Today we are taking a deeper dive on the JBL Soundgear Sense Open Earbuds. After more pricey models from Bose recently made headlines around here, we though it would be a good idea to check out the somewhat more affordable, let’s call it mid-priced options, and JBL’s Soundgears seemed a suitable candidate at $149.99 shipped. Dive into our hands-on impressions down below.
JBL Soundgear Sense Open Earbuds Review
JBL Soundgear Sense Open Earbuds, as the name suggests, are open earbuds that connect to your using a sort of hook system that leaves the actual ear piece floating atop the front of your ears. This allows you to remain more aware of your soundings without relying on fancy tech and provides an option for folks who prefer a less intrusive listening experience.
They sport an IP54 dust proof and splash proof design complete with onboard mics for taking calls and ear-mounted touch controls for music playback, summoning Siri and the like, plus more (additional details on this, and everything else, below).
Features at a glance:
- Splash and dust resistant – rated IP54 dust proof and splash proof
- Hybrid design. The adjustable earhooks offer comfort and stability for all-day use
- Dual connect and sync with fast pair
- 4 mics for crisp, clear calls
- All access touch control
- Find My Buds feature
- My JBL Headphones app customizations
Build
The overall build quality here is your usual hard plastic treatment, not unlike what we have seen from JBL and many other brands in the past. There’s a sort of matte finish, as opposed to the more shiny treatment on something like Apple’s AirPods case, with a contrasting black-on-black shiny JBL logo splayed across the top of the charging case. It’s an overall clean design I can appreciate, but with nothing overly special to write home about.
Floating open bud earpieces
The JBL Soundgear Sense are open ear buds, so let’s talk about that. For me, when it comes to any earbuds, the fit and comfort level is a big thing, and the same goes for the open ear category. This open, or sort of floating in front of the ear design is great for remaining aware of your surroundings, but I think can also be a solid option for folks who just don’t like shoving traditional buds into their ear canals.
JBL is employing a sort of hook design that rests over the top and behind the ear, leaving the actual sound-making unit to rest on top of or in front of the ear. It works well in terms of sound transmission and there is an adjustable hinge of sorts where the hook meets the earpiece unit to position them better. This hinge can be clicked through four different positions – a feature I particularly like and one that both allows for a better fit and to get the buds in the right position for the best possible sound.
The hook portion of each bud is made of a slightly softer plastic, or rubberized treatment – this might be my only major complaint with the physical design here. After about 40 minutes of wearing them non-stop, in the house, and across the street to run some errands and back, the comfort level went from really nice to, well, not entirely nice. They didn’t become overly uncomfortable, and they weren’t aggressively digging in to the top of my ear, but it wasn’t as seamless a wearing experience as I would like. I can’t help but wish there was a softer material on the hook, or some kind of add-on in the box to accomodate this. I did get used to it on subsequent long-form listening sessions, and it wasn’t as noticeable as it was on the first wear, but it is something to keep in mind here.
If I’m going to wear open ear buds and sacrifice on the total immersion of a noise-cancelled listening experience of traditional in-ears, I want them to literally float atop my ears, perhaps even to the point I forget they are there. Wishful thinking, sure, and certainly at this price point – they aren’t bad by any means, are more or less on par other open models I have tried out in this general price range, and this wouldn’t stop me from recommending these buds to folks who already enjoy open ears. But it is something I would bring up to those who are considering moving over to the ear-hook open game for the first time.
Touch-capacitive controls
There have been some complaints with the touch controls mounted on the buds with respect to misfires and them being overly sensitive. I haven’t actually experienced all that much of this, or at least not much more than any other buds in this regard, but I do see why this is coming up. Everyone has a different touch, but it is true that even the lightest of taps will engage the on-ear controls – some folks might love this, some perhaps not – and you’ll need to be mindful of this when you’re taking them on and off or adjusting the aforementioned hinge.
Beyond that, the system is a mostly intuitive and simple one, albeit a bit unique. There are different controls available on each ear: the left earbud handles the volume – single tap to go up or double to go down – and the right ear houses controls for playback (play/pause, next/previous track, and so on). You can also answer and end calls as expected, or tap and hold to bring up your connected smartphone’s voice assistant when you’re not on a call. The single, double, triple, and hold taps take a bit to get used to, but I found it to be quite fast and responsive once I got the hang of it.
Within the companion app, there are some light customizations for the on-ear touch controls as well. Nothing crazy, but you can switch which ear handles volume and playback, or completely disable it all (on both or a single ear). This is a handy feature for folks using just a single earpiece for taking calls, or those who just want to get rid of them entirely.
Sound quality impressions
Despite a somewhat underwhelming low-end on some tracks, these buds generally shine in the audio department for me. They aren’t going to blow your mind if you’re used to wearing sealed AirPods Pro 2, or something from the wonderful Bose in-ear lineup, but JBL has almost always delivered solid sound for me and they are here once again – especially considering this is an open set of buds. The extreme sub bass sound is somewhat lost at times though. I guess this is to be expected to some degree with open buds, and it can be boosted via the onboard EQ settings in the app, but it is definitely a thing. It is more noticeable for me at higher volumes, and much less so when you don’t have them cranked, but don’t expect to get the same sort of sub experience as the more pricey sealed options out there. They deliver what I would call the mostly realistic, not artificially excitable, and mostly flat response I tend to appreciate.
There’s some great, albeit mostly basic, EQ options within the companion app to fine tune the frequency response and help with some of the low end action. I generally always prefer the flat setting (no custom or preset EQ), but it is there for folks who like to finagle with these sorts of things, and it can help to custom tailor various genres to your preferences.
In the end, I have enjoyed my time with the JBL Soundgear Sense Open Earbuds. After getting used to the fit and comfort, the feel of the hooks became much less of an issue for me and I have come to enjoy the sound quality overall. I will say, though, if you’re the type to want your tunes cranked and super bassy at all times, these might not be the open buds for you. But then again, open buds might not be for you in general.
JBL Soundgear Sense Open Earbuds
FTC: 9to5Toys is reader supported, we may earn income on affiliate links
Subscribe to the 9to5Toys YouTube Channel for all of the latest videos, reviews, and more!
