They also take forever to die on you and feel pretty comfortable resting atop your head.
If you’re okay with a below-average build and ANC that lacks power, it’s worth considering these.
Pros
Cons
Meet JBLs newest ANC headphones, the Live 770NC, which were announced atCES 2024.
Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo
Priced at $200, these fall in the midrange category.
Unfortunately, they dont act like midrange headphones on various fronts.
They look and feel much cheaper, and the ANC underperforms, too.
Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo
What youre currently getting is the absolute bare bones.
You get pretty bland, matte plastic earcups.
These connect to the headband via a metal extender, my least favorite part of this machine.
Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo
Its thin and sharp, and it feels cheap.
At least the extenders tactile.
Apparently, people really like that.
Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo
I have to tell my friend about this.
There are four colorwaysBlack, White, Blue, and Sandstormto give them a bit of personality.
But an interesting color wont be able to distract you from the flimsy body for long enough.
Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo
It is coated in good-looking, textured fabric.
Not having leather on the headband meant it never pulled at my hair or got greasy when I sweat.
At 256 grams, they dont weigh you down, too.
Compare this to Apples hefty 384-gramsAirPods Maxfor some context.
The buttons arent firm enough to stay in their place when used.
They constantly move around and create an annoying sound.
The entire earcup part seems like an afterthought, but Ive complained about that enough.
Navigation-wise, I like the controls.
After the usual initial missteps, I barely ran into any.
The right earcup handles all the controls, and the left houses just the USB bang out-C charging port.
The same earcup sports a 3.5mm jack too.
All I used out of these controls was the power on/off slider and the ANC button.
The tapping gesture is fast and responsive and useful for quick small talk.
When Id be done, Id put them on again, and itd resume.
Not only did the company cheap out on build quality, but also on overall packaging.
Theres no padding, no pockets.
The subway station is my ultimate litmus test for ANC, and I barely passed.
While I couldnt make out the train announcements, I could still hear them.
I also remember being bothered by a conversation occasionally slipping through my headphones at the station.
It was a family of three conversing at a normal level, nothing unusually loud or hard to silence.
The ultimate test at the station thoroughly disappointed me.
As soon as I rewound, I saw another train approaching on the middle track this time.
I quickly raised my volume to 100% (from 80%) to see if itd help.
The 40mm drivers come through with heavy bass, so I recommend these if youre looking for bass-heavy headphones.
But dont expect more than that.
The high-end isnt as impressive, making the sound profile less well-balanced than Id like.
The layering wasnt super perceptible, either.
And the promised spatial sound doesnt jump at you as youd expect.
On top of this, a five-minute charge giving you another four hours is just the cherry on top.
Also, this was one of those windy days when the weather app tells you to be safe.
Considering how windy that day is, I think the 770s would perform perfectly well on a typical day.
Should you buy the JBL Live 770NC?
It depends on what youre looking for.
The 770s do some things extremely well and other things really poorly.
But none of this is going to matter if youre an aesthetics-over-performance person since these arent flashy at all.
In the same way, if all youre looking for is good ANC, these wont blow you away.
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