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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    5. Xbox One Compatibility
    6. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 vs JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Jan 15, 2024 02:42 PM

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Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Jan 11, 2024 09:25 PM

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JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Picture

Variants

  • Free (Black)
  • Free (White)
  • Tune 120 (Black)
  • Tune 120 (Blue)
  • Tune 120 (Green)
  • Tune 120 (Pink)
  • Tune 120 (White)
  • Tune 120 (Yellow)

Our Verdict

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018

JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless

The JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 are slightly better than the JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless. They have a more comfortable design and feel slightly better made as well. Our Tune 120 unit also had mismatched drivers, which thinned out the bass and made them sound bright. The JBL Free have more additional charges but have a lower continuous playback time than the Tune 120.

0

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

7.2
6.9
No major differences between these headphones for mixed usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Design Picture 2
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Design Picture 2

Type  

In-ear
In-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.0

Comfort Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Comfort Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.04 lbs
0.03 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0 lbs
0 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

5.5
5.2

Controls Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Controls Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Great
Good

Feedback  

Good
Decent

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

No
No

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant

Show text

Breathability 
 

9.0
9.2

Breathability After Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Breathability After Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

1 °C
0.8 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

9.6
9.3

Portability Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Portability Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Portability Picture

 

1.1"
1.4"

 

1.2"
1.5"

 

0.7"
1"

Volume  

0.9 in³
2 in³

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

7.5
7.5

Case Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Case Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Case Picture

Type  

Hard case
Hard case

 

2.7"
2.7"

 

2.7"
1"

 

1.1"
2.3"

Volume  

8 in³
6 in³

Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.5
7.0

Build Quality Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Build Quality Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

7.5
7.0

Stability Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Stability Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Angled Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Side Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Front Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Rear Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Top Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 In The Box Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

2.46 dB
-2.42 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-1.75 dB
1.1 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

9.1
8.7

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.18 dB
0.27 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

8.0
7.6

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.86 dB
3.31 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

10 Hz
10.15 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

2.79 dB
-4.17 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

3.66 dB
0.36 dB

High-Bass 
 

2.88 dB
-0.5 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

9.0
8.7

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.34 dB
1.68 dB

Low-Mid 
 

1.46 dB
-0.06 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-1.13 dB
-0.61 dB

High-Mid 
 

-0.1 dB
1.24 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

7.5
7.5

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.29 dB
3.37 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-1.81 dB
1.85 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-2.15 dB
0.71 dB

High-Treble 
 

-1.81 dB
2.8 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

8.6
8.3

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

0.81 dB
1.04 dB

Dips 
 

1.2 dB
1.1 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

8.7
6.7

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.14
0.21

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

1.4
1.94

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.15
5.43

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

2.22
10.88

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

0.7
0.9

PRTF  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 PRTF
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Distance 
 

N/A
N/A

Openness 
 

2.1
2.4

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

0.9
1.3

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Virtual Soundstage
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App
No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.6
7.6

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.253
0.238

WHD @ 100 
 

0.165
0.162

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

Unknown
Unknown

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Unknown
Bluetooth 4.2

Codec 
 

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Silicone (small)
Silicone (small)

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Integrated
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

7.9
7.6

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-24.17 dB
-21.35 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

-9.73 dB
-9.55 dB

Mid 
 

-20.78 dB
-20.52 dB

Treble 
 

-42.93 dB
-35.02 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

9.2
8.8

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

25.65 dB
28.24 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Recording Quality 
 

6.5
5.7

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

257.68 Hz
293.44 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

3.72 dB
3.33 dB

HFE 
 

3,417.19 Hz
2,248 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

3.731
0.798

Gain 
 

37.96 dB
-3.64 dB

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

6.0
6.2

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Speech + Pink Noise  

Speech + Subway Noise  

SpNR 
 

12.06 dB
15.01 dB

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

5.9
5.2

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

3.1 hrs
4.3 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

5.0
3.0

Total Battery Life 
 

18.6 hrs
17.2 hrs

Charge Time 
 

1.4 hrs
1.5 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Auto-Off Timer
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

No
No

Charging Port  

micro-USB
micro-USB

Show text

App Support 
 

0.0
0.0

App Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 App Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless App Picture

App Name  

No App
No App

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
No

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
No

Show text

Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

6.3
6.4

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.2
4.2

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

74 ft
135 ft

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

375 ms
369 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

409 ms
347 ms

Android Latency 
 

102 ms
386 ms

Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Wired 
 

0.0
0.0

Cable Picture  

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 Cable Picture
JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

No
No

Length  

N/A
N/A

Connection  

No Wired Option
No Wired Option

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC/PS4 Analog 
 

No
No

PC/PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

Xbox One Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

No
No

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

Base/Dock 
 

2.2
2.2

Type 
 

Charging Case
Charging Case

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

Power Supply 
 

USB
USB

Show text

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018

JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless

Comments

  1. Comparison

JBL Free Truly Wireless 2018 vs JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless: Main Discussion

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