JBL Live 500BT Wireless vs JBL Live 400BT Wireless Side-by-Side Headphones Comparison

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Feb 13, 2024 06:32 PM

See JBL Live 500BT Wireless Review

TypeOver-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

Noise CancellingNo

MicYes

TypeOn-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

Noise CancellingNo

MicYes

Variants

JBL Live 500BT (Black)
JBL Live 500BT (Blue)
JBL Live 500BT (Green)
JBL Live 500BT (Red)
JBL Live 500BT (White)

Live 400BT (Black)
Live 400BT (Blue)
Live 400BT (Green)
Live 400BT (Red)
Live 400BT (White)

Review

See JBL Live 400BT Wireless Review

Our Verdict

JBL Live 500BT Wireless

JBL Live 400BT Wireless

The JBL Live 500BT Wireless are an over-ear variant of the JBL Live 400BT. They look very similar in design, other than their size and larger over-ear cups. The 500BT are a bit sturdier and denser than the 400BT, with a longer battery life and a more consistent frequency response that doesn't vary as much with positioning. However, the 500BT are a bit less neutral-sounding out-of-the-box. The Live 400BT would be a more breathable and compact option for sports, or to carry around on your person. If you prefer over-ears, then the Live 500BT would be the better option; if you want something a bit smaller, then the Live 400BT are a good alternative.

Check Price

Black

JBL Live 500BT

Black

Live 400BT

Blue

JBL Live 500BT

Blue

Live 400BT

Green

JBL Live 500BT

Green

Live 400BT

Red

JBL Live 500BT

Red

Live 400BT

White

JBL Live 500BT

White

Live 400BT

Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.

Threshold

0.10

Mixed Usage

7.0

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

Full Comparison

Mixed Usage

7.0

Neutral Sound

7.5

7.2

Commute/Travel

6.7

7.0

Sports/Fitness

7.2

7.3

Office

6.9

7.0

Wireless Gaming

5.7

5.6

Wired Gaming

7.3

7.2

Phone Calls

6.5

Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Type

Over-ear

On-ear

Enclosure

Closed-Back

Wireless

Yes

Transducer

Dynamic

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Comfort

7.0

6.5

Comfort Picture

Weight

0.54 lbs

0.45 lbs

Clamping Force

1.4 lbs

1 lbs

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Controls

7.0

Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

Not OS specific

Ease Of Use

Decent

Feedback

Decent

Call/Music Control

Yes

Volume Control

Yes

Microphone Control

Channel Mixing

Noise Cancelling Control

Talk-Through

Adjustable

Additional Controls

Voice Assistant

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Breathability

6.5

7.7

Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference

5.8 °C

2.7 °C

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Portability

5.8

6.2

Portability Picture

L

6.8" (17.3 cm)

4.8"

W

6.1" (15.5 cm)

6.5"

H

3.1" (7.9 cm)

2.6"

Volume

129.00 in³ (2,113.92 cm³)

81 in³

Transmitter Required

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Case

0.0

Case Picture

Type

No case

L

N/A

W

N/A

H

N/A

Volume

N/A

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Build Quality

7.5

6.5

Build Quality Picture

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Stability

7.5

Stability Picture

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Headshots 1

Angled Picture

Side Picture

Headshots 2

Front Picture

Rear Picture

Top

Top Picture

In The Box

In The Box Picture

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Sound

Sound Profile

Frequency Response

Bass Amount

2.01 dB

0.84 dB

Treble Amount

-1.18 dB

-1.2 dB

Frequency Response Consistency

6.9

5.6

Consistency L

Consistency R

Avg. Std. Deviation

0.65 dB

1.14 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Raw FR L

Raw FR R

Bass Accuracy

8.1

8.5

Bass

Std. Err.

2.7 dB

2.07 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

10 Hz

Low-Bass

3.03 dB

1.54 dB

Mid-Bass

3.4 dB

0.71 dB

High-Bass

-0.7 dB

-2.6 dB

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Mid Accuracy

8.9

9.2

Mid

Std. Err.

1.41 dB

1.08 dB

Low-Mid

-1.16 dB

0.28 dB

Mid-Mid

0.01 dB

-0.01 dB

High-Mid

-0.62 dB

-0.92 dB

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Treble Accuracy

7.6

8.7

Treble

Std. Err.

3.59 dB

1.79 dB

Low-Treble

2.14 dB

-0.21 dB

Mid-Treble

-0.52 dB

-1.18 dB

High-Treble

-10.53 dB

-6.95 dB

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Peaks/Dips

7.2

8.1

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks

1.89 dB

1.17 dB

Dips

1.26 dB

1.08 dB

Imaging

8.3

8.5

Weighted Group Delay

0.46

0.52

Weighted Phase Mismatch

4.82

2.51

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

0.53

0.74

Weighted Frequency Mismatch

2.33

1.5

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Passive Soundstage

4.3

3.5

PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)

2.14 dB

3.08 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.)

1.85 dB

1.26 dB

PRTF Distance

6.21 dB

5.88 dB

Openness

4.4

3.8

Acoustic Space Excitation

2.8

2.0

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Virtual Soundstage

0.0

Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling

Speaker Modeling

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

Virtual Surround

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

7.2

7.1

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

WHD @ 90

0.287

0.309

WHD @ 100

0.362

0.385

Test Settings

Firmware

Unknown

Power

Connection

Bluetooth 4.0

Codec

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ

Off

ANC

No ANC

Tip/Pad

Default

Microphone

Integrated

Isolation

Noise Isolation

4.9

6.1

Noise Isolation

Isolation Audio

Overall Attenuation

-14 dB

-16.43 dB

Noise Cancelling

Bass

-0.35 dB

1.6 dB

Mid

-11.63 dB

-14.55 dB

Treble

-31 dB

-37.81 dB

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Leakage

7.5

8.3

Leakage

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

36.54 dB

31.93 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

Yes

In-Line

Yes

Boom

Detachable Boom

Mic

Yes

Recording Quality

6.0

6.1

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

LFE

486.43 Hz

375.09 Hz

FR Std. Dev.

2.42 dB

2.84 dB

HFE

3,417.19 Hz

3,368.2 Hz

Weighted THD

6.242

35.895

Gain

39.81 dB

41.9 dB

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Noise Handling

6.7

6.0

SpNR

SpNR

11.67 dB

12.5 dB

Noise Gate

Speech + Pink Noise Handling

6.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample

Speech + Subway Noise Handling

7.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample

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Active Features

Battery

8.8

8.7

Battery Type

Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life

36.9 hrs

30.3 hrs

Additional Charges

0.0

Total Battery Life

36.9 hrs

30.3 hrs

Charge Time

1.8 hrs

Power-Saving Feature

Auto-Off Timer

Audio While Charging

Passive Playback

Yes

Charging Port

micro-USB

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App Support

7.5

App Picture

App Name

JBL Headphones

iOS

Yes

Android

Yes

macOS

Windows

Equalizer

Parametric + Presets

ANC Control

Mic Control

Room Effects

Playback Control

Button Mapping

Surround Support

Show text

Connectivity

Bluetooth

8.3

Bluetooth Version

4.2

Multi-Device Pairing

2 Devices

NFC Pairing

Line Of Sight Range

302.00 ft (92.05 m)

278 ft

PC Latency (SBC)

220 ms

186 ms

PC Latency (aptX)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL)

N/A

iOS Latency

155 ms

286 ms

Android Latency

285 ms

92 ms

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Non-Bluetooth Wireless

0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range

N/A

Non-BT Latency

N/A

Wired

9.5

Cable Picture

Analog Audio

Yes

USB Audio

Detachable

Yes

Length

4.10 ft (1.25 m)

4.1 ft

Connection

1/8" TRRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency

0 ms

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PC Compatibility

Analog

Audio + Microphone

Wired USB

Non-BT Wireless

PC / PS4 Compatibility

PC/PS4 Analog

Audio + Microphone

PC/PS4 Wired USB

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless

PlayStation Compatibility

PS4 Analog

Audio + Microphone

PS4 Wired USB

PS4 Non-BT Wireless

PS5 Analog

Audio + Microphone

PS5 Wired USB

PS5 Non-BT Wireless

Xbox Compatibility

Xbox One Analog

Audio + Microphone

Xbox One Wired USB

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Xbox Series X|S Analog

Audio + Microphone

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless

Base/Dock

0.0

Type

No Base/Dock

USB Input

Line In

Line Out

Optical Input

RCA Input

Dock Charging

Power Supply

No Base/Dock

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Check Price

Black

JBL Live 500BT

Black

Live 400BT

Blue

JBL Live 500BT

Blue

Live 400BT

Green

JBL Live 500BT

Green

Live 400BT

Red

JBL Live 500BT

Red

Live 400BT

White

JBL Live 500BT

White

Live 400BT