JBL is a brand we have covered a number of there products from the gaming headphones of the Quantum 610, Quantum One and even Bluetooth speakers like JBL Clip 4. We have also reviewed a product similar to today’s review the JBL Tune 225.
In this review we are turning our attention to the JBL Tune 230 NC now they sit under the £100 mark currently at £79 at the point of writing this review.
First Impressions
The buds are not the most expensive in the JBL range but the stem style design reminds you a little of the Apple Airpods. The 230 NC offer a good fit and also nicely balanced sound quality to match a great battery life more on both later this review. They also come with ANC and the opportunity to adjust the sound profile to create that custom sound that suits your needs.
The JBL 230 NC come in 4 colour options:
- Black
- Blue
- White
- Sand (Light Pink)
In this review, the manufacturer sent over a black pair for me to review and provide my honest opinion.
Design
As mentioned the JBL Tune 230 NC have a stem style design and paired with the silicone ear tips help stay in your ears for longer even when working out in my local gym.
The buds also come with protection in the shape of IPX4 rating meaning they are both water/sweat resistant making them perfect for when you get all hot and sweaty just don’t use them swimming. The buds also come with two additional pairs of eartips that deliver a good fit for most users.
The Tune 230NC come with touch controls that you can move through the listening modes you come to expect with buds like these – ANC & Ambient mode.
The controls are very simple to use the left bud allows the following controls:
- Single tap to move to ANC, Ambient mode
- Double-tap to use talk thru mode
- Double-tap to answer or reject a call
- Hold for 2 seconds to put mute the speaker
- Hold for 2 seconds to activate your smart assistant
The right bud allows the following controls:
- Single tap – Play/Pause
- Double-tap – Skip track
- Triple tap – skip back a track
- Double-tap to answer or reject a call
- Hold for 2 seconds to put mute the speaker
- Hold for 2 seconds to activate your smart assistant
In addition to using your smart assistant like Bixby/Siri, you can also use Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant which is built into the buds. You do need to run through a little bit of set-up for both them smart assistants and apps will need to be downloaded if not already.
Last but not least the buds come with their own charging case that comes with a flip lid that has a magnetic strip to keep the buds in the case when not in use. The case looks good its a little bigger than my Jabra 75t charge case but it’s not too large to fit in your pocket.
The case comes with the JBL logo on the front and just under the flip case you have 3x LED lights to indicate the battery status. Last but not least move around the rear and you have that USB-C charging port for when its time to recharge.
In terms of battery life, the JBL 230 NC provides 10 hours of battery in the buds with ANC off and this drops slightly to 8 hours. The charging case comes with 3 additional charges which mean 32 hours with ANC activated. When ANC is disabled the total battery life totals 40 hours. When its time to recharge the case takes 2 hours to go from 0% to 100% and the case also allows for a fast charge so 10 minutes of charge provides you 2 hours of playtime.
Connectivity
The JBL Tune 230NC connect using Bluetooth 5.2 and you can also connect them via the JBL companion app. When using the app you can also do the following:
- Check battery life
- Control ANC, Ambient mode and TalkThru modes.
- EQ adjustment or select EQ presets.
Audio Quality
The JBL Tune 230NC uses 6mm drivers which in our testing provides a bassy sound profile but that bass can be adjusted via the companion app which allows you to adjust the EQ meaning the sound won’t feel overpowered by the bass.
The 230NC has put the focus on the bass and there is no muddiness at them low or high volumes. This has meant the sound is good if you’re a podcast fan. When listening to a wide range of music you will notice the mids are nice and smooth meaning if your music is vocal and instrument heavy you are well looked after with your sound quality.
The JBL 230NC also use ANC and in testing, they have performed well regardless of where I used them they did well to reduce traffic noise or unwanted conversations on a train it won’t block all the noise if you want a better ANC you need to consider a more expensive option.
When you decide to let a little more of the outside sound in that is where the ambient and TalkThru modes come into play. The JBL app allows you to adjust how much outside sound you want. These modes do an excellent job of letting outside noise in without impacting the audio quality.
Last but not least the buds also have 4 microphones built-in that are used for calls and when I tested this feature they provided very clear call quality it not the best I have ever tested as some muffled sounds will occur but the built-in mics did perform well and when on calls I was heard quite clearly.
Verdict
The JBL 230 NC TWS offer a solid overall sound profile that is focused on the bass but does not become overbearing on the mids and highs. The touch controls are nice to use and easy to remember what everything does.
I also liked the IPX4 rating meaning you can use these buds when travelling to work and you get caught in the rain to work hard in the gym the buds will not be affected by any sweat.
The ANC works well to a degree they are not the best on the market but considering the cost, they reduce between 70/80% of the unwanted noise making them quite versatile as they also come with ambient mode and TalkThou modes for when you want outside noise in.
Overall the JBL 230NC deliver an experience that should satisfy the average user looking for an all-round option without breaking the bank.
Product Rating:
Design: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Conectivity: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Audio Quality: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Battery Life: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Value for Money: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Overall Rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars – 4.6 Stars
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