Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST JBL Live 670NC review for those who are wondering whether they are WORTH IT in 2026. I’ll also be comparing the JBL Live 670NC vs Live 770NC, Sony WH-CH720N, Sony WH-CH520, JBL Tune 770NC, JBL Tune 720BT, Beats Solo 4, and more!
I’m going to do my best to share whether these headphones are worth it, and ideally who these headphones are for. I bought these headphones with my own money, and was NOT sponsored, paid, or received a free copy for review. All thoughts are my own.
I’ll be sharing my critical opinion with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, audio engineer, and tech journalist. I also run the RecordingNow YouTube channel with over 25,000+ subscribers and over 5 million views.
Let’s dive right in!
JBL Live 670NC Headphones Review in Short
If you can find it on sale, the JBL Live 670NC is arguably the best on-ear wireless headphone we’ve tested to date, due to its strong build quality and having active noise cancelling at this price. Competes with JBL Live 770NC, Sony WH-CH720N, Sony WH-CH520, JBL Tune 770NC, Beats Solo 4, Soundcore Space One, Anker Soundcore Q20i, and Anker Soundcore Life Q30.
Pros and Cons
- Active Noise Cancelling at this price
- Good build quality
- 50 hour battery life
- Incredible value on sale
- Slightly uncomfortable on-ear design
- Muddy stock tuning
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Sound Quality
Full Sound Quality Test
I’ve tested many JBL headphones at this point, and have typically found their sound quality to be above their respective pricetags.
Now the JBL Live 670NC is a bit unique due to its on-ear design, which usually results in more limitations when it comes to sound quality (and comfort).
Upon first listen of the 670NC, the stock sound profile is clearly bass-forward and consumer-friendly, which is typical of JBL’s “house sound”.
The stock tuning does remind me of the other JBL Live and Tune series headphones, but I think it doesn’t work quite as well as it does with the full-sized over-ears like the Live 770NC.
Because of the cramped on-ear design, the bass ends up overpowering a bit of the rest of the frequencies, leading to a slightly muddy sound.
That said, the sound quality itself is not bad, and fairly decent for the price.
Overall, these are primarily enjoyable as a “fun” bass-heavy headphone for modern genres, but don’t expect a balanced sound.
Sound Quality Comparisons
vs JBL Live 770NC
The JBL Live 770NC is just the larger over-ear parallel to the smaller on-ear Live 670NC.
They do share the same 40mm drivers, but due to the superior acoustics and earcup space of the Live 770NC, I much prefer the sound quality over the Live 670NC.
Frankly, the bass response and drivers may be too large for the 670NC’s cramped earcup space, but they sit right at home in the 770NC.
vs Sony WH-CH720N
The Sony WH-CH720N is a popular similarly-priced headphone that is a larger over-ear design like the Live 770NC mentioned above.
When it comes to the stock sound profile, the Sony WH-CH720N is a lot more vocal-forward with leaner bass than the very bass-heavy and muddier JBL Live 670NC.
I much prefer the tuning of the Sony that sounds more detailed and airy, especially for vocals and instruments.
The Live 670NC has more impactful bass and sub-bass, at the expense of the vocals.
vs Sony WH-CH520
The Sony WH-CH520 is also an on-ear design like the JBL Live 670NC, but it lacks active noise cancelling and is typically cheaper with lesser build quality.
But when it comes to sound, these two are pretty close.
The Sony WH-CH520 has a more neutral and mid-forward tuning, while the JBL is more bass-heavy.
I prefer the tuning on the Sony, but the overall sound quality is a bit higher on the JBL.
Sound Quality Score: 7.4 out of 10
Comfort
The JBL Live 670NC is lighter in weight for the wireless noise cancelling headphones as weighed on my scale:
- Sony WH-CH520 – 144.0 grams
- JBL Tune 520BT – 158.6 grams
- Sony WH-CH720N – 186.4 grams
- Beats Solo 4 – 217.6 grams
- JBL Live 670NC – 218.1 grams
- Sennheiser Accentum – 223.0 grams
- JBL Tune 720BT – 223.2 grams
- Sennheiser Accentum Plus – 225.8 grams
- JBL Tune 770NC – 227.1 grams
- Skullcandy Hesh ANC – 229.6 grams
- Bose QuietComfort – 236.1 grams
- Sony WH-1000XM5 – 245.9 grams
- Anker Soundcore Q20i – 249.3 grams
- Sony WH-1000XM4 – 251.6 grams
- JBL Live 770NC – 254.5 grams
- Anker Soundcore Space One – 260.6 grams
- Anker Soundcore Space 2 – 262.8 grams
- Anker Soundcore Life Q30 – 264.6 grams
- Beats Studio Pro – 268.6 grams
- CMF Headphone Pro – 280.8 grams
- Anker Soundcore Space One Pro – 286.3 grams
- Anker Soundcore Space Q45 – 297.5 grams
- Nothing Headphone (a) – 311.4 grams
- Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 – 332.3 grams
The JBL Live 670NC is lighter than most headphones due to being a smaller on-ear design.
Because of that design, the JBL is less comfortable than the typical over-ear that doesn’t apply any pressure to the ears.
The clamping force is fairly firm as well, so you can definitely feel the pressure.
On the plus side, the earpad cushions are pretty plush which helps to offset some of that pressure.
And since they’re pretty light, the top of head pressure is minimal.
Overall, I find most over-ear headphones to be more comfortable.
Comfort Score: 6.0 out of 10
Features / Battery Life / Build Quality / Practicality
Features
The JBL Live 670NC was originally released in August 2023, so they have many modern wireless headphone features:
- Built-in microphones for taking calls
- Bluetooth 5.3
- Multi-point connection
- 10-band Custom EQ
- On-head wear detection
- Active Noise Cancelling
- Transparency Mode
- Foldable design
- Carrying case bag
- Stereo cable
Battery Life
The JBL Live 670NC has 50 hours of battery life with ANC on, and 65 hours with ANC off.
- Nothing Headphone (a) – 75 hours (ANC on), 135 hours (ANC off)
- Marshall Monitor III – 70 hours (ANC on), 100 hours (ANC off)
- Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 SE – 60 hours (ANC on), 100 hours (ANC off)
- Sennheiser HDB 630 – 60 hours
- Sennheiser Momentum 4 – 60 hours
- Sennheiser Momentum 5 – 57 hours
- Anker Soundcore Space 2 – 50 hours (ANC on), 70 hours (ANC off)
- Anker Soundcore Space Q45 – 50 hours (ANC on), 65 hours (ANC off)
- JBL Live 770NC – 50 hours (ANC on), 65 hours (ANC off)
- JBL Live 670NC – 50 hours (ANC on), 65 hours (ANC off)
- JBL Tune 520BT – 57 hours (no ANC included)
- Sennheiser Accentum Plus – 50 hours (ANC on)
- Sennheiser Accentum – 50 hours (ANC on)
- Beats Solo 4 – 50 hours (no ANC included)
- JBL Tune 770NC – 44 hours (ANC on), 70 hours (ANC off)
- Anker Soundcore Space One Pro – 40 hours (ANC on), 60 hours (ANC off)
- Anker Soundcore Space One – 40 hours (ANC on), 55 hours (ANC off)
- Nothing Headphone (1) – 35 hours (ANC on), 80 hours (ANC off)
- Sony WH-1000XM6 – 30 hours (ANC on), 40 hours (ANC off)
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) – 30 hours
- Sony WH-1000XM5 and WH-1000XM4 – 30 hours
- Sonos Ace – 30 hours
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra (1st Gen) – 24 hours
- Apple AirPods Max 1 and 2 – 20 hours
In my testing, I found this rating to be accurate.
50 hours with ANC on and 65 hours with ANC off is well above average for the class.
There is a fast-charge feature that adds 4 hours with just 5 minutes of charging time.
Build Quality
The JBL Live 670NC actually has really good build quality for an on-ear headphone, most of which are typically much more plasticky.
The metal headband sliders stick out as more premium than most on-ears I’ve tested.
There is also a mix of materials like fabric on the headband, and fairly plush earpad cushions.
Practicality
The JBL Live 670NC is a solid daily driver due to its smaller on-ear size, foldable design, good build quality, and active noise cancelling performance.
There are more comfortable and better noise cancelling options from the over-ears, but those are also larger and heavier.
Features / Battery Life / Build Quality / Practicality Score: 9.0 out of 10
Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) Performance
The JBL Live 670NC is actually one of the few on-ear headphones I’ve tested that include active noise cancelling and transparency mode.
Most on-ears are cheaper with zero active noise cancelling, relying on just passive noise blocking from the on-ear design.
I find the Live 670NC’s noise cancelling to be slightly below average, due to having less of a physical seal versus over-ear headphones like the Live 770NC.
That said, even below average active noise cancelling is world’s better than no ANC at all.
Noise Cancelling Performance Score: 6.5 out of 10
Value
The JBL Live 670NC retails at $129.95 USD, but is currently around $50 to $100 market price brand new.
If you can find these on sale closer to that $50 price point, then these are an absolute steal for what you’re getting.
Most $50 headphones don’t have this level of build quality or active noise cancelling features.
As we get closer to that full retail price above $100, then the Live 670NC is less of a steal, but still a solid value.
Value Score: 8.0 out of 10
Overall Scoring Breakdown
Sound Quality (50% of score): 7.4 / 10
Comfort (10% of score): 6.0 / 10
Features / Battery Life / Build Quality / Practicality (10% of score): 9.0 / 10
Noise Cancelling (20% of score): 6.5 / 10
Value (10% of score): 8.0 / 10
Overall: 7.30 / 10
Is the JBL Live 670NC Worth it?
The JBL Live 670NC is arguably the best overall on-ear headphone we’ve tested to date, and I can’t believe they can be found for as low as $50 on sale.
I’ve tested many $50 budget headphones, and they typically don’t come with active noise cancelling, not to mention have really cheap build quality.
I will say that the on-ear design is more limited when it comes to comfort and sound quality versus the full-sized over-ears like the JBL Live 770NC, but that headphone also costs around twice as much.
For an on-ear headphone, I prefer the JBL Live 670NC over the likes of the Beats Solo 4, Sony WH-CH520, and JBL Tune 520BT.
Some very strong alternatives in this class of wireless headphones are:
- JBL Live 770NC
- Sony WH-CH720N
- Sony WH-CH520
- JBL Tune 720BT
- JBL Tune 770NC
- Beats Solo 4
- Anker Soundcore Q20i
- Beats Studio Pro
- CMF Headphone Pro
- Anker Soundcore Space Q45
- Anker Soundcore Space One
- Sennheiser Accentum
- Anker Soundcore Space 2
- Sony ULT Wear
- Anker Soundcore Space One Pro
- CMF Headphone Pro
- Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2
I highly recommend you check those out next!
Order HERE for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Save money with RENEWED!
Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂
How We Tested and Our Methodology
RecordingNOW.com is a 100% independent publisher with over 10 years of experience testing and reviewing consumer electronics and headphones.
We currently purchase the products we test with our own money, and are not paid by any company or manufacturer to influence our opinions or decisions.
After purchasing the product, we conduct up to hundreds of hours of detailed hands-on testing in a controlled, acoustically-treated environment.
ODi Productions is our resident expert and author of this article, with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, tech journalist, and audiophile.
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