JBLLive Flex In-Ear Bluetooth Earphones, Water-Resistant and Noise-Cancelling Headphones with 40-Hour Battery Life, Black

Due to a silicone allergy , I can only wear the “stick open” design earbuds and had been a long time user of the Apple AirPods 2nd gen (which I preferred also to the stick open 3rd gen). (I own a lot of Apple products but could not use the AirPods Pro due to my silicone allergy and I do not own the AirPods Max but will probably get the 2nd gen Max when they are released but obviously you won’t be able to fit those in your pockets).So, one of my Apple 2nd gen air buds suddenly stopped working. I felt loathed to replace these with the same 2nd gen buds as not only are they 4 years old technology but have a now antiquated Bluetooth version and have been left in the dust with no noise cancelling refresh.This led me to explore what else was “out there” that supported this and had the latest version Bluetooth 5.2 LE and this brought me to incidentally my first ever JBL personal audio product , the Live Flex. At first I didn’t like the sound as they sounded a bit too bright and I actually returned them. But I decided to give them a second chance , as I missed them and decided to buy them again.The second time round I downloaded the JBL app which lets you use graphic equalisers to customise the sound to your preference, something Apple doesn’t let you do and which I admit is something I have always objected to in principle.Anyway, using the graphic equalisers I was able to boost the bass to 3 db and added a slight lift to the midrange (1db). I kept the treble at neutral. They no longer sound too bright and this made a huge difference. Now they are very addictive to listen to.(Note that the noise cancellation will be nowhere near as good as earbuds with silicone tips. )These also look unique. The controls on the pods are one of the best features - rather than having to tap them or squeeze them which is uncomfortable (Apple are you listening ?) , you only have to lightly touch these and you get a feedback beep, it’s almost like capacitance touch. But I have never accidentally pressed them so oversensitivity has not been an issue. Also I tend to keep noise cancellation for these on by default which is another thing I would not have thought I would do, as its potentially yet another thing like listening not as the artist intended. But ultimately you need to listen to music they way you enjoy it the most, which must be what ultimately matters. If you don’t like silicone-tipped earbuds , these are definitely worth checking out.

Battery life is brilliant, even with active noise cancelling. Don't expect the noise cancelling like the ones that seal in or over the ear, but on a 8hour flight with ANC active I could watch shows with the volume only halfway instead of almost full without ANC. They are slightly large so fall out when your ear pressed up against something, but the quality feels good. Happy with them and the accompanying app.

Battery life is good, sound quality is good and range also good only one thing ANC not working properly

I normally don't do reviews but after trying soo many earbuds, I thought I'd assist someone in my position. Am a Samsung user, I found the buds pro to be intruding and uncomfortable in ear. Am not after ANC, I like to hear my surroundings and work calls. ANC is a feature I'd take as additional if available.For me comfort is important if wearing long hours and on the move when out. I've found the airpods 2nd gen really comfortable but not compatible with android. The jbl live are probably more in line with airpods 3 with wider size and smaller stem however I've found it's more comfortable in my ear when compared. Jbl has multi point connection so important for me as can connect to my personal and work phone same time. The case design suits me as can keep it open on desk and pick up when calls come through. I use them in gym and equally fine for me, maybe not for vigorous but slight running, wright training etc is fine. It's waterproof so in rain when out, not an issue. Overall anyone wanting something with a non plug in earbud, similar to airpod 2nd and 3rd gen, this is it. Not to mention the battery life is awesome. App is great for general customisation which should be expected.

Started off great, deep bass, clear vocals..but after 3 months of use they are crackling and not connecting to my phone. The battery somehow goes from 100 to 70 in a matter of minutes. Reverted back to my Samsung buds.

I tried these as my favourite Samsung buds give me ear infections due to the silicone, so I thought I would try the open ear type.So far so good but the only thing that doesn't work or make any difference is the ANC. As far as I can tell there's no difference at all to it being on or off. My buds are far more superior for this and I love that option. Not sure they will be any use on board a plane to block aircraft noise, I've yet to try it. This is a shame as I really wanted that option for my walk to work as it blocks out the traffic noise. If you're in a noisy room it blocks some noise but can't handle traffic noise?Other than that they appear to be ok and do the job but not sure they are worth the price if ANC is useless ? I'll stick with them and hope these don't irritate my ears too.