JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Headphones Review

The JBL Live Free NC+ have a straightforward look similar to the JBL CLUB PRO+ TWS True Wireless. They're mostly one color, and the brand's logo is visible on both earbuds. However, they're a bit bulky and stick out of your ears. They come in four color variants: Blue, Black, Pink, and White.

The JBL Live Free NC+ are comfortable. They don't put much pressure on your ears and don't have a deep fit. Using the touch controls doesn't hurt your ear either, and they come with differently-sized ear tips and stability fins so you can find the best fit for you. However, the earbuds themselves are a bit bulky.

The JBL Live Free NC+ have alright controls. You can tap the left earbud once to cycle between ANC on, ANC off, and Ambient Aware, which allows you to hear your surroundings without turning off your audio. You can also double-tap for Talkthru, which allows you to talk to someone without taking your earbuds out. The right earbud has music and call-related controls. You can tap once to play or pause your audio, tap twice to skip the track forward, and tap three times to skip the track backward. If you double-tap either bud, you can answer or end a call. Holding either bud also mutes your mic when you're on a call or activates voice assistant.

The controls are responsive, and the buds have a chime for the number of taps you register. However, it can be hard to differentiate chimes for ANC/Ambient Aware/Off. You also lose some control if you're using one earbud while the other one charges. They also lack a volume function. If you're looking for earbuds with a more comprehensive control scheme, take a look at the Jabra Elite 4 Active True Wireless.

These headphones have outstanding breathability. Since they don't cover your outer ear, they don't trap in much heat, so you shouldn't sweat more than normal when wearing them.

The JBL Live Free NC Plus are incredibly portable. Like most truly wireless in-ears, they're small and lightweight, so it's easy to toss them into most pockets or a bag. They also come with a small carrying case, which should also fit into most pockets.

The case is good. It's made of sturdy plastic and has four LED lights to indicate the battery level. There's a button on the back of the case that resets or reconnects the left and right bud. On the downside, you may need to adjust the fins to fit inside the case for the earbuds to fit.

The JBL Live Free NC Plus have a good build quality. They're mostly solid plastic, which feels durable, and they come with three types of ear tips to help you get a more comfortable fit. However, they seem potentially weaker than the other parts of their build. On the upside, they have an IPX7 rating for water resistance, although we don't currently test for this.

The JBL Live Free NC+ have a very stable fit. Thanks to their stability fins, they should stay in place, even during moderate physical activity.

• JBL Live Free NC Plus headphones
• 3x ear tips
• 2x ear fins
• Charging case
• USB-C to USB-A charging cable
• Manuals

The JBL Live Free NC Plus have a very neutral sound profile suitable for a variety of audio. However, they lack a bit of low bass, so your mixes lack a bit of thump and rumble. Vocals and lead instruments are also veiled, while sibilants like cymbals are dull. On the upside, their companion app offers a parametric EQ and presets so that you can tweak their sound to your liking.

The JBL Live Free NC Plus have outstanding frequency response consistency. Like most in-ears, once you achieve an airtight seal, you should get consistent audio delivery each time you use them.

The JBL Live Free NC Plus have outstanding bass accuracy. They lack a bit of low-bass, especially compared to other JBL buds like the JBL Tune Buds True Wireless, so your mixes lose out on some thump and rumble. However, the rest of the range is very flat and balanced, so mixes have punch and warmth without sounding overwhelming.

These headphones have excellent mid-accuracy. Vocals and lead instruments are clear and accurate, although the dip in the mid-mid slightly nudges them to the back of the mix. However, this shouldn't be too noticeable.

These headphones have good treble accuracy. The response is underemphasized across the range, so vocals and lead instruments are veiled while sibilants like cymbals are dull.

The JBL Live Free NC+ have excellent peaks and dips performance. Most of the peaks and dips are minor. A small bump in the bass range adds a bit of extra thump and punch, while a dip in the mid-mid slightly nudges vocals and lead instruments to the back of the mix. The uneven mid-treble makes sibilants alternatingly dull and piercing.

The JBL Live Free NC Plus have outstanding imaging. The weighted group delay falls below the audibility threshold, resulting in a tight bass and transparent treble. Also, the L/R drivers of our unit are well-matched in phase, frequency, and amplitude response, so objects like footsteps and voices are accurately placed and localized within the stereo image. However, these results are only valid for our unit, and your experience may vary.

These headphones have a terrible passive soundstage, which is typical for in-ear headphones. Due to their design, they completely bypass the outer ear. This is a key factor in creating a large and out-of-body soundstage. The sound seems like it's coming from inside your head rather than from speakers placed around you. Since they also have a closed-back design, their soundstage doesn't seem as open or spacious as open-back headphones.

The JBL Live Free NC+'s weighted harmonic distortion performance is great. The entire range falls within good limits, which results in clear and pure audio reproduction.

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

The JBL Live Free NC Plus have sub-par noise isolation. Their active noise cancelling (ANC) feature doesn't offer better performance than the headphones' passive noise isolation abilities. They struggle to block out bass-range noise like the rumble of bus or plane engines. They do a better job of cutting down office chatter, though, and can block out the high-pitched hum of an AC unit. If you're looking for similarly designed JBL earbuds with a better noise isolation performance, check out the JBL Tour Pro+ TWS True Wireless.

The JBL Live Free NC Plus have an outstanding leakage performance. They don't leak a lot of sound, and escaping audio sounds thin. You should be able to listen to audio at high volumes without disturbing those around you, even in a moderately noisy environment.

The integrated microphone has a poor recording quality. Your voice sounds very thin and lacks depth. There's also some distortion present.

Note: Although the Recorded Speech file doesn't appear to match the test's overall scoring, this is the correct audio file. The microphone's frequency response lacks bass, which isn't very noticeable in the recording. That said, the Microphone Frequency Response graph represents the mic recording and matches the scoring of this test.

Update 11/04/2021: These headphones have been updated to test bench 1.5. In this update, we made changes to the way we test noise handling. We now use a subjective evaluation of our audio clips. This new method has resulted in different results than what we had reported in our previous test bench. As a result, the scoring of this box has changed, and we have updated our results.

The microphone has mediocre noise handling. It struggles to separate your voice from background noises, even in moderately noisy settings. You may need to take calls from a more quiet environment to be heard clearly.

The JBL Live Free NC+'s battery performance is alright. With their ANC on, they're advertised to last around six hours, but we tested a bit less than that. Their case holds roughly two additional charges, and you can use one bud while the other charges. Note that battery life can vary depending on usage, so your real-life experience may vary. If you're looking for JBL in-ears with a better battery performance, try the JBL Tune 130NC TWS Truly Wireless.

The JBL Headphones app is impressive. It has a parametric EQ and presets so that you can customize their sound to your tastes. You can also control the ANC, adjust the auto-off timer, turn the auto-pause on or off, see the battery level of the headphones and case, and set up gestures or voice assistant. The app has a couple of Smart Audio Modes: 'Normal', 'Audio Mode', which is advertised to optimize your Bluetooth connection for high-quality audio, and 'Video Mode', which is advertised to lower latency.

Update 11/04/2021: These headphones were updated to Test Bench 1.5 and their latency values have changed. Our previous Test Bench 1.4 measurements reported their 'Video Mode' latency was 137 ms on PC, 0 ms of latency on iOS, and 26 ms on Android. However, our new test bench uses an average of three measurements instead of one, resulting in 135 ms of latency on PC, 33 ms on iOS, and 72 ms on Android when using this mode. As a result, we have updated our text to better reflect test bench 1.5 measurements.

The JBL Live Free NC+ have fair Bluetooth connectivity. While they don't support multi-device or NFC pairing, they have low latency on iOS and Android devices when using their 'Audio Mode'. Their latency is a bit higher on PC, though, so they may not be the best choice for streaming video. That said, some apps and devices compensate for latency, so your real-world experience may vary.

You can also use these headphones in 'Video Mode', which is advertised to lower their latency. When using this mode, they have 135 ms of latency on PCs, 33 ms on iOS, and 72 ms on Android devices.

The JBL Live Free NC+ can't be used with a wired connection. They have a USB-C to USB-A cable to charge their case.

These headphones aren't compatible with Xbox One or Xbox Series X consoles.

The JBL Live Free NC Plus have a portable charging case that has roughly two extra charges. It charges via USB-C.