JBL Tune 680NC Review – Trusted Reviews

Introduction

The JBL Tune 680NC refresh the brand’s longstanding affordable noise-cancelling headphones and packs them to the brim with features.

Against some of its older models, there’s a new design, adaptive active noise cancellation, multipoint Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity and a battery boost up to 76 hours of runtime, the same as you’ll find on the JBL Tune 780NC.

The two cans are identical in features, save for their design and drivers, although by opting for on-ears, JBL is charging £89.99 / $109.95. That puts these more in the mid-range for noise-cancelling cans, an area we’ve seen gain some momentum with competing choices such as the Soundcore Space 2, the Sony WH-CH720N and the Final UX3000.

That’s some stiff competition to say the least – to see whether JBL can come out on top as some of the best noise-cancelling headphones we’ve tested, I’ve been putting the Tune 680NC through their paces.

Design

• Lightweight, on-ear design
• Convenient physical controls
• Decent-feeling plastic chassis

For the Tune 680NCs, JBL has opted for a similar overall design to the more affordable Tune 530BT, sticking with an on-ear design, rather than the over-ear that’s prevalent among the competition.

Generally speaking, I’ve never been the biggest fan of on-ear headphones, but these JBL ones are light enough at just 161g to mean they aren’t fatiguing to wear for extended periods. The clamping force is on the tighter side out of the box, though, and the padding on the headband and earcups is just okay.

There isn’t any creaking from the plastic chassis, and it’s clear there has been some more thought that has gone into the fit and finish of the Tune 680NCs over the cheaper JBL on-ears, with better quality materials that are less scratchy.

As for portability, these JBL cans surprisingly don’t come with a case, but fold flat, and the earcups can fold into the chassis to a degree, although not to the point it slims down their overall profile.

Controls are all contained on the right earcup, where you’ll find a USB-C port for charging, a power button, Bluetooth pairing button, ANC toggle and volume controls. There isn’t a 3.5mm jack for wired listening, though.

JBL offers the Tune 680NC in four colours, with a black finish plus beige, white, and purple for added splashes of colour.

Features

• Bluetooth 6.0 with Multipoint
• More basic codec support
• Excellent battery life and solid noise cancellation

JBL has maintained feature parity with the higher-end variants of its revitalised headphone line-up with the Tune 680NC for connectivity, meaning it ups the ante to Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity from the older Bluetooth 5.3 standard found on other headphones.

As with other iterations of the Bluetooth ‘standard’, the latest 6.0 variant adds niceties such as lower latency, longer range, and theoretically better sound quality thanks to the new LC3+ codec. It is only in its infancy, as there’s also only a handful of phones and devices that support it, too – my Honor Magic V3 isn’t one of them.

There is also multipoint connectivity, and the Tune 680NC can connect up to two devices at once. I didn’t have any issues pairing it to my phone and my MacBook Pro, and switching between the two. Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair handle initial pairing on Android and Windows, respectively, too.

Codec support is more basic with AAC and SBC, and there is support for Bluetooth LE audio to unlock LC3, too. You’ll have to pay more to get aptX or LDAC, as these JBL ones don’t support it.

There is app support, with JBL’s Headphones app unlocking more of the functionality for these cans. Here, you can fiddle around with EQ presets or set up a custom one, enable Bluetooth LE audio, adaptive noise cancellation, JBL’s Spatial Audio settings, sort out firmware updates and more besides. It’s clean and easy to use.

As for battery life, JBL quotes the Tune 680NC to last for up to 76 hours on a charge without ANC and up to 50 hours with ANC enabled, which is solid for such an affordable set of cans. In my use, I only had to charge them up once after an intensive week’s use during work hours and afterwards for chatting to friends over Discord and WhatsApp.

If you are caught in a pinch, then a five-minute quick charge gives you five hours of playback, and a full charge will take around two hours via USB-C. You will need to provide your own cable, though, as JBL doesn’t give you one in the box. Handily, the battery is replaceable, which is a nice touch for sustainability.

Speaking of noise cancellation, JBL has employed an adaptive variant that samples the environment around you and adjusts the level of cancellation in real time. Generally speaking, it’s adequate for most commuting workloads, dulling down low-end frequencies of a Thameslink or Tube train and filtering out voices. Higher-pitched frequencies and wind noise are less adequately removed.

Calls are handled by a pair of beamforming microphones, with each earcup carrying one microphone. It does a decent job of suppressing unwanted noise in quieter environments, although busier ones can be a little tricky.

Sound Quality

• Warm, bass-centric tone
• Surprisingly forward mid-range
• Treble feels a little smoothed over

The drivers inside the Tune 680NC are the same as you’ll find in the Tune 530BTs, meaning they’re 33mm dynamic drivers tuned with JBL’s signature PureBass sound tuning. In my experience, this means a generous helping of atmospheric low-end with good extension .

For instance, in Rush’s YYZ, the track’s relentless bass had good feel and weight. These JBL cans use the Studio EQ by default, which almost accentuated the bass a little too much for me, and it did encroach a little on the guitar work and drums.

That said, vocals and other mid-range elements were pleasantly forward and detailed in the mix, be it in the case of James Taylor’s October Road or in Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled from Porcupine Tree. In the case of the latter, Steven Wilson’s vocals and the acoustic guitar riff had good body and detail retrieval.

I felt the treble of the Tune 680NC was inoffensive, tending to lack the bite or punch I’d have liked. With On The Other Side from The Strokes, the incessant cymbal hits throughout the track’s duration felt a little lacking in attack.

A listen to Brand X’s Not Good Enough, See Me! revealed the soundstage here to be more basic in its feel than other cans at this price, with it having a narrower feel – it’s perhaps to be expected for more affordable closed-back cans, but isn’t always the case.

Should you buy it?

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