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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 Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless vs JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 15, 2024 08:01 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 26, 2024 08:31 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Picture

Variants

  • Live Free NC+ TWS (Black)
  • Live Free NC+ TWS (Blue)
  • Live Free NC+ TWS (Pink)
  • Live Free NC+ TWS (White)
  • Live Pro+ TWS (Beige)
  • Live Pro+ TWS (Black)
  • Live Pro+ TWS (Pink)
  • Live Pro+ TWS (White)

Our Verdict

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless

JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless

The JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless and the JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless have different strengths and, depending on your usage, you may prefer either one. The Live Free NC+ have a more bass-heavy sound profile out-of-the-box, which some users may prefer, and their ANC has a better noise isolation performance. While both headphones are comfortable, the Live Pro+ have better controls. However, the Live Free NC+ are more stable, and they have lower latency on iOS and Android.

0

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.6
7.0

Bass Accuracy 
 

9.1
7.3

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.8
8.2

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Design Picture 2
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True 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
7.5

Comfort Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Comfort Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.03 lbs
0.02 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0 lbs
0 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

6.7
8.0

Controls Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Controls Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Good

Feedback  

Good
Decent

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

No
Yes

Microphone Control  

Mute/Unmute
Mute/Unmute

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

On/Off
On/Off

Talk-Through 
 

On/Off
On/Off

Additional Controls  

Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant

Show text

Breathability 
 

9.2
9.2

Breathability After Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Breathability After Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

0.8 °C
0.8 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

9.5
9.6

Portability Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Portability Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Portability Picture

 

1.1" (2.8 cm)
1.4" (3.6 cm)

 

1.3" (3.3 cm)
0.8" (2.0 cm)

 

1.0" (2.5 cm)
0.8" (2.0 cm)

Volume  

1.30 in³ (21.30 cm³)
0.90 in³ (14.75 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

7.5
7.5

Case Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Case Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Case Picture

Type  

Hard case
Hard case

 

2.4" (6.1 cm)
2.2" (5.6 cm)

 

1.2" (3.0 cm)
1.9" (4.8 cm)

 

1.4" (3.6 cm)
1.2" (3.0 cm)

Volume  

3.90 in³ (63.91 cm³)
5.00 in³ (81.93 cm³)

Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.5
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Build Quality Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

8.0
7.5

Stability Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Stability Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Angled Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Side Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Front Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Rear Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Top Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless In The Box Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

-0.32 dB
3.15 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-1.16 dB
-1.11 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

9.3
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 
 

0.15 dB
0.26 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 
 

9.1
7.3

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.13 dB
4.05 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

29.54 Hz
10 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-1.99 dB
4.76 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

0.45 dB
4.39 dB

High-Bass 
 

-0.47 dB
4.53 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.8
8.2

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.56 dB
2.35 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0.02 dB
3.36 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-1.96 dB
-1.44 dB

High-Mid 
 

-1.14 dB
-0.04 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

7.9
8.5

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.23 dB
2.35 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-2.32 dB
1.78 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-2.62 dB
-0.28 dB

High-Treble 
 

-3.31 dB
-1.74 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

8.6
8.3

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

0.96 dB
0.97 dB

Dips 
 

0.83 dB
1.35 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

9.2
9.2

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.2
0.14

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

1.94
1.54

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.25
0.53

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.19
0.99

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

1.0
0.9

PRTF  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless PRTF
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Distance 
 

N/A
N/A

Openness 
 

4.0
2.0

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

0.8
1.6

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Virtual Soundstage
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No
No

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.2
7.8

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.211
0.241

WHD @ 100 
 

0.078
0.122

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

v2.2.0
v3.9.0

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth 5.0

Codec 
 

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

EQ 
 

Off
Off

ANC 
 

On
Everyday Mode

Tip/Pad 
 

Silicone (small)
Silicone (small)

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Integrated

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

5.5
8.0

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-14.84 dB
-20.13 dB

Noise Cancelling  

Yes
Yes

Bass 
 

-2.76 dB
-19.37 dB

Mid 
 

-13.85 dB
-16.35 dB

Treble 
 

-28.95 dB
-24.2 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

9.3
8.6

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

25.45 dB
29.49 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 
 

5.9
6.3

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

604.08 Hz
132.62 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

4.7 dB
3.36 dB

HFE 
 

4,974.24 Hz
3,179.16 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.029
5.499

Gain 
 

-12.45 dB
-10.67 dB

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

6.2
5.8

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

10.58 dB
7.76 dB

Noise Gate 
 

Always On
No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

7.0
5.0

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

5.0
7.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

6.9
7.3

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

5.4 hrs
6.8 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

2.0
3.0

Total Battery Life 
 

16.2 hrs
27.2 hrs

Charge Time 
 

1.3 hrs
1.6 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Auto-Off Timer
Auto-Off Timer

Audio While Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

Passive Playback 
 

No
No

Charging Port  

USB-C
USB-C

Show text

App Support 
 

8.0
8.0

App Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless App Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless App Picture

App Name  

JBL Headphones
JBL Headphones

iOS  

Yes
Yes

Android  

Yes
Yes

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

Parametric + Presets
Parametric + Presets

ANC Control 
 

On/Off
On/Off

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

Yes
Yes

Surround Support 
 

No
No

Show text

Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

6.9
6.9

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.1
5.0

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

197.00 ft (60.05 m)
263.00 ft (80.16 m)

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

179 ms
267 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 
 

81 ms
230 ms

Android Latency 
 

116 ms
244 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

Wired 
 

0.0
0.0

Cable Picture  

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Cable Picture
JBL Live Pro+ TWS True 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 Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

No
No

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

No
No

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

No
No

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

No
No

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S 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-C
USB-C

Show text

JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless

JBL Live Pro+ TWS True Wireless

Comments

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