JBL Live 670NC Review | JBLs latest mid tier headphones for 2024

About a week ago I purchased the JBL Live 670NCs and went in with no real expectations. I had experience with JBL headphones in the past but for some reason I went into this purchase with a blank slate. Off the back the 670NCs were very familiar to me. I owned the JBL Live 460NCs which are the predecessor to these and the design is nearly identical. I don't think this is a bad thing as I tend to like JBLs design language. The body is made of a light weight plastic but feels well made. The headband and side clamps feel like it could be made with metal as it feels strong and cool to the touch. I went with black and the finish is matte which is a nice touch. Fingerprints do appear on the headphones there just not as noticeable. The buttons on the right side of the ear cup are nice and click-y. Type C for charging is on the left side. 

Now, lets get into the nitty gritty. 

Sound

This is very subjective but overall I like the sound the Live 670NCs produce. Bass is heavy while keeping a level of clarity. The sound-stage is pretty wide but the mids struggle a bit for me. Highs are bright but not overly done. My general takeaway is that the 670NCs sound very natural and balanced. The app does feature an EQ that provides a few options. I went with Jazz as this EQ option gives me the lows I like along with clarity for the highs. One thing I noticed is a brief static sound. It doesn't happen often but it is noticeable when it does. Not a deal breaker for me but I do hope this issue can be fixed in a future software update.

Build

I already touched on the build but I would add a caveat here. I found the right ear cup to be quite a bit looser than the left when rotating. Not a deal breaker but I was a bit concerned at first because it did not seem normal to me. So far it has not gotten worse but I am only a week in with them. There is also a Bluetooth button for pairing and an action button to switch between ANC and the Ambient controls. 

Controls 

Of course there is a power switch and a volume rocker on the right ear cup that works fine and were responsive. Also on the right cup and to my surprise there is a touch capacitive surface where you can, play/pause, skip tracks and call on the Google Assistant. The system is very intuitive and works well. The capacitive surface is not large so I do recommend using two fingers for better precision. 

Features

For the price there are quite a few features but I will only mention my go-to's. Auto play/pause when you put on or take off the headphones, call on the Assistant by saying Hey Google, Spatial Audio and the ability to connect the headphones to multiple devices. I found all these features to work with no problems and consistently. 

Conclusion

All in all I find the JBL 670NCs bring a lot of value at this price point. For $129 you get a ton of features, decent ANC, really good sound in a nice looking package. I didn't expect to enjoy the 670NCs as much as I do. I would also mention that JBL fixed just about everything I wanted them to when compared to the 460NCs. There's no distortion in the sound, music retains the same sound signature in the different modes (ANC, Ambient, Off) which could be distracting to some. My one issue is comfort. I'm not sure if the headphones are good for long listening sessions due to them clamping down on the ears so tightly, at least for me. Everything else is solid and is definitely worth a look.  

Specs

Feature	Specification
Driver Size	40mm
Sound	JBL Signature Sound, JBL Spatial Sound
Noise Cancellation	True Adaptive Noise Cancelling with Smart Ambient
Bluetooth	5.3 with LE audio support
Battery Life	Up to 65 hours
Microphone	2 beamforming microphones
Special Features	Auto play/pause, Voice Assistant (Alexa/Hey Google), Multi-point connection, Comfort-fit fabric headband, Carrying pouch, JBL Headphones App, Personi-Fi 2.0
Weight	152g
Ear Cup Dimensions (External)	6.8 cm x 2.7 cm (Width x Height)
Ear Cup Dimensions (Internal)	2.7 cm (Height)
Cable Length	1.3m