JBL Vibe Beam - True Wireless JBL Deep Bass Sound Earbuds, Bluetooth 5.2, Water & Dust Resistant, Hands-Free Call with VoiceAware, Up to 32 Hours of Battery Life (Black)

P. DobrinenUnited States

Top quality audio after a few adjustments

This review is about the audio features of the JBL Vibe Beam earbuds. I'm an audio engineer so audio quality is very important to me. As such, I use wired connections as much as possible to maintain the integrity of the audio signal. However, many newer consumer-level products no longer have audio jacks, so I finally decided to invest in some wireless earbuds as a backup to the other earphones and headphones that I use. I didn't want to spend a lot of money as I didn't foresee myself using this product very much, and since this is my first foray into wireless audio earphones, if they were just ok or they broke after a while, then I wouldn't feel too bad about the little money that I spent. Also, I wanted to focus on finding wireless earbuds with excellent audio quality first as I already have an excellent high-end bluetooth earpiece for cell phone use, and I wouldn't be using this product as a bluetooth headset for my phone. After doing much research, I chose the JBL Vibe Beam's as they were at my price point, I'm familiar with JBL products, and I could reasonably expect that they were likely deliver the high audio quality that I've come to expect from JBL products. In my research, I read reviews that complained about the harshness of the high end with high frequency instruments like cymbals or the lack of bass, so I was a bit concerned. When I received and started listening to my JBL Vibe Beams I understood what people were talking about. However, to correct the issues, first, one must have a great fit of the earbuds in their ears. I'm fortunate, in that with the medium tips that were already installed on the Vibe Beams, they made a snug fit in my ears right out of the box. If you find that these earbuds do not fit well in your ears it might be worthwhile to invest in a separate set of variable sized earbud tips, or try tips from one of your other well-fitting earbuds, if you have them. Once the earbuds were seated properly in my ear, that took care of the poor bass issue. (I have not worn them long-term so I can't speak to them falling out of my ear, as others have mentioned, but they seem to stay in pretty well.) For the misaligned frequency response issue, fortunately, the JBL Headphone app that you can install on your cell phone includes a ten-band graphic equalizer that you can use to make adjustments to the frequency response of your earbuds. After listening to several of the reference tracks I use to check new audio equipment or my mixes against, I found that the only adjustments needed were carving out some of the upper midrange and making a very slight boost in the bottom end of the lower frequency spectrum. I've included a screenshot of my EQ curve which I based on the Bass preset in the JBL app. You can't tell as there is no dB scale on the side, but I needed to cut or boost by only 1-2 dB. I find that my new EQ curve gives a more balanced frequency response than what came out of the box, and matches up well against the reference speaker system and headphones that I use for my audio mixing and mastering work. I invite you to use my EQ curve as a starting point and adjust as sounds best to you. I also read reviews complaining about the apparent lack of volume of the Vibe Beams. I connected the JBL's to several different sources (phone, computer, TV, MP3 player, etc.) and I found that the overall maximum volume (with limiter off) is relatively lower than wired speaker versions. However, the input to the JBL's is relative to the maximum output of the source itself. I found that the loudest level I could get came from my iPhone and the lowest level output came from my MP3 player (which probably doesn't offer much output anyway being a tiny portable unit). As a comparison, I did a side-by-side test of the JBL's with my wife's AirPods (2nd gen). What I found was that the JBL's offered an almost identical audio output level as the AirPods with any of the sources I used so that confirmed that the output level of the JBL's has more to do with the source (and the source material as some songs are mastered at a lower volume than other songs) than with the earbuds themselves. During my test, I put the JBL's at their maximum volume output (one tap at a time on the left bud to raise the volume). Also, I noticed during my testing that the AirPods had a pleasing midrange sound perfect for listening to podcasts or watching video, but the JBL's excelled at full-range sound on the bottom and top ends of the frequency spectrum which made them sound much better over all and well-suited for music or listening to explosive action scenes in movies. And speaking of movies, the JBL app has a switchable audio/video mode. The video mode reduces the latency of the delivery of audio against picture, so there isn't a noticeable lip-sync issue with dialogue in a scene. However, there is a slight degradation in the audio quality of 'video' mode versus 'audio' mode, but you will have to make the determination if the change in audio quality is acceptable to you. As a side note, I included a picture of the inner side of the earbuds. The 'L' and 'R' designations on the earbuds are tiny as you can see, plus they are the same color as the earbuds themselves, so they are very hard to see. I wish JBL had made the L/R letters bigger or at least made them a different color so they would be easier to see. The pairing process was fairly easy with all my bluetooth-capable devices and the range was good, only dropping out after walking approximately 60-70 feet from the source. There was one momentary dropout during my listening but that could be due to my wife using her AirPods the same time as I was using the JBL's. I can't speak to the other features of the JBL Vibe Beams as I don't intend to use them, but as far as audio quality goes, with just a few minor tweaks, these bluetooth earbuds can go from sounding like a $50 pair of earbuds to a $500 pair of reference earphones.

UnsatisfiedUnited States

Amazing buds/price/service... buy these!

Yes, my subject line sounds like that trash hyperbole you get on annoying pop-up ads on your Smartphone! And ironically, it usually has to do with ear buds. There are tons of them on the market, and everyone claims to be the best. Now, first off, I am just a customer… never got any gifts or money or anything from this company, nor was asked to “click on a review” for a discount or whatever. No… the reason for all this hallelujah chorus, is that I’m really totally both jazzed, and a bit in awe of these earbuds. I think the main mind-blowing thing about them is the price. I mean, I have a bit of experience and knowledge with this kind of technology, and frankly, these days, what “guts” that are needed to be used to create Bluetooth ear buds is not that complex… nor expensive. How company’s like Sony, Apple, Bose, etc. can charge upwards of $300 for these boarders on theft and fraud! I’ve tried those “Rolls Royce” buds, and I urge you to do the same, and then try these Tagry Bluetooth Wireless Earbuds that are literally 90% less expensive. Yes, they retail for about $35! They come in an excellent quality charge base, are extremely easy to put on, (and have three extra size buds to give you a custom fit), and most important, their sound quality, and I mean crisp highs, solid middles, and bone- rumbling base, are outstanding. I cannot understand what more you would want either using them for talk radio, podcasts, YouTube, streaming movies, or TV, or playing your Amazon Music or Spotify or iTunes playlists. And yes, if connected to your iPhone, you can make and receive calls, and the microphone in the buds are top quality. Their Bluetooth software is flawless, connecting to your iPhone, or other Bluetooth devices effortlessly. They come with a pleasant woman’s voice letting you know various messages, like which earbud is in what ear, if they are connected or turned off, your volume control (including excess volume warning), etc. I’ve had these for several months, and have found the charging, which has a bright LED display and shows the individual charging of each bud, along with their percentage easy to read. And a note on their service. I’ve heard horror stories of folks trying to reach the outrageously over-priced other earbud company’s for tech support, or refunds, exchanges, etc. Basically it’s nonexistent, and when you do miraculously find a phone number to call them, and get someone on the line, you have to go to the UN to find an interpreter of rare third-world languages to understand what they are saying, and they seem to be trained, not on anything to do with the product, but to make the call as useless and confusing as possible, so that you will just give up and throw their buds, and your money in the trash. Now, I did have an initial problem, after a few months, in that the base charger seemed to be slowing a bit. Tagry gives you a LIFETIME WARRANTY… yes, an actually lifetime warranty, not one of those sham “lifetime warranties”, that corrupt company’s like Hammacher Schlemmer have. I had enrolled with Tagry, on their website, to activate my warranty as soon as I received the buds. I called Tagry when I was seeing what could be a glitch in their charging base, and yes, unlike most other companies who hide their contact numbers as if they were nuclear codes, Tagry’s support phone number is plainly printed on their manual, and to my astonishment, I immediately was connected to a good ‘ol American customer service person, who actually worked for the company, spoke English, and made me feel as if I was a long-ago trusted friend. They truly cared, and said they were sorry, and that there was no need to troubleshoot the base, or return it, instead, they would process an order to send me a new one. A day later, they actually called me back to let me know that the replacement had been shipped, and that I should have it in a day or so, and if not, to please call them back right away. And yes, to apologize again for any inconvenience. The replacement arrived the very next day. And again, their warranty is indeed for a lifetime, a no questions asked replacement policy. This is how much they believe in their product, and respect their customers. So, yes. It is insane to pay more than $35 for quality Bluetooth earbuds. Last year, I sent about a dozen of these out to friends and employees, to use for personal use, and for all that Zooming going on… and they love them. And none of had any problems. I’m sure you have had a plethora of bad experiences in the past few years, what with isolation, and way too much ordering on-line, finding the products you buy to be substandard, and customer service virtually non-existent. And that is why I’ve spend all this time expounding on the greatest of my earbuds. Yes, I have a life. Really. But what a joy to be able to tell a story like this, rather than the kind of frustration most of us are experiencing every day! Yes, goodness and quality still exist. It’s rare… but it’s out there!

Alex AldanaUnited States

Tough buds and sound great

These are awesome! Solid 8 hours+ of constant use, much better than my airpod pros battery life. Sound cancellation isn’t as good as the AirPods but paying a tenth of the price is worth it. I use one side all day at work and use the other to fall asleep with and wake up with sound still playing. My wife accidentally threw them in the washer with the case and they still sound brand new and charge fine. I wasn’t even upset with her for not checking my pockets because they were so affordable that I can get more but they still work! My AirPods went to s*** after my kid spilled water on them. Great quality, great price. I’m probably gonna buy a few sets for my coworkers and family as gifts.

JoslynUnited States

Reasonable pricing

After I lost my AirPods for the second time, I just decided to get these. It doesn’t completely cancel out the noise around you, but I feel like it’s good for when you are in noisy crowded areas. The only thing is they do slip out of your ears. But It’s definitely worth your money. And the charge life on it is really good. It’s small enough to carry wherever you need to be. And the quality of the sound is pretty good. It’s not too loud, but it’s not too low either. I’ve had these for about two years now.