JBL E65BTNC Wireless Headphones Review

These over-ear headphones are fairly bulky and look a bit better-made than the JBL E55BT, while still keeping a very similar design. The cups are big and well-padded, while the headband has a mesh finish. They come in 3 color variants: black, blue (our unit) and white.

Update 06/17/2019: We've adjusted the comfort score since we felt these headphones are noticeably tighter than the JBL Live 650BTNC.

The JBL E65BTNC are comfortable over-ears that feel like the similar E55BT. The cups are well-padded, but strangely, the ear space is a bit smaller than before, making it feel a bit more cramped for bigger ears. They are still comfortable to wear during long listening sessions but aren’t quite on par with some similar high-end headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM3 or Bose QuietComfort 35 II. They are quite tight on the head and the JBL Live 650 BTNC will be a more comfortable option.

The JBL E65BTNC have a decent control scheme that gives you quick access to common functionalities such as call/music management, track skipping forward and backward and volume control. They also offer dedicated ANC and Bluetooth buttons. The physical buttons on the E65BTNC are better-made than the E55BT and also offer good feedback. Some may find the ANC button in a weird position, but it shouldn’t be much of a problem to use. You also get a small audio beeping feedback when you reach maximum volume or when you switch ANC on and off.

Like most closed-back over-ear headphones, the JBL E65BTNC aren’t very breathable. They trap heat under the ear cups, and their closed design doesn’t help much with airflow. While they are fairly stable, the temperature difference is noticeable, and they won’t be ideal for sports as you can expect to sweat more while wearing them.

By design, they aren’t very portable headphones, but they do fold into a smaller format, which makes them a bit easier to travel with. They also come with a pouch which doesn’t add too much bulk. If you want to travel with them around your neck, the cups swivel to lay flat. This also makes it easier to slide the headphones inside a bag.

The JBL E65BTNC come with a soft pouch that should protect the headphones against scratches and small water exposure. However, it won’t protect them against hard impacts. On the upside, the pouch doesn’t add too much bulk to the headphones.

The JBL E65BTNC are well-built headphones. The headband is reinforced with a thin metal sheet which makes it sturdier. While they are still very similar to the JBL E55BT, they do feel better-finished and better-built, but not by much. The biggest difference we’ve found is that the hinges are now made out of metal instead of plastic, which should last longer and suffer less damage over time.

The JBL E65BTNC headphones have a decent clamping force and are stable enough for light physical activity. Their bulky design won’t be the best for sports, but being wireless gets rid of a cable that could get hooked on something, which is convenient. However, the protruding ear cups sway a bit when running or doing strenuous exercises.

• JBL E65BTNC headphones
• 1/8” TRRS audio cable
• Micro-USB charging cable
• Carrying pouch
• Manuals

The frequency response consistency is decent. The bass range is susceptible to some inconsistencies depending on the positioning preference. Our human test subjects with glasses or lots of hair seemed to break the seal and get slight loss in low-bass. Also, we seem to have a unit with different ear pads thickness. This resulted in a weird fit over the right ear, which could explain the higher inconsistencies of the right measurements.

The bass is quite good. LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 10Hz, which is excellent. Also, low-bass, which is responsible for the thump and rumble common to bass-heavy tracks, is overemphasized by about 5dB of our neutral target making the bass a bit thumpy. Mid-bass, responsible for the body of bass guitars and the punch of kick drums, and high-bass, responsible for warmth, are overemphasized by about 3dB and 2dB respectively. Overall, the bass of the E65BTNC is heavy, but without overdoing it, which fans of bass-heavy genres may like.

The mid-range of the E65BTNC is excellent. The response is flat and even across the whole range. Low-mid is very slightly underemphasized by less than 2dB, making the vocals and instruments slightly thick, but this shouldn’t be audible for most users. This results in a clear and well-balanced reproduction of the fundamental and lower harmonics of vocals and lead instruments.

The treble is also good. The response is fairly uneven but well-balanced throughout the range. It is a bit underemphasized and veiled which results in a lack of brightness and presence on vocals and lead instruments. There is also a small negative impact on sibilances (S and T sounds) as they lack a bit of detail.

The imaging performance is great. The weighted group delay is at 0.36, which is very low. The GD graph also shows that the group delay response is almost entirely below the audibility threshold. This ensures a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Additionally, the L/R drivers of our test unit were very well-matched, which is important for the accurate placement and localization of objects (instruments, voice, footsteps), in the stereo image. However, these results are only valid for our test unit, and yours may perform differently. Our unit also had different padding on each cup, which resulted in a slight frequency mismatch as the right ear cup wasn’t getting the same seal and bass as the left one.

The soundstage is poor. The PRTF graph shows a decent amount of pinna interaction, but it isn’t accurate. Also, there is only a small dip around 10KHz. This could result in a relatively large soundstage, but may be perceived as unnatural and located inside the listener’s head. Additionally, the closed-back design will make them sound less open and spacious compared to open-back headphones.

The noise isolation performance of the E65BTNC is decent. In the bass range, where the rumble of bus and airplane engines sit, they reduce outside sounds by about 11dB, which is about decent. In the mid-range, important for blocking out speech, they achieved an isolation of about 23dB, which is good. In the treble range, occupied by sharp S and T sounds, they reduce noise by about 34dB, which is good.

The leakage performance is decent. The significant portion of the leakage is spread across the upper mid and treble range. With the music at 100dB SPL, the leakage averages at about 39dB SPL, and peaks at 58.5dB SPL, which is slightly above the noise floor of most offices.

The mic has a decent recording quality. The LFE of 269Hz results in a recorded or transmitted speech that is relatively thin. The HFE of 3.5KHz suggests a speech that lacks detail and presence, but this is expected on Bluetooth microphones. However, the intelligibility of speech on this microphone will be decent in quiet environments.

The microphone is average at noise handling. In our SpNR test, they achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of about 15.8dB, indicating they are best suited for quiet and moderately loud environments. However, they will struggle to separate speech from ambient noise in louder situations.

We measured about 20 hours of battery life when used wirelessly with ANC on, which is a bit disappointing when compared to similar high-end headphones but is more than enough for a full workday. This is more than the 15 hours advertised by JBL. Unfortunately, they don’t have any power saving features unlike the JBL Everest Elite 700. On the upside, you can use them passively with the included audio cable, even if the battery is dead. They also allow you to use them when charging, but you’ll need to use the audio cable as well. According to JBL’s spec sheet, you can expect 24 hours of playback when used wirelessly with ANC off and the ANC feature can be used for about 30 hours when wired. For a better battery life, take a look at the JBL Live 500BT, although they don't have an ANC feature.

Unfortunately, the JBL E65BTNC headphones are not compatible with the JBL headphones app like the JBL Everest Elite 700 or the Live 650BTNC are.

The JBL E65BTNC do not support NFC for quicker and easier pairing. But, you can connect to two devices simultaneously, which is convenient if you often switch between two audio sources like a computer and a phone.

Like most Bluetooth headphones, the JBL E65BTNC have too much latency for video content or gaming. However, the 120ms measured is significantly lower than most Bluetooth headphones we’ve reviewed so far which are usually around 200ms. Also, with the included cable, you can use the headphones passively and get rid of the latency issues.

You can use the included 1/8” TRRS cable to use these headphones passively, even if the battery is dead, which is convenient. They also support audio and microphone on consoles. When plugged in, the ANC is automatically switched off, but you can still turn it on if there’s battery left.

These headphones do not have a base/dock. If you want a versatile headset with a base that you can also use wired, check out the Astro A50.