JBL Vibe Buds True Wireless Headphones Review

The JBL Vibe Buds have a non-descript truly wireless design. They have the manufacturer's logo on the outer side of the bud but are otherwise not very eye-catching. They come in a few colors: 'Black', 'White', 'Mint', and 'Beige'.

These buds are decently comfortable. Like the JBL Vibe 100TWS True Wireless, they have a lightweight design that sits on your concha. Using their controls doesn't create additional pressure. However, the buds have a slightly deep fit, so removing them from your ear can create a plunger-like feeling when you remove them.

The controls are decent. They have a physical button on each bud; these buttons are responsive and give you a chime to let you know when you've registered a tap. There are also voice prompts for pairing as well as cycling between ambient Aware and TalkThru modes. Ambient Aware allows you to hear your surroundings without taking out your buds, while TalkThru lowers your audio and allows you to hear mid-range sound, like conversations. Both features need to be added via the companion app, but you'll lose out on one of the preset commands on the left or right bud. In addition to these controls, there's a chime to let you know when you've reached max volume, although it can be hard to hear when you're already listening to music. By default, the controls use both buds as described below:

On the left bud:

• Single press: Raises the volume.
• Double presses: Lowers the volume.

On the right bud:

• Single press: Plays and pauses audio.
• Double presses: Skips the track forward.
• Triple presses: Skips the track backward.

On either bud:

• Double press: Answers and ends calls.
• Press and hold: Mutes and unmutes the mic when on a call. Also activates voice assistant.

Like most other truly wireless buds, they're very small, lightweight, and portable. You won't have trouble fitting them into most pockets or bags.

The carrying case is mostly made of plastic, and like the JBL Vibe 100TWS True Wireless', it lacks a lid. That said, there's a magnet to hold the buds in place, and it's strong enough to keep them there if you're walking. However, they can fall out if you shake the case vigorously. Overall, the case feels sturdy, and three lights indicate the charging status of the case and buds.

The JBL Vibe Buds' build quality is good. They're mostly made of plastic, which feels sturdy but not premium. They're also certified IP54 for resistance against dust and water splashes. The ear tips are made of thin silicone and come in three different sizes to help you get the best fit. However, it seems like they could rip over long-term use.

These buds have a decently stable fit. While they'll stay in place while you're listening to audio at your desk or while you're walking to work, they can fall out of your ear during tough workouts. The buds also tend to slip out over time, particularly when you're talking or eating, and you may need to adjust their fit more often.

•  JBL Vibe Buds True Wirelessearbuds
• Charging case
• 3x ear tips
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• Manuals

These buds have a sound profile that makes mixes sound rumbly and detailed, suiting genres like pop and rock. The elevated bass ensures you'll feel and hear the rumble and punch of kick drums, while the dialed-up high-mids keep your vocals and instruments clear. If you prefer a different sound, their companion app offers a graphic EQ and presets to help you finetune their sound. It's also worth mentioning that our unit exhibits some imaging issues; certain ranges of vocals or instruments may sound as though they're offset to your left or right.

After you've taken the time to adjust their fit, positioning, and seal in your ear, you'll experience consistent audio delivery each time you use them.

The bass range target compliance is excellent. The response is overemphasized across the range, meaning the buds deliver extra thump, rumble, and boom.

The mid-range compliance is excellent. For the most part, the response in this range is quite flat, so in jazzy songs like Tank! by Seatbelts, brass instruments like trumpets sound full-bodied and present within the mix. A bump in the high-mid makes these vocals and instruments sound more intense.

These buds have superb treble compliance. The response is occasionally underemphasized but still fairly balanced. Compliance in the low-treble means instruments and vocals will sound well-articulated, while a dip in the mid-range can dull their presence a bit.

The peaks and dips performance is great. The response is well controlled, except for some small deviations. There's a minor dip between the mid- to high-bass, which slightly lightens their thump. A dip in the low treble diminishes the detail of vocals and instruments while alternating peaks and dips in the more uneven mid- and high-treble make cymbals sound piercing and dull. However, it's worth noting that the highest frequencies aren't audible to everyone.

Imaging is a marker of a manufacturer's quality control and ergonomics. While we've tested many products from JBL, we have seen a few cases of driver mismatch, like the high phase mismatch of the JBL Vibe 100TWS True Wireless. It's worth noting that imaging varies across units, though.

Our unit's L/R drivers are well-matched in group delay, which ensures tight bass and transparent treble. That said, the L/R drivers have mismatch throughout their phase response, which results in the shifting of sound objects like voices. From the low to mid-bass, and in the mid-mid, sounds are shifted to the right. This is noticeable with sounds like voices and instruments. However, the high-mid mismatch is much harder to hear, and it sounds like the audio drifts from the right to the left driver.

The JBL Vibe Buds' passive soundstage performance is bad, but that's expected from in-ear headphones. Since they bypass your outer ear, which sound resonances activate to create a more out-of-head listening experience, your audio sounds like it's coming from inside your head.

The weighted harmonic distortion performance is great. The entire response falls within good limits, so you'll have clean and pure audio reproduction, even at higher volumes.

These are the settings used to test these headphones; our results are only valid in this configuration.

The noise isolation performance is alright. They lack active noise cancelling (ANC), so they struggle to block out the low rumble of bus engines. That said, they do a better job of reducing sounds like ambient chatter and the whirl of computer fans.

The JBL Vibe Buds' leakage performance is excellent. The leakage is quite low, so even if you're blasting your music, others around you won't be bothered by it.

The recording quality of the integrated mic is decent. Your voice is intelligible but lacks depth.

The integrated mic's noise handling performance mic is sub-par. The mic struggles to separate speech from background noise, so if you're taking a call from a noisy office, expect the chatter to drown out your voice. Audio also seems to clip and screech, which is pretty annoying. The mic doesn't have a noise gate either, so super loud sounds can hurt the ears of whoever you're talking to.

The battery performance is very good. JBL advertises that the battery lasts eight hours continuously, and we measured just over that. Keep in mind that battery life varies depending on use, though. If you run out of juice, the carrying case supplies three additional charges, and you can even use one bud while the other charges.

These buds are compatible with the JBL Headphones app, and you can see a video of the app in action here. The app offers a variety of customization features, like a 10-band graphic EQ, EQ presets, and gesture control for the left and right buds. You can also access 'Audio Mode' for better audio quality and 'Video Mode', which helps improve latency performance, as well as see the battery life of each bud and activate controls like ambient sound control. Additionally, you can use the max volume limiter to keep the volume below 85 dB and extend the battery life, and an adjustable power saving feature.

These buds come with a USB-C to USB-A cable for charging up their carrying case. You can't use this for audio.

These buds have great Bluetooth connectivity. While they don't have multi-device pairing, they support Google Quick Pair, so you can easily connect them with your Android devices. They also have two different modes that you can use to alter your audio experience: 'Audio Mode,' which is supposed to improve audio quality, and 'Video Mode,' which helps lower latency. Even with Video Mode on, though, these buds have high latency, so you'll notice lip sync issues. If you use the Audio Mode for streaming videos, you'll have even more noticeable audio/video desync, which can be disruptive. It's worth noting that apps and devices compensate for latency differently.

These buds can only connect to Bluetooth-enabled PCs. When connected, you'll have audio and mic functionality.

These buds come with a carrying case that holds three additional charges. The case has a USB-C port for charging, but it doesn't support wireless charging.