Audio review
JBL Tune 770NC Review: The Smallest Earcups in the Category
Three sources say the same thing: the cups are too small and the clamp too strong. One puts the wearable limit at two hours despite 227 grams.
By Paulo GerchonPublished 2 min read
Illustration, not a photo — we don’t have a licensed image of this product yet.
JBL
JBL Tune 770NC
Good · researched from 3 sources
The battery, the equaliser and the price are all excellent, and one reviewer reckons the sound reaches four times the price once tuned. Try them on first, because three sources independently say the cups are too small.
- Buy if
- Listening in sessions of an hour or two · Anyone willing to spend time in a ten-band equaliser · Smaller heads, which Outer Audio says the fit suits
- Skip if
- Long working days, on Recording Now's two-hour limit · Aircraft and trains, where the cancelling is weakest · Larger heads or anyone who wears glasses for long stretches
We don’t list prices, because Amazon’s change hourly.
Three sources, one complaint
Recording Now: too strong a clamping force, the smallest earcups in the category, among the least comfortable headphones in their class, one to two hours at most.
Major HiFi: the pads clamp tightly and the cups are rather small for an over-ear design.
Outer Audio: fine for smaller heads and children, uncomfortable for larger heads, with glasses wearers reporting pressure over a long session.
They weigh 227 grams, which is light. Weight is not the problem. The cups are simply too small to sit around most ears, so they sit on them, and a headphone resting on the ear rather than around it becomes painful whatever it weighs.
This is the one thing to test in a shop before buying.
And what you get in exchange
Forty-four hours with cancelling on, up to seventy with it off. Outer Audio's real-world figures were about 45 and 64. Five minutes of charging returns roughly three hours.
A ten-band equaliser that Recording Now rates among the most flexible they have tested.
And, once you have used it, sound that Recording Now places in the $200 to $400 range on headphones costing under $100.
The tuning is a starting point, not a destination
Recording Now describes the stock sound as consumer-oriented with excessive bass and treble, and reports that a custom curve produces something darker and smoother with focused rather than boomy bass.
Outer Audio found vocals recessed out of the box and the equaliser transformative.
Major HiFi's description is the technical version: JBL follows the Harman curve, with ample bass, a somewhat recessed midrange and an elevated top end.
If you buy these and listen once on the default profile, you have not heard what they do.
Cancelling, and where it fails
Recording Now: fairly decent, slightly behind a Sony WH-1000XM4, better than budget alternatives.
Outer Audio: effective on office chatter and nearby voices, struggling with low-frequency drones and high-pitched sounds.
Low-frequency drone is aeroplane and train noise. That is the journey these are weakest on, and it is the journey most people buy cancelling headphones for.
For an office or a café they are fine.
The build is where the money was saved
Recording Now calls it cheap and says they feel like $50 headphones, with concerns about long-term durability.
Outer Audio finds the plastic a little weak, notes there is no waterproofing at all, and raises a specific practical problem: the cable connector is an unusual size, so aftermarket replacements will not fit.
At this price none of that is a scandal. It is the reason the price is what it is.
How it scored
The overall 7.2 is the weighted average of these five criteria — we never adjust it by hand.
Sound quality
Major HiFi says it follows the Harman curve with ample bass, a recessed midrange and elevated treble. Recording Now says it reaches $200 to $400 territory once equalised.
Value
Recording Now scored 8.1 out of 10 and calls it genuine value under $100. Outer Audio scored 7.8. Major HiFi is impressed by what JBL offers at the price.
Build quality
Recording Now calls the build cheap and raises long-term durability concerns. Outer Audio finds the plastic a little weak and notes there is no waterproofing.
Comfort
Recording Now says too strong a clamping force and the smallest earcups in the category, putting the limit at one to two hours. Major HiFi agrees the cups are small for an over-ear.
Noise cancelling
Recording Now calls it fairly decent and slightly behind a Sony WH-1000XM4. Outer Audio found it good on office chatter and weak against low-frequency drones.
Pros and cons
What we liked
- 44 hours with cancelling on and up to 70 with it off, confirmed by two sources
- Recording Now calls the app equaliser one of the most flexible they have tested
- Five minutes of charging returns about three hours of playback
- 227 to 232 g, which is light for over-ear cancelling headphones
- Ambient Aware and TalkThru modes that Major HiFi rates useful for commuting
- Outer Audio measured a full charge in about two hours
What we didn’t
- All three sources criticise the earcup size and clamping force
- Recording Now puts comfortable wear at one to two hours at most
- Recording Now calls the build cheap and worries about long-term durability
- Outer Audio reports the cancelling struggling with low-frequency drones
- SBC and AAC only, with no LDAC or aptX
- Outer Audio notes an unusual cable connector size that rules out aftermarket replacements
Specifications
| Battery | 44 hours with cancelling on and up to 70 with it off |
|---|---|
| Observed battery | About 45 hours with cancelling and 64 without per Outer Audio |
| Quick charge | Five minutes for about three hours |
| Full charge | About two hours per Outer Audio |
| Weight | 227.1 g per Recording Now; 232 g per Major HiFi |
| Codecs | SBC and AAC only |
| App | Ten-band equaliser, Ambient Aware, TalkThru, VoiceAware and balance adjustment |
| Water resistance | None |
| Earcups | Small for an over-ear design, per all three sources |
How we researched this
We have not had this unit on the bench. This review synthesises the manufacturer’s published specifications, independent measurements and owner reports listed below. Every figure on this page comes from one of those sources rather than our own measurement.
3
sources reviewed
Recording Now supplies the comfort assessment with a stated wear limit, the weight, the equaliser evaluation and the comparison against a Sony WH-1000XM4, scoring 8.1 out of 10. Outer Audio supplies the observed battery figures, the noise cancelling findings by noise type, the charging time and the build criticisms, scoring 7.8. Major HiFi supplies the tuning description against the Harman curve, the Ambient Aware and TalkThru assessment and a second weight figure. None of the three published a measured frequency response curve or attenuation in decibels, so neither is claimed here.
What we read
Common questions
Are the JBL Tune 770NC comfortable?
How long does the battery last?
How good is the noise cancelling?
Do they need EQ?
What is the build like?
The bottom line on the JBL Tune 770NC
The battery, the equaliser and the price are all excellent, and one reviewer reckons the sound reaches four times the price once tuned. Try them on first, because three sources independently say the cups are too small.
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