JBL Tune Beam 2 review

The chunky case is adorned with triple LEDs and each earbud gets its own LED indicator as well, so no dearth of visual cues here. The quality is robust  overall but I would’ve preferred the plastic finish to be more grippy or at least textured, given the precarious situations in which TWS in-ears are opened, worn, stored…and how often they want to escape  out of your hands. The buds themselves have a  short stalk type design that  is capped with silicone tips and a total of three ear-tip sizes are included (along with a USB-C charging cable, in case you’re still into unboxing videos) which should cover the vast majority of the mankind.

Its partnering app, JBL Headphones is a class act on its own and adds a level of functionality seldom seen in this category. After it automatically finds your Tune Beam 2, you’re greeted by a familiar JBL orange home screen that is crammed with utilities. The list is long and includes an adaptive ANC slider, talk-through or transparency modes, personalised fit test, spatial audio, optimised response for music or video for lower latency, six EQ presets or a 10-band manual EQ, gesture control customisation, voice settings for your own and the callers voice, max volume limiter, relaxing sounds (fire, waves, forest, river etc) with a timer, Find My Buds, power saving….and finally a power off function right from the app! 

What is even more impressive is that the manual EQ curve that you create is saved across different devices, if you happen to pair the Tune Beam 2 with more than one phone.

JBL claims about 10 hours of battery life with ANC on and three additional charges from the case, bringing a total of 40 hours of playtime into your pocket. The usuals like IP54 water/dust resistance, multipoint BT connection and Fast Pairing sound like obvious inclusions after the comprehensive app utility list.

An instant surprise given its price point, the JBL Tune Beam 2 is a revelation in terms of refinement. Even using its default ‘Studio’ preset, the sound has authority, depth and gravitas that is lacking from the Apple AirPods Pro 2 selling at twice its price! Ruthven’s Itch is given the polished and dynamic sheen that its pristine production deserves, the synths filling up your headspace with  full bodied richness. Out on the move, the ANC is strong enough to drown out almost all the traffic noise, but it can also be prone to causing a bit of the “underwater” effect and that’s when the adjustable ANC slider comes into play, letting you dial in the right amount of noise cut and naturalness.

Take control of the EQ and you can extract even more enjoyment from the 10mm drivers, depending on your genre of choice and listening conditions. It balances taut, well-defined bass with an airy and open top end that never sounds bright or harsh. All, while the midrange retains its crisp and intelligible character without tipping the tonal balance towards sounding forward. Jesse James by The Blue Stones starts off with an infectious drum, bass and guitar hook that will stay in your ear like a worm, revelling in the perfect medley of this complex mix along with all the tiny details in the production. Spatial Audio is supported but besides a slightly different presentation, doesn’t add much to the party. The Movie and Game modes are more likely to alter the latency and if you suffer any lip sync issues with video content, do give it a try.

The only chink in its armour seems to be how it handles incoming calls on an iOS device, which almost always struggled to stay connected between my Apple Watch and iPhone. Otherwise, the touch controls are extremely responsive and the touch points are well judged and  battery life seemed to be lasting as advertised, although this is always a case-to-case situation, no pun intended. JBL also doesn’t mention support for any.

The JBL Tune Beam 2 provides an out-of-the-head experience that you typically would need to spend a whole lot more to achieve. Marry this with a comfortable fit, a ton of customisation options and sonic chops to take the fight to the best of the genre and possibly beat them hollow, indeed make them a very tempting proposition. A true winner this!