“Bring your sound everywhere. With bass you can feel, up to 32 total hours of battery life, and a secure, comfortable stick-closed design, the splash and dust resistant JBL Vibe Beam are designed for your daily entertainment”.
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P M –
I purchased these because I didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg for earbuds but I also didn’t want cheaply made earbuds. I love the other jbl products I have and on first impression these seem nice as well. The sound is decent for earbuds. The app allows you to control some aspects of the listening experience. The price point is very good for what you get. I would recommend these over something else with no real brand name.
Customer –
For a $50 pair of ear buds, these sound impressive. I’ve paid twice the price before and not been nearly this impressed. They bring a new clarity of sound to some albums in which I gave been previously disappointed, eg Clockwork Angels, which has always sounded muddy, even on my custom home sound system. My music tastes have a wide range; whether classical, big band jazz, prog rock, shoe gazer, etc, these buds really deliver for the price. With the app, there is good ability to adjust the sound and other settings, which is very nice, if not unique to JBL.
However, there is one big caveat. With all the ear buds I have used over the years, I have never, EVER had such a pain-in-the-*$$ time getting these damn things out of their charging case!! They are stupidly hard to grasp– they sit deep in the case, don’t have a good way to grab them, and the lid very much is in the way of trying to get to them. If you buy these, know you have to be very careful and deliberate about removing them from the case or you will definitely drop them and ultimately ruin them. And if you have big fingers, seriously consider another product…unless you just get a kick out of being extremely frustrated.
JBL, if you’re listening (sorry for the pun), redesign the case so the ear buds rest in them 180 degrees from the way they do now, increase the surface area to pull them out, and please, PLEASE, redesign the case to have the lid flip farther back out of the way so that people with even average- sized fingers can get to these ear buds!
P. Dobrinen –
This review is about the audio features of the JBL Vibe Beam earbuds.
I’m an audio engineer so audio quality is very important to me. As such, I use wired connections as much as possible to maintain the integrity of the audio signal. However, many newer consumer-level products no longer have audio jacks, so I finally decided to invest in some wireless earbuds as a backup to the other earphones and headphones that I use. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money as I didn’t foresee myself using this product very much, and since this is my first foray into wireless audio earphones, if they were just ok or they broke after a while, then I wouldn’t feel too bad about the little money that I spent. Also, I wanted to focus on finding wireless earbuds with excellent audio quality first as I already have an excellent high-end bluetooth earpiece for cell phone use, and I wouldn’t be using this product as a bluetooth headset for my phone.
After doing much research, I chose the JBL Vibe Beam’s as they were at my price point, I’m familiar with JBL products, and I could reasonably expect that they were likely deliver the high audio quality that I’ve come to expect from JBL products. In my research, I read reviews that complained about the harshness of the high end with high frequency instruments like cymbals or the lack of bass, so I was a bit concerned.
When I received and started listening to my JBL Vibe Beams I understood what people were talking about. However, to correct the issues, first, one must have a great fit of the earbuds in their ears. I’m fortunate, in that with the medium tips that were already installed on the Vibe Beams, they made a snug fit in my ears right out of the box. If you find that these earbuds do not fit well in your ears it might be worthwhile to invest in a separate set of variable sized earbud tips, or try tips from one of your other well-fitting earbuds, if you have them. Once the earbuds were seated properly in my ear, that took care of the poor bass issue. (I have not worn them long-term so I can’t speak to them falling out of my ear, as others have mentioned, but they seem to stay in pretty well.)
For the misaligned frequency response issue, fortunately, the JBL Headphone app that you can install on your cell phone includes a ten-band graphic equalizer that you can use to make adjustments to the frequency response of your earbuds. After listening to several of the reference tracks I use to check new audio equipment or my mixes against, I found that the only adjustments needed were carving out some of the upper midrange and making a very slight boost in the bottom end of the lower frequency spectrum. I’ve included a screenshot of my EQ curve which I based on the Bass preset in the JBL app. You can’t tell as there is no dB scale on the side, but I needed to cut or boost by only 1-2 dB. I find that my new EQ curve gives a more balanced frequency response than what came out of the box, and matches up well against the reference speaker system and headphones that I use for my audio mixing and mastering work. I invite you to use my EQ curve as a starting point and adjust as sounds best to you.
I also read reviews complaining about the apparent lack of volume of the Vibe Beams. I connected the JBL’s to several different sources (phone, computer, TV, MP3 player, etc.) and I found that the overall maximum volume (with limiter off) is relatively lower than wired speaker versions. However, the input to the JBL’s is relative to the maximum output of the source itself. I found that the loudest level I could get came from my iPhone and the lowest level output came from my MP3 player (which probably doesn’t offer much output anyway being a tiny portable unit). As a comparison, I did a side-by-side test of the JBL’s with my wife’s AirPods (2nd gen). What I found was that the JBL’s offered an almost identical audio output level as the AirPods with any of the sources I used so that confirmed that the output level of the JBL’s has more to do with the source (and the source material as some songs are mastered at a lower volume than other songs) than with the earbuds themselves. During my test, I put the JBL’s at their maximum volume output (one tap at a time on the left bud to raise the volume). Also, I noticed during my testing that the AirPods had a pleasing midrange sound perfect for listening to podcasts or watching video, but the JBL’s excelled at full-range sound on the bottom and top ends of the frequency spectrum which made them sound much better over all and well-suited for music or listening to explosive action scenes in movies.
And speaking of movies, the JBL app has a switchable audio/video mode. The video mode reduces the latency of the delivery of audio against picture, so there isn’t a noticeable lip-sync issue with dialogue in a scene. However, there is a slight degradation in the audio quality of ‘video’ mode versus ‘audio’ mode, but you will have to make the determination if the change in audio quality is acceptable to you.
As a side note, I included a picture of the inner side of the earbuds. The ‘L’ and ‘R’ designations on the earbuds are tiny as you can see, plus they are the same color as the earbuds themselves, so they are very hard to see. I wish JBL had made the L/R letters bigger or at least made them a different color so they would be easier to see.
The pairing process was fairly easy with all my bluetooth-capable devices and the range was good, only dropping out after walking approximately 60-70 feet from the source. There was one momentary dropout during my listening but that could be due to my wife using her AirPods the same time as I was using the JBL’s.
I can’t speak to the other features of the JBL Vibe Beams as I don’t intend to use them, but as far as audio quality goes, with just a few minor tweaks, these bluetooth earbuds can go from sounding like a $50 pair of earbuds to a $500 pair of reference earphones.
Kelly –
After owning these for a few months with daily use, I can confidently say this may be one of the best buys I’ve ever found across all of Amazon. Soft tip earbuds with interchangeable tips, great price point, awesome sound quality and clarity, tap on and tap off, exhaustingly long battery life WITH verbal warnings for low battery right in your ear! Also love the holster’s visual battery indicator that flashes red yellow or green when you pull the buds in and out.
This is the type of ear bud where it will keep playing when taken out of the ear (unless you tap it to pause), but I actually prefer that version – I find it very easy to switch the bud into the other ear if needed, which is something you can’t really do with other big name brands.
And I cannot understate enough – NO EAR PAIN!! I never ever thought I’d find a wireless ear bud that was capable of such a thing. I have ridiculously sensitive ears and often can’t wear any kind of earbud for more than 30min to 1hr before experiencing immense pain/soreness in the Tragus area. I nearly cried with relief when I realized that I had been wearing these for several hours with no pain whatsoever. Such a godsend!!
Alex Carr –
Bought on sale for $30, just needed something relatively cheap for casual usage, and these work really good so far!
Pros
– The case is small and solid, feels great in the hangs, fits well in my pocket and has a solid lid.
– They are quite comfortable so far, I’ve had them in for several hours with no pain and they don’t ever feel like they are going to fall out (I did replace the tips though, but the stock ones are fine)
– Sound quality is pretty good, nothing that blew me away but totally acceptable, no real complaints
– They have touch controls on the side which are very responsive and give a little beep when pressed, very consistent so far.
– The range seems very good to me, I was listening to music on my laptop on the second floor, and after walking downstairs to the first floor and going around the house, I didn’t even get a single cutout or any indication of interruption, very impressed!
– The phone app is simple and responsive with a few cool features
Cons
– Feels a bit cheap, mostly plastic (but this does make it lighter so very subjective)
– Battery life seems to drain pretty quick, even at medium volume.
– Cannot assign actions to specific touch controls on the side, for instance; I want volume controls on the left, but if I hold down the side I want it to turn on ambient passthrough, but there is no way to do this, you can either do volume interaction, playback interactions, or enable/disable ambient noise and there is no way to mix and match.
– Very little noise cancellation, although that’s not really what I got them for.
I will update my review if anything should come up in the future, as of 11/26/2023 I’m very happy with the purchase.
Hope & Nicolas Davis –
I’ve always liked JBL products, they almost never fail to impress me. For the price I think this is a pretty good value. Noise cancelling works surprisingly well and the quality of the sound is good also. It fits in my ears better than the “bean” shaped earbuds and I haven’t had any pain. Only thing I would nit pick is that I almost have to max out the volume to get it to the level I want, other than that its a great budget pick.
M. Kowalczyk –
I expected more from a company such as JBL but at the same time for that price range you get what, well…..this. First of all earbuds are very slippery and therefore almost impossible to be grabbed out of the case without accidental drop on the floor. Secondly, they dont stay well put in your ear and constantly fall out. Third, they have issues with connectivity – lost connections or L vs R delay is a regular thing. I have had better experience with cheap $20 no name earbuds. Also what it says that it allows you to play it for 8 hrs with another 24hrs of energy stored in the case is BS. If you use them for 2hrs and then put then in the case they will suck the power from the case to the point that after doing this 5 times in a row there will be nothing left and you will have to plug it in. For good is the app. It has EQ and it works with every sound source either it is radio YT or podcasts or your own music. You may even turn them off from app level but you cannot turn them back on unless by putting them back to the case and out of the case again. Also they work kinda like noise cancelling – they can either bypass environmental noise thru built in mic or stay completely “def” to the outside noise. Sound is decent but you have to sit and not move otherwise you will hear you own heartbeat and you body movement. Or they simply pop out, and changing silicone tips doesnt really help.
ChristianH –
Been using these for quite some time, probably averaging around 10-12 hours a day and these have been great. Have survived working outside and still sound great.
Biggest pro is say is that theyre cheap and have pretty good audio quality. Not the best but idc bout the best. Noise cancelling is pretty good, wish it was a bit better to cancel out the sounds of leaf blowers and weed eaters a bit more, but not a big issue.
One con ive noticed is that they do start to slip out slowly after abt 3-4 hours of use, but is kinda my fault for losing the extra rubber tips.
The battery life of these tho is awesome, ill go a whole day and wont have to charge more than once for around 3 minutes. The case i only have to charge about every 3 days and they only take 30 minutes to be full again.
Overall, if u want a cheap pair of earbuds that u can easily replace if broken or lost, these are the ones to get. I wouldnt even look at others and just grab these.
Dayna –
I’ve got picky kids when it comes to earbuds and they both loved these! They said they are very comfortable, sound is great and they last a long time! I’d say atleast a year of daily use probably longer.
LTW –
Pros
* great sound, which you can adjust using the company app
* like the you can turn on & off the talk through feature using the app (so you don’t talk really loudly when wearing them). When it’s off, the noise cancelling ability is pretty good
* from the app, you can turn on/off the function that let’s you stay aware of sounds around you (like people talking to you, or cars, etc). If it is turned on, and someone talks to you, it automatically lowers the volume so you can gear them, while the misic is still playing. This is really helpful when I’m wearing them at work, and I have to be aware of when my coworkers and bosses are talking to me
* you can turn volume control on & off using the app, to minimize hearing damage
* comfortable to wear & come with different cushion sizes so they can fit your ear better
* I like the quality of the case, & how the automatically turn off when you place them inside
* battery life is fantastic & the light on the cade keeps you informed of when you need to recharge (the light color changes to let you know). It’s a good idea to prime the battery, letting them due completely once or twice before charging
* quick & easy to charge
* there is a “find my earbud” feature on the app, so that’s handy if you loose one, because that can easily happen
Cons
* the earbuds are very sensitive to use the touch control, so I frequently turn them off by accident adjusting the earbud or
* I have issues with them falling out unless they are very firmly inserted
* the earbuds are not marked left & right
* maybe it’s because I’m a bit older, but the touch controls get confusing, for how many taps and/ or holding the “button” for a couple of seconds to control for different functions (all I remember is one tap is on/off). Hoping that will become easier as I use them longer.
Overall, and really happy with them & recommend buying them. I highly recommend downloading the app to access all the features (make sure it is the JBL for headphones app).