JBL Live Free 2 TWS - True wireless Noise Cancelling earbuds - Silver

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] These earbuds are great and they feel very new especially if you have other JBL products. What I mean by is that most of the features that have been missing from the previous JBL earbuds are now available with this new model. Sound: These sound good straight out of the box. However, I found them to sound much better after playing around with the equalizer. Although they are very clear, they weren't very loud and were missing some bass. After enabling EQ and adjusting the sound, they were performing brilliantly. The lows/bass are very punchy, mids/vocals are very clear, and even high-hats at the highs are powerful. Then, the adjustments I referred to above can be executed via the JBL Headphones app and I love it! The new user interface is very aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate through. I love that we can now adjust and set the amount of adaptive noise canceling or ambient aware we want from the earbuds. Combined with the tight seal of the ear canal, the ANC performs very well and it blocks most of the noise. It's very comfortable in the ear as far as the pressure goes and I sometimes forget that I have these earbuds on with the ANC. It made my commute more enjoyable and blocked all of the general noises and barely let in the loudest noises on public transportation. Ambient aware is a very useful feature but the old earbuds lacked this adjustment option. I'm definitely going to be using the ambient aware feature more often with these earbuds. The same case applies to the adjustable ANC feature. Overall, I love the customizability of these earbuds via the app and it definitely adds a lot of value to the listening experience. Microphone: It's a great sounding microphone and many people said that I sound crystal clear. However, the quality went down a little bit when I was on a very loud shuttle bus ride. So, unless you're in a loud place with a lot of motion, the microphone should be more than enough (based on my experience). The best feature has to be the VoiceAware in the app. It enables the user to control how much of their own voice they hear during calls. When I picked up a call, it disabled my ANC and turned on my assigned setting automatically. This is a great feature because I tend to talk loud with earbuds in and this allows me to judge my own voice and adjust it accordingly to not bother anyone in public. Charging case: I love the wireless charging!!! This was a must for JBL earbuds and I'm happy that we have that in this case. The case is very compact, sturdy, minimal, professional-looking, and has a matte silver finish. The two magnets/pins inside the case are also very strong and they pull the earbuds right into place (Not all magnets place the earbuds correctly so it's important to mention). The LED battery indicators in the front are also very sleek and blend in. They give a general idea of how much battery is left but I prefer to check the accurate battery percentage via the app. Battery Life: I got just over 5 hours with these earbuds (ANC turned on) but I usually use them on my commute so the battery life wasn't a problem for me. They also charge very fast and live up to the "15min charge = 4h music" claim. Even if they run out of battery you can always pop them back in the charging case and get a usable percentage back. Side note: The orange USB Type-C charging cable that came in the box is very short. On-earbud control buttons: I love that they are customizable in the JBL Headphones app as usual. There are different presets you can assign to each earbud such as one touch on the right to stop the music and tap twice to go to the next track and the same with the left earbud. They have a large surface area on the outside where the touch controls work and the battery is located. Despite this factor, the touch area is located in a very convenient spot so it's hard to miss the touch control. At the same time, it's very sensitive. That's a plus for me because a simple/light touch stops the music. There were some instances where I paused or played the music by accident but it wasn't often and didn't bother me. The silver look is very elegant and looks high-quality from the side. Fit: They fit quite nicely and comfortably despite their shape. Most of the earbuds I have from JBL are rounded. They pretty much cover the entire entrance of the ear canal. On the other hand, these earbuds kind of stretch the ear horizontally. Although it's a different fit, I enjoyed it better than my other earbuds. The positive side of this shape is that I don't have to pinch my ear or try to squeeze out the earbuds. They have a small dent at the top which houses the index finger when taking out the earbuds and it makes the process easier. This shape also blends in with the ear better than others. It doesn't stick out or look awkward in the ear. The earbuds are also very lightweight with great insolation. Other points: There is a section in the app to check the best fit for earbuds which essentially just tells you if you have the earbuds on correctly. Then, there's an ear canal test that "analyzes your ear canal to give you the best ANC experience." I wish I could've provided feedback on this as well but it didn't work. I updated my app and did everything but it always failed and gave an error message. There's also the classic auto & pause feature. Sensors detect if the earbuds are placed in the ear or not and play/pause the audio automatically. These can be turned off from the app but I enjoy it on. Lastly, the earbuds are good with remembering the last settings you applied or set. However, one annoying feature, at first, was the one earbud usage. The single earbud automatically goes into ambient aware mode and let all the noise in once the other one is placed into the charging case. It took me a little bit to figure out what was going on or find the cause of it. Everything was fine once I switched off the ambient sound control tab in the app with the single active earbud. Overall, these earbuds are very versatile, well-designed, and high-quality. I can see why it received an honoree award from the 2022 CES Innovation Awards. This pair already replaced my current earbuds and I can easily recommend them. These are hands-down the best pair of TWS earbuds I have from JBL.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] When I saw these, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from them physically. I have struggled with JBL earbuds falling out in the past, like the Tour Pro+ TWS, and haven't had a good fit since the FREE X I have from a while back. The pill shape on these is exactly what my ears require! Perfect fit, and snug ANC. Absolutely love the sound on them, a little boost on the bass compared to a lot of others I have, which isn't bad. I prefer a flat response, but these don't hurt my ears and they are very wearable for extended periods. I really love the oval shape of the earbud itself as it fits my ears a lot better than the circular. I often find myself having to sort through tip sizes just to find a good fit, but these worked right out of the box. The sound is solid! I'm on quite a few streaming services and I play local files as well. They are only SBC/AAC so don't expect any HiFi sound, but the CD quality is beautifully balanced. Expansive sound for little dudes, check out EPROM 'The Cat' or Lane 8 'Reviver' or Four Tet 'Insect Near Piha Beach'. Very happy, will use until they're dead!