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JBL Tune Beam 2 Review: A good pair of TWS earbuds in a highly competitive segment
These JBL earbuds lag behind the competition in a couple of areas but somewhat make up for it with their energetic sound output and TalkThru feature. read more
Pros:
Energetic sound output
Useful companion app to tweak the sound and more
Good build quality, IP54 ingress protection for the buds
The finish and build quality of the product are pretty good
Lightweight and comfortable in the ears
Dual-pairing support
Ambient Aware and TalkThru features work well
Very good battery backup
Cons:
Outdoor call quality needs improvement
Average ANC
No wear detection sensors
Prone to accidental touch inputs
Price: Rs 5,999
The JBL Tune Beam 2 is priced at Rs 5,499 in India with a one year warranty
Rating: 3.9/5
BL has been around for a long time and needs no introduction. They already have a broad portfolio of audio products in India, including several true wireless (TWS) earphones, to cater to different types of users. The Tune Beam 2 that we have for review today is among their most recent releases here. On the surface, it looks like a simple pair of TWS earphones with most of the key boxes ticked for the segment. But the near Rs 5,000 segment is highly competitive. So let's see if this one's in tune with it or not.
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JBL Tune Beam 2: Design and Comfort (8/10)
The design of these JBL buds is quite simple but pleasant with short stems and angled earpieces with silicone tips. The buds as well as the case are made of high quality plastic with a matte black finish. A hint of gloss for the logo and model name breaks the monotony and looks good. The three indicator LED slashes at the front add a bit of character to the design. These earbuds have an IP54 rating against dust and water ingression, and one can wear them during workouts or jogs without a worry.
The fit is quite snug and comfortable with the right pair of eartips and the buds don't pop out of the ears often. The silicone eartips enter the ear canals and provide a decent seal. You get two more pairs of tips in the bundle if the preinstalled medium option isn't the right size for you, along with a cool looking flat charging cable. The buds are extremely light and weigh just 5.2 grams each despite hosting a 65 mAh battery. You have touch zones at the back of the buds and the touch sensitivity is good.
The company packs a few extra eartips in the bundle
The charging case is fairly compact but not slim enough to go unnoticed in your pocket.
The product is fairly compact and just about pocketable
It doesn't have any sharp edges and feels great in hand. Weight is not an issue either with the case tilting the scales at 42 grams. There is no mention of any ingress protection for the case, so try not to take it out in a drizzle. You get three charge indicator LEDs at the front, while a USB-C charging port is present at the back.
The three LEDs at the front of the case inform you about the amount of remaining charge
The Tune Beam 2 is also available in Turquoise and White colour options.
The bottom on the case has a USB-C port to charge these earphones briskly
JBL Tune Beam 2: Features and Specifications (8/10)
Each earbud is fitted with a 10 mm dynamic driver and three microphones for calling and active noise cancellation (ANC). In addition to adaptive noise cancellation, you get two transparency modes called Ambient Aware and TalkThru. The former lets the ambient noise through to keep you aware of your surroundings and the latter focuses on enhancing vocal frequencies, facilitating a quick conversation without removing the buds from the ears. These earbuds support multipoint connectivity and can be paired with two devices simultaneously.
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There are no wear detection sensors on the JBL Tune Beam 2, which I would have liked to see given that buds priced 30% lower now flaunt that feature. These earbuds are Bluetooth 5.3 compliant and support SBC and AAC codecs. You get access to various settings of the earbuds after you install the JBL Headphones app and sync the earphones with it. The app is quite handy and lets you alter the sound output, create a custom audio profile, configure the controls and update the firmware among other things.
The feature-rich JBL Headphones app let's you tweak the sound output, controls and more
Just like in the case of earlier JBL earbuds we had reviewed, you cannot assign a specific function to each gesture. You have to assign an entire set from Ambient sound control, Playback control, Volume control or Voice assistant control. Most sets assign the functions to single tap and double tap gestures, with Playback controls using triple tap for previous track function. Given that single tap is mapped in most cases, the Beam 2 is prone to accidental touch inputs when adjusting or removing the buds from the ear or the case, which can be irritating at times.
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BL Tune Beam 2: Performance (8/10)
These buds aren't the loudest around and the volume needs to be pushed close to 80% for optimal loudness that several earphones achieve around the 50 to 60% mark. The default sound is noticeably bass heavy; well, it's called JBL Pure Bass Sound after all. The good part being, the bass is reasonably tight and not too boomy, and the overall output is quite energetic. Even better, you can tweak it using the JBL Headphones app and bring better balance to the output.
The JBL Tune Beam 2 may offer a feature or two less than the competition but performs admirably
You can push the mids up a bit in the 10-band equaliser for better vocal clarity and then adjust the bass and highs to suit your taste. If that's too much work, you also get half a dozen audio presets to try out. If that's not enough, you can also create your personal listening profile (Personi-Fi 3.0) using a simple listening test in a quiet environment which adjusts the sound curve as per your preference and listening capabilities. It is certainly worth a try.
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After doing the necessary adjustments in the equaliser, the JBL Tune Beam 2 produces a punchy and fairly balanced sound without losing its zing or thump. The default sound is good enough for genres like pop and EDM, but with a few tweaks, these earbuds sound well across more genres of music. The soundstage here is decently broad and the detail in audio is perfectly fine for the segment. You also get Spacial Sound here which tends to broaden the soundstage further but it's a matter of individual taste; I preferred to keep it off.
Moving on to ANC, I wasn't very impressed with the results. It does block certain frequency sounds but results in a bit of hiss in certain cases. The competition is way ahead in this department. Where this JBL does better than the competition is in transparency modes. I quite liked the Ambient Aware and TalkThru options where the sound being let through feels natural. They can be used to be aware of your surroundings when crossing the road or to hear announcements at airports or stations with the buds on.
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TalkThru can be quickly enabled or disabled by a simple double tap to have a quick chat without removing the buds from the ears. While the company does not specify the latency figures, there was no perceptible lag between the video and audio when streaming videos. The wireless range is perfectly acceptable with the buds retaining a strong connection up to 10 metres with a clear line of sight.
JBL Tune Beam 2: Call quality (6.5/10)
The call quality on the JBL Tune Beam 2 is a case of two extremes. When indoors or in a quiet environment, you are clearly heard by the person on the line with good vocal clarity. When outdoors or in noisy areas, the microphones tend to pick up quite a bit of ambient noise like that of traffic or people talking. Some could even hear crows cawing a fair distance away. JBL probably needs to decrease the sensitivity of the microphones a little. The wind noise suppression works well though.
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JBL Tune Beam 2: Battery life (8.5/10)
The battery backup of the JBL Tune Beam 2 is quite impressive. The company claims figures of 10 and 12 hours for the buds with ANC on and off respectively, while the charging case can provide three more top-ups. With the loudness over 75% at all times, the earbuds managed to go on for close to 9 hours with intermittent use of ANC and TalkThru.
With the 590 mAh battery in the charging case, the overall battery backup figure reaches 36 hours, which is quite impressive. Without using ANC at all and with minimal calling, the battery backup can easily breach the 40-hour mark. The product can be fully charged in about two hours with a standard USB-C charger. Fast charging numbers aren't specified but a 10-minute charge gives you close to two hours of playtime, which can be handy.
JBL Tune Beam 2: Price and verdict
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The JBL Tune Beam 2 is priced at Rs 5,999 with a one year warranty, and can often be spotted for Rs 5,499. For that price, you get a pair of lightweight and comfortable TWS earphones with a lively sound output that can be tweaked further from the companion app, more than useful transparency modes and excellent battery backup. The outdoor call quality and ANC need a bit of improvement and features like wear detection sensors should have been present. But its energetic sound output does make up for some of its shortcomings.
The earbuds are fairly lightweight and fit well into the ears without any discomfort
While the JBL Tune Beam 2 is a good addition to the near-5K segment in India, it is a highly competitive space here. There are several excellent TWS earbuds one can buy around Rs 5,000 like the OnePlus Buds 3, EarFun Free Pro 3 and CMF (Nothing) Buds Pro 2 to name a few. They offer superior codec support in addition to comparable sound quality and comfort. Take your pick. Neither will disappoint you.
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