The JBL Tune 520BT Wireless on-ear headphones represent the evolution of the previous JBL Tune 510BT Wireless. They're simple Bluetooth headphones with improved battery life compared to the last generation. Despite landing in a pretty budget-friendly tier, they have app support to expand their utility. Let's see how they stack up and determine if they meet your needs.
Our Verdict
The JBL Tune 520BT are fair for sports and fitness. While they have a few good traits, such as their smaller form factor, lightweight, and easy-to-access button controls, they're not stable headphones. As on-ears, they don't grip tight enough for you to perform most exercises without needing to monitor the headphones from shifting around.
- Long battery life.
- Intuitive controls.
- Parametric EQ.
- Plasticky build.
- Too unstable for most exercises.
- Not very comfortable for long sessions.
The JBL Tune 520BT are not bad for travel use. Their long battery life will get you through many long trips without a recharge, and their dedicated controls make playback easy. However, their noise isolation is poor, so you'll hear the rumbling of the bus, your fellow travelers' conversations, and squealing brakes. They're also not the most comfortable, and despite their smaller on-ear design, they don't have a case to stow them away.
- Comprehensive app support.
- Long battery life.
- Poor isolation.
- Not very comfortable for long sessions.
The JBL Tune 520BT are disappointing for office use. They're lightweight and don't clamp too hard, but they're not very comfortable and barely block out much office noise at all, leaving you at the mercy of your coworkers. However, they have a long battery life, so they'll easily last you through a week or more. If you take a lot of meetings, their mic isn't the most professional-sounding, but it captures your speech fine.
- Comprehensive app support.
- Poor isolation.
- Not very comfortable for long sessions.
- Mic noise handling is just okay.
The JBL 520BT aren't suitable for wireless gaming because they connect via Bluetooth only, and their latency is too high even in video mode when used for mobile games.
The JBL 520BT are Bluetooth-only headphones and don't have any wired connection.
The JBL 520BT have decent audio reproduction accuracy. Their frequency response mostly matches their balanced sound profile, with some minor fluctuations in the treble range. However, their poor frequency response consistency makes achieving a consistent L/R driver balance tricky, so you may find centrally-panned instruments pulled to either side. Still, the cans' drivers produce harmonic distortion in low amounts that won't color your audio audibly.
The JBL 520BT's noise isolation performance is poor. They lack an ANC system, and their closed-back enclosure offers only a limited amount of treble range attenuation, leaving you at the mercy of construction noise and airplane engine rumble. They don't leak too much audio, though, so you're unlikely to bother anyone around you unless you're really blasting your tunes.
The JBL 520BT have a reasonable microphone performance. The mic captures your voice well enough that you're easily understandable, although it rolls off both bass and treble-range frequencies, resulting in a boxy sound. It does a passable job of separating your voice from its background, though background audio is still clearly audible and competes with your voice for clarity.
The JBL 520BT have poor frequency response consistency. The headphones' design and the material used for the ear cups make it very difficult to achieve a solid seal. This issue is further compounded if you wear glasses, which can obstruct the seal, or have a head that's anything but average size. All in all, they require a significant amount of adjustment to achieve optimal audio delivery, which can be a hassle.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Mar 12, 2026:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog.
- Updated Mar 12, 2026: This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test, and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog.
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Updated Dec 17, 2025:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.0, which adds the following tests: Stereo Mismatch, Group Delay, Cumulative Spectral Decay, PRTF, Harmonic Distortion, and Electrical Aspects. We've also made changes to the text in the usage boxes.
- Updated Dec 15, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.1, which features minor updates to our sound tests.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The JBL Tune 520BT come in 'Black,' 'Blue,' 'Purple,' and 'White.' Our unit is the 'Blue' variant, and you can see the labels here and here. Besides color, they're all the same model and expected to function the same.
If you come across another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The JBL Tune 520BT Wireless are similarly priced to the JBL Tune 510BT Wireless, but the Tune 510BT have a slightly better mic and are limited without a companion app. Consider the Sony WH-CH520 Wireless on-ears, which are roughly at the same price point and offer virtual surround sound support for a more immersive experience. At a slightly pricier tier, the Pioneer DJ HDJ-CUE1BT Wireless feel more comfortable and are built better. Unlike the Tune 520BT, you can use them wirelessly or wired. However, they don't have EQ, and they charge via the older Micro-USB port. Keep in mind that the JBL Tune 520BT's battery life outlasts all of these on-ear models.
For more options, check out the best budget wireless headphones, the best on-ear headphones, and the best JBL earbuds and headphones to see what else the brand is doing.
The Sony WH-CH520 Wireless and the JBL Tune 520BT share more than the number '520.' Both headphones are lightweight and fit on-ears with app support and multi-device pairing despite being budget-tier. Overall, the Sony are slightly better than the JBL, but it's close enough that prices can easily decide which pair is better. The Sony include the brand's virtual soundstage, which requires a compatible streaming service like TIDAL, and their mic sounds better. They're also slightly better made. The JBL don't have any virtual soundstage compatibility. However, they have a longer battery life and shorter latency with video mode, but latency depends quite a bit on devices, so your experience may vary.
The JBL Tune 520BT are the updated version of the JBL Tune 510BT. The Tune 520BT have a much longer battery life and support the brand's app for greater flexibility, including an equalizer. On the other hand, both headphones have many of the same features, like button controls, and are similarly lightweight with unstable on-ear fits. That said, the Tune 510BT have a better-sounding microphone. Otherwise, they're very alike.
If you want active noise cancelling (ANC), the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless are better than the JBL Tune 520BT in that regard. While the JBL fit on-ears and can only passively isolate, they have other features missing from the Anker headphones, such as multi-device pairing with lower latency and a comprehensive app that includes an equalizer. Their battery also lasts about twice as long. On the other hand, the Anker headphones have a better mic, support both Bluetooth and wired listening, and are more comfortable. Still, you can't change the very bassy sound profile on the Anker, which can be a dealbreaker. However, depending on your needs, the Anker's ANC can outweigh the upsides of the JBL headphones.
Overall, the JBL Tune 520BT are better than the Sony WH-CH510 Wireless. The Sony sound fairly similar to the JBL out of the box, but only the JBL have app compatibility with an EQ to adjust the sound to your tastes. The JBL cans also have a significantly longer battery life and take half as long as the Sony to fully recharge. While neither has an impressive microphone, the JBL includes a sidetone you can adjust so you can hear yourself, or not, during a call. The JBL also support multi-device pairing, and the Sony cans don't. The Sony are slightly more stable-fitting, but they're otherwise more stripped back.
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You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
Test Results
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