JBL Tune 500BT: 2+ Years Later
A part of my daytime job requires editing videos. I edit at least two videos per week. I am not a professional editor, but I help the in-house production team with basic edits because editing those videos require a sound knowledge of theology and a pastoral perspective, although I don’t know the head or tail of Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro. Anyway, I wasn’t happy with the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones provided by the studio because my ears are extremely sensitive to infections, and sharing headphones will lead to increased appointments with my doctor. Then the aforesaid is hardwired and I hate hardwired stuff because I feel like a cat on a leash!
Therefore, after much research and reading thousands of reviews I finally settled for the Bluetooth enabled JBL Tune 500BT. It was affordable and within my budget. I am clueless about audio technologies but who cares. It’s JBL after all. A brand with a reputation. The reviews were promising. The blog posts were enticing. The importer is a reputed business establishment in Sri Lanka. Hence on 19th December 2019, I ordered the item online which arrived after two weeks. Today’s blog post is about what I think of that pair of JBL Tune 500BT now, 2+ years later. [In pic: My worn-out pair of JBL Tune 500 BT On-Ear Headphones. Credit: SR Production]
Note: I am not a professional audio engineer. This post is not a review of the JBL Tune 500BT. I am merely sharing my observations and you might have a different opinion.
Features of the JBL Tune 500BT
It’s available in four different colors but who cares? I am not looking forward to listening to music while dressing up babe dolls. So, I settled for black. It doesn’t have a ton of features, but I liked what it has. 16 hours of battery life (if you are in a hurry charge for 5 minutes and use for 2 hours), multipoint connections (auto-switch from Final Cut Pro on an iMac Pro to an incoming call on my Oppo A12) It’s got a few buttons on the right ear cup (on/off, volume +/-, and call answer and play/pause for movies and music). Those are the pros.
Performance of the JBL Tune 500BT
That pair of JBL Tune 500BT didn’t take much longer to disappoint me. The battery life is still good, the multipoint connections are working as intended, the buttons are sensitive but what is a pair of headphones unless it has an acceptable level of audio quality. The merchant advertised noise cancellation but by the size of the earcups, you can tell it doesn’t have any noise cancellation at all. What more? According to JBL, these headphones feature “JBL Pure Bass Sound” – maybe they are talking about a different kind of bass sound because the JBL Tune 500BT doesn’t have any bass!
Durability of the JBL Tune 500BT
By now you might dismiss this post saying I have been a victim of a counterfeit product. I know I wasn’t because I bought from a reputed merchant, and I have all the documentation that proves what I bought was a genuine JBL product. Unfortunately, in 2021 two years later the right side stopped working and I had to fix the internal connectors according to the instructions in this YouTube video. It worked but then the left side stopped working. So I opened up the left ear cup and fixed the internal connectors. Not cool when you must waste time fixing stuff instead of using them. It’s simply frustrating!
Wrap Up
After thoroughly testing the JBL Tune 500BT on-ear headphones, I must conclude that they are not worth the LKR 13,000 (approximately 65 US Dollars) I spent. The sound quality is average at best, the build feels cheap, and the overall user experience did not live up to the expectations set by the brand. What added to the disappointment was the two-week wait for international shipping to Sri Lanka, during which I had high hopes for the product. Unfortunately, those hopes quickly faded after a few days of use. The headphones did not deliver the level of performance or comfort that a product in this price range should offer.
Despite the shortcomings, I continue using them simply because I cannot afford a replacement at the moment. However, I have learned my lesson the hard way. If I decide to purchase headphones again in the future, I will certainly avoid the JBL Tune 500BT model. More importantly, I plan to consult our in-house audio engineering expert before making any new investment. Relying on professional advice will help me choose a product that offers better sound quality, durability, and value for money. Audio gear is not something to be chosen casually, especially when good sound matters. Taking the time to research and seek expert opinions could save both money and frustration. Next time, I’ll prioritize performance and quality over brand recognition or marketing hype.(Don’t miss my previous post titled, “Rules of Thumb for Thumb Drives and Flash Drives”)
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