Gadget

Since manufacturers began to actively adapt to customers, miracles began to work with new models of equipment. Customers, that is, direct users, always want a Ferrari at the price of Lada Priora, and even so that they can fill in the diesel fuel drained from the tractor. Manufacturers take it under the hood, strain engineers, and as a result they give out a novelty with instructions the size of a volume of War and Peace. Well, what to do — they themselves wanted to!

JBL, or rather Harman Kardon, ate more than one dog in the production of audio equipment. The next model of the brand is the new JBL 300 TWS fully wireless headphones. They tried to fit everything that consumers of high-quality ears only dreamed up for themselves: good sound, enviable autonomy, the ability to use voice assistants, TalkThru or Ambient Aware branded “chips”. That is, to assemble a hypothetical Ferrari. To what extent did they succeed? Let’s talk about everything in order.

Design and equipment

JBL Live 300 TWS turned out to be quite large. If in men’s ears they still look natural (although they stick out beyond the contour), in small women’s ears they do not look very elegant. The same applies to the wardrobe trunk: it is large, strongly protrudes in the pocket of jeans and certainly does not allow the thought of putting it in a shirt pocket. Wanted a big battery — get it.

The case is made of semi-gloss plastic, it is difficult to open it with one hand, but with a certain skill it is possible. The cover snaps onto a magnet, other magnets help the headphones themselves quickly and correctly fit into the sockets. For recharging, a USB-C connector was provided at the bottom.

In the kit, we found a traditional supply of replaceable silicone seals. In addition, additional rubber mounts were put in the box, with which the headphones should be held more securely in the ear. They are also different sizes, three pairs to choose from. And, of course, the orange wire for charging, where without it.

User experience

It’s time to get into this Ferrari, and for this, as you know, it’s not enough just to finish a driving school. Inserting the JBL Live 300 TWS into your ears most likely will not work the first time. To understand how to do this correctly, we give two tips.

1. Feel free to «screw» the headphones into your ear canal. Here it is necessary.
2. The «JBL» lettering on each headphone should be in a horizontal position after installation.

If you still succeeded, the «ears» will hold quite securely. You can even jump on the spot — they won’t fall out. Unless you touch them, adjusting the cap or throwing long hair back: the cases, as we have already said, stick out slightly from the ears.

But it’s not enough to sit down in a Ferrari, you need to properly tune it for yourself. In the case of the Live 300 TWS, you will have to download the JBL Headphones app for this. And it’s «should». All why?

For those not in the know:

• Talk Thru muffles the music and begins to broadcast the surrounding sounds, focusing on human speech. Useful when you want to talk to someone.
• Ambient Awareness simply broadcasts what is happening around, without any accents. A valuable feature for cyclists and other fans to travel on the roads in their own transport: you will definitely hear the car horn.

Considering that in fact the headphones have only 2 buttons (one on the plane of each), how to “hang” control of all functions on them? Let’s consider what the average Live 300 TWS user needs to do:

• switch tracks
• pause them and start again
• adjust the volume
• call voice assistant
• use TalkThru/Ambient Aware.

Any ideas? Well, forgive me, Ferrari is not a Zhiguli with three pedals and a dangling gear lever. The manufacturer decided to create different scenarios for using the buttons. The button of the right earpiece was loaded the most. Judge for yourself.

• Simple tap — pause / play,
• double tap — switch track forward
• triple tap — the same, but back
• Press and hold — call the voice assistant.

But that’s not all. Attention, drum roll.

• Swipe forward — volume up
• Swipe back — its reduction.

With the left, everything is easier. For some reason, it only has a swipe forward, and you can “hang” the inclusion of TalkThru or Ambient Aware on it. It is «or». It is strange that the second function cannot be set to swipe back. Actually, to manage various functions, you need to download the application. By default, swipes are disabled, that is, they do not cause any reaction.

How convenient is it in practice? To be honest, our editor has not gotten used to such management in a week. Headphones often take swipes for clicks, so they either stop playback or switch tracks. But you do not complain that it is difficult to run speed bumps on a Ferrari.

How do they sound?

Sound quality is good. TWS headphones have progressed a lot lately, here even the bass is more or less full. Moreover, due to the deep fit in the ear, soundproofing is also good. The right earpiece can be used in mono mode: only it has a microphone. But, like the vast majority of TWS models, the quality of communication on the street leaves much to be desired. You will only be heard well if you find a quiet corner.

What about autonomy?

To autonomy, too, do not find fault. The manufacturer promises up to 6 hours of playback without recharging, and, surprisingly, the headphones can really withstand these 6 hours. If they are discharged at the wrong time, the quick charge function saves: just put them in a trunk for 10 minutes, say “crex-pex-fex”, and you can listen to music again for an hour. To replenish the energy supply by 100%, you need to leave them alone for a couple of hours. The battery of the case is enough for more than 2 such full charges.

Total: our review of the JBL 300 TWS headphones

So, did we like this Ferrari? Let’s face it, the new JBL Live 300 TWS is not without flaws. In terms of sound quality, there are no complaints. But the size, fit and control — here, as they say, for an amateur.

Want to know more about vacuum headphones? Read our rating of popular models!