Bass-forward in-ears with lots of features

I've been a contributing editor for PCMag since 2011. Before that, I was PCMag's lead audio analyst from 2006 to 2011. Even though I'm a freelancer now, PCMag has been my home for well over a decade, and audio gear reviews are still my primary focus. Prior to my career in reviewing tech, I worked as an audio engineer—my love of recording audio eventually led me to writing about audio gear.

The JBL Live Pro 2 TWS earbuds offer strong audio performance for bass lovers, above-average noise cancellation, and a solid in-app experience at a reasonable cost.

The JBL Live Pro 2 TWS noise-cancelling true wireless earphones ($149.95, but often available for around $100) boast a powerful, sculpted sound signature that emphasizes both the lows and highs, as well as better-than-average active noise cancellation (ANC) for their price segment. The JBL Headphones app adds value, too—it unlocks a 10-band customizable EQ, adjustments for the ANC and Ambient modes, and hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant integrations (on Android devices). If you want a more accurate audio experience, you should look to other options, such as the Editors' Choice-winning Anker Soundcore Space A40 ($99.99). That model offers a more natural sound signature, similarly effective noise cancellation, and more customizable controls.

The stem-style Live Pro 2 TWS in-ears are available in a metallic finish, as well as in black, pink, or blue. Three pairs of silicone eartips (S, M, L) ship with the earphones and help ensure a snug fit.

Internally, 11mm dynamic drivers deliver a frequency range of 20Hz to 20KHz. The pair relies on Bluetooth 5.2, plus supports the AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs, but not AptX.

The capacitive touch panel on the outside of each earpiece is easy to operate, though we noticed a slight delay between taps and actions. A single tap on the left earbud switches between the ANC and Ambient modes, while a double tap enables the TalkThru mode. On the right earbud, a single tap handles playback, a double tap skips forward a track, and a triple tap takes you to the previous song. A double tap on either earpiece accepts incoming calls and ends any in progress. A long press on either one toggles the mic's mute function on calls, as well as summons your device’s voice assistant. In the app, you can adjust the controls to a degree, but you can't simply assign any function to any gesture (more on that below).

The IPX5 water-resistance rating is slightly better than average for true wireless in-ears with ANC, but still unremarkable compared with the IP57-rated and noise-cancelling Jabra Elite 7 Active ($179.99). Regardless, the JBL earpieces can withstand splashes and low-pressure jets from any direction. You can't submerge them or wash them off under a faucet, though. The rating doesn't apply to the case, so make sure to fully dry the earpieces before you dock them.

The medium-sized case has a clam-shell-style lid that's relatively easy to open because of the exterior's grip-friendly texture. A status LED along the lip of the lid reveals the remaining battery life, while a USB-C port sits on the back for the included USB-A-to-USB-C charging cable. The case also supports wireless charging via the Qi standard.

JBL estimates that the Live Pro 2 TWS earphones can last roughly 10 hours on battery, but that estimate goes down to eight and six hours with True Adaptive ANC and the regular ANC on, respectively. The company says the case holds about another 30 hours of charge. (Again, your results depend on ANC usage.) The case takes about two hours to fully charge.

The JBL Headphones app (available for Android and iOS) continues to improve and offers far more than just basic settings and firmware updates. On the main screen, the app shows the remaining battery life for each earpiece in addition to the case. You can power off the earphones from the main screen, which is useful if you don’t have access to your case and want to save power.

The ANC section sits below that; here, you can enable ANC, Ambient Aware (which includes a volume fader), and Talk Thru (for conversations) modes, as well as turn off ANC entirely. You can select either the default Adaptive ANC option or manually adjust the levels with a fader.

Another option, called Leakage Compensation (on by default), adjusts the ANC if you have a less-than-ideal in-ear seal and some audio is leaking out. We recommend trying out the Ear Canal Compensation feature, which scans your ear canal (but only in a noisy environment) to avoid this issue in the first place. If you hear no difference after activating either feature, then the default ANC setting is a good match for your ears. But the ANC might become more effective against the midrange with these options on, so it's worth testing.

The EQ section, which you can turn on or off, offers adjustable presets and the option to create new presets from scratch with an impressive 10 bands that range from 32Hz to 16kHz. Additionally, a Smart Audio & Video feature automatically reduces the transmission latency (from about 280ms in audio mode to around 120ms) for a better video streaming experience.

In the app, you can decide what single and double taps accomplish for each earpiece—to an extent. You get to choose from a series of presets, such as for ANC and Ambient sound controls, volume, or track navigation. Each preset assigns a preconfigured set of controls to single and double presses.

The app also includes an Auto-Play and Pause setting as well as a VoiceAware mode. (A fader lets you adjust how much of your voice you can hear on calls.) More-basic options, such as Voice Assistant set-up, Voice prompts, Check My Best Fit, Find My Buds (uses high-pitched beeps, not GPS), and a Power Saving mode round out the features.

On devices with Android 6 (and up), you can enable hands-free Alexa or Google Assistant. On our Samsung Galaxy S21 test device, we got Alexa and Google Assistant up and running in no time, though the former requires you to also download the Alexa app.

More than once in testing, the app couldn’t connect with the Live Pro 2 TWS earphones, even though they were playing music in my ears at the time. The app crashed a couple of times, too. In all of these instances, the app recovered quickly by itself, but these bugs are still annoying.

The Live Pro 2 TWS in-ears offer quality noise cancellation for the price. Between the two modes the default Adaptive setting is more powerful, so that's the one we used for testing. The pair significantly dialed back powerful low-frequency rumble (like you hear on an airplane), but a thin band of higher frequencies still makes it through. The earphones struggled a bit more with a recording of a busy restaurant with clanging dishes and boisterous conversation; they cut back the lows and mids, but the highs sounded slightly amplified. We noted an additional masking hiss in the signal, though the hiss isn't unpleasant or very loud. We’re impressed with the quality of the ANC here, even if it’s nowhere near as effective as that of top models, like the Sony WF-1000XM4 ($279.99) or Bose QuietComfort Earbuds ($279.95).

Meanwhile, the Ambient and Talk Thru modes are both useful. The former gives you a fader to adjust the volume of the surrounding mics. The Talk Thru mode doesn’t offer the same flexibility, but the default volume level still sounds natural for conversations, and voices come through clearly.

We mostly tested the earbuds with all the EQ options off. On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the pair delivers powerful low-frequency depth. At moderate volumes, the rumble is intense, and, at maximum volume levels, the bass doesn’t distort.

Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, better reveals the in-ears' sound signature. The drums don't sound unnaturally thunderous, though they definitely have some extra heft and weight. The high-mids and highs are quite sculpted, too, so Callahan’s baritone vocals get some treble edge to match their low-mid richness. The acoustic strums and higher-register percussive hits also seem a bit bright. This is not a sound signature for purists, but you can dial back (or increase) the sculpting via the app’s EQ to your preference. Bass lovers, in particular, should enjoy the default audio profile.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives enough high-mid presence for its attack to retain its punchiness, but it’s the vinyl crackle and hiss that get a bit more of the higher-frequency boosting. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat come across with serious depth, as does the drum loop’s sustain. The vocals on this track sound clear, but we picked up a decent amount of sibilance.

Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound bright and crisp. Meanwhile, a serious level of bass depth anchors the mix. The lower-register instrumentation never overpowers the higher-register brass, strings, and vocals, but this pair's sculpting works better for pop genres than classical music or jazz.

The six-mic array works fine. We didn't have any trouble understanding every word from a test recording on our iPhone, though some Bluetooth artifacts are audible. The mics do a good job of zeroing in on your voice, which means calls over a strong cellular signal should sound clear overall.

The JBL Live Pro 2 TWS earbuds' bass-forward, powerful audio justifies their price, especially if you can get them at a discount. The addition of a highly useful app and adjustable ANC only sweetens the deal. The noise cancellation is, of course, not to the level of top-tier options from Sony or Bose, but it's good enough to take out distracting noise in casual environments. Our main complaint is about the on-ear controls; we wished they were a bit more responsive and that the app allowed us to make more granular changes.

This JBL model faces plenty of competition in the $100 range, where it is often priced, particularly from Anker's Soundcore Space A40, which offers similar ANC, a more accurate sound signature, and better customization options. If you want to save a bit of money or are interested in earbuds for running (or other high-intensity activities), the Jabra Elite 3 ($79.99) are an excellent alternative despite their lack of ANC.

The JBL Live Pro 2 TWS earbuds offer strong audio performance for bass lovers, above-average noise cancellation, and a solid in-app experience at a reasonable cost.

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I've been a contributing editor for PCMag since 2011. Before that, I was PCMag's lead audio analyst from 2006 to 2011. Even though I'm a freelancer now, PCMag has been my home for well over a decade, and audio gear reviews are still my primary focus. Prior to my career in reviewing tech, I worked as an audio engineer—my love of recording audio eventually led me to writing about audio gear.

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