JBL announces the Charge 5 speaker and much, much more

CES 2021 is all virtual, but that hasn’t stopped Harman from announcing many new JBL headsets. From over-ear headphones to noise-canceling real wireless earbuds, a lot has made it onto the virtual show floor. Let’s dive right in.

Just a warning, there are many products to discuss here.

JBL Tour series

The JBL Tour headsets are new additions to the JBL portfolio. The JBL Tour One and the JBL Tour Pro Plus were specially developed for business people and offer adaptive noise cancellation and other functions that frequent flyers will appreciate.

JBL Tour One

The JBL Tour One are over-ear ANC headphones with 40 mm drivers and a frequency range of up to 40 kHz. The headset supports Adaptive Ambient Aware and TalkThru listening modes and has a four-microphone array for clear voice transmission. You get 25 hours of playback time with both noise cancellation and Bluetooth turned on. However, disabling noise cancellation doubles this time. It is charged via USB-C and supports fast charging: 10 minutes of charging time ensures two hours of playback.

You can use the JBL headphones app to adjust the sound profile and certain settings such as SilentNow and “My Alarm” for travel. It is fully compatible with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant. Thanks to proximity sensors in the ear cups, there is also an automatic play / pause function.

JBL Tour Pro Plus

If you already own a pair of over-ears, the Tour Pro Plus might be more your style. Much more discreet and portable than the Tour One, these true wireless earbuds have nice features like Adaptive Noise Canceling, Adaptive Ambient Aware, and TalkThru modes. The Tour Pro Plus also supports Smart Audio and Video, whereby the sound is automatically optimized depending on the content (e.g. music or movie playback).

These have an IPX4 rating and offer six hours of playback on a single charge. Just like the Tour One-Over-Ears, you can extend that number to eight hours of playback by turning off the noise-canceling feature. Allegedly, the earphones have an hour of battery life in just 10 minutes.

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The Tour One and Tour Pro Plus will both be available on May 30, 2021 and will retail for $ 299 and $ 199, respectively.

JBL Reflect Mini NC TWS

The second pair of true wireless earbuds is the JBL Reflect Mini NC TWS. These are similar to last year’s JBL Live 300 TWS and have a standard earphone design. The “NC” in the model name indicates the noise cancellation. Like the Tour One headphones, these earphones support auto play / pause.

These have a discreet charging case that you can simply slip or toss into your gym bag. Plus, the buds have an IPX7 rating so you can soak them for up to 30 minutes without damaging them. They’re also compatible with Google Fast Pair, so you don’t have to go through Bluetooth settings when pairing with Android.

You can expect about seven hours of constant playback, and the USB-C case has a 14-hour reserve battery. These will be available this spring and will retail for $ 149. The JBL Reflect Mini NC is supplied in blue, white or black.

JBL is expanding its live range of earphones

The JBL Live series is full of consumer-friendly headsets for everyday use. This is a very popular line of JBL headsets, and the expansion brings welcome updates to popular products.

JBL Live Pro Plus

JBL has also added four new headphones to its Live range, the first of which is the JBL Live Pro Plus. These true wireless earbuds have adaptive noise cancellation. They have touch controls that you can use to adjust the playback and are waterproof to IPX4. It even supports hands-free voice assistance for Alexa and Google Assistant.

The USB-C housing is Qi-compatible for wireless charging and offers an additional 21 hours of gaming time on the go. The earbuds last six hours on a single charge with the ANC activated. These will be available March 14th for $ 179. You can pick them up in black, white, pink and beige.

JBL Live Free NC Plus

The second pair of Live True Wireless earbuds announced is the JBL Live Free NC Plus. These are IPX7 waterproof with up to seven hours of constant playback. The Qi-compatible charging case adds two more full charges and uses USB-C for charging. Thanks to the proximity sensors and touch controls for playback and access to intelligent assistants integrated in the buds, they also have functions for automatic playback / pause.

The JBL Live Free NC Plus will be available in retail outlets March 14th for $ 149.

JBL Live 660NC

For those who prefer over-ears, the JBL Live 660NC may be more of the one for you. These support voice access to your Smart Assistant. They also have bluetooth multipoint that allows you to connect the headset to two devices at the same time. This is a great feature for remote workers who like to have an ear for their phones and laptops.

Like many other JBL headsets, these are noise-canceling and have the same design as the last generation Live 650BTNC. You can enjoy 40 hours of constant playback with ANC on and 50 hours with ANC off. That’s pretty impressive considering the Tour One only lasts up to 25 hours with ANC on. The Speed ​​Charge technology provides four hours of gaming time after only 10 minutes of charging the headset.

These will be available March 14th and cost $ 199. You can pick them up in black, blue and also white.

JBL Live 460NC

JBL also threw a pair of on-ears into the mix with the JBL Live 460NC. These all have the same specifications as the Live 660NC, but in a smaller, more compact design. The quick charge efficiency is even identical to that of the larger Live 660NC. The only difference is that instead of 40 hours of ANC, you should be able to get 50 hours of constant playback, which is impressive. These also have hotword recognition to activate your favorite assistant and an automatic stop function.

You can pick up the JBL Live 460NC On-Ears for yourself on March 14 for $ 129 in black, blue, white, and rose.

Connected: Find more CES 2021 announcements here

JBL is expanding its budget headset portfolio to include additional Tune headsets

The JBL Tune headsets are the most economical and extremely popular with budget buyers. JBL knows it’s wise to reassure money-conscious buyers and has added new features to affordable headphones.

JBL Tune 660NC and Tune 510BT

JBL has updated its Tune range with a few new options. The Tune 660NC and Tune 510BT are two new on-ear models that are designed for stronger bass reproduction. They have Bluetooth 5.0 and Bluetooth Multipoint.

The biggest difference between the two that you should know about is that the Tune 660NC has active noise cancellation and slightly longer battery life. You can get up to 55 hours of constant playback (44 with ANC) with the headset compared to the non-ANC Tune 510BT and its 40 hours of battery life. Both headsets support Speed ​​Charge. After five minutes of charging, you have two hours of media playback time.

The Tune 510BT is priced at $ 49 while the Tune 660NC is priced at $ 99. Both are available in three colors: black, white and blue.

JBL Tune 215BT and Tune 125BT

If you’re still a fan of traditional Bluetooth earbuds and don’t want to grapple with the hassle of real WiFi, check out the Tune 215BT and Tune 125BT. These are standard bluetooth earbuds with an old fashioned cable connecting the two.

They are also matched with JBL Pure Bass Sound and have Bluetooth 5.0. Both models have a tangle-free cable, 16 hours of constant playback, and a speed charge feature that lets you play an hour in just 10 minutes. Unfortunately, none of the models are sweat resistant, so they aren’t great options for the gym. The biggest difference between the two is that the 125BT model has magnetic earbuds for cable management, but the 215BT doesn’t.

Both models are available in black and white and will be available on March 14 for $ 39.

The JBL Charge 5 brings welcome improvements

The JBL Charge series is one of the most popular models in the world of bluetooth speakers, and the Charge 5 isn’t reinventing the wheel. Aside from a slightly different look, it seems like a minor upgrade over the previous JBL Charge 4. It has a nice fabric cover and a dust and water repellent IP67 construction. A built-in 7,500 mAH battery offers constant playback for up to 20 hours and also serves as a battery to charge your devices.

It comes with Bluetooth 5.1 and has the JBL PartyBoost function so you can connect it to other compatible JBL speakers. It is available in black, blue, gray, red, teal, and squad. It will retail for $ 179 in April.

Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 7

For everyone looking for a premium home speaker, the Onyx Studio 7 is just the thing. This has a sleek new design and useful features like 25mm twin tweeters and an aluminum handle to move it from room to room. It has about eight hours of constant playback and can be paired with a second Onyx Studio 7 speaker for true stereo sound.

You can pick one up in April for $ 299. This will be available in black, blue and gray.