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We've recently released our Test Bench 1.6 update for Headphones! Read the Latency R&D Article to learn more.

JBL Endurance Dive Wireless Headphones Review

Tested using Methodology v1.4
Review updated May 31, 2019 at 09:47 am
Latest change: Writing modified Sep 28, 2021 at 11:00 am
JBL Endurance Dive Wireless Picture
7.0
Mixed Usage
7.2
Neutral Sound
7.5
Commute/Travel
7.6
Sports/Fitness
6.8
Office
5.3
Wireless Gaming
5.2
Wired Gaming
6.6
Phone Calls

The JBL Endurance Dive Wireless are sports headphones that have acceptable sound quality. These headphones are advertised to be waterproof enough for swimming, thanks to their IPX7 rating. They have 1GB of internal storage, which is helpful for swimmers since Bluetooth won’t work well in the water, or for working out without your phone. They're versatile for other everyday uses such as commuting since their fit blocks out a good amount of ambient noise. Unfortunately, their design is a bit bulky, and their battery life is worse than the similar and better-sounding JBL Endurance Sprint Wireless.

Our Verdict

7.0 Mixed Usage

The JBL Endurance Dive are decent for mixed usage. They have an acceptable sound profile that's fairly versatile but are better suited for bass-heavy genres. Their fit can create an air-tight seal that blocks out ambient noise from seeping into your audio, making them suitable to use in public transit and at the office. They won’t be ideal for watching TV or gaming due to their latency issues, but these headphones are designed for sports. They have a stable fit, are very breathable, and are designed to be waterproof for swimmers.

Pros
  • Good passive noise isolation and low leakage.
  • Stable and breathable for sports.
  • Durable and waterproof design.
Cons
  • Slightly bulky design.
  • In-ear fit might not be comfortable for everyone.
7.2 Neutral Sound

The JBL Endurance Dive are decent for neutral sound. They have a deep and extended bass, a very well-balanced mid-range, and a great treble. However, they might sound a bit overly thumpy, but fans of bass-heavy genres may prefer this. There’s constant underemphasis in the mid-range, which thins out vocals and leads, on top of nudging them to the back of the mix. Overall, these headphones are versatile for many music genres but will be better suited for bass-heavy genres and won’t be the ideal choice for vocal-centric music. Additionally, the in-ear fit might not be ideal for very long listening sessions as some may feel some ear soreness.

7.5 Commute/Travel

The JBL Endurance Dive are good for commute and travel. These headphones’ fit creates an air-tight seal that blocks a good amount of ambient noise, including the deep rumbles of a bus or plane engine. This means they’ll be suitable for public transit, and since they practically don’t leak, you’ll be able to drown even more noise by raising your volume without disturbing people around you. Also, their battery life is long enough for your daily commute but might not be enough for very long trips. If you can’t find a good fit, these in-ears won’t be comfortable to wear for long periods as well.

7.6 Sports/Fitness

The JBL Endurance Dive are good for sports. They have a stable ear-hook design and are rated IPX7 for water resistance. They're advertised as swimming headphones and have onboard storage since Bluetooth won’t work well underwater. They're also breathable as they don’t trap heat inside your ears, and they're easy to carry around to the gym. They can also isolate against a noisy training environment, and their bass-heavy sound profile can keep you pumped during your workouts.

6.8 Office

The JBL Endurance Dive are okay for office use. They do a very good job of blocking out work environment noise like ambient chatter and A/C noise. However, they won’t be the most comfortable option and may cause some ear soreness if you can’t find a good fit. Their battery life is also a bit short for a whole workday, especially if you're planning on commuting with them as well. On the upside, they have a pretty good wireless range, so you’ll be able to walk around your desk without putting the headphones down, which is nice considering they automatically turn off when you do so.

5.3 Wireless Gaming

The JBL Endurance Dive aren't suitable for wireless gaming. They aren't compatible with Xbox and PlayStation consoles. They work with Bluetooth-compatible PCs, but their latency will be too high for video games, and their microphone’s recording quality won’t be great for online multiplayer games. They also won’t be comfortable for long gaming sessions.

5.2 Wired Gaming
6.6 Phone Calls
  • 7.0 Mixed Usage
  • 7.2 Neutral Sound
  • 7.5 Commute/Travel
  • 7.6 Sports/Fitness
  • 6.8 Office
  • 5.3 Wireless Gaming
  • 5.2 Wired Gaming
  • 6.6 Phone Calls
  1. Updated Mar 26, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
  2. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
  3. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
  4. Updated Jun 03, 2019: The test results were processed incorrectly. They have been reprocessed to fix the error, sound score and text have been updated.
  5. Updated May 31, 2019: Review published.
  6. Updated May 29, 2019: Our testers have started testing this product.
  7. Updated May 29, 2019: Early access published.
  8. Updated May 27, 2019: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
  9. Updated May 07, 2019: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Compared To Other Headphones

Comparison picture

The JBL Endurance Dive are good sports headphones that set themselves apart by their good value and touch-sensitive surface. There are a few reports online saying that you still get water in your ears when swimming, which noticeably affects the sound quality, but they will still be good for working out.

See our recommendations for the best wireless in-ears for running and working out, the best cheap wireless earbuds, and the best true wireless earbuds.

Anker SoundCore Spirit X Wireless

The Anker SoundCore Spirit X Wireless are slightly better sports headphones than the JBL Endurance Dive Wireless. The Anker are more comfortable, and their physical controls are easier to use than the touch-sensitive area of the JBL. The Anker fit nicely inside the ears, are very stable for sports, and their sound quality is also a bit more accurate. The Anker also have almost double the amount of battery life. The JBL’s fit isolates against a good amount of ambient noise, making them a better option for commuting. Their cable is also thicker and rubberized, which makes them more durable than the Anker. The JBL also have a noticeably better wireless range and have onboard storage for when you want to use them for swimming or working out without a phone.

JBL Endurance Sprint Wireless

The JBL Endurance Sprint Wireless and the JBL Endurance Dive are almost identical headphones in design. Their in-ear fit is the same, and the only real difference between these models is that the Dive have a shorter and thicker cable, which is better suited for swimmers. Performance-wise, they are very similar, but the Sprint have a small edge over the Dive. Their sound profile is more accurate, and we measured about two additional hours of continuous playback time on the Sprint. On the other hand, the control scheme of the Dive feels a bit more responsive, and they have helpful onboard storage since Bluetooth protocol won’t work in the water. They also have a better wireless range.

Bose SoundSport Wireless

The Bose SoundSport Wireless and the JBL Endurance Dive are both good sports headphones, but both are better at different things. The Bose have a better sound quality and are more comfortable, but they have a semi-open design that doesn’t isolate much ambient noise. On the other hand, the JBL Dive are waterproof and designed as swimming headphones. They're well-built, and their fit is suitable for commuting thanks to the air-tight seal that blocks out noise. While you might get a bit less battery life on the Bose, you can connect them to two devices simultaneously.

Beats Powerbeats3 Wireless

The Beats Powerbeats3 Wireless are better sports headphones than the JBL Endurance Dive Wireless. Their fit is more comfortable, and their in-line remote might be easier to use than the touch-sensitive surface of the JBL, especially during physical activity. They fit a bit more securely inside the ear too, which is great for sports. They sound a bit more neutral and have noticeably more battery life. On the other hand, the JBL have internal storage, meaning that you can use them in the water without Bluetooth, and their fit creates an air-tight seal that blocks a good amount of ambient noise, making them a better option for commuting.

Test Results

Design
Design
Style
Type In-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless Yes
Transducer Dynamic

The JBL Endurance Dive look fairly similar to the JBL Endurance Sprint Wireless and JBL Endurance Peak True Wireless, but with a slightly shorter and thicker cable. These headphones have a sporty look thanks to their ear-hook and bright, flashy color designs. The buds are quite large as there’s a touch-sensitive surface for you to register commands on the right earbud. The design is fairly bulky, and they protrude quite a lot out of your ears.

6.5
Design
Comfort
Weight 0.06 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs

The JBL Endurance Dive aren't the most comfortable in-ears we’ve tested, and since their bud design is identical to the JBL Endurance Sprint Wireless and JBL Endurance Peak True Wireless, they’ll feel the same. These headphones enter your ear canal deeply, which can create an air-tight seal. The earbuds have a “twist-to-lock” wear procedure that can be a bit finicky and doesn't always create the best fit in the ears. Their ear-hooks are fairly bulky but are comfortable enough to wear for a while without feeling the weight of the large buds. On the upside, since their cable is shorter and a bit less loose than the Sprint’s, it fits nicely on the back of your head, and you won’t feel it wiggling around during physical activity. They also come with a few tip options to help you find the best fit, but there are only three different sizes.

6.3
Design
Controls
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use Mediocre
Feedback Decent
Call/Music Control Yes
Volume Control Yes
Microphone Control No
Channel Mixing
No
Noise Cancelling Control No
Talk-Through
No
Additional Controls Music mode

The JBL Endurance Dive have a touch-sensitive control scheme on their ear-hooks, which is a bit hard to use as it's very sensitive and it’s easy to register unwanted commands. On the upside, if you’re not wearing the headphones and the magnetic ear-hooks are snapped to the bud, it powers off the headphones, so it won’t register commands like it could on the JBL Endurance Sprint Wireless, which seemed to be something that frustrated users. The touch-sensitive surface is slightly more responsive and easier to use, but we had issues with their pairing mode.

You get common functionalities like play/pause, call management, and track skipping with tapping commands. You can also control your listening volume by swiping up or down. To switch to their internal storage, you need to tap and hold the right bud for three seconds, and the three LEDs next to the Bluetooth logo will start flashing. This is useful for swimmers since Bluetooth won’t work in the water or for working out without your phone.

9.2
Design
Breathability
Avg.Temp.Difference 0.8 °C

Like most in-ear headphones, the JBL Endurance Dive don’t trap much heat inside your ears, which means they’ll be good sports headphones as they won’t make you sweat more than usual, thanks to airflow. You shouldn’t notice a big temperature difference when wearing them, especially if you use them underwater.

7.5
Design
Portability
L 3.5"
W 2.1"
H 2.7"
Volume 20 in³
Transmitter Required No

The JBL Endurance Dive have good portability. Even if they're a bit bulkier than many wireless in-ears, they easily fit inside pockets or a bag. They also rest around the neck if you don’t want to cramp the cable in pockets. They're easy to carry around and to bring to the gym.

6.5
Design
Case
Type Pouch
L N/A
W N/A
H N/A
Volume N/A

The JBL Endurance Dive come with a small rubber pouch that resembles the Beats BeatsX Wireless' case. It protects the headphones from scratches or light physical damage from falls. The case doesn’t fully close, and it's a bit hard to fit the headphones, charging cable, and tip options inside it at the same time.

7.5
Design
Build Quality

The JBL Endurance Dive are well-built headphones and feel more durable than the JBL Endurance Sprint Wireless, thanks to their shorter and thicker cable. The headphones are also rated IPX7 for water resistance and advertised for swimming. They have thick and rubberized ear-hooks that feel durable.

7.5
Design
Stability

The JBL Endurance Dive have good stability and will be suitable for most sports, running, and for working out. Their ear-hook design holds the headphones well, and they shouldn’t fall from your ears, even with a tug on the cable. The earbuds also have a sleeve that helps them to securely fit inside the ear without moving during physical activity. Although the enhancer attachment that goes around the tip of the buds helps by adding more points of contact with your inner ear, if you don't get the twist-to-lock wearing procedure right, they can pop out of your ears.

Design
Headshots 1
Design
Headshots 2
Design
Top
Design
In The Box

  • JBL Endurance Dive headphones
  • 3 tip sizes
  • Rubber carrying pouch
  • Micro-USB to USB charging cable

Sound
Sound
Sound Profile
Bass Amount
1.35 dB
Treble Amount
0.56 dB
8.1
Sound
Frequency Response Consistency
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.38 dB

The JBL Endurance Dive have great frequency response consistency. Assuming the user can achieve a proper fit and an air-tight seal using the assortment of tips that come with the headphones, they should get consistent bass and treble delivery every time they use the headphones. We only measured a small variation of about 6dB around 8kHz. Also, if the user fails to achieve a proper and air-tight seal, they could experience a different bass delivery.

Sound
Raw Frequency Response
8.2
Sound
Bass Accuracy
Std. Err.
2.56 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
Low-Bass
2.33 dB
Mid-Bass
3.58 dB
High-Bass
0.98 dB

The JBL Endurance Dive have great bass accuracy. Their LFE (low-frequency extension) is down to 10Hz, which is excellent, indicating a deep and extended bass. On top of it, low-bass, responsible for the thump and rumble common to bass-heavy music and sound effects, follows our target curve accurately. However, the response goes under our target curve in high-bass, making the bass a bit thin-sounding. It won’t sound too boomy, but this won't be too audible.

9.4
Sound
Mid Accuracy
Std. Err.
0.84 dB
Low-Mid
-0.07 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.29 dB
High-Mid
0.94 dB

The JBL Endurance Dive have incredible mid-accuracy. The response throughout the range is well-balanced and even, but it's slightly underemphasized by about 2dB. This thins out the vocals and lead instruments a little bit and nudges them towards the back of the mix.

8.5
Sound
Treble Accuracy
Std. Err.
2.04 dB
Low-Treble
0.68 dB
Mid-Treble
2.72 dB
High-Treble
0.58 dB

The JBL Endurance Dive have excellent treble accuracy. The response before 10kHz is virtually flawless and follows our target curve accurately, resulting in detailed vocals, leads, and sibilants (S and T sounds). There’s a small dip in the low-treble, but it shouldn’t be too audible.

8.7
Sound
Peaks/Dips
Peaks
0.93 dB
Dips
0.64 dB
8.7
Sound
Imaging
Weighted Group Delay
0.21
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.44
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.95
Weighted Phase Mismatch
4.85

The JBL Endurance Dive have an excellent imaging performance. The weighted group delay is at 0.21, which is very good. The GD graph also shows that the group delay response never crosses the audibility threshold, suggesting a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Also, the L/R drivers of our test unit were well-matched in amplitude, frequency, and phase response, which is important for the accurate placement and localization of objects (voices, instruments, video game effects) in the stereo image. However, note that these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

0.7
Sound
Passive Soundstage
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
Openness
2.0
Acoustic Space Excitation
0.9

The JBL Endurance Dive have a bad passive soundstage. Since creating a large and speaker-like soundstage is partially dependent on having a speaker-like pinna activation, and in-ear headphones bypass the pinna and don't interact with it, their soundstage will be perceived as small and located inside the listener's head. Their closed-back design also means that their soundstage won't feel and open as that of many open-back earbuds, such as the Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless.

0
Sound
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
Speaker Modeling
No
Room Ambience
No
Head Tracking
No
Virtual Surround
No App
8.0
Sound
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.268
WHD @ 100
0.087
Sound
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Power
On
Connection
Bluetooth 4.0
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
EQ
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Silicone (small)
Microphone
Integrated
Isolation
8.0
Isolation
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-22.68 dB
Noise Cancelling No
Bass
-11.38 dB
Mid
-21.55 dB
Treble
-36.05 dB

The JBL Endurance Dive have an impressive noise isolation performance. Although these headphones don't have active noise cancellation (ANC), their in-ear design provides good passive isolation. In the bass range, where the rumble of airplane and bus engines sits, they provide more than 11dB of isolation, which is pretty good for passive isolation. In the mid-range, important for blocking out speech, they isolate by about 22dB, which is very good. In the treble range, occupied by sharp sounds like S and Ts and A/C noise, they achieve 36dB of isolation, which is also very good.

9.2
Isolation
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
25.81 dB

Their leakage performance is superb. The JBL Endurance Dive don’t leak in the bass or mid ranges, resulting in very thin-sounding leakage. A significant portion of their leakage is concentrated over a very thin band around 5-6kHz. The overall level of the leakage is not very loud either. With the music at 100dB SPL, the leakage at one foot away averages at 26dB SPL and peaks at 48dB SPL, which is about the same as the noise floor of an average office.

Microphone
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
In-Line
No
Boom
No
Detachable Boom
No
Mic Yes
6.6
Microphone
Recording Quality
Recorded Speech
LFE
219.83 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.41 dB
HFE
3,179.16 Hz
Weighted THD
3.256
Gain
33.47 dB

The recording quality of the integrated microphone is adequate. The LFE (low-frequency extension) of 220Hz means speech recorded/transmitted with this mic sounds noticeably thin. The HFE (high-frequency extension) of 3.2kHz results in a speech that lacks detail and is noticeably muffled.

5.9
Microphone
Noise Handling
Speech + Pink Noise
Speech + Subway Noise
SpNR
10.33 dB

The integrated microphone has a sub-par noise handling performance. In our SpNR test, it achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of 10dB, indicating that it's best-suited for quiet environments as it may struggle to fully separate speech from background noise in moderately loud situations like a busy street.

Active Features
6.3
Active Features
Battery
Battery Type
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
7.3 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
Total Battery Life
7.3 hrs
Charge Time
1.9 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
Audio While Charging
No
Passive Playback
No
Charging Port micro-USB

The JBL Endurance Dive have a passable battery performance. They provide about seven hours of continuous playback off of a single charge, which is enough for a few workouts but won’t be ideal for long listening sessions or to use during a full workday. They also take two hours to charge fully, which some may find to be a bit long for seven hours of playback time. However, battery performance can vary with real-life usage, so your experience may vary. On the upside, they have an auto-off feature to save power when being idle, but it's set to five minutes, which is very short and a bit frustrating at times, especially since you can't change it. Also, they automatically turn off if you take the right earbud out, and the ear-hook magnetically snaps with the earbud.

0
Active Features
App Support
App Name No App
iOS No
Android No
macOS No
Windows No
Equalizer
No
ANC Control
No
Mic Control No
Room Effects
No
Playback Control
No
Button Mapping No
Surround Support
No

The JBL Endurance Dive don’t have a companion app for customization options.

Connectivity
6.7
Connectivity
Bluetooth
Bluetooth Version
4.2
Multi-Device Pairing
No
NFC Pairing
No
Line Of Sight Range
188 ft
PC Latency (SBC)
231 ms
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
284 ms
Android Latency
151 ms

The JBL Endurance Dive are Bluetooth-compatible. Unfortunately, they can only be connected to a single device at a time and don’t support NFC for quicker and easier pairing, which would have been nice since we had a hard time pairing them to new devices.

They have fairly high latency with PCs and iOS devices. It's a little lower with Android phones, but overall they aren't ideal for watching videos or gaming. However, some apps and devices seem to compensate differently for latency, meaning that you may have a different experience.

0
Connectivity
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
0
Connectivity
Wired
Analog Audio
No
USB Audio
No
Detachable No
Length N/A
Connection No Wired Option
Analog/USB Audio Latency
N/A

You can't use these Bluetooth headphones with a wired connection.

Connectivity
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC/PS4 Analog
No
PC/PS4 Wired USB
No
PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
Connectivity
Xbox One Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
0
Connectivity
Base/Dock
Type
No Base/Dock
USB Input
No
Line In
No
Line Out
No
Optical Input
No
RCA Input
No
Dock Charging
No
Power Supply
No Base/Dock

The JBL Endurance Dive don’t have a dock.