Wireless audio devices continue to improve throughout the years with new, innovative features. Today, our JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series Review will discuss three pairs of earbuds: Live Flex 3, Live Beam 3, and Live Buds 3.
These three pairs of earbuds share many similar features, including ANC, multi-point connectivity, IP55 protection rating, and more. Each product has a charging case with an innovative touchscreen interface for numerous adjustments.
Their differences are sound quality, ANC features, and battery life. We will discuss more of these in our JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series Review.
JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series Review – Design and Functionality
These earbuds featured in our JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series Review have three designs. The Live Flex 3 are semi-open earbuds for awareness, while the Live Beam 3 resembles the AirPods Pro’s stem design. The third product, Live Buds 3, features a tiny bud-style shape.
Each model comes in four colours: silver, black, blue, and purple. All versions also have inclusive ear tips, allowing you to swap and choose which best fits your ears.
JBL Live Flex 3
The JBL Live Flex 3 features 12mm dynamic drivers, which contribute to their slightly larger and heavier build compared to standard earbuds. This increased driver diameter enhances the sound performance, delivering a broader soundstage, richer audio details, and fuller bass. The larger drivers are ideal for users seeking immersive sound quality, whether listening to music, watching movies, or taking calls.
These earbuds sport an open-stick design, distinguishing them from in-ear models that rely on silicone ear tips. This design provides a more natural fit, resting comfortably in the ears without sealing off the ear canal. While this may not offer the same level of noise isolation as proper in-ear models, it ensures a lighter, less intrusive feel for extended wear, making them perfect for users who prioritise comfort over complete sound isolation.
The open design also allows ambient sound to filter through, making them a practical choice for situations where situational awareness is necessary, such as commuting or outdoor activities. Combined with their powerful drivers, the JBL Live Flex 3 strikes a balance between high-quality sound and a comfortable, semi-open listening experience.
JBL Live Beam 3
The JBL Live Beam 3 earbuds stand out with their sleek and ergonomic design, featuring rounded stems reminiscent of AirPods. However, these earbuds take it a step further by being noticeably lighter, making them more comfortable for extended wear. Equipped with 10mm dynamic drivers, the Live Beam 3 delivers robust sound quality, combining detailed audio reproduction with powerful bass. The stick-closed design enhances passive noise isolation, creating an immersive listening experience even in noisy environments.
Designed to sit further in the ear canals, the Live Beam 3 provides a secure yet comfortable fit that remains stable during various activities. The silicone ear tips are soft and adaptable, ensuring minimal pressure while maintaining an effective seal for superior sound and noise cancellation. For added convenience, JBL includes extra ear tips in different sizes, allowing users to customise the fit to their preferences. This ensures not only optimal comfort but also the best possible acoustic performance.
The secure fit and effective noise cancellation make these earbuds suitable for a wide range of scenarios, from commuting in bustling urban settings to enjoying focused workout sessions. With their lightweight build, the JBL Live Beam 3 is designed for all-day wear, providing both comfort and high-quality audio in a single, versatile package.
JBL Live Buds 3
The JBL Live Buds 3 take a unique approach to earbud design, featuring a compact, bean-like shape without stems. Like the Live Beam 3, they are equipped with 10mm dynamic drivers, which deliver powerful and balanced audio with impressive clarity and deep bass. Their minimalist design ensures the earbuds remain lightweight and nearly invisible when worn, making them a discreet and stylish option for everyday use.
Despite their compact size, the Live Buds 3 provide a secure and comfortable fit, sitting snugly in the ears without causing discomfort, even during prolonged wear. Their ergonomic shape ensures stability, making them suitable for active lifestyles, whether you’re on a commute, working out, or relaxing at home. The lack of stems contributes to a seamless and unobtrusive aesthetic, ideal for users who prefer a more understated look.
The inclusion of assorted silicone ear tips in the box allows for a customised fit, ensuring optimal comfort and acoustic performance. By swapping the ear tips, users can achieve a better seal, enhancing both passive noise isolation and the overall listening experience. This adaptability makes the Live Buds 3 a versatile choice for users with varying ear shapes and sizes.
With their secure fit, lightweight design, and 10mm drivers, the JBL Live Buds 3 deliver natural, high-quality audio that feels immersive and enjoyable across a wide range of genres. These earbuds are a perfect combination of style, comfort, and performance, catering to users who value both functionality and aesthetics.
Charging Case
The Live 3 True Wireless Series earbuds have a standout Smart Charging Case. It is a sleek, efficient, and convenient way to power up on the go and configure your audio.
This charging case has a 3.68cm touchscreen display to access various controls, eliminating the need to use the mobile app. We love this feature because it offers convenient onboard controls, making it handy during commutes or outdoor workouts.
This touchscreen display lets you control playback, toggle between ANC & transparency mode, and adjust the volume, surround sound, and EQ. Despite its low frame rate, it is responsive and accurate during operation. It also allows screensaver customisation and adding your favourite photos for a personalised look.
The charging case has a sliding mechanism for unlocking to prevent input errors. Once unlocked, you can scroll through other options.
In addition, the Smart Charging Case has a loop for attaching a lanyard for convenience when travelling or commuting.
The best thing about the Smart Charging Case is it has most of the options you will find on the mobile app. It also shows notifications from the smartphone for quick and easy viewing.
Key Features of the JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series
Hi-Res Audio Wireless with JBL Signature Sound
The Live 3 True Wireless Series earbuds feature dynamic drivers that deliver powerful, immersive audio performance. JBL tuned and optimised these drivers to produce its exclusive JBL Signature Sound. It offers deep bass, balanced mids, and a refined treble at all volume levels.
Additionally, the earbuds feature JBL Spatial Sound for a concert-like experience. We enjoyed listening to our favourite tracks while testing the products for this JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series Review. All the earbuds delivered the audio quality JBL promised.
Smart Charging Case for App-free Control
The Smart Charging Case of these earbuds features a touchscreen display that enables app-free control and audio management. This feature lets you skip the hassle of opening the mobile app.
The built-in touchscreen interface lets you manage your sound on any connected device. It also allows you to answer calls, view messages, and more.
Customisable ANC
You can tweak the amount of ambient sound that will pass through the earbuds or mute it entirely. These products have four noise-sensing microphones that adjust to your surroundings automatically.
The JBL Headphones app lets you control the ANC level based on your wearing and ear canal condition. With these earbuds, you can enjoy effective noise cancellation tailored to your needs.
Customisable Microphones for the Best Call Quality
The Live True Wireless Series of earbuds feature six beamforming microphones. These support loud voice pick-up with superior clarity while reducing wind interference. JBL lets you control how your voice sounds to others via the equaliser and voice level optimiser.
Multi-point Connection
Switching from one Bluetooth device to another is more convenient with these JBL earbuds. This feature prevents you from missing calls and anything essential.
Multi-point worked seamlessly during our tests for this JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series Review. Answering calls on our smartphones while watching movies from our laptops was quick and convenient with this function.
Personi-Fi 3.0
Personi-Fi 3.0 offers an optimised audio experience by tweaking your sound profile with interactive personalisation tools. It gathers precise information about your preferences to provide perfectly optimised sound curves that match your needs.
Dust and Water Resistant
The Live 3 True Wireless Series earbuds are safe from dust and water, making them ready for outdoor adventures.
Google Finder and Audio Switch
With support for Google Finder, you can track the earbuds through millions of Android devices if you misplace them.
Google Audio Switch makes it easy to switch seamlessly between Android Bluetooth devices.
Long Battery Life
The products featured in our JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series Review have long battery lives that last all day. All three products offer long playback times and additional hours in their charging case, which include the following:
- 10 hours of playback and extra 40 hours in the charging case for the Live Flex 3
- The Live Beam 3 gives 12 hours of playback plus 36 hours from the charging case
- 10 hours of playback for the Live Buds 3 and an additional 30 hours in the charging case
Hands-on with the JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series
Installing the JBL Headphones app allows you to maximise the features and functions of the Live 3 True Wireless Series earbuds. We downloaded and navigated the app before testing the earbuds for this JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series Review.
JBL Headphones app provides regular updates to optimise the earbuds and fix issues for seamless operation.
We recommend downloading the app since it lets you access and adjust the EQ, ANC, TalkThru, and fit tester. Moreover, you can enable the Find My Earbuds feature to locate your misplaced earbuds when misplaced.
JBL Headphones app has a user-friendly interface that makes navigation seamless. The menus are easy to understand, and all settings are well-placed, allowing us to find everything we need quickly.
While writing this JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series Review, we noticed these products offer an almost identical sound profile. There is barely any difference between the audio quality of these earbuds. JBL guarantees decent audio, no matter which version you choose.
All versions of these earbuds had a narrow soundstage compared to similar products, yet they also offer dynamic signatures and accurate imaging. The vibrant frequencies offered adequate clarity, matching the unique JBL sound profile. These earbuds delivered crisper and cleaner sound than previous models, showing the improvements implemented in the new collection.
The dynamic drivers used for these earbuds delivered superior audio quality with deep, punchy bass, clear mid-range, and clean trebles. These frequency responses make all three earbuds suitable for any music genre.
The Live Flex 3 offered an immersive experience with punchy bass and crisp treble. Like the Live Flex 3, the Live Beam 3 also delivered impressive immersion. Its satisfying timbre and high level of detail enhanced the overall sound quality.
The decreased airiness in the highs made the sounds of these earbuds more compressed and narrower.
The low frequencies of the Live 3 True Wireless Series earbuds were powerful. Existing layers within the frequency range did not cause the lows to be muddy, and kick drums were punchy. Bass guitars impacted various tracks, making rock, pop, and indie genres more enjoyable.
The three products offered excellent clarity and colour during our tests, providing adequate enhancements to music.
The mid-range had sufficient depth and plenty of texture, enhancing the details of various tracks. These earbuds perfectly reproduced vocals, making them natural. Singing and talking voices were at the front and centre in all tracks.
The mid-range presented large instrumental ensembles with impressive layers and separation. As a result, it unleashed more detail and made harmonies stand out.
The highs provided the brightness and clarity needed for the frequency response to achieve balance. This response lightened the entire sound profile and offered dynamic sounds with plenty of colour.
The frequency response pushed the highs to 40kHz, a great height to reach before rolling off to the bass. These frequencies affected the sound profile and reverberation of specific ensembles.
The ANC feature worked well in all three Live 3 True Wireless Series earbuds. They suppressed noise excellently and adapted well to various environments. We could hear slight background noise while using this mode, but not loud enough to disrupt our listening experiences.
Ambient Aware was effective during our tests. We could hear ambient sounds. We heard and noticed the differences while adjusting the amount of sounds passing through the earbuds.
Talk Thru mode suppressed the ambient noise well but brought focus to voices. It worked perfectly for conversations, making everyone’s voices intelligible while keeping our music playing.
JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series Review Summary
The JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series showcases the brand’s dedication to innovation and high-quality audio performance. With three distinct models—Live Flex 3, Live Beam 3, and Live Buds 3—there’s something for every user, whether you prioritise comfort, immersive sound, or a discreet design. Each model offers excellent audio fidelity, advanced features, and durable builds, ensuring they meet the needs of diverse listeners.
JBL has equipped the series with features like customisable ANC, multi-point connectivity, and IP55 protection, making these earbuds versatile and practical for various scenarios. The addition of the Smart Charging Case with its touchscreen interface elevates the user experience, providing app-free control and on-the-go convenience. The series also delivers long-lasting battery life, ensuring uninterrupted listening throughout the day.
During testing, all three models demonstrated dynamic audio signatures, offering punchy bass, clear mids, and balanced highs. The ANC and ambient modes worked effectively, providing adaptability to different environments while maintaining excellent sound quality. Additionally, the inclusion of Personi-Fi 3.0 and beamforming microphones ensures a personalised and professional-grade listening experience.
The JBL Live 3 True Wireless Series offers an impressive blend of functionality, comfort, and audio performance. Whether you choose the semi-open Live Flex 3, the versatile Live Beam 3, or the compact Live Buds 3, you can expect a premium product that enhances your listening experience. These earbuds are a testament to JBL’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge audio solutions for modern users.
