JBL Vibe 100TWS True Wireless Headphones Review

The  JBL Vibe 100 TWS have a simple, non-descript look. They're plasticky and have the manufacturer's logo in glossy print on the outward-facing side of the buds. They come in three color variants: Black, Purple, and Blue.

These headphones have a decently comfortable fit. They're small, lightweight, and come with three differently-sized pairs of ear tips to help you find the best fit. However, they have a deep in-ear fit, and registering controls can push them further into your ear, which may not be very comfortable.

These headphones have sub-par controls. There's a physical button on each earbud that's clicky and easy to use. There are chimes when your pair the headphones as well as when you turn them on or off. However, there isn't any audio feedback for other controls. They also lack volume controls, which is a little disappointing. On the upside, you can access all the controls when you're only using one earbud.

On either bud:

• One press: Plays and pauses audio. Also answers and ends calls.
• Two presses: Skips the track forward.
• Three presses: Skips the track backward.
• Press and hold for two seconds: Activates voice assistant. If you're in a call, it mutes and unmutes your mic.

The  JBL Vibe 100TWS have outstanding breathability, which is to be expected from in-ear headphones. They don't cover your outer ear at all and allow for airflow. You shouldn't notice a difference in temperature or sweat more than normal, even if you're wearing them during a run in the park.

The  JBL Vibe 100 TWS are very portable. Thanks to their small and lightweight, truly wireless design, you can easily fit them into most pockets or bags without an issue.

The carrying case is satisfactory. It's plastic, but it lacks a lid to help protect the buds when you're not using them. The buds are held in place with magnets, but they may fall out if you shake the case or drop it on the floor. On the upside, there's a light in the middle of the case to let you know when the case or buds are charging.

The  JBL Vibe 100 TWS have a good build quality. They have a similar build to the JBL Tune 130NC TWS Truly Wireless as they're mostly made of plastic. They feel like they should survive a couple of accidental drops or falls without taking too much damage though. However, the tips feel like they could rip over time. They also lack an IP certification for water resistance.

These in-ears have decent stability. While they should stay in your ears while you're working at your desk, they may fall out during higher-intensity activities like a workout at the gym. If you like their design but want a more stable fit, take a look at the Wyze Buds Truly Wireless.

•  JBL Vibe 100TWS headphones
• Carrying case
• 3x ear tips
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• Manuals

The  JBL Vibe 100TWS have a very slightly bass-heavy sound profile that adds a touch of extra thump, body, and boom to mixes. That said, they're still neutral enough to suit a variety of audio content. They lack an EQ to help you adjust their sound, though.

The frequency response consistency is outstanding. As long as you take the time to adjust their fit, seal, and positioning in your ear, you should experience consistent audio delivery each time you use them.

The bass accuracy of the  JBL Vibe 100 TWS is excellent. It's very slightly overemphasized across the range, so mixes have extra thump, punch, and boom. It shouldn't sound very muddy either.

The  JBL Vibe 100TWS have fantastic mid accuracy. The range is fairly neutral, which results in present and clear vocals and lead instruments. A small bump in the high-mid also adds intensity and clarity to these sounds.

The treble accuracy of the  JBL Vibe 100 TWS is great. The range is slightly underemphasized, but it shouldn't hurt the brightness of vocals and lead instruments too much. The dip in the mid-treble can make sibilants like cymbals a little dull.

The peaks and dips performance is excellent. There's some mismatch between our unit's left and right driver, but it's somewhat minor. However, the left driver is underemphasized from the high-bass to the mid-mid, which can thin out vocals and lead instruments as well as nudge them to the back of the mix. Both drivers also have a peak in the high-mid, which can make these sounds a little honky. The left driver is also overemphasized in the low-treble, which brightens the upper harmonics of vocals and lead instruments. The left and the right driver are subject to the uneven mid-treble, making sibilants like cymbals alternatingly dull and harsh.

The  JBL Vibe 100 TWS' imaging performance is disappointing. Their weighted group delay falls entirely beneath the audibility threshold, resulting in a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. However, the L/R drivers are slightly mismatched in amplitude and frequency, which can create shifts or holes in the stereo image. There's also a significant mismatch in phase response, and you may hear the peaks in mid and treble range with real-life content. This can affect the accurate localization of objects and instruments, like voices and footsteps in the stereo image. However, these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

The  JBL Vibe 100 TWS' passive soundstage of the JBL Vibe is bad, which is to be expected for in-ear headphones. Due to their design, they fully bypass your outer ear, which needs to be activated by sound resonances to achieve an out-of-head listening experience. As a result, their soundstage seems like it's coming from inside your head and feels closed-off.

These headphones have a great weighted harmonic distortion performance. The entire frequency range falls within good limits, resulting in clean and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test the  JBL Vibe 100 TWS. Our results are only valid when using the headphones in this configuration.

The  JBL Vibe 100TWS have a decent noise isolation performance. They don't have active noise cancelling (ANC) and have a hard time blocking out the low rumble of bus and plane engines. They do a better job of cutting down ambient chatter and high-pitched noises like the hum of an AC unit, though.

The  JBL Vibe 100TWS' leakage performance is fantastic. They don't leak a lot of sound, so you can listen to audio at high volumes without disturbing others around you.

The integrated microphone has a good recording quality. Your voice is clear and understandable, although it's lacking depth.

The integrated mic has sub-par noise handling. It struggles to separate your voice from ambient noise around you. If you're taking a call from a busy street, your voice may be completely drowned out.

The  JBL Vibe 100TWS have a sub-par battery performance. They're advertised to deliver five hours of continuous playback time, and we measured a similar amount. However, this may not be enough to get you through your workday without recharging them. Luckily, their carrying case also holds roughly three additional charges, and you can use one bud while the other one charges. They're advertised to have a quick charge feature where 15 minutes of charge can give you one hour of playback time. Battery performance can depend on usage, though, so your real-life experience may vary.

If you want similar headphones with app support, check out the JBL Vibe Beam True Wireless or JBL Vibe Buds True Wireless.

The  JBL Vibe 100 TWS have alright Bluetooth connectivity. Unfortunately, they don't support multi-device or NFC pairing. They also have very high audio latency on PC, iOS, and Android devices, which can be frustrating if you like to stream video. However, some apps and devices compensate for latency differently, and your experience may differ.

You can't use these headphones wired. However, they come with a USB-A to USB-C cable to charge their carrying case.

The  JBL Vibe 100TWS are fully compatible with Bluetooth-enabled PCs. However, you can't connect these headphones to your PC in any other way.

These headphones come with a carrying case that has three additional charges. It only has a USB-C port for you to charge the case, and it doesn't support Qi wireless charging.