JBL Reflect Contour 2.0 - In-Ear Wireles

Over all, I will NEVER recommend this headset to a friend or anyone for that matter. Returned immediately after testing. Now let me go into detail. I am a music snob; I create, write, record, and perform a lot of music. All genres from rap/hip-hop, to metal, jazz-blues, rock, southern, acoustic, easy listening lo-fi, you name it. I have a very high standard when it comes to my audio devices. These do not sound horrible how ever. They have the very standard JBL sound quality, which I explain as very "flat". No that's not a bad thing. I use JBL studio monitors when mixing purposely for this reason. It helps me dial in all the EQ's (Highs, Mids, and Lows) incredibly accurately. Also, it means that if I can make the bass kick on these flat speakers, it might over do it on others. This headset accurately nails a rich balance allowing you to hear all aspects of your music, and they sound pretty decent while doing it. THIS IS THE ONLY PRO. Now lets go through the cons. Pros: Decent sound. Cons: Bass: Even for JBL's standard flat bass tone, the lows were a bit non-existent with this headset. There was no kick at all, and I could barely pick up all the technical bass parts in the music I listen to/write. For how BULKY these are, that's incredibly disappointing. I'd thought the extra room for drivers would have allowed for a more booming and present bass. Comfort: In order to have the buds fully inserted in towards my ear canals, I had to really JAM these thing in. I'm referring to that "suction" you feel when using noise isolating buds, that kind of "seals" the bud into your ear. The ear hook system simply DID NOT allow for this to be possible. The "hook" that goes around/ behind your ear is VERY stiff and leave you sore after 20-30 mins of listening. The hook is also nonadjustable and just a TAD small, so I believe this is the cause of that. I tried every combination of the two component bud and hook system, and NOTHING would fit my ears to fully secure them allowing me to isolate the outside world. Even for the few seconds I logged them in hard enough, it was not worth the pain or damage I might have cause to my ears. Isolation/Volume: See the above for isolation, but to extend off it for the sake of volume. Even when I hurt myself to achieve minor isolation, these would not get loud enough to fully block the outside world. Total loss of immersion, SMH. Mic - HORRIBLY PLACED. To be fair, I have a very quiet and low voice to contribute to it's lack of functionality. In order to use this mic to be heard, I had to remove the left headphone and hold it/the mic bar in front of mouth. The mic bar (with play/pause and volumes buttons) hangs about 1 inch or less below your ear lobe and leans naturally towards the back of your head due to it's placement in the line, making it quite out of reach for your voice. I noticed most mics hang around your throat, which makes sense. Your voice carries -through- your throat, so it makes it resonant chamber of sorts for your voice. You can feel this if you place your fingers on your throat while you speak. I failed to ask the few callers I spoke with about the quality of my voice transmission once I noticed this severely disappointing feature, so I can't speak for that matter. Battery - Sub par, ~10 hours is the standard rating on just about all mid-or-better end Bluetooth headsets, so I really think this price point should have beefed that up a bit. I was intending on replacing my other headset, the JBL Live 220, which has a 15 hour battery life (self tested and confirmed), but immediately swapped back to it after the full test of this set. The neckband makes the Live 200 set annoying to use in the gym, but understandingly increases the battery life. Recommendation: AVOID AT ALL COSTS I can however HIGHLY recommend this alternative set from Sony, Wi-Xb400. It sounds amazing and is everything this headset is not. it also only 50USD as of today 10/22/19. I'll be posting a 5/5 in-depth review under it's page soon. https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Wi-Xb400-Wireless-Headphones-WIXB400/dp/B07WNXS613/