JBL Live Beam 3 actually wi-fi stereo (TWS) earphones arrived in India final month. The flagship TWS by the corporate additionally marked the primary time it launched an earphone with an built-in show within the nation. Whereas the JBL Tour Professional 2, the first-ever JBL TWS with a show, was launched in a number of worldwide markets in 2023, it didn’t debut in India.
However design will not be the one space of innovation these pair of earphones have witnessed. JBL has additionally launched the Lossless Digital Audio Codec (LDAC) assist in its TWS lineup for the primary time. The flagship earphones additionally characteristic lively noise cancellation (ANC), True Adaptive Noise Cancellation, and spatial audio assist. Additional, it additionally comes with an IP55 ranking for mud and splash resistance. The official worth of the JBL Stay Beam 3 is Rs. 24,999, however the JBL web site has listed it at Rs. 13,999.
Apparently, the design has additionally acquired combined reactions, with some calling it a gimmick and others discovering it to be purposeful. However that isn’t the one facet the place JBL has to excel. The TWS has additionally managed to get the eye of audiophiles with the inclusion of LDAC. So, are these options actually price it? Let’s get right down to the brass tacks.
JBL Stay Beam 3 Design and Options: Packs a Punch
- Charging case weight – 72g
- Colors – Black, Blue, and Silver
- Safety – IP55 (earbuds)
The JBL Stay Beam 3 comes with an in-ear kind issue and a curved stem. The earbuds have a matte end which seems to be and feels premium. The again of the stem is the one a part of the earbuds which has a shiny end across the JBL branding. The field comes with 4 sizes of silicone ear suggestions, and I used to be capable of finding those that match me snugly. The earbuds are pretty light-weight at 5g per earbud and I didn’t really feel the burden even after extended utilization of a number of hours at a stretch.
JBL Stay Beam 3 design
Coming to the case, you get a soapbox-style front-open case with a shimmery end. Nevertheless, regardless of that, it doesn’t appeal to any fingerprint smudges, to my shock. My evaluation unit arrived within the Blue color possibility, nonetheless, there are alternatives for Black and Silver as effectively. At 72g, the case is sort of heavy and it’ll want a while to get used to it. It’s also thicker than the standard TWS at 30.25mm, and it’ll barely stick out if you stash it in your pocket. That is one thing I am nonetheless not very snug with after three weeks of utilization.
The earbuds include gesture controls and also you solely should faucet the stem to set off the command. There are single-tap, double-tap, and tap-and-hold controls, which will be configured utilizing the companion app. Notably, you’ll be able to solely select controls in teams together with ambient sound management, quantity management, and playback management. There aren’t any choices to decide on particular features with particular actions.
Addressing the elephant within the room, the JBL Stay Beam 3 comes with a 1.45-inch contact display screen show. The show options a number of settings for the earbuds reminiscent of playback controls, quantity setting, ANC, spatial sound, equaliser, and extra. The sliding gesture will not be very touch-sensitive, and generally it takes a few tries to get the place you need to. This may be barely irritating since all of the setting choices are organized in a horizontally-scrolling view.
Now, the setting choices you get on the show are the identical that you simply get inside the companion app, so there’s a case to be made for duplication of options as an alternative of providing a novel use case. Nevertheless, in my expertise, the show is sort of helpful. The most typical utilization for me was utilizing the case to mess around with the equaliser and ANC since I had one other app opened on my smartphone. It saved me these treasured swipes to travel between the 2 apps.
But it surely goes a lot past that. I’ve the behavior of connecting my TWS with my sensible TV once I’m binge-watching a present late at night time. The case allowed me to make use of the equaliser and spatial audio and not using a fear. Even when paired with my work laptop computer, I by no means needed to fear about putting in the JBL Transportable app for PC to make use of the complete vary of options, which could have required me to get admin permission first. Briefly, if you’re somebody who would like a distant management on your earphones which isn’t hooked up to every other system, you will discover it helpful in the long term. Positively, not a celebration trick for me.
JBL Stay Beam 3: App and Specs
- Driver – 10mm dynamic drivers
- Companion app – JBL Headphones
- Gesture controls – Sure
The JBL Stay Beam 3 earphones are appropriate with the JBL Headphones app on each Android and iOS smartphones. It’s the fundamental hub for all of the sound mode customisation settings. After pairing the TWS, you will note the battery share of particular person earbuds in addition to the sensible charging case. Beneath, there are three sections — Basic, Audio, and Others.
JBL Headphones app
The Basic part accommodates Ambient Sound Management that allows you to activate and swap between ANC, Ambient Conscious (transparency mode), and Speak Via modes. The Speak Via mode is an enhanced transparency mode which might detect when the person is talking and mechanically pauses any media taking part in. Additionally, you will discover the customisation settings possibility for the charging case show. This allows you to change wallpapers, choose the characteristic shortcuts to point out, and even change the brightness.
A few fascinating options are Verify My Finest Match and Good Speak. The previous checks for any audio leaks and suggests in case the person wants a distinct silicone tip for a greater listening expertise. The latter is a part of the Speak Via characteristic that allows you to set the sensitivity of the speech detection. The choices are 5 seconds, 15 seconds, and 20 seconds. The person should communicate that many seconds repeatedly for the Speak Via mode to kick in. This can be a cool addition for many who usually communicate in fast sentences however don’t want their media playback to be affected. Moreover, this part additionally permits you to decide the gestures for the earbuds.
The Audio part options Excessive-Decision Audio mode which primarily activates the LDAC assist, the equaliser, spatial audio modes, and Personi-Fi. The latter is a brilliant characteristic that conducts a full sound profile check to seek out your optimum listening to ranges and modify the sound output to match that. In my expertise, the bass and mids felt punchier after turning on this characteristic.
Aside from this, additionally, you will discover choices for left and proper sound stability, a max quantity limiter, and a Non-public Name Mode that allows you to take out one earbud and use it as a microphone. Lastly, the Others part has choices to seek out the earbuds, energy saving mode and allows you to play stress-free sounds.
Coming to the specs, the JBL Stay Beam 3 options 10mm dynamic drivers, comes with JBL’s Spatial Sound know-how, and helps AAC, SBC, and LDAC codecs. The earbuds assist Bluetooth 5.3 whereas the charging case helps Bluetooth 5.1. It additionally helps Bluetooth multipoint connectivity and has an IP55 ranking for mud and splash resistance. Every earbud is backed by a 68mAh battery, whereas the charging case packs a 680mAh battery.
JBL Stay Beam 3: Efficiency and Battery Life
- Audio codecs – AAC, SBC, and LDAC
- Connectivity – Bluetooth 5.3 (earbuds); Bluetooth 5.1 (charging case)
- Battery – 68mAh (earbuds); 680mAh (charging case)
The JBL Stay Beam 3 comes with three ANC modes. In my expertise, the noise discount is above common however not one of the best on the market. If you happen to’re indoors, it is possible for you to to close out the sound of the AC, the ceiling fan or the TV within the subsequent room for many components, however a few of it nonetheless seeps in. Whenever you’re outside, the efficiency feels a bit iffy. The earphones will block many of the loud car noises and sound of individuals within the neighborhood, however you’ll nonetheless hear a few of it as low muffled noise. If you happen to’re after extra highly effective ANC earphones, you’ll be able to search for the Sennheiser Accentum True Wi-fi (review).
JBL Stay Beam 3 earbuds design
Coming to sound high quality, it’s tough to not be impressed with what JBL Stay Beam 3 provides. The Harman fine-tuning is clear and like most JBL merchandise, it leans bass-heavy. Whether or not I used to be listening to punchy beats in Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us or having fun with the guitar strumming in Lodge California by The Eagles, the listening expertise was elegant. I additionally explored vocal-heavy songs reminiscent of Bust Your Home windows by Jazmine Sullivan and Houdini by Eminem. Whereas I might have most well-liked the upper pitches to come out a bit extra, there was not lots to complain about.
Nevertheless, this was the efficiency over normal music streaming on Spotify and YouTube Music. I additionally explored the LDAC codec with lossless music from Tidal and the expertise is absolutely noticeable. One good instance is Swimming Swimming pools (Drank) by Kendrick Lamar. You possibly can hear the instrument separation between the lows and highs in addition to the enduring voice panning between the ears that allows you to really feel the whole soundstage.
However, I might add that regardless of the spectacular efficiency, these are TWS ultimately they usually will be unable to match the capabilities of a wired headphone in the identical worth section. However in the event you’re not a severe audiophile, this doesn’t apply to you anyway.
I am typically not a fan of the microphone high quality on TWS. The voice usually sounds synthetic and there may be at all times a concern of ambient noises being picked over your voice. JBL comes with a celebration trick the place it allows you to use one of many earbuds as a microphone (primarily audio output stops in that earbud) by unplugging it from the ear and holding it in entrance of your face. That works however, the efficiency is nothing price writing dwelling about. In indoor settings, you’ll be audible when on a name or in a gathering, however the efficiency is subpar in out of doors settings.
Lastly, I discovered the battery efficiency of the JBL Stay Beam 3 to be spectacular. The corporate claims 12 hours of playback time with ANC off and 10 hours with ANC on. In my expertise, I used to be constantly in a position to get between seven to eight hours of playtime with ANC and upwards of 9 hours with out ANC. The sound stage was constantly stored between 50 to 60 p.c. The charging time from zero to 100 within the case takes roughly about two hours. Notably, the charging case helps fast cost and wi-fi charging as effectively.
JBL Stay Beam 3: Verdict
After utilizing the JBL Stay Beam 3 for nearly a month, I really feel the distinctive promoting proposition (USP) of the system is choices. For the worth of Rs. 14,999, you are not getting probably the most highly effective ANC available in the market or probably the most balanced audio profile.
JBL Stay Beam 3
Nevertheless, what you do get is versatility. With the charging case show, you should utilize and customise the audio expertise of the earphones even when reaching the cell app is likely to be tough. You can too optimise it for spatial audio, Personi-Fi audio, or set it up for LDAC codec. You can too use the equaliser’s six presets to seek out the optimum audio zone or create your individual.
JBL has thrown every little thing on the earphones bar the kitchen sink. What that has achieved is create a flexible system that can let a big subset of customers create their very own means of customising the audio expertise and the utilization of the system.
Nevertheless, in the event you’re somebody who has a robust desire for the ANC, sound profile, or the thickness of the charging case, this might not be your best option for you.
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