JBL Tune 230NC The price in India is Rs 5,999. It promises ANC, app support and good battery life. The price has also been kept very reasonable. Does OnePlus Buds Z2 and Oppo ENCO Air 2 Pro make it as another competition in this segment? Learn in this review.
JBL Tune 230NC design and features
The main difference between Tune 130NC and Tune 230NC is that the latter has microphones on the earpiece stem. Apart from this, earpiece status indicators have also been provided.
JBL Tune 230NC can be seen as expected design elements. As is expected from JBL- charging cases and big logo on the earpiece, colors are seen in earptips and solid industrial looks and feelings. Viabled premiums may not be seen but they do not look cheap. I find it comfortable to wear it during a long music session.
Its charging case is neither bigger and neither small. With a wallet or smartphone, it can come in your pocket comfortably. Three indicator lights have been given on the charging case to show the battery level. The USB Type C port has been given for charging at the back. The sales package has three pairs of silicone year tips for USB Type A to Type C Charging Cable and Customizable Fit.
Their indicator lights are found on the earpiece, which shows connectivity status. Along with this, a touch sensitive zone is also given on their stem. The JBL Tune 230NC has been rated IPX4 for water rasistance. Two microphones have been provided on each earpiece for ANC and voice calls. One thing may disappoint here that the wear detection feature is not provided in them so that music can be played or posted by itself if the device is worn or unloaded.
JBL Tune 230NC App and Specifications
The JBL Tune 230NC supports the JBL Headphones App which is available on Android and iOS. Through this, touch control can be changed and selected from different presets. It can be switched to mode in ANC and Ambient Sounds, the battery level can be seen on the earpiece and charging case.
Its control customization is not as smooth as I like. In the app, you get a chance to choose from different control sets like playback, ANC and transparency mode, volume, voice assistant control. You can choose a set for each earpiece, but controls are fixed and cannot be customized inside the set. The tap gesture was quite complicated for me. Many times wearing earpiece used to get a single tap gesture.
You can turn on its voice assistant on your phone or Alexa, for which you have to setup separately. Find My BUDS feature works well which is useful when your earpieces are lost somewhere in the house. It gives a lot of loud sound that can find out where the earpieces are kept.
JBL Tune 230NC has 6mm dynamic drivers. Their frequency response range is 20-20,000Hz. For connectivity, they come with Bluetooth 5.2 which is supported by SBC and AAC codec. The headset also supports ANC and Google Fast Pair.
JBL Tune 230NC performance and battery life
In terms of ANC and Performance, JBL Tune 230NC headsets compete with brands like OnePlus and Oppo. It has good sound and active noise cancellation. I heard MK.GEE’s over here. Sonic Signature was quite balanced and comfortable. The track of the track was quite soft, the sound clean in mid and high was coming. Therefore such tracks can be heard on it for hours. Due to its enjoyable sound, I could easily increase the volume in places like my home or office. The sound stage experiment was quite good. It was quite easy to feel directions and other elements in Arambol 2 track of Astropilot. The deep base of this track was quite good and sweet. It never looked weak or insufficient. Like OnePlus Buds Z2, it is not sound aggressive. Users who seek base may seem to be reduced. Nevertheless, the sound feels clean, sustained and well tuned.
The active noise cancellation of JBL Tune 230NC is quite basic, which is seen with every affordable True wireless headset. Noise was coming very low when used in indoor. But it was not as effective in opening outdoor or home window.
AC’s ‘Hamm’ sound, noise of sealing fan and noise of urban environment etc. could be heard. However, the sound experience improved with the help of ANC. Heyer Through Mode showed the texture and the sound was non -necessarily amplified. I used earphones only for small conversations.
Connectivity and call quality in the wearable are good. Earphones up to 4 meters from the source device, maintain stable connections. I had no problem during calling in indoor. There was no problem during calling even in outdoor to increase volume.
The battery life of JBL Tune 230NC is very good. The earpieces on ANC and medium volumes run 6 hours 30 minutes. The charging case gives three charge bicycles and the total run time is 26 hours. The earpiece takes 2 hours to charge. Starting from zero, you get 2 hours backup in a 10 -minute charge.
Verdict
JBL budget is not known for TWS products, but with the active noise cancellation of Tune 230NC it collides with brands like OnePlus, Oppo and Realme. AnC performance is simple and sound balanced. The connectivity of the app is good and the battery life is also very good. The device is also comfortable in wearing. If your budget is less than Rs 6000, then you can see this headset.
There is no doubt that the competition is strong in this segment and already there are options like OnePlus Buds Z2 or more affordable JBL Tune 130NC Is also in the list. If you look at the overall experience, you will not be disappointed with them.