JBL Live 670NC Wireless Headphones Review

The JBL Live 670NC have a similar on-ear design to the JBL Live 460NC Wireless. They feature ear pads that match the color of the rest of the headphones for a slick, uniform look. They have plastic ear cups that feature a silver ring with the JBL logo centered inside. The rest of the frame is plastic with a thin tweed-like padding on the headband. They're available in 'Blue,' 'Sandstone,' 'White,' and 'Black.'

These on-ears are reasonably comfortable. They're relatively lightweight and don't put pressure on the top of your hand, plus the headband is padded with a tweed fabric material for extra support. The hinges aren't too stiff either, so it's easy to adjust the fit. That said, the padding that's used on the ear cups is quite bulky and isn't made of the most breathable material.

These headphones have great controls, with a mixture of tactile and physical controls that allow you to adjust a wide range of parameters. The control scheme is designed so you can do everything without turning to the companion app, and the buttons are arranged well enough for this to be possible. All the controls are arranged on the right ear cup, with physical buttons on the lower rim and a tactile control surface on the exterior of the ear cup. Audio feedback is provided when you hit max volume, as well as every time you input a control via the tactile surface. There are also voice prompts for powering the headphones on/off, connecting to a Bluetooth source, or switching between ANC and Ambient Aware (which filters external sounds into your audio via the integrated mic). That said, there's not as much feedback for the physical buttons, and they don't always click to confirm a command has been registered. There's also no feedback to indicate that you've adjusted the volume.

Physical buttons on the right ear cup:

• Power Slider
• Slide up: Powers the headphones on/off.

• '+' button
• Single press: Raises the volume.
• Press and hold: Skips track forward.

• '+' and '-' button
• Press together: Performs factory reset.

• '-' button
• Single press: Lowers the volume.
• Press and hold: Skips the track backward.

• Multi-function button:
• Single press: Plays/pauses audio. Also answers/ends a call.
• Two-second press: Activates Siri or another voice assistant.

• Ambient Aware button:
• Single press: Toggles between ANC and Ambient Aware mode.
• Press and hold: Activates Talk-Through mode, which amplifies your own voice using the integrated mics.

• Bluetooth button:
• Single press: Pair additional device.

Tactile surface on the right ear cup:

• Tap once: Play/pause audio.
• Tap twice: Skips to the next track. Answers/rejects call.
• Tap three times: Skips back to previous track.
• Hold for two seconds: Activates voice assistant. Toggles mic on/off while on a call.

These on-ears' portability isn't bad. While they're lightweight and have ear cups that swivel inwards to reduce their overall size, they're still quite bulky in this form. They come with a very basic case that can help keep them protected while traveling.

The JBL Live 670NC come with a simple, soft cloth carrying pouch. The material is soft enough that it won't scratch the headphones and also feels reasonably robust. The pouch uses a drawstring to close the opening, but we found that it could open back up very easily after being adjusted.

The JBL Live 670NC have a good build quality. They're made mostly of plastic, metal yokes, and a thin, tweed-like cloth that pads the headband. The ear cup material is a faux leather that feels nice on the skin. The hinges accommodate a good amount of motion that will suit all head and ear shapes, and there's the right amount of stiffness when adjusting the fit, so they don't feel too loose. The included braided audio cable is also high quality and can be easily coiled for ease of transport. Unfortunately, the ear cups aren't swappable, so you'll need to replace the headphones if they get worn out. The plastic frame also creaks a bit when moved and seems susceptible to breakage if dropped or handled roughly.

These headphones have passable stability. They won't completely fall off your head during moderately intense activities, like light headbanging, but they're likely to shift around on your head a bit. The ear cup padding material is also a little more slippery than the JBL Live 460NC Wireless, which contributes to them moving around your head more. Thankfully, their wireless design means you don't need to worry about getting the cable snagged on something unless you're using them wired. If you want a more stable set of headphones by the manufacturer, the JBL Live 770NC Wireless over-ear headphones more reliably stay put.

• JBL Live 670NC Wireless headphones
• 1/16" to 1/8" TRS audio cable (1.2 m or 3.3 ft)
• USB-C to USB-A charging cable (25 cm or 8 in)
• Carrying pouch
• Manuals

The JBL Live 670NC have an excited V-shaped sound profile with an almost-overwhelming amount of bass. This staggering bass response can dominate the mix, detracting from the clarity and detail of the mids. The treble range is overemphasized across the entire range, too, resulting in sibilants, like hi-hats, sounding overly sharp and piercing to the ear. Fortunately, the companion app offers a parametric EQ and presets, so you can tame some of these more excessive frequencies. You can see how the presets affect the sound profile here.

It's also worth noting that the sound profile will be altered to varying degrees depending on whether the ANC is on or the mic is enabled. While using the ANC function doesn't alter the sound profile drastically, it does reduce the overall volume by a very small amount. Using the Ambient Aware mode does bring about a more noticeable change in the sound profile, though, with less high-bass and more low-mids. Using the mic creates a large drop-off in treble response and diminished lows, as the Bluetooth bandwidth is also used by the mic signal. You can see the sound profile when using a wired connection here.

These on-ears have great frequency response consistency. There's quite a bit more deviation in the response with the left ear, so users who have larger heads or wear glasses will experience some deviation in the bass delivery. There are some inconsistencies in both ears when it comes to the treble range, too, but this is mostly concentrated in a range that we lose sensitivity to over time.

The bass accuracy is poor. The bass response is massively overemphasized across the entire range, resulting in kicks and basslines that sound overly boomy and bloated. Fans of genres like EDM and hip-hop might find some satisfaction in this, but for other genres that put more emphasis on the mids and highs, this bombastic bass can eclipse elements like vocals and lead instruments. This is evident on tracks like Sade's Cherish the Day, where the subby bassline that comes in halfway through the track proceeds to obscure the rest of the delicately balanced mix.

The mid-accuracy is passable. While the response in the low-mid is overemphasized compared to our target curve, it's hard to tell as the bass response is so overpowering. Fortunately, there's a boosted high-mid response that can help bring out the upper harmonics of vocals and lead instruments and can help them cut through the bass frequencies a little.

These headphones have a mediocre treble response. The treble is overemphasized across the entire range, which can help add some much-needed detail to vocals and lead instruments. Unfortunately, the boosted mid-treble means that sibilants, like S and T sounds, are rendered harshly and can sound sharp to the ear.

The JBL Live 670NC have a passable peaks and dips performance, meaning they don't always control their own sound profile. There's a peak in the mid-bass that adds extra boom to kicks and basslines, followed by a sharp dip in the low- and mid-mid that can make vocals and lead instruments sound less present in the mix. There's a significant peak in the high-mid that adds clarity and presence to the upper harmonics of vocals. Finally, there's a sharp peak in the mid-treble that brings out the harshness in sibilants and adds a piercing quality.

The JBL Live 670NC have an excellent imaging performance. Most of the JBL headphones we've tested have had solid imaging, which is indicative of the brand's dedication to quality control and ergonomics. Weighted group delay falls below the audibility threshold across the entire range. While there is some amplitude mismatch in the high treble range, this isn't audible, as we lose sensitivity to this range over time. Otherwise, our unit is well-matched in terms of frequency and phase response. Imaging tends to vary between units, though, so users who experience an amplitude mismatch with their headphones can also use the L/R balance feature in the companion app to try and correct this.

The JBL Live 670NC have a poor passive soundstage performance, which is typical of on-ear designs that don't allow for sound to interact with your outer ear. The soundstage sounds small and closed-off, and it lacks the large, immersive quality found in some open-back headphones.

The JBL Live 670NC have a spatial audio feature that can be enabled via the companion app. It can simulate surround sound using Digital Signal Processing (DSP) to mimic a more immersive soundstage. You can choose between the 'Video,' 'Movie,' and 'Game' presets depending on how you're using them.

These headphones have a decent weighted harmonic distortion performance. While there are some small peaks present at regular listening levels in the treble range, this is hard to perceive with real-life content. Otherwise, most frequencies fall within good limits, resulting in generally clean audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test the JBL Live 670NC. Our results are only valid in this configuration.

These headphones have a passable full-range noise isolation performance. Their ANC system struggles to block out bass-range noise but does a slightly better job of cutting out mid-range frequencies, like background chatter. They block a decent amount of treble-range noise; however, this is mostly due to the passive isolation provided by their on-ear fit. Typically, choosing an over-ear fit, such as the JBL Live 770NC Wireless, supplies better noise isolation performance. It's worth noting that although our results indicate that the ANC actually amplifies the low-bass frequencies, it is due to an issue with our testing apparatus rather than the headphones themselves. Subjectively, low-bass frequencies seem equally audible, regardless of whether the ANC is off or on.

The JBL Live 670NC have a disappointing noise isolation performance when it comes to common scenarios. They do very little to block out the roar of airplane engines. They do a marginally better job at attenuating against street noise and the hustle and bustle of an office environment, but you'll likely still be disturbed when you're in these environments. Although our results indicate that the ANC actually amplifies the low-bass frequencies, this is due to an issue with our testing apparatus rather than the headphones themselves. Subjectively, low-bass frequencies seem equally audible, regardless of whether the ANC is off or on.

Wind noise is challenging for headphones to tackle as it interferes with the ANC's microphones. This causes the ANC to produce anti-noise to cancel it out, even though the sound doesn't really reach your ear. However, it results in a loud, irritating sound. These headphones don't have a wind-handling feature that would help to mitigate this.

These headphones have a decent leakage performance. Escaping audio is mostly concentrated in the mid and treble ranges, so leakage sounds thin and tinny. Unless you're in a quiet environment, like a library, others around you will unlikely be able to hear your audio. While there is a leakage compensation feature accessible through the app, we found that it did nothing to affect the level of leakage coming from the headphones.

The integrated mic has disappointing audio quality. Your voice sounds muffled and is lacking in body, but you'll still be understandable to whoever's on the other end. Engaging the mic for a call also changes the buds' sound profile, which you can see here.

The JBL Live 670NC's microphone has a sub-par noise-handling performance. In moderately noisy environments, like a busy street, your voice will become quite distorted as the mic struggles to adapt to its background. This issue is exacerbated in noisier environments, like a subway car, as the mic can take a long time to adjust to this louder noise, and your voice sounds impossible to understand in the meantime.

These headphones have an outstanding battery life performance. The manufacturer advertises 50 hours of battery life with the ANC on, which stretches to 65 hours with this feature disabled. However, we were able to achieve 88 hours of battery life in testing with the ANC enabled. There's even an auto-off timer feature that can help preserve battery life, although this has to be enabled via the app first. Finally, the manufacturer advertises a quick charge feature that gives you four hours of playtime from just a five-minute charge. However, it should be noted that battery life tends to vary according to use, so your experience may differ.

The JBL Headphones app is great. It's packed to the brim with features, and you can adjust settings like the ANC, EQ (both a parametric EQ and presets), and spatial sound mode. You also have access to handy features like Personi-Fi (which generates a personalized EQ based on your hearing capabilities), Low Volume Dynamic EQ (which boosts the highs and lows to ensure music sounds good at lower volumes), and VoiceAware (which lets you adjust how much of your own voice gets blended into your audio while on a call). You can even toggle between latency modes (video, audio, and normal), set up voice assistant support, adjust the L/R balance, and activate the auto-off timer (which you can't do via the controls). You can see a video of the app in action here.

The JBL Live 670NC Wireless come with a 1/8" TRS cable for analog connection. When connected this way, these headphones can switch between passive mode and active mode, the latter of which disables Bluetooth (and app access) and enables active features like ANC.

These headphones have great Bluetooth connectivity. They support multi-device pairing with up to two devices, so you can stay connected to your phone and your laptop. They support Google Fast Pair, too, for seamless pairing with your Android device. Sadly, they're incompatible with any high-resolution streaming codecs, like LDAC or aptX HD. Latency via the default SBC codec is great in 'Audio' mode, though, so you likely won't experience any lip-sync issues when using these headphones to watch video content. You can even switch between different latency presets like 'Video' and 'Normal,' but we found the 'Audio' mode to have the lowest latency performance. However, some apps and devices seem to compensate for latency differently, so your results may vary.

These headphones are partially compatible with PCs, so you'll only be able to receive audio when using a wired connection. You can always switch to a Bluetooth connection for full mic and audio compatibility, but bear in mind that this will introduce some latency.

The JBL Live 670NC are compatible with PlayStation family consoles, but you can only receive audio. If you plan on communicating with your teammates, you'll need to purchase a separate mic.

The JBL Live 670NC are only partially compatible with Xbox consoles when using their audio cable plugged into the controller. While you can receive audio, you can't communicate with your teammates.