Hands-on review: JBL Tune 770NC

The new JBL Tune 770NC is an affordable option for those in the market looking for low-maintenance noise-cancelling headphones.

With a lightweight foldable design and fantastic battery life, the JBL Tune 700NC are the ideal accessory for students or office workers who are after versatility when it comes to their choice of headphones. Available for under NZD $200, just how good are JBL's latest mid-range offerings?

First impressions and setup
The Tune 770NC is slim and lightweight and has a no-frills design. Available in blue, black, or white, they look just as you'd expect a pair of headphones to and don't particularly stand out from the crowd. 

Each ear has a padded leather finish, so they're relatively comfortable to wear even over longer periods of time. This is aided further by more leather on the underside of the headband. They're perhaps not quite as easy to wear as more premium products, but this is to be expected.

On the underside of the right earcup sit a handful of physical buttons, including the 'action button', which answers or ends your calls, plays or pauses your songs, and activates your voice assistant should you choose to use one. There is also a dedicated button to toggle active noise cancellation (ANC).

Refreshingly, there is an auxiliary port to connect to devices the old-fashioned way, and it's nice that JBL includes a detachable audio cable in the box. 

At the top of the right earcup is where the Tune 770NC headphones are charged via the included USB-C cable. A full charge takes around two hours, but you can get three hours of battery life with just a five-minute charge. When fully charged, you have up to 70 hours of music playtime at your disposal with ANC off or an impressive 44 hours with it switched on.

Connecting the Tune 770NC headphones to your device is a piece of cake, and once done, you can customise your settings easily via the JBL Headphones app. You can also connect up to two devices at once – perfect for students and professionals alike.

Performance
For the price, the Tune 770NC perform impressively - listening to a variety of different songs, everything sounds crisp and clear. Fine-tuning to the audio experience can be done via the equaliser in the app, where you can choose between presets like 'Jazz' and 'Extreme Bass' or customise your own settings. The company is famed for the 'JBL Pure Bass' sound, and it certainly comes through with these headphones.

Another surprise the Tune 770NC throws at us is just how good the ANC is – via the app, you can choose between three Ambient Sound Control modes: 'Noise Cancelling', 'Ambient Aware', and 'TalkThru', which allows you to hear how your voice so you can have a clear conversation with one. All three modes performed really well, to the point it's hard to believe these headphones retail for less than NZD $200.

The multi-point connection feature (i.e., connecting to more than one device) also worked great – it's handy being able to quickly switch between laptop audio and your phone to take a call. 

Verdict 
The JBL Tune 770NC headphones are fantastic value for money and offer a range of features that will suit those who want a good audio experience without breaking the bank. The slim design makes them easy to fold up and throw in your bag, and you can forget about them between uses.

The battery life is enough to only have to charge the headphones once or twice a week if you're not a heavy user, and the quick charge feature is helpful to fall back on if you're ever caught short. 

Students and young professionals will certainly see the benefits of purchasing the JBL Tune 770NC, and it would be a wise choice to do so.