JBL Tune 125TWS Truly Wireless Headphones Review

The JBL Tune 125 TWS are simple-looking truly wireless headphones. They have a low-profile design that doesn't protrude too far from your ears and a conservative monochrome-color plastic casing accented with the matte finish of their multifunction buttons. That said, you can configure their charging case with a variety of eye-catching color schemes and patterns when you order them directly from JBL's website, but at an added cost.

The JBL Tune 125 TWS are decently comfortable. They're lightweight and don't protrude from your ears, but their deep in-ear fit may not suit everyone. Worse still, using their multifunction button could force the buds deeper into your ears.

The JBL Tune 125 TWS have a sub-par control scheme. While the buttons are clicky and easy to use, the control scheme is quite limited and lacks a way to change the volume. There are also no voice prompts or beeps for most commands. You can use either earbud one at a time, but you lose the ability to skip tracks when you do.

On the left earbud:

• Single tap: Skips the track forward.
• Double-tap: Skips the track backward.

On the right earbud:

• Single tap: Plays and pauses audio. Also, answers and ends a call.
• Tap and hold Mutes and unmutes the mic.

They're very breathable, like most truly wireless earbuds. They don't trap any heat against your ears and shouldn't make you sweat more than normal.

These headphones are exceptionally portable. You can easily store them in a pocket or small bag, and their case is compact.

These in-ears have a good case. It's compact and made of somewhat sturdy-feeling plastic. Like the JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless' case, the headphones' controls are engraved inside the case, which can be handy if you forget how to make a certain command. The case also features magnets to keep the buds in place when they're stored.

The JBL Tune 125TWS have a decent build quality. They feel fairly sturdy and dense but not particularly premium. They also lack an IP rating for dust and water resistance.

The JBL Tune 125 TWS are decently stable. While they don't protrude too far from your ears and shouldn't move with low-intensity workouts, they lack stability fins to help keep them in place during intense exercise sessions.

• JBL Tune 125 TWS in-ear headphones
• 3x silicone tip sizes
• Charging case
• USB-C to USB-A charging cable
• User guide

The JBL Tune 125 TWS have a reasonably well-balanced sound profile. Their slightly overemphasized bass response should add a bit of extra thump and rumble to your favorite EDM and hip-hop tracks, but without overwhelming vocals or lead instruments in other genres. Overall, these headphones should suit a wide variety of musical genres and audio content. Ηowever, they lack sound customization features such as a graphic EQ or presets that you could use to tweak their sound to suit you.

Like most in-ear headphones, the JBL Tune 125 TWS have exceptional frequency response consistency, though there's some variance in the treble range. Once you achieve a proper fit with the included selection of ear tips, audio should be delivered consistently on separate re-seats.

Their bass accuracy is impressive. The response is flat but slightly overemphasized across the range, so mixes have extra thump, rumble, and punch. The high-bass range is more neutral, though, so their sound isn't overly boomy or muddy.

These headphones offer remarkable mid-accuracy. Aside from a minor dip in the mid-mid range that nudges instruments and lead vocals towards the back of the mix, the rest of the frequency spectrum is remarkably flat and well-balanced. This results in clear, present, and full-bodied vocals and lead instruments.

The JBL Tune 125 TWS have impressive treble accuracy. Vocals and lead instruments should be clear and well-articulated, while sibilants and high notes should be reproduced without being piercing or harsh.

The JBL Tune 125 TWS have great peaks and dips performance. There's a small dip in the mid-mid range that nudges vocals and lead instruments toward the back of the mix. This is followed by a bump that extends across the high-mid through low-treble ranges, which could yield a slightly harsh quality to some notes. A dip in the low through mid-treble ranges can veil the finer details of some vocals and lead instruments and make some sibilants sound slightly dull and lispy.

These headphones have superb stereo imaging performance. Their weighted group delay falls mostly beneath the audibility threshold. There's small peak in the bass range, but it shouldn't be audible with regular content, resulting in tight bass and transparent treble. Their L/R drivers are well-matched in regards to amplitude, frequency, and phase response, which ensures the accurate placement of objects like voices and instruments in the stereo image. That said, these results are only valid for our unit, and your experience may vary.

Like most closed-back in-ears, the JBL Tune 125 TWS have a terrible passive soundstage. Βy design, they bypass any outer-ear interaction, resulting in sound that's perceived to be coming from inside your head rather than speakers placed around you. You may want to consider the JBL Tune 225TWS True Wireless if you're looking for truly wireless headphones with a more spacious passive soundstage, in part due to their shallower earbud fit.

The weighted harmonic distortion performance is impressive. Distortion at both moderate and high volumes remains within good limits across the frequency spectrum, which should result in clean and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test the JBL Tune 125 TWS. Our results are only valid in this configuration.

These in-ears have decent passive noise isolation. They don't do a very good job of reducing bass-range noise like the rumble of plane engines or traffic outside your window. Ηowever, they block out a good amount of higher-pitched noise like conversations and humming A/C units, so they can help reduce distractions at the office.

The JBL Tune 125 TWS leak very little audio. What little sound does escape occurs in the treble range, giving leaking audio a slightly thin quality. Still, you should be able to listen to your music at pretty high volumes with little fear of disrupting people nearby.

The integrated microphone has a decent recording quality. Your voice should sound natural, clear, and mostly free of distortion, but it doesn't sound very full-bodied.

The integrated microphone has sub-par noise handling. With moderate background noise, your voice is understandable, but it can be completely drowned out by loud noises like the sound of a passing train.

The JBL Tune 125 TWS have a sub-par battery performance. While they're advertised to last for eight hours off a single charge, we measured just under seven. Ηowever, battery performance can vary with real-life use, so your experience may vary. Also, fortunately, they come with a case that holds about three extra charges and don't take too long to recharge. They lack a feature to help conserve battery life, such as an auto-off timer, though.

The JBL Tune 125 TWS have okay Bluetooth connectivity. They support Bluetooth 5.0, but not multi-device pairing, which could be annoying if you like to stream music from your phone while remaining connected to your work computer. Unfortunately, they have high latency with PCs, iOS, and Android devices, so you're likely to notice a delay if you use them to stream video or games. That said, some apps and devices compensate for latency, so your experience in the real world can vary.

You can't use these in-ears wired. They come with a USB-C to USΒ-A cable for charging their case.

These headphones are compatible with Bluetooth-enabled PCs but can't connect any other way. Unfortunately, they have high latency, so you may notice audio lag if you use them to watch a movie on your computer.

The JBL Tune 125 TWS come with a charging case that supplies roughly three extra full charges. It doesn't have any inputs other than a USB-C charging port and doesn't support wireless charging.