Note: Unfortunately, our unit had mismatched drivers, so the bass on the right earbud was noticeably thinner and less thumpy, which is disappointing. However, this might be specific to our unit and if you get two good performing earbuds, they should sound well-balanced and neutral.
Our Verdict
Decent for mixed usage. These headphones are a good option for someone that wants a pair of decently comfortable and versatile headphones. They do a decent job for most uses but aren't designed for any specific one. They can be used for sports just as much as you can enjoy your music on the bus. However, due to their high latency, they can't be used for gaming and people might notice a delay when watching video content.
- Versatile pair of headphones.
- Decently comfortable.
- Very good passive isolation performance.
- Slightly cheap feeling.
- Sub-par microphone.
- Our unit has mismatched drivers.
Decent for neutral sound. Unfortunately, our unit had a severe mismatch between the L/R drivers, especially in the bass range. Our right bud offers noticeably less bass, resulting in a thin sound profile. However, the left bud is pretty neutral and if you get a unit with two good earbuds, we expect them to be rather neutral-sounding for in-ear headphones.
Good for commuting. These headphones are decently comfortable and their passive isolation is decent at blocking out the deep rumble of a plane or bus engine. Their 4-hour battery life should be more than enough for your daily commute but is more than likely too short for long flights. On the upside, they're very portable and easy to bring around.
Good for sports. These headphones don't make you sweat more than usual and they're easy to bring around to the gym. There's no cumbersome wire, but they aren't the most stable truly wireless option out there and they don't have an IP rating. There are noticeably better truly wireless sports headphones available.
Passable for the office. These headphones do a good job of isolating against work environment noises like ambient chatter and the A/C unit. However, the in-ear fit might not be the most comfortable to wear during a full work day. Also, the 4-hour battery life won't be enough for you to listen to your music all day long and you'll probably need to charge them during your lunchtime.
These headphones can only be used via Bluetooth and aren't recommended for wireless gaming due to their very high latency.
These headphones can't be used wired.
Mediocre for phone calls. Like most truly wireless in-ears, these headphones have a sub-par performing integrated microphone. The recording quality lacks detail and sounds muffled, and it struggles to separate actual speech from background noise.
Changelog
- Updated Feb 05, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Dec 05, 2019: Review published.
- Updated Nov 27, 2019: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Nov 27, 2019: Early access published.
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Popular Headphones Comparisons
The JBL Tune 120 are rather affordable and well-rounded performing headphones that don't necessarily stand out for anything. They're versatile and offer a fairly good neutral sound, if you can get a unit with well-matched drivers, unlike ours. They lack customization options and more high-end features like ANC but are overall a good option for people who are looking for a single pair of headphones to suit all of their needs. See our recommendations for the best truly wireless earbuds, the best wireless earbuds, and the best noise cancelling earbuds and in-ears.
The Jabra Elite 65t Truly Wireless are better truly wireless headphones than the JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless. The Jabra have volume control, are better built and more stable, and they last longer on a single charge. On the other hand, the JBL Tune 120 are slightly more comfortable and have an extra additional charge from the case. The Jabra also have an app that allows some audio customization.
The JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 are slightly better than the JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless. They have a more comfortable design and feel slightly better made as well. Our Tune 120 unit also had mismatched drivers, which thinned out the bass and made them sound bright. The JBL Free have more additional charges but have a lower continuous playback time than the Tune 120.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds are noticeably better than the JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless. They're smaller and more comfortable, better built, and more stable thanks to their fins. They also sound very neutral, and you can slightly customize their sound profile inside the Android app. The Galaxy Buds also have a great single charge battery life, although the case only offers one additional charge, rather than three like the JBL Tune 120.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless and the JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless are rather similar performing headphones, with different designs. The Tune 120 have more of an oval-shaped design, while the Indy have a stem design. The Indy have volume control, which the Tune 120 lack. Our JBL unit had mismatched drivers, especially in the bass range, but the Indy have sub-par treble accuracy since they lack a lot of detail, making them better suited for bass-heavy genres.
The JBL Tune 125TWS Truly Wireless are better overall than the JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless. The 125TWS have a better-balanced sound profile, superior microphone recording quality, and longer-lasting battery life. Meanwhile, the 120 block out a little more ambient noise.
We've upgraded our Headphones Test Bench to 2.0! This update brings several key changes to our tests and usages, making it easier than ever to interpret our sound results based on your personal preferences. You'll also find a brand-new interactive graph tool featuring multiple targets (including our own!) for you to explore and compare.
For a full breakdown, check out our changelog, which includes detailed commentary from our test designer explaining the rationale behind our update.
We'd also love to hear your thoughts: your feedback helps us keep improving, so join us in the comments!
Test Results
The JBL Tune 120TWS are fairly straightforward truly wireless headphones. They're small and have a glossy finish, which may be prone to fingerprints. However, their design does make them protrude out of the ear quite a bit. They're also available in various colors, so you can pick up the ones that match your style.
These headphones are decently comfortable. They come with three different silicone tip sizes to help you get the best fit possible. However, their design enters the ear canal a bit, which can be uncomfortable during long listening sessions. Also, pressing the buttons on each bud pushes them even more inside your ear. On the upside, you can easily grab the bud when pressing the button, which helps it not be as painful.
The JBL Tune 120's control scheme is just okay. The buttons are very clicky and offer good tactile feedback. However, pressing them pushed the buds inside the ears quite a bit, which can hurt. They also don't offer volume control, which might be a deal-breaker for some.
Like most in-ears, the JBL Tune 120 don't trap too much heat inside or around your ears. They're great for sports as you won't sweat more than usual when using them.
These headphones can easily fit inside your pockets or a small bag. There's also a magnet on each bud, which can keep them together in your pocket, but its magnetic force is pretty weak and they can easily separate when moving.
The JBL Tune 120's case is good. It offers good protection to the buds when it comes to physical damage, scratches, and very light water exposure. The charge port is protected by rubber and the controls are engraved inside the case, which is a nice touch if you always find yourself looking at the manual to remember the control scheme.
The JBL Tune 120 have a decent build quality. They're fairly plasticky and the glossy finish on the earbuds gives off a bit of a cheap feeling. The buds are still fairly dense and should survive a few accidental drops without too much damage. They feel quite similar to the Skullcandy Sesh, but don't have an IP rating for dust and sweat resistance.
The JBL Tune 120TWS are fairly stable headphones if you can find a good seal with the different silicone tips available. If not, they can fall out of your ears quite easily with head movement, so they may not be the best option for sports.
- JBL Tune 120 headphones
- 3x silicone tip sizes
- Charing case
- Micro-USB charging cable
- Manuals
The JBL Tune 120TWS's sound profile is well-balanced and fairly neutral, although our unit had a significant mismatch in the bass range, making them sound a bit on the brighter side. The right driver was noticeably missing low-bass. Paired with the excited treble, this gives them a rather bright sound profile, but this is only valid for our unit.
The frequency response consistency is great. Once you achieve a proper fit and seal with the included tips, you'll likely get consistent bass and treble response every time you use the headphones. There's a bit of variation in the bass range, but this isn't likely to be that noticeable. It was also only measured on the right ear, which is the driver where our unit had a mismatch.
The JBL Tune 120's bass accuracy is good. The left ear is quite outstanding, following our curve very well, which results in a powerful bass with a good amount of thump and rumble without sounding too boomy. Unfortunately, our unit had a noticeable mismatch and the right ear's bass was disappointing and lacking in thump.
The JBL Tune 120's mid accuracy is great. It's very well-balanced and follows our target curve very well. This results in an accurate reproduction of vocals and lead instruments.
The JBL Tune 120TWS have a rather decent treble accuracy. There's a small mismatch between both drivers, but this isn't as audible as the one in the bass range. Unfortunately, the treble slightly goes over our target curve, with some sharp peaks, which can make them quite piercing.
The JBL Tune 120's peaks and dips performance is good. The most noticeable is the mismatch in the bass range, where you get significantly more thump and rumble in the left ear than the right ear. However, this may only be valid to our unit and yours might perform differently. There are also a few peaks and dips in the treble range.
The JBL Tune 120TWS's imaging is just okay. The GD graph is under the audibility threshold, which results in a tight bass and transparent treble range. However, there's a noticeable mismatch between our unit left and right drivers, especially in the bass range. This creates 'holes' and skews the stereo image. However, note that these results are only valid for our unit and yours may perform differently.
Like all closed-back in-ear headphones, the soundstage of these headphones is pretty much nonexistent. This is because creating an out-of-head and speaker-like soundstage is largely dependent on activating the resonances of the pinna (outer ear). The design of in-ears and earbuds is in such a way that fully bypasses the pinna and doesn't interact with it.
The JBL Tune 120's weighted harmonic distortion performance is good. The amount of WHD is within good limits, which should result in a clear and pure audio reproduction. Even the spikes on the right ear, in the bass range, shouldn't be audible for most.
The JBL Tune 120 have good passive noise isolation performance, similar to the Monster Clarity 101 AirLinks Truly Wireless. They don't have any ANC feature, so they only passively block out noise. If you can find a good fit with the included silicone tip options, they can reduce a decent amount of the deep rumble of a bus engine. Also, they're great for the office as they greatly reduce the ambient chatter.
The leakage performance is excellent. Like most in-ears, they don't leak too much audio so you shouldn't be worried about bothering people surrounding you. However, blasting your music in a very quiet environment like a library isn't recommended, as some might still hear some thin-sounding leakage.
The recording quality of the microphone is sub-par. Recorded speech sounds muffled and lacks detail. It's still understandable in quiet environments, but the audio quality isn't very good.
Like most in-ear integrated mics, this one also struggles with noise handling. It has difficulty separating ambient noise and actual speech in even moderately loud situations such as walking down a busy street. This mic is better suited for very quiet situations.
The JBL Tune 120's battery performance is rather unimpressive. It holds about four hours of charge on a single charge, which is about standard for truly wireless headphones, but quite inferior to some higher-end models. The case holds about three extra charges according to the manufacturer. However, the case doesn't support wireless charging, and you can't use one bud at a time while the other is charging, which is disappointing. If you're looking for a pair of similarly-performing truly wireless headphones with superior battery life, take a look at the JBL Tune 125TWS Truly Wireless.
The JBL Tune 120 isn't compatible with the JBL Headphones app, which is disappointing since you don't have dedicated customization options like the parametric EQ you get with some over-ear headphones like the JBL Live 650 BTNC Wireless.
The JBL Tune 120 are Bluetooth-only truly wireless headphones. They have a decent wireless range, which shouldn't cause any issues if you keep your source on you, but isn't quite as good as some other competing models out there. They also have high latency, which results in a noticeable delay when watching video content. Some apps and devices offer some compensation, so some people might not notice the delay as much.
The JBL Tune 120TWS are Bluetooth-only.
As expected, they can't be used wired as they're truly wireless headphones. They only come with a very short micro-USB charging cable.
Although the JBL Tune 120 can be paired to a PC via Bluetooth, there's no other way to pair them. They also won't be compatible with the PS4 and aren't recommended for gaming due to their high latency.
These headphones can't be used with an Xbox One and wouldn't be recommended for gaming due to their high latency.
The JBL Tune 120 come with a typical charging case. It offers about three additional charges according to the manufacturer but doesn't support wireless charging. The case itself charges via micro-USB and doesn't have any inputs other than its charging port.