JBL Live Beam 3 actually wi-fi stereo (TWS) earphones arrived in India final month. The flagship TWS by the corporate additionally marked the primary time it launched an earphone with an built-in show within the nation. Whereas the JBL Tour Professional 2, the first-ever JBL TWS with a show, was launched in a number of worldwide markets in 2023, it didn’t debut in India.
However design is just not the one space of innovation these pair of earphones have witnessed. JBL has additionally launched the Lossless Digital Audio Codec (LDAC) help in its TWS lineup for the primary time. The flagship earphones additionally characteristic lively noise cancellation (ANC), True Adaptive Noise Cancellation, and spatial audio help. Additional, it additionally comes with an IP55 ranking for mud and splash resistance. The official value of the JBL Reside Beam 3 is Rs. 24,999, however the JBL web site has listed it at Rs. 13,999.
Curiously, the design has additionally obtained blended reactions, with some calling it a gimmick and others discovering it to be useful. However that isn’t the one side the place JBL has to excel. The TWS has additionally managed to get the eye of audiophiles with the inclusion of LDAC. So, are these options actually value it? Let’s get all the way down to the brass tacks.
JBL Reside Beam 3 Design and Options: Packs a Punch
- The charging case weighs 72g
- Colors – Black, Blue, and Silver
- IP55 water and mud resistance (earbuds)
The JBL Reside Beam 3 comes with an in-ear type issue and a curved stem. The earbuds have a matte end which seems and feels premium. The again of the stem is the one a part of the earbuds which has a shiny end across the JBL branding. The field comes with 4 sizes of silicone ear ideas, and I used to be capable of finding those that match me snugly. The earbuds are pretty light-weight at 5g per earbud and I didn’t really feel the load even after extended utilization of a number of hours at a stretch.
JBL Reside Beam 3 design
Coming to the case, you get a soapbox-style front-open case with a shimmery end. Nonetheless, regardless of that, it doesn’t entice any fingerprint smudges, to my shock. My evaluation unit arrived within the Blue color choice, nevertheless, there are alternatives for Black and Silver as properly. At 72g, the case is sort of heavy and it’ll want a while to get used to it. It’s also thicker than the traditional TWS at 30.25mm, and it’ll barely stick out once you stash it in your pocket. That is one thing I am nonetheless not very snug with after three weeks of utilization.
The earbuds include gesture controls and also you solely need to faucet the stem to set off the command. There are single-tap, double-tap, and tap-and-hold controls, which could be configured utilizing the companion app. Notably, you’ll be able to solely select controls in teams together with ambient sound management, quantity management, and playback management. There are not any choices to decide on particular features with particular actions.
Addressing the elephant within the room, the JBL Reside Beam 3 comes with a 1.45-inch contact display screen show. The show options a number of settings for the earbuds similar to playback controls, quantity setting, ANC, spatial sound, equaliser, and extra. The sliding gesture is just not very touch-sensitive, and typically it takes a few tries to get the place you wish to. This may be barely irritating since all of the setting choices are organized in a horizontally-scrolling view.
Now, the setting choices you get on the show are the identical that you simply get throughout the companion app, so there’s a case to be made for duplication of options as a substitute of providing a singular use case. Nonetheless, in my expertise, the show is sort of helpful. The most typical utilization for me was utilizing the case to mess around with the equaliser and ANC since I had one other app opened on my smartphone. It saved me these valuable swipes to shuttle between the 2 apps.
Nevertheless it goes a lot past that. I’ve the behavior of connecting my TWS with my sensible TV once I’m binge-watching a present late at night time. The case allowed me to make use of the equaliser and spatial audio and not using a fear. Even when paired with my work laptop computer, I by no means needed to fear about putting in the JBL Moveable app for PC to make use of the total vary of options, which could have required me to get admin permission first. Briefly, in case you are somebody who would like a distant management in your earphones which isn’t connected to every other machine, you’ll discover it helpful in the long term. Undoubtedly, not a celebration trick for me.
JBL Reside Beam 3: App and Specs
- Driver – 10mm dynamic drivers
- Companion app – JBL Headphones
- Gesture controls – Sure
The JBL Reside Beam 3 earphones are suitable with the JBL Headphones app on each Android and iOS smartphones. It’s the predominant hub for all of the sound mode customisation settings. After pairing the TWS, you will notice the battery share of particular person earbuds in addition to the sensible charging case. Beneath, there are three sections — Common, Audio, and Others.
JBL Headphones app
The Common part incorporates Ambient Sound Management that permits you to activate and swap between ANC, Ambient Conscious (transparency mode), and Speak Via modes. The Speak Via mode is an enhanced transparency mode which might detect when the consumer is talking and mechanically pauses any media taking part in. Additionally, you will discover the customisation settings choice for the charging case show. This allows you to change wallpapers, choose the characteristic shortcuts to indicate, and even change the brightness.
A few attention-grabbing options are Examine My Finest Match and Sensible Speak. The previous checks for any audio leaks and suggests in case the consumer wants a distinct silicone tip for a greater listening expertise. The latter is a part of the Speak Via characteristic that permits you to set the sensitivity of the speech detection. The choices are 5 seconds, 15 seconds, and 20 seconds. The consumer should converse that many seconds repeatedly for the Speak Via mode to kick in. This can be a cool addition for individuals who typically converse in fast sentences however don’t want their media playback to be affected. Moreover, this part additionally means that you can decide the gestures for the earbuds.
The Audio part options Excessive-Decision Audio mode which primarily activates the LDAC help, the equaliser, spatial audio modes, and Personi-Fi. The latter is a brilliant characteristic that conducts a full sound profile check to seek out your optimum listening to ranges and modify the sound output to match that. In my expertise, the bass and mids felt punchier after turning on this characteristic.
Other than this, additionally, you will discover choices for left and proper sound steadiness, a max quantity limiter, and a Non-public Name Mode that permits you to take out one earbud and use it as a microphone. Lastly, the Others part has choices to seek out the earbuds, energy saving mode and allows you to play enjoyable sounds.
Coming to the specs, the JBL Reside Beam 3 options 10mm dynamic drivers, comes with JBL’s Spatial Sound expertise, and helps AAC, SBC, and LDAC codecs. The earbuds help Bluetooth 5.3 whereas the charging case helps Bluetooth 5.1. It additionally helps Bluetooth multipoint connectivity and has an IP55 ranking for mud and splash resistance. Every earbud is backed by a 68mAh battery, whereas the charging case packs a 680mAh battery.
JBL Reside Beam 3: Efficiency and Battery Life
The JBL Reside Beam 3 comes with three ANC modes. In my expertise, the noise discount is above common however not the most effective on the market. In case you’re indoors, it is possible for you to to close out the sound of the AC, the ceiling fan or the TV within the subsequent room for many elements, however a few of it nonetheless seeps in. Whenever you’re outdoor, the efficiency feels a bit iffy. The earphones will block a lot of the loud car noises and sound of individuals within the neighborhood, however you’ll nonetheless hear a few of it as low muffled noise. In case you’re after extra highly effective ANC earphones, you’ll be able to search for the Sennheiser Accentum True Wi-fi (review).
JBL Reside Beam 3 earbuds design
Coming to sound high quality, it’s troublesome to not be impressed with what JBL Reside Beam 3 gives. The Harman fine-tuning is clear and like most JBL merchandise, it leans bass-heavy. Whether or not I used to be listening to punchy beats in Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us or having fun with the guitar strumming in Lodge California by The Eagles, the listening expertise was chic. I additionally explored vocal-heavy songs similar to Bust Your Home windows by Jazmine Sullivan and Houdini by Eminem. Whereas I might have most well-liked the upper pitches to come out a bit extra, there was not loads to complain about.
Nonetheless, this was the efficiency over customary music streaming on Spotify and YouTube Music. I additionally explored the LDAC codec with lossless music from Tidal and the expertise is de facto noticeable. One good instance is Swimming Swimming pools (Drank) by Kendrick Lamar. You’ll be able to hear the instrument separation between the lows and highs in addition to the enduring voice panning between the ears that permits you to really feel all the soundstage.
However, I might add that regardless of the spectacular efficiency, these are TWS in the long run and so they will be unable to match the capabilities of a wired headphone in the identical value phase. However in the event you’re not a severe audiophile, this doesn’t apply to you anyway.
I am usually not a fan of the microphone high quality on TWS. The voice typically sounds synthetic and there’s all the time a worry of ambient noises being picked over your voice. JBL comes with a celebration trick the place it allows you to use one of many earbuds as a microphone (primarily audio output stops in that earbud) by unplugging it from the ear and holding it in entrance of your face. That works however, the efficiency is nothing value writing dwelling about. In indoor settings, you may be audible when on a name or in a gathering, however the efficiency is subpar in out of doors settings.
Lastly, I discovered the battery efficiency of the JBL Reside Beam 3 to be spectacular. The corporate claims 12 hours of playback time with ANC off and 10 hours with ANC on. In my expertise, I used to be constantly in a position to get between seven to eight hours of playtime with ANC and upwards of 9 hours with out ANC. The sound degree was constantly stored between 50 to 60 p.c. The charging time from zero to 100 within the case takes roughly about two hours. Notably, the charging case helps fast cost and wi-fi charging as properly.
JBL Reside Beam 3: Verdict
After utilizing the JBL Reside Beam 3 for nearly a month, I really feel the distinctive promoting proposition (USP) of the machine is choices. For the worth of Rs. 14,999, you are not getting probably the most highly effective ANC out there or probably the most balanced audio profile.
JBL Reside Beam 3
Nonetheless, what you do get is versatility. With the charging case show, you need to use and customise the audio expertise of the earphones even when reaching the cellular app may be troublesome. It’s also possible to optimise it for spatial audio, Personi-Fi audio, or set it up for LDAC codec. It’s also possible to use the equaliser’s six presets to seek out the optimum audio zone or create your individual.
JBL has thrown every thing on the earphones bar the kitchen sink. What that has achieved is create a flexible machine that may let a big subset of shoppers create their very own means of customising the audio expertise and the utilization of the machine.
Nonetheless, in the event you’re somebody who has a robust desire for the ANC, sound profile, or the thickness of the charging case, this might not be your best option for you.
