Review on JBL Bluetooth Headphone Blue E55BT by Maurice Matlock

TL;DR: Let me preface the review by saying that sound is subjective and your mileage may vary. However, I feel like JBL invested insanely a lot in the E55BT and I found the sound quality here to be excellent, especially for the money (I paid $150). Build quality isn't necessarily bad, it's just not as premium as you might expect from other brands like Bose, Sennheiser or even Beats. When I first took them out of the box I was a bit skeptical as they didn't feel as premium as other headphones I've had, but once I put them on I adjusted the fit and added a few different genres. To test them out I was blown away by how good they sound and how well they perform overall. After listening to them, it's obvious that JBL used inferior build materials so they could afford to package these $150 headphones with great drivers that offer incredibly balanced, punchy, and loud sound. They sound better, especially at half the price, and fit my needs better than the last three headphones I tried: Bose Soundlink Around Ear 2 ($280), Beats Solo 3 ($300 at the time), and Bose. QC35. ($350). I also tried a few other pairs of old JBL on-ear and on-ear headphones that didn't end up satisfying me before I found these. To find out why I like the JBL E55BT more than all these other headphones, read on. If you just need a pair of headphones with a punchy, balanced sound and volume at an incredible price, save your time and order them now.----------------------- --- --------Details: Bose Soundlink Around Ear Headphones 2 - I found these headphones to be fairly balanced and extremely comfortable, but they lacked power, overall volume, and bass. However, the build quality was pretty good and the buttons were easy to find and press. I also liked the voice prompts telling you which device was connected and what the battery life was. However, I've found that I have to constantly crank it up to 90% or more to get what I consider loud enough to play in noisy environments or to really immerse myself in the music. It's hard to justify their $280 sound quality. Beats Solo 3 - They definitely had a lot of power and volume, great battery life and pretty good build quality too. However, they weren't very comfortable for long sessions and didn't sound particularly good for anything other than pop, electronic music, or other bass-heavy genres. I felt that their soundstage sounded quite cramped and that at higher volumes everything started to sound muddy, which I kept cranking up to try to get the combination of clarity and punch I was looking for. Again, too many compromises for $300 headphones. However, they've been significantly cheaper in various clearance sales lately, which would improve my opinion a bit if I had better value for money. Bose QC 35 - I finally decided to give the QC35 a try due to its popularity with consumers and critics alike. The build quality and comfort here was excellent, almost on par with the QC25, and overall I liked them. However, the noise-cancellation will tire me out a bit over time, and there's no way to turn it off when used wirelessly. They suffered from pretty much the same issues as the Soundlink Around Ear Headphones 2. However, they had slightly more volume, bass, and clarity. I still found myself cranking the volume up to very high levels just to try to immerse myself in the sound, but at these higher levels I felt the highs and mids were too harsh for my liking. At $350, I couldn't justify keeping them either. While experimenting with different brands, I decided to try a few older JBL models because they were on sale and because I really love my JBL Bluetooth speakers (the Flip and Charge series are amazing). I've tried the JBL Everest 300 Elite, 700, and 700 Elite and found all of them to have flaws, mostly related to build quality and comfort. All three sounded better than all of the above options, but I couldn't wear them for long without growing tired of the tightness and fit. So I was at a loss for a while and felt like I was paying too much. for inferior experiences (or just expecting too much from over-ear/over-ear Bluetooth headphones) and that I may not be able to find the combination of punchy and balanced sound, reasonable volume and comfort, after the I have searched Then I saw the E55BTs announced at CES for a super affordable (compared to the competition) $150 and waited for them to go on sale. I was nervous as there weren't many reviews and oddly they weren't available from any of the local retailers but decided to take a chance and order them anyway. I ended up ordering these from Crutchfield because of the amazing shipping options and prices and I'm so glad I did! They meet all the requirements I was looking for, with one small exception: I would have liked a little better processing. Like I said, that doesn't mean it's bad or that they won't last long. It just doesn't feel as premium in the hand as the other pairs I've mentioned. I love the two tone blue on them and overall I find them stylish, fun and comfortable. The 50mm drivers and excellent tuning that JBL has packed into the E55BT are so good for the price that I'm blown away. I've used every genre I listen to in them (rock, pop, rap, electronic dance music, dance, metal, jazz, acoustic/unplug-in, classical) and they excel in all of them. These things have volume for days and don't distort even at higher levels. The highs/mids shot up and pushed the vocals/instruments where they needed to be without sounding harsh, and the lows hit hard where they should without muddying the mids or being overwhelming. I also found the sound stage quite pleasant and felt a good separation between instruments and vocals. To be honest, I don't think there are better wireless on-ear/on-ear headphones for 150 euros or even twice as much. If you're in the same boat as me, go for it. In my opinion, these are hands down the best headphones for the money. Thank you JBL!