JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Headphones Review

The JBL Free have a unique look and decently compact earbuds but do not feel as premium as some of the other truly wireless headphones we've tested like the Beoplay E8. The earbuds are relatively narrow when compared to other similar models but also thicker. They feel decently dense and durable, and they're a bit smaller than the Samsung Gear IconX. They also come with a circular charging case that has a see-through cover so that you can tell the charging status of the earbuds without opening the case, which is a nice touch. Unfortunately, like the Jaybird Run, their build quality lacks a bit of polish which makes them feel more rugged than high-end, unlike the Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless.

The JBL Free are decently comfortable headphones but their unique shape may not fit as comfortably for all listeners. On the upside, they are super lightweight and come with a couple of additional tips and rubber sleeves to better adjust the fit for your ears. They're more comfortable than the Jabra Elite Sport but they won't be as comfortable as some of the other truly wireless headphones we've tested like the Gear IconX or the SoundSport Free but should be comfortable enough for most as long as you do not mind the fit of in-ears in general.

These headphones have a very simple control scheme with physical buttons, but no volume controls. The right earbud's button plays pauses, answers calls, and triggers voice assistance (if you press the button twice). The left earbud, on the other hand, is dedicated to switching tracks. Pushing the button once fast-forwards to the next song and twice rewinds. It's an efficient and straightforward control scheme that's very easy to use, with decent feedback but no volume controls. You will have to pull out your phone whenever you want to lower or increase the volume of your audio, which is slightly disappointing.

Like most truly wireless in-ear designs, the JBL Free are super breathable headphones which makes them a good option for working-out. They barely cause any temperature change even after an hour of intense exercise since they do not cover your ears. They do trap a little heat in the ear canal due to their in-ear design and especially if you add the rubber sleeves to the earbuds but the difference is still fairly negligible and won't make you sweat more than usual.

Like most truly wireless headphones, these are small in-ear buds that will fit in almost any pocket. They're a bit smaller than most of the other truly wireless headphones thanks to their unique design. This makes them one of the more portable headphones we've tested, and unlike the SoundSport Free, their case is decently portable but not as compact as the Beoplay E8 or the Samsung Gear IconX.

The JBL Free come with a hard plastic charging case that will protect the headphones from drops and mild impacts. The case is a bit bulky but should still fit a bit better in your pocket than some of the other truly wireless charging cases like the Bose SoundSport Free.

The JBL Free, like the Jaybird Run, have a good build quality that feels durable enough to survive multiple accidental drops from shoulder height. The earbuds are decently dense, and the case is sturdy and durable. Unfortunately, despite their rugged and decently sturdy design they do not feel or look as premium as some of the other truly wireless headsets we've reviewed, like Beoplay E8 or the Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless.

These earbuds are good for sports, thanks to their stable in-ear design and multiple tips + rubber sleeve to help you achieve a good, secure fit. Once in your ears, they don't move around much but the unique shape of the earbuds may not fit as well for all listeners. The rubber sleeves do help and they will rarely fall out of your ears but compared to some of the other truly wireless designs, they are not as stable under more intense training conditions. They're still good enough for running and working out but you may find yourself adjusting the fit of these earbuds a bit more often than the Gear IconX. They also do not have ear hooks like the JBL Endurance Peak True Wireless or Anker Spirit X so if you mostly use your headphone for running and working out then you might want to consider those models instead.

• JBL Free Headphones
• Earbud tips (x3 sizes)
• Rubber sleeves (x2 sizes)
• Charging case
• USB charging cable
• Manuals

The JBL Free has excellent frequency response consistency. Assuming the user is able to achieve a proper fit and an air-tight seal using the assortment of tips that come with the headphones, they should be able to get consistent bass and treble delivery every time they use the headphones. However, if the user fails to achieved a proper and air-tight seal, they could experience a drop in bass.

The bass of the JBL Free is excellent. LFE (low-frequency response) is at 10Hz, indicating a deep and extended bass. Also, the response throughout the range is very well-balanced and virtually flat, but it is consistently over our neutral target by about 1.5dB. This means the bass of the Free is well suited for all music genres, even though it is ever-so-slightly hyped.

The mid-range performance is great. The response in low-mid and high-mid is well-balanced and virtually flat, however, mid-mid is underemphasized by about 2dB. Overall, their mid-range is quite well-balanced, producing a clear and warm mix. But the recess around 700Hz, nudges the vocals and lead instruments towards the back of the mix, by giving more emphasis to the bass frequencies.

The JBL Free have a very good treble range performance. The response is relatively even throughout the range, and quite well-balanced. The wide and shallow dip around 5KHz, will have a subtle but negative effect on the detail and presence of vocals and lead instruments. The dips/peaks between 6KHz and 10KHz, make the sibilances (S and T sounds) a bit uneven.

The imaging is excellent. The weighted group delay is at 0.14, which is very good. The GD graph also shows that the group delay response never crosses the audibility threshold, suggesting a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Additionally, the L/R drivers of our test unit were well-matched in amplitude, frequency, and phase response, which is important for the accurate placement and localization of objects (voices, instruments, video games effects) in the stereo image.

The soundstage of the JBL Free is poor. Creating a large and speaker-like soundstage is partially dependent on having a speaker-like pinna activation, and in-ear headphones bypass the pinna (the outer ear) and don't interact with it. Therefore, their soundstage will be perceived to be small and located inside the listener's head. Their closed-back design also means that their soundstage won't feel as open as open-back earbuds like the AirPods and the SoundSport Free.

The isolation performance of the JBL Free is above-average. In the bass range, where the rumble of airplane and bus engines sit, they achieved about 10dB of isolation, which is about average. However, this is quite impressive for a headphone that isolates passively. In the mid-range, important for blocking out speech, they isolate by more than 20dB, which is very good. They also perform great in the treble range, occupied by sharp sounds like S and Ts, by achieving about 43dB of reduction.

The leakage performance is excellent. The significant portion of their leakage is spread over a very narrow range in the treble range, around 2KHz. This makes their leakage very thin and sharp sounding. The overall level of their leakage is also very low. With the music at 100dB SPL, the leakage averages around 26dB SPL, and peaks at around 30db SPL, which is way below the noise floor of the average office.

The integrated microphone of the JBL Free has an average recording quality. The bass range is quite lacking, except for the area around 90Hz. This results in a recorded/transmitted speech that sound a little thin. The HFE (high-frequency extension) is at 3.4KHz, indicating a speech that lacks bit of detail and sounds noticeably muffled. However, it will still be relatively easy to comprehend, since speech intelligibility is mostly dependent on the 500Hz-4KHz range. If you want a better mic in a truly wireless format then check out the Jabra Evolve 65t although they are quite a bit pricey then the JBL Free, which may not be worth the improved mic performance for some.

The JBL Free's microphone is mediocre at noise handling. In our SpNR test, this mic achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of 12dB, indicating it is best suited for quiet environments, and they will struggle to separate speech from ambient noise in moderate or loud situations.

They have a decent battery life of 3.1 hours and their case provides 5 additional charges which result in 18.6 hours of total battery life. It's decent for most use cases and should be enough to last you a day if you do not have long continuous listening sessions, but they won't be ideal for more heavy users and is shorter than similarly designed headsets. They also do not have any special battery features like the Xfyro xS2 which have a power bank that can recharge some of your devices, although it's not the biggest battery pack for that use case. If you want a longer lasting truly wireless design then consider the Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless, or the JBL Tune 120.

These headphones do not support the JBL my Headphones app like the JBL Everest Elite 700.

They only connect to other devices via Bluetooth. They do not support NFC or simultaneous multi devices pairing but do remember the last sync device for auto-pairing when you open the charging case.

These earbuds have a lot more latency than typical Bluetooth headsets. At 375ms of latency, they are not suitable for watching movies and gaming.

These are truly wireless earbuds that do not have an audio cable or a wired connection. If you want a decent sounding and stable in-ear with a wired connection, we would suggest the Mee Audio M6 PRO or the 1More Triple Driver In-Ear.

Update 06/17/2019: We've updated the Base/Dock box to show that the JBL Free have a charging case that has no input. We previously had it listed as N/A, which was giving these headphones a higher score than other truly wireless headphones in this test. The score has been adjusted.

They have a charging case that delivers up to 18 hours of extra battery life. However, it has no inputs and not distinguishing special features like Qi wireless charging on the Altec Lansing True Evo.