(NEW) JBL Live 770NC Wireless ANC Headphones

(This is a fairly long review. If you want to read only about a certain aspect, I have this review broken down into different paragraphs. At the very end is a simple PRO-CON list.) Let me start by saying that I've never spent more than $30 on headphones before. In fact, I actually still have one of my old pairs, and the difference is night and day. So that is what I was used to. I've had these JBL 770NC headphones for five, almost six months now, and I absolutely love them! Are they perfect? Almost, but nothing on earth really is. Anyway, here is how it started: I've only ever had your average $25 headphones, and never spent the money on anything special. Soon, however, those headphones started to seem less appealing to me; the battery life was declining and the listening experience got worse over long periods of time. The band even started to look like it was going to break. Back when I had first gotten them, I didn't even know of JBL, but about the time I was considering new headphones I had gotten the JBL Charge 5 (I have another review of that one, if you are interested), and since I was impressed with that speaker, I wanted to see how they were with headphones. I started looking for the perfect headphones from them, that combined noise canceling with sound quality. I almost got the 660NC, but then I learned about the 770NC, which was very new at the time. I decided to indulge, and oh boy, it was worth it! When I got the headphones I decided to listen to music on my old pair first, then the new ones so I could compare better. Let me tell you, I could almost hear the "woosh!" of silence as I turned on the JBL headphones for the first time... Below I have a detailed review of each aspect of these headphones: DESIGN: 8 / 10: Great! I appreciate the design of these headphones better than the others I have had. The main controls are on the right ear, including the volume +, -, multi-functional button(pause, play, skip, replay) and mode button. There is also a touch control on the right side, and the actual touch-sensing part is where it says JBL. The touch control seemed annoying at first, with accidentally pausing and the like, but over time, I got used to it, and now I see it as super convenient! You tap it once to pause, twice to skip, three times to replay, and you can even answer incoming calls by simply tapping it twice. The power slider is also on the right side (yes, I said slider). The power on and off is not a button, but a slider. You simply slide it up and it will slide back down and power on. Same thing to turn them off. You can also turn them off via the app. Another thing is that these headphones do feel fragile, however, and I wouldn't toss them around or be rough with them. But through my frequent use over the months, these headphones have held up well. COMFORT: 10 / 10: Amazing! I absolutely find these comfortable, and they are the most comfortable headphones I have ever had! The band itself is covered in a soft fabric, unlike my other headphones which had plastic. In addition, I have never had over-ear headphones (in case you didn't know, these are over-ear, which simply means that the cups go over your ears), and even that part was amazingly comfortable. The cups gently, but securely fit over my ears. In fact, I have used these headphones for watching TV on my projector, and after a few minutes I actually had forgotten that I was even wearing headphones! That says a lot. SOUND QUALITY: 10 / 10: Stunning! As I said earlier, when I first tried these headphones I listened to music on my other pair first, and then tried the JBL. The difference was night and day! Clear, crisp audio that I didn't know was possible on headphones. Rich bass was also present, and there is even an option in the app that allows the bass to be higher at lower volumes. My experience with JBL sound quality continues to be great, and these headphones are no exception! When you power them on, you are greeted with a pleasant "Power On" voice, which is very clear. On other headphones I hear the same thing, but the quality of the audio is not near as crisp. The music is great! It is amazing! Even at low volumes it keeps the sound at great quality. Higher volumes continue this as well! Though I have never gone really high in volume, as I have never needed to. I keep getting blown away by JBL and their products. If you are interested in these headphones, believe me, the sound quality will rise above your expectations! (I'll even go out to say I'm not even interested in Bose headphones...) FEATURES (Noise canceling, ambient aware, etc.): 10 / 10: Amazing! I've NEVER had true, active noise canceling headphones before, so this feature shocked me with how good it was! Once you turn noise canceling(NC) on, every little sound disappears. Every...little...sound. Sometimes you don't even know how much noise is around you until you experience something like this. The headphones themselves, I think, block some sound (since it is over-ear), but the active noise canceling can make a world of difference! To not be able to hear anything but your music is stunning, and it was completely worth it! That said, I know there are a lot of you that are thinking to yourselves, "Can I mow with these on and my music be free of engine noise? (Or blade noise since there are electric mowers)" My answer to that question would be yes, to an extent. An understanding of how noise canceling works would help me explain (for those who have never truly experienced active noise canceling). ANC (active noise canceling) works by taking in sound from outside, say, a bird chirping, then producing the negative sound frequency, therefore canceling the sound. However, this doesn't entirely "delete" all sound. If you turn the feature on and do anything that produces a loud sound (keyword being loud), like slam a door, the sound will greatly be reduced, but you will likely still hear it (ever so quietly, though). But that is only if there is no music playing. If you turn music on as well, then other sounds become nearly nonexistent. Think of it like this, ANC on, but music off, you hear faint sound, that is, greatly reduced sound. ANC on, but music on as well, no outside sound. I hope that makes sense. Now, with REALLY loud sounds, like a mower, you are going to hear it if you are not playing music. However, once you start playing music, it will be much lower (not gone, but much lower). You are likely still going to hear the mower because it is so loud. But, if I turn the music slightly higher, then the mower becomes background noise (yes, I mow with these headphones on). Every increase in volume makes the mower that much more quiet. This makes the mower, or any other loud sound simply background noise. But again, this is really only true of LOUD sounds, as anything else is simply canceled out. In most cases, that is, when you are not mowing, all you hear is your music, and absolutely nothing else. If I'm honest, it was kind of freaky when I first tried it out. Ambient Aware is like a half-way point. It lets you listen to your music, letting a certain amount of background noise in. This works because the headphones themselves have a few microphones on them that can be used to "let in" background noise. How much noise you want to let in can be changed via the app. It works so that if you wanted to take a nature walk for example, but wanted to listen to both your music and outside sounds, you could. TalkThru is another feature, and what it does is the exact opposite of ANC. It lowers any audio you are playing, and lets sound come through as if you weren't even wearing the headphones! I thought it was freaky at first, as well, but it is very useful if you start a conversation, for example. Another feature these headphones have is Auto Play and Pause. This works so that if you take your headphones off, your music pauses, and if you put them back on, it plays! I find it very useful. Another mode for these headphones is Spatial Sound (or Spatial Audio, one of the two). This works so that you are further immersed in the music you are listening to, and I love it! It takes what I call a "flat track" and expands it so that you can almost hear each element of the music around you! Those were all of the features I felt would be helpful to know about, and the app is needed for most of these. The app also allows for more customization, as you can change the balance (left - right) and even customize the gestures (tapping on the side or button functions). BATTERY: 10.5 / 10: Incredible! The battery on these headphones is impressively long-lasting. I've never brought it down below 70%, and that says a lot because I will use it several times over the course of around two to three days while using ANC. It surprises me at how long it lasts, and it charges relatively quickly. On my old headphones, I always had to make sure it was charged, as it would die on me unexpectedly. When I use these JBL headphones, the battery isn't even something I need to consider when I use them. JBL has done an amazing job as far as this goes! I have nothing negative to say about it! : ) Overall, these headphones are absolutely stunning! They are high quality, the design works well, the color pops (I have the blue ones), the sound is some of the best I have heard, the battery lasts forever, and the features are game-changers. I use these almost every day, and I use them when I mow, run, workout, weed-eat, and sometimes I even watch television and movies with them! That said, the app even lets you choose different modes of sound, which includes Music, Games, and Video, each with their respective modifications (for example, video mode improves video-audio synchronization). I've mentioned the app quite a bit so far, so I feel it is important to mention that yes, a LOT of the potential and functions these headphones have are accessed through the app, and that is really the biggest drawback I can think of. One other thing kind of bugs me, though sometimes I don't notice it. When you are running, for example, the headphones have a sort of rattle to them, and I don't like that very much. Over time I have gotten used to it, and it seems minor at this point, but I brought it up just in case. In addition, though this may just be the pair I received, every now and then (it is really inconsistent) I will hear some bad sound coming from one side of the headphones. It sounds kind of like static, but really sharp and only lasts for a fraction of a second. If I were to guess, I would say it is a loose wire or connection of some sort, but I really do not know. Again, I could only find that it is my case, and it doesn't even happen that often; only a few times out of the five months I've had it. So JBL has done it again! Impressive headphones with features and customization galore! These are the BEST. Did I mention they work even better and seamless with Google Devices? I would absolutely recommend these 110% to anyone looking for an immersive, high quality sound experience. A simplified PRO - CON list is below: PROS - Stunning Sound Clarity and Quality - A battery that lasts FOREVER - Unlimited Customization through the app - Multiple, impressive features that enhance the sound experience - Comfortable listening experience - Ease of use; simple touch controls CONS - Most features require the app, as well as customization - Small rattle while running or during any abrupt movement