Build
For £90, these JBLs look appealing enough. The plastic that covers the headband and the edges of the earpieces is smooth to the touch, and has an almost matte-like quality.
They look and feel nice, but the downside is the finish doesn’t cope well with the rough and tumble of everyday life.
Likewise, the round glossy inserts that cover the back of each earpiece are a nice contrast to the dulled-down finish and give the headphones a soupçon of style – but, again, the material used is susceptible to scuffs and scratches. A carry-case or pouch would come in useful here, but unfortunately JBL doesn’t provide one.
While we don’t expect them to be as bulletproof as headphones costing three times as much, it would still be nice if the Tune600s could resist the scuffs a bit better.
Perhaps one of the alternative finishes could be the answer. These JBLs also come in a choice of blue, pink or white – for an extra £4.
Once in position, the Tune600BTNCs feel secure enough. There’s the usual headband adjustment, and a good amount of swivel and tilt in the earpads.
This means you shouldn’t have any problems creating a decent seal and making the most of the JBL’s noise-cancelling ability. The headphones are also foldable, which should make storing them away easier.
They fit nicely too, with a good level of comfort – though we do find our ears warming up after using them for an hour or so. Given they’re an on-ear design, that’s hardly unexpected – and it could even come in handy during those cold winter months.
Features
The left earpiece has a micro-USB port for charging on its top edge (a cable is included in the box).
Buttons for power, noise-cancelling and playback run along the bottom. A long press of the ‘volume up’ button skips forward a track. Do the same to the ‘volume down’ button to jump back.
The power and noise-cancelling buttons are an identical shape, which can take a bit of getting used to. Volume and playback controls are a bit thinner and positioned much closer together.
You’re less likely to lose your way with these, though we did press ‘volume down’ instead of ‘volume up’ a few times.
A tiny blue LED indicates you’re connected via Bluetooth, while a white one shows noise-cancelling is switched on.
JBL claims enough juice for 12 hours of Bluetooth and noise-cancelling, which rises to 22 hours using just Bluetooth or 30 hours with wired use and just noise-cancelling activated.
