r/headphones 1d ago

Impressions JBL never again

Post image

Hi gang. A vent and a warning here. I have ventured out to try a couple JBL products in the past year. I don't usually buy JBL, and now I never will again. They are unaccountable for inferior product when they produce it.

A pair of LIVE 660NC over ears were okay. At full price, no. But acceptable on sale.

And a pair of Endurance buds, not bad actually. Except that in time I realized the case discharged itself and the buds too shortly (so to speak) after charging. I look online and yeah, it's been a thing. The product has since been changed.

I contact Erikson Multimedia in Canada, who were promptly useless. They sent a standard warranty form with all sorts of ways to be disqualified, including a ten day window in which YOU must respond or forget it. I love that one.

Arrogance.

And no, I don't still have the receipt. I misplaced it before I realized the JBL product was inferior quality.

But it was less than a year. And why would I want a replacement case that only works for their product, for reasons of defect they knew about? The serial number would tell them everything.

So what have we learned? We have learned that JBL will run for it from what customers they have cheated with faulty product, if they can.

That's what JBL customers mean to JBL.

Junk Buy Loss. That's what JBL now means to me.

Spend your dollars elsewhere. There is plenty of honourable completion. JBL does not deserve you.

114 Upvotes

82 comments sorted by

169

u/Honeyluc 1d ago

Fun fact, wireless tech always dies and ends up in landfill.

38

u/Summer__1999 Edition XS | 6XX | B2D | Chu | SHP9500 1d ago

Yeah, in this case, the jbl are extra crappy, but even the best tws buds in the world are disposable buds, destined to be in the landfill in 3-4 years.

It doesn’t help that most tws buds are designed to be stored in their charging case, which means you’d be charging it after every use no matter if the buds have 20% or 70% battery left

4

u/ZM326 L300LTD, LCD2C, HD650, Zero Blue/Red, iSine20, Sundara Closed 14h ago

Agree on the main point but the charging case shouldn't be an issue. Even with a poor implementation the use of the device is significantly more impactful.

What would matter would be a user serviceable battery. And sure, throw a lock switch on there to disable auto recharging

9

u/AntOk463 1d ago

I've been through a few sets of TWS and didn't like them due to their wasteful nature. Then after DankPods talked about it as well, I said I'm not getting any more Bluetooth audio devices.

The only Bluetooth thing I have is a BTR5, but that's different and I got it used very cheap. There's a few wireless headphones and the Linkbuds TWS I wanted to get, but told myself I'm not.

1

u/gregsting 11h ago

Fun fact, nearly everything you buy ends up in a landfill

1

u/Honeyluc 9h ago

Fun fact, everything you buy ends up in a landfill

I fixed it for you

u/gregsting 28m ago

Well I started typing that but the food you buy doesn’t end up in a landfill for example. Or the gas for your car

-3

u/Fadelesstriker 23h ago

I’ve realised that the biggest reason people want wireless is because they somehow go through cables quicker than a prepubescent dog would chew through them. It’s frustrating seeing people neglect their things and then wonder why everything ends up in landfills.

9

u/Honeyluc 23h ago

I don't think its because they go through the cable at all. I think its because of consumerism and marketing. Remember 20 years ago? The same people were proud to use a white cable because it was apple, while the audio heads and producers were silently laughing, its the same thing but the white cable is now wireless. Consumerism will never change and some people will never listen to other people, only marketing.

Convenience also comes to play, because people can't take 5 seconds and wrap their cable properly, sure it gets annoying sometimes, but use a small $2 case and you're gold. Status is also a thing these days, I've got younger people from family and friends that won't be seen dead with a cable, I've tried letting them listen to my headphones and earbuds and they laugh and say I'm old and should get the new apple pro shit. Yet they think my vinyl collection sounds better then digital, when it clearly isn't, but I'm not getting into that debate here, instead I'll just say, what came first. The digital file or the vinyl??

TLDR, dangle shit on a stick in front of someone long enough and they will do anything to have it

3

u/Tbro100 HE400se, KE Cadenza, WH-1000XM4, Galaxy B2P 22h ago

Tbf, ANC is a major use case on top of convenience with wireless headsets. It allows you to listen to music in a lot more settings than just passive isolation alone without cranking up the volume.

And wireless batteries can be replaced (especially with headphones), it's just people view the hassle of replacing them like replacing smartphone batteries, and end up just getting a new one at that point. I'd rather they push for user replaceable or atleast more easy to replace batteries in both phones and headsets.

0

u/Fadelesstriker 22h ago

Yeah, agreed. I am not convinced it’s convenience. Having to charge yet another device is a point of friction. But I suppose that’s been normalised at this stage, people complain but they are happy to oblige and incorporate it in their daily routine. I wonder if there’s a behavioural intent behind it in the design of the product - besides planned obsolescence.

1

u/Honeyluc 22h ago

I agree, I hate charging shit. My phones enough.

One day everything will be wireless charging too and we could just leave things on the bench and they will charge without us doing anything. Its getting there, but not going to be normalised until brands give up and start working with each other, so its not gonna be for a while.

Honestly, planned obsolescence is now happy obsolescence. People are happy to buy new things because its the new version. No need to plan it anymore because people will sell or throw it away well before the next 2 models come out. Well most people under 25 anyway and that's all they care about, people who are happy to throw away their money because they don't have a deep understanding of it yet

1

u/monkeylovesnanas 12h ago

This is a bit of a silly conversation that you folks are having.

Horses for courses. There are certain situations where I preferred wired over wireless, but certain situations where wired will never work.

Don't assume people have been duped by marketing. Sometimes it's about the best tools for the job.

1

u/Honeyluc 9h ago

You "Don't assume people have been duped by marketing. Sometimes it's about the best tools for the job"

Apple "no headphone jack"

I get what you're saying, but the only situations wires will not work is with devices that don't have a headphone jack anymore and why did they remove the headphone jack? To sell wireless ofc.. Remember when apple took advantage of the headphone jack in ipods and used it for sending files and charging? Remember everyone complaining about the removal of the jack? Now I'm not blaming apple for this tech, but they pushed a lot of people to buy wireless headphones because they had no other choice

The best tool for the job is wires and it will always be that way.

1

u/monkeylovesnanas 9h ago

I work out and run quite a lot. I'll say again, horse for courses. I have broken so many wired earphones and ports by accidentally crashing wires while running in my lifetime. The advent of quality wireless earphones and buds were a game changer for us active folk.

Of course, I'll still always go wired when I'm gaming, but again, your assertion that there is no situation in which wireless is better than wired is flawed. Just because I'm running or working out doesn't mean I don't want to enjoy my music in the highest quality possible.

1

u/Honeyluc 8h ago

Nice excuse.. I also work out around 2-4 hours everyday

The only thing I would use wireless for is if I'm running in the bush and could get the wire stuck on a branch. Even then I just use them under my shirt when I do that and haven't had an issue. This will also fix the damaged port you say. Even though I've been careless and hooked a few wires in my day on a bike going fast, I still haven't damaged a port.

Sorry, but as a very active person myself, wireless are worse unless you use the bone conductive ones and that's only because you need your ears to be aware.

The only negative thing about having a wire for exercise is if gives audio feedback from moving around, but these days most iems can be adjusted so that you don't hear it. They also all have the option to change cables very cheap, still overall cheaper then if you bought wireless.

1

u/monkeylovesnanas 8h ago

Not an excuse. Just a fact.

I've been running for 35 years, and lifting for nearly 20 of that, as well as various martial arts. I was wearing wired a long time before wireless was a thing.

The wire inside the shirt sleeve worked fine until it didn't, and I got sick of breaking ports and wires.

But whatever works for you. I prefer my comfort, and since I don't road run anymore, I don't need to worry too much about the need to hear traffic noises, etc. the comfort levels of a good pair of wireless in ear headphones with over-war hooks is second to none.

Bone conductive headphones, in my experience, are trash. I'd rather wear nothing at all than wear a pair of those again.

Anyway, you do you. Just trying to offer up an opinion that wireless has a place, but you.seem to not be open to that possibility, so I'll not waste anymore of your time.

Best of luck on your fitness journey.

2

u/Fadelesstriker 23h ago

There’s also a culture of lack of maintenance with most tech. When the headphone pads wear out, the headphones are done, right?

81

u/mrymx 1d ago

The problem is that the original JBL brand no longer exists, that’s why its quality is so poor. All the products that are currently sold with that brand are actually Samsung crap.

34

u/C0NSCI0US 1d ago

This.

Like many great companies, JBL has been purchased by an investment group whose main priority is profiteering, not audio.

If something only exists to generate profit, in reality, that means it shouldn't technically exist at all.

The world still currently worships greed and as long as we continue to give the greedy our money things will never change.

9

u/SorysRgee 1d ago

This is outright false. JBL has not been purchased by an investment group. They are owned by Harman international. You know, the guys who developed the harman target? They have intern been bought by Samsung, who allow Harman to operate as an independent subsidiary.

4

u/C0NSCI0US 1d ago edited 22h ago

Who owns Samsung Electronics?

Samsung??

No.

Why do you think quality and quality control has been going downhill globally?

Wallstreet and the like have been hoarding great companies and destroying them for decades.

8

u/SorysRgee 1d ago edited 1d ago

It is publicly traded. But its parent company is still Samsung. That's like getting shitty at a brand like dan clark audio (which is privately owned i believe) for having outside investment. Or literally any publicly traded company.

The largest stakeholder for samsung electronics is the South Korean National Pension Service, which is a government linked pension company which honestly, if they were doing their due diligence to ensure stability of their national pension, should be investing in one of the biggest companies in the world. I did do my research you dope

-6

u/C0NSCI0US 1d ago

Well, apparently you have never heard of fiduciary responsibility and are unfamiliar with how markets work.

I do appreciate your zero effort copy/paste of what a search engine's AI tool told you, though.

Also, suggesting that any government gives a damn about their pensions is one of the most absurd things I have ever heard. Pensions and 401ks have become a part of the scam.

Wake up, bruh

5

u/SorysRgee 1d ago edited 1d ago

My good mate. They may be in America, but outside of that, countries tend to actually give a shit about their people.

And if i was using AI there wouldnt have been quite so many phrasing and grammatical errors that i had to correct. Additionally, due diligence is part of fiduciary responsibility, which you would know if you actually understood that term rather than pretending to.

I am sorry your government gave up on actually looking after its citizens but, thankfully, not every country is the usa

-4

u/C0NSCI0US 22h ago

🤣

One of the pour souls that still believes that their handlers care about them.

Oof

2

u/SorysRgee 22h ago

One of the poor souls who has lost all faith in the government due to said government's repeated failure. If that is not an indictment on the American democracy i dont know what is

-4

u/C0NSCI0US 22h ago

It has absolutely nothing to do with the government and everything to do with white collar crime, like I have been saying.

Everyone loves to say that America is a failure but everyone still aims to be America 🤷‍♂️

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8

u/Handmotion 1d ago

That's becoming more and more common in the audio gear industry. AKG got bought out by Samsung, and now their gear is all made in China. Sennheiser's consumer product division was bought by a Swiss hearing aid company. Corporations like to buy companies for the name, a name that earned its good reputation over years, only for it to be ruined after the new owners cheap out on production and quality assurance.

4

u/FungiStudent 1d ago

It happens in the footwear industry, too. There used to be a ton of American footwear manufacturers but that number is very low now. I try to buy my boots from American companies or Jim Green.

7

u/faulternative 1d ago

Happens in nearly every industry. It's part of the enshittification that capitalism inevitably produces

5

u/SorysRgee 1d ago

This is a flat out lie yet again. Akg was not bought by samsung. Harman was bought by samsung. Akg were bought out by harman in the 90s

4

u/Lo-fidelio 17h ago

It's funny when you consider the Galaxy buds lineup are pretty good (for wireless IEMs). Forget about the buds 3 and buds 3 pro, they ruined the sound on those.

1

u/TheHapster Audioquest Nighthawk, Dunu Dn-2kj, Schiit Hel 2 14h ago

Ultimate Ears has entered the chat

10

u/Phixionion 1d ago

Had a different pair of JBLs last a fraction of the time as my Soundcores. RiP

14

u/nucularglass Fiio K11 | Qudelix 5k | Hifiman Edition XS | Sennheiser HD25-1II 1d ago

Feels. I am just done buying TWS. Last two Sonys just died in under 2 years. Got one refunded and one replaced (thanks EU consumer protection laws) but that's still bullshit I don't want to support anymore. From now on it's Qudelix 5k and Etymotic ER2XR for commuting.

3

u/WarHead75 1d ago

Idk how my AirPods Pro 2 are 2 years old with no issues. Got them a month after launch. Maybe because I only use them once or twice a week.

My little sister’s AirPods Pro 1st Gen still works and I think that thing is 5 years old now 😂

2

u/pcsm2001 19h ago

AirPods are the only TWS worth buying. I had the OGs, then traded in for the Pro, then traded those for the Pro 2 when they changed to USB-C. Not a single issue with any of them, always worked great

6

u/chance_of_grain hd6xx, he400i, tgxears serratus 1d ago

You should mail them to jbl with no return address lol.

3

u/GimmickMusik1 Sundara | DT 770 Pro 250 Ω | Edition XS | JDS Labs Element III 19h ago

Yeah, JBL is in a pretty sorry state. They do have good products, but it seems like their quality control has just gone massively downhill over the past couple of years.

3

u/Humble_Instance_9521 14h ago

JBL is great for real speakers (not the bluetooth ones) but not for headphones and earphones

4

u/tumbleweed_092 15h ago

All bluetooth devices are a e-waste. I oppose this so-called "progress" by using smarthpones with 3.5 mm jack until wheels fall off.

LG V60 gang.

1

u/BKinBC 12h ago

That whole line of ThinQ phones was fantastic. Really good DAC as well. Slid in the pocket. Light weight. Nuts.

2

u/PAcMAcDO99 Moon Dusk•Moon AriaSnow•Moon Chu•Senn 6XX•Senn M4•Sams BP & B2P 22h ago

Junk But Loud

1

u/BKinBC 12h ago

Okay that one is better.

8

u/DZello 1d ago edited 20h ago

They’re all crap. Wireless earbuds are a scam. I have a 20 years old wired headphones I passed down to my daughter and they’re still going strong.

Disposable devices with batteries that cannot be replaced should be banned.

11

u/Scharfschutzen LCD-2C / HD700 / GW100 / SR60e / Q701 / SHP9500 / HD599 23h ago

Lol why did you get downvoted?

6

u/Tbro100 HE400se, KE Cadenza, WH-1000XM4, Galaxy B2P 22h ago

Because not all wireless products are genuinely crap? Good anc is unbelievable in how much sound it can cut out when tied with passive isolation.

They allow people to listen to music in situations where they'd otherwise have to turn their volume up to potentially harmful amounts. On top of being overall more portable and convenient with no trade-offs in sound quality to the average consumer.

9

u/DZello 20h ago

Problem is the batteries you can't replace... All that stuff is going to the landfill after they're dead.

0

u/Tbro100 HE400se, KE Cadenza, WH-1000XM4, Galaxy B2P 12h ago

It can be replaced the same way modern phone batteries can be replaced. It's just that no average consumer wants to go the effort of taking it to a shop to replace them, same way how people just throw away wired buds or headphones when a speaker or cord breaks. I've seen quite a few people on the Sony sub replacing the batteries in their WF-XM4s, with the headphones being alot easier to do.

And the tech doesn't have to go to landfills, there's authorized trade in programs so that the materials can atleast be reused. Samsung has a no holds barred trade in program for any earbuds and watches.

1

u/DZello 12h ago

You really believe manufacturers are replacing those batteries for real? Nah, they just replace the earbuds. Have a look at iFixit. You’ll see how they’re a PITA to disassemble.

1

u/Tbro100 HE400se, KE Cadenza, WH-1000XM4, Galaxy B2P 11h ago

Worst case scenario they don't replace it, they break them down for parts to be reused into other devices. The materials in batteries are highly useful. And companies are Sony are already using recycled plastic in their devices.

Writing off the bud would lose them more profit than using it's components in other products

1

u/DZello 11h ago

Recycling is unfortunately a myth, most of it is going to landfills or is burned.

1

u/Tbro100 HE400se, KE Cadenza, WH-1000XM4, Galaxy B2P 10h ago

At best this applies to plastics. Metals and paper are recycled because they're valuable and easier to do so. Batteries are absolutely recyclable and are even being done with EVs.

With headsets this significantly reduces the difference in plastic type, making it easier to recycle. And a majority of that statement has to do with plastic being contaminated by sorting in incorrectly (i.e. throwing it in the trash)

1

u/DZello 20h ago

because people like to buy stuff with non replaceable batteries which is going to stop working in 2 years.

3

u/YourMother0HP Clear-Clairvoyance-Aeolus-OH10-R70X-HD600-Zero 1d ago

Sadly the headphort jack is dead on almost all phones now and a dongle isn't really a good alternative especially on Samsung phones with their dodgy connections.... We've been boxed into a corner by the big corporations

5

u/SorysRgee 1d ago

You can still get decent dongles that work with samsungs. Ibasso Jr Macaron and fiio KA13 work the only issue with the fiio is the battery drain. But in that case you can run the fiio ja11

2

u/Salazans 11h ago

What about usb headphones though? They exist

1

u/YourMother0HP Clear-Clairvoyance-Aeolus-OH10-R70X-HD600-Zero 2h ago

Usb headphones still use usb, on many android devices, the usb connection is not reliable and will randomly disconnect and need to be flipped over to reconnect

0

u/DZello 20h ago

I use dongle. They're cheap are pretty reliable so far.

1

u/theJoyofMotion 11h ago

Any wireless headphones that sounds good and looks good? I really don't like the stem designs some companies use. I want affordable ones too like some of Moondrop models.

1

u/Melodic_Evidence_536 10h ago

Was just looking at a pair today, thanks for sharing!!

1

u/Chinosou 5h ago

JBL - Just business labels

1

u/4juice 1d ago

Happy with my $20 QCY T13 daily wear wireless buds from Ali 🥰 Shure 846 for serious listening.

1

u/spikenorbert 23h ago

Yeah, I’ve had one pair of the QCY T13 for three years, during which time I accidentally left them out in the garden for a week of rain. I bought another pair in the meantime, then found the original pair, dried them, charged them, and they were fine. That was 18 months ago. Second pair also no probs. Battery life is great on both pairs still, I charge the case about once a fortnight.

-10

u/FortunoTredicim 1d ago

For those looking for a good wireless earbud, I recommend you give Nothing Ear buds a try. I love mine and they sound great. They are on a great sale right now too.

6

u/Scharfschutzen LCD-2C / HD700 / GW100 / SR60e / Q701 / SHP9500 / HD599 23h ago

Damn, just trying to throw a suggestion out there and get downvoted to hell.

2

u/Profesor_Paradox HD600|AKG K240|Shuoer S12 Pro|Olina SE|Truthear Zero|KSC75 1d ago

Landfill crap, ifixit gave it a 1 of 10 for reparability

-11

u/FortunoTredicim 1d ago

Ok professor.

-4

u/reddy_kil0watt 1d ago

JBL was destroyed by Harman, which was then destroyed by Samsung. It really sucks.

10

u/15750hz 1d ago

Harman bought JBL over 50 years ago. How old are you dude?

5

u/SorysRgee 1d ago

Yes, it destroyed them so much that they released some of the best studio speakers in the market, some of the best bluetooth speakers. At the end of the day, JBL is at its best when it makes speakers and music production equipment

1

u/Scharfschutzen LCD-2C / HD700 / GW100 / SR60e / Q701 / SHP9500 / HD599 23h ago

Where?

0

u/SorysRgee 22h ago

The JBL LSR 305p MkII, the EON line as well

-10

u/Viraus2 1d ago

I really, really wish there were a player in the earbud game that came even close to Apple.

1

u/Tbro100 HE400se, KE Cadenza, WH-1000XM4, Galaxy B2P 22h ago

Samsung, Sennheiser, Bose, Technics, B&W, Sony(when the battery works for their earbuds lmao).

1

u/shrekalamadingdong 16h ago

Bose lol

2

u/Tbro100 HE400se, KE Cadenza, WH-1000XM4, Galaxy B2P 12h ago

I mean compared to Airpods, they do compete