The JBL E50BT are stylish, wireless headphones with a decent sound and a sturdy, durable build. They have a well-crafted design but oddly shaped ear cups that don't fit properly around the ears. Unfortunately, this creates a poor seal that lets noise seep into your audio and also leaks quite a bit.
Our Verdict
The JBL E50BT are versatile headphones for everyday casual use. They have an above-average and decently balanced sound. They're also robustly built and seem durable. Unfortunately, the awkward fit of the ear cups poorly isolate listeners from ambient noise and they also leak a lot.
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Above-average audio reproduction.
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Sturdy and durable build.
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Great wireless range.
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Poor noise isolation.
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Leaky at moderate-to-high volumes.
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Awkward ear cup fit can be uncomfortable.
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Bass delivery varies significantly across users. Sensitive to glasses.
Above-average for neutral listening. These headphones have a good bass, a decent midrange and a moderately spacious soundstage for a closed-back model. They sound punchy and have a satisfactory amount of detail with instruments and vocals. However, they lack a little warmth and are a bit uneven for pure neutral listening.
Subpar for commuting. The odd fit of the ear cups lets a lot of ambient noise seep into your audio which won't be ideal for loud, noisy environments.
Decent for sports use. The JBL Synchros E50BT have a great control scheme, a moderately stable fit, and a good wireless range that covers a large area, especially outdoors in direct line of sight. Unfortunately, they're a bit too bulky, to comfortably exercise with.
Mediocre for office use. If you can get a good seal, these headphones won't leak too much. However, they poorly isolate you from ambient noise and won't be the best headphones to use in a lively or noisy office.
- 6.3 Mixed Usage
- 7.0 Neutral Sound
- 6.2 Commute/Travel
- 6.8 Sports/Fitness
- 5.9 Office
- 5.0 Wireless Gaming
- 6.6 Wired Gaming
- 6.1 Phone Call
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Sep 28, 2017: The microphone has been tested with our new methodology, as explained here
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Mar 01, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Oct 31, 2016: Review published.
- Updated Oct 29, 2016: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Sep 12, 2016: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Test Results
The JBL Synchros E50BT have a good design that gives them a more premium appeal than their price point would suggest. They have circular and flat ear cups that do not protrude outwards once on your head. The headband and frame are wide and look sturdy. They come in a variety of color schemes to suit your tastes. They won't be the ideal looking headphones for everyone, and the hinge mechanism looks a little awkward.
The JBl E50 have oddly sized ear cups that don't quite encompass the ears. Therefore the fit is somewhere between an over ear and an on-ear design, which unfortunately means they won't be the most comfortable for listeners with larger ears. They're not too tight but the rigid padding and the awkward fit exerts pressure on the tip of your ears, which gets uncomfortable during long listening sessions.
These headphones offer good button placement and functionality. They provide call/music, track skipping, and volume controls, which can all be found on the left ear cup including the power/Bluetooth sync button. The controls do not feel cramped and are well laid out. However, the buttons are flat with no tactile indicators.
The JBL Synchros E50BT are not the most portable. They fold into a compact format and the ear cups also lay flat. Although due to the wide headband this doesn't save much space. They're a little on the larger side for over-ear headphones and will be cumbersome to carry on your person without a bag.
The JBL E50BT have a pretty sturdy build quality. The ear cups look robust and dense enough to handle a few drops without getting damaged. The headband and frame are also relatively thick and flexible and should be able to withstand moderate-to-high physical stress. However, the hinge mechanism only connects on one side of the earcups, which gives them a greater range of motion but also slightly weakens the build.
The JBL E50 are moderately stable. They're sufficiently tight on the head and won't move much during casual listening sessions. However, similarly to the Audio Technica ATH-M50x, they're not sports headphones. They're bulky and will quickly fall when used while running or jogging. On the upside, the wireless design makes them less likely to be yanked off your head due to the audio cable being hooked on something.
The frequency response consistency of the E50BT is sub-par. We measured more than 6dB of variance in bass across our 5 human subjects. The bass delivery is also sensitive to whether the user wears glasses. The treble delivery is also inconsistent and sensitive to positioning, but more consistent than the bass response.
Poor isolation. Due to the passive isolation and poor fit, these headphones fail to achieve any isolation in the Bass Range. The amount of isolation achieved in the Mid and Treble Ranges are also sub-par.
Poor Leakage. The large drivers and poor seal of these headphones cause them to leak a lot. The majority of the leakage is between 800Hz and 5Khz, with a sharp peak in loudness at 1.5KHz.
The JBL E50BT have an average battery life. They last around 20 hours which makes them decent headphones to use on a long flight or a road trip. Unfortunately, there is no auto-off timer so if you leave them on they will run out of battery. You also can't use them while they're charging as the power and audio cables share the same port.
No compatible app.
