for Ambient Sound, and it lets you activate and swap between ANC, Ambient Aware (transparency mode), and Talk Thru (talk-through) modes. It additionally has choices for Smart Audio (which curates completely different audio profiles for music and movies), in addition to gesture controls.

Notably, when you can choose completely different gesture controls for every earbud, there isn’t a à la carte remedy. This means you’ll be able to choose one of many three management teams — Ambient Sound Control, Volume Control, and Playback Control — for every earbud, however you’ll be able to’t have controls for all three on the identical time. The earbuds assist single and double faucets, in addition to tap-and-hold gestures.

Sadly, the JBL Tune Beam 2 doesn’t assist a few of the extra premium options that you just get within the dearer JBL Live Beam 3 (overview right here). These embrace Check My Best Fit, which tells you if there may be any audio leak and in the event you want completely different ear ideas, and Smart Talk, which lets you choose the sensitivity for speech detection (for Talk Thru). Since these are primarily software-driven options, I used to be shocked to study that the corporate didn’t embrace them.

Coming to the Audio part, right here you’ll be able to customise the equaliser and both choose from eight presets or create your individual customized experiences. When you create an equaliser curve manually, additionally it is saved throughout a number of gadgets, so you do not have to create it once more in the event you determine to pair one other smartphone. There are additionally choices for Spatial Sound, Sound Balance, Volume Limiter, and Sound Level Optimisation. Additionally, you may also entry Personi-Fi from this window. Finally, there’s the Others part, which performs stress-free sounds, helps you find your earbuds, and contains a power-saving mode.

Finally, speaking concerning the specs, the JBL Tune Beam 2 earphones characteristic 10mm dynamic drivers, the corporate’s Spatial Sound know-how, and assist AAC and SBC codecs. No LDAC compatibility, sadly. You’ll additionally get assist for Bluetooth 5.3 with multi-point connectivity. The earphones additionally help you arrange the extent of ANC, which is a fairly handy addition.

JBL Tune Beam 2 Performance and Battery Life: Decent

• Codec Support: SBC, AAC, JBL Spatial Sound
• Charging – Wired (USB Type-C)
• Bluetooth – 5.3

When you spend above Rs. 5,000 on a pair of earphones, sure expectations naturally observe, and on most counts, the JBL Tune Beam 2 delivers. Let’s begin with ANC. If the silicone ideas match snugly in your ear, the ANC efficiency will impress you. During outside utilization, the earphones block many of the loud noises coming from autos and the close by crowd, and also you solely hear a slight muffled noise. Its efficiency surpassed my expectations for low, mid, and high-frequency noises.

Indoors is even higher, and the characteristic shuts out the sound of the AC, the ceiling fan, the TV within the corridor, or loud neighbours all the identical. Additionally, in the event you favor a much less intense ANC expertise, you’ll be able to all the time regulate the extent utilizing the companion app. If ANC is one thing you worth, that is possible the most effective gadget you’ll be able to select on this value vary. Based on my workforce’s expertise, it outperforms each the Realme Buds Air 7 Pro and the OnePlus Buds 3 (overview right here).

Now, shifting to the precise audio efficiency, you’ll not end up unimpressed in the event you favor earphones that lean bass-heavy. Harman’s fine-tuning units the gadget completely for punchier numbers corresponding to The Weeknd’s Starboy and Talk by Hozier. While a transparent and well-defined bass is a spotlight, the mids and the vocals are additionally not muddy, because of the companion app. This means you’ll be able to comfortably benefit from the haunting vocals of Adele’s Someone Like You or immerse your self in Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Meyer.

ith ANC on and quantity between 50 to 60 %, I used to be in a position to get round eight hours with ANC and 10 hours with out it.

I used to be additionally a fan of the broader soundstage (akin to the JBL Live Beam 3, which prices Rs. 13,999), which places you on the entrance and centre of any music that has been upmixed by Dolby Atmos or comparable encompass know-how, and allows you to expertise completely different devices from completely different instructions and depth. The identical goes for TV exhibits and, motion pictures, and gaming (determining the route of footsteps in BGMI was a chunk of cake).

The audiophiles may be disenchanted, nevertheless, that the earphones don’t assist lossless music or the LDAC codec. However, that’s usually not one thing you see provided on this value vary, so it shouldn’t be a lot of a difficulty. On the opposite hand, whereas the gadget does include spatial audio assist, it’s extra of a gimmick than an actual game-changer. If you do wish to mess around with the latency, you’ll be able to check out the completely different audio modes within the companion app. Additionally, the earphones wouldn’t have in-ear detection, which I discovered to be fairly disappointing.

However, JBL does depart you wanting within the calling division. While it’s identified that TWS doesn’t provide good microphone high quality, the JBL Tune Beam 2 seems to be underperforming even on that low expectation. On a number of events, I discovered the voice high quality to be mechanical and stuffed with ambient noises. Callers have additionally observed that the sound of my room’s ceiling fan was picked up greater than my voice. While indoors, it was nonetheless manageable; nevertheless, outside calls had been practically unattainable because of the greater ambient noise. If cellphone calls and conferences are a precedence, the Realme Buds Air 7 Pro (overview right here) shall be a more sensible choice for you.

Finally, the battery lifetime of the JBL Tune Beam 2 has genuinely impressed me. According to JBL, you get roughly 10 hours of battery life with ANC enabled and three further prices from the case, totalling 40 hours of playtime. In my testing, the numbers got here fairly shut. With ANC on and quantity between 50 to 60 %, I used to be in a position to get round eight hours with ANC and 10 hours with out it. The case additionally lasted me two full cost cycles, bringing it near 30 hours of playtime. On average utilization, this meant I may go a whole week while not having to cost my gadget. The charging time from zero to 100 takes roughly two hours. Notably, the charging case additionally helps fast charging.

JBL Tune Beam 2 Verdict

After utilizing the JBL Tune Beam 2 for greater than a month, I really feel these earphones are adequate to be the every day driver of anybody who likes a bass-heavy expertise with out compromising on mids and vocals. At the value of Rs. 5,499, it fares higher within the audio expertise in comparison with opponents such because the Realme Buds Air 7 Pro, OnePlus Buds 3, and Oppo Enco Air 3 Pro (overview right here). The heavy customisability, sturdy ANC, and lengthy battery life additionally add to the worth of those earphones.

JBL Tune Beam 2 presents a bass-heavy expertise with out compromising on mids and vocals.

However, I used to be not impressed with the microphone high quality, and never having in-ear detection was additionally a letdown. Despite the big variety of customisation instruments within the companion app, its unreliability in connecting with the earbuds and the general sluggish expertise made me not wish to use it a lot in any respect. Plus, the case is considerably cumbersome, and in the event you put on denims rather a lot, count on it to bulge out of your pockets barely. If any of those are a precedence for you, you are higher off with any of the opposite choices talked about.