JBL Live 780NC headphones: Review

There's no denying the headphone industry is swamped and customers are staying loyal to brands and manufacturers, rather than venturing into newer waters.

So what are companies to do that push out regular headsets or rely on them to bring new users in the market into their brand?

Well, if you're JBL, it seems the key is to simply keep doing what you do well, update only minor touches and plough on regardless hoping good word of mouth will spread the word.

The latest set, the JBL Live 780NC, continues to offer the kind of quality JBL has become known for, while ensuring that users get what they want and need out of headsets - chiefly, comfort, battery life and sound quality. Though for every user, that basic list will be ordered differently. 

But it does feel like some of the basics are being sacrificed for these sets.

While this over-the-ear set does feel a little like it relies more on a clamp to deliver comfort (and can occasionally irritate after hours of use), the bass does seem a little heavier than usual, and that's likely to be something that will annoy some users - especially the audiophiles out there.

But given the set looks minimalist in terms of design and seems sleek enough, there's certainly a vicarious amount of pleasure to be had from wearing them. The cups fit nicely and clamping aside, don't resonate too much on the side of your head when listening to music. All the control buttons are on the left-hand earcup and while that takes a little time to get used to, īt means that podgier fingers will need to be better trained to avoid accidents. 

However, it's in terms of the battery where the JBL Live 780NC rate. 

The company gives it around 50 hours of playback with ANC switched on and that rockets upto about 80 hours without the ANC on. Essentially, a two-week buffer of use is an incredible offering, something which is market-leading in many ways and which will be the deciding factor for many. Add in the fact that a 5-minute charge will allow for another 4 hours of sound life and you can see why this set has the edge over some of its competition.

Call quality impresses too, with an array of microphones helping to block out extraneous noise - again, this is a set that can be used for everything and intends to be so.

All in all, the JBL Live 780NC headphones do continue the pursuit of quality that JBL wants to achieve - it's a major disappointment that they don't come with a bag to protect them and that a USB-C charging cable is not included (something which, e-waste policies aside, feels criminal and money-grabbing), but for battery life and decent sound quality alone, these are the kind of mid-price range headsets we should have more of.