Wireless On-Ear Headphones for Gym: JBL Live 460NC Review

The LIVE series of wireless headphones by JBL are loved and recognized by users for gym for both in terms of appearance and sound quality. Among them, the JBL Live 460NC wireless on-ear headphones are one of the best-selling products on Amazon. JBL is a particularly thoughtful brand. They are worried that users will not be able to tell which is the left and right side of the wireless headphones, so they mark the inside of the headphones with the letters of R and L.

So how do these wireless on-ear headphones perform overall in the gym? Let us analyze them from a perspective of users and come up with an answer based on the reviews from users about these headphones.

Basic information about JBL Live 460NC:

JBL Live 460NC reviews from users

Product name: JBL Live 460NC 

Price: $129.95

Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

Where to buy: Amazon.com or JBL Official Website

Review 1: ★★★★★

“The noise cancellation is good and really loud, I can tell these are gonna last a long time. I take them to school, the gym, and work, so far they haven’t slipped off my head or anything, but just after like 2 or 3 hours of wearing them my ears start to hurt. overall good everything and easy to use.”

Review 2: ★★★★☆

“These are actually really good headphones overall for gym. They have a really long battery life, cancel out noise perfectly and have great sound. They are easy to pair and I love the fact that they fold up easily for carrying them with you for gym. I did give it 4 stars but I would say 4.5 because they are a bit uncomfortable on the ear after a while. They become a bit tight which makes them kind of sweaty on the ear after extended wearing but overall great headphones.”

Review 3: ★★★☆☆

“I wanted something with better sound quality than my Raycon earbuds. These definitely have better sound quality and the app lets you set the equalizer the way you want. My biggest issue is the way they slide back and forth on your head at the gym. It’s like they don’t fit my head right. I’m sure if I wore them over a cap they wouldn’t slide but who wants to wear a cap at the gym.

I haven’t decided if I’m sending them back. I may just keep them for plane rides and when I’m working in the yard.”

Review 4: ★★☆☆☆

“Nice headphones and work as expected BUT after a couple months they started to act up. I wear them while on the treadmill and elliptical machines at the gym but they will stop working and I have to turn them off and then back on for them to start working again.”

Review 5: ★★★★☆

“The headphones do a good job of canceling out noise while used for gym (noisy neighbors) and still give great sound quality.

However, the buttons are tiny, and hard for me to figure out which ones do what. I need to take the headset off to use them while working out in the gym. Also, I know the headset needs to be tight, but for now, they are too tight and after a couple of hours they have to come off. Nice blue color. I like the fact the "ear muffs" turn to lay flat.”

Review 6: ★★★☆☆

“I'm a huge JBL fan, so I thought I'd give these a shot for gym. They're affordable, and sound great genuinely. But unfortunately, gonna have to return because after an hour my ears hurt! Would not recommend for this sore reason. It's a shame because the sound quality is great.”

Review 7: ★★★★☆

“The sound quality is great, but the noise cancellation leaves something to be desired. It isn’t a full over the ear fit so I guess that doesn’t help. I also have issues with it staying paired to my devices, it likes to drop off unexpectedly while I am exercising in the gym, but returns after about a minute. I bought a less expensive set of headphones and got what I paid for.”

Review 8: ★★★☆☆

“Had these for barely 2 months. The battery life is simply amazing I use them for multiple trips to the gym and they've never dropped below 50% even after weeks on end of usage. The noise canceling is sufficient. They aren't BOSE quality but it'll definitely be helpful on a plane or in a noisy environment.

Sound Quality is pretty great considering the price point. My biggest gripe is the fact that the volume down button on these broke literally 2 months into ownership. The headphones still work for gym and I can turn them down on my phone, but I am out of luck when I pair them to my TV. Don't know if poor quality control or just a crappy build.”

Review 9: ★★★★★

“I love these noise canceling headphones. They aren't too tight, so they don't irritate my ears or give me a headache. They keep background noise to a minimum. I used them on a long flight and could only hear my video. They enable me to watch TV on my tablet while others watch the TV in the living room. They do have get my attention, though, because the noise is quite reduced.

Also, I used them in the gym for 6 hours, then used them daily at home for 2 weeks (without charging) and they only went down to 50% battery! Amazing how long the battery will last.

The call clarity is also great & I no longer have the problem of hanging up on people like I did with earbuds. I highly recommend these. They are a great value for the money.”

Review 10: ★☆☆☆☆

“My only use for the these headphones are for workouts in the gym. They are extremely frustrating. If you breath through your mouth a certain way, chew gum a certain way, or something as simple as turning our head a certain way pauses your music. When running at the gym, it is a FIGHT to keep music playing. The constant pause and having to play during sets or while running makes my workouts unenjoyable in the gym because of how frustrating the fight to keep music on is. I do not recommend.”

According to the reviews from users of these wireless on-ear headphones, we can know that users are satisfied with them. However, the size of these headphones is too tight and the button key for volume is prone to malfunction. What's more, it's disappointing that when users are working out at the gym, the music suddenly pauses, preventing them from concentrating.

Alternatively, if you have a need for a wireless headphone for gym, we recommend bone conduction headphones with an ear-hanging fit allow you to control them easily, and the Wissonly Hi Runner is a practical option.

Reasons for recommendation are as follows:

The design team of Wissonly bone conduction headphones started to research bone conduction acoustics as early as 2012. Their technical accumulation in the field of bone conduction is very good, and they are a team that is good at technology.

Hi Runner adopted Wissonly 3.0 technology to reduce sound leakage in bone conduction headphones. They reduced the sound transmission from the bone vibration unit directly to the air through the completely closed design of the headphones’ body. They also used high-quality cushioning materials to minimize the vibration of the body, thus reducing the sound leakage by more than 90%.

I did a test, turned on Hi Runner, adjusted the volume to 70%, and within 1m in the gym, I couldn't hear any sound leakage at all. This kind of sound leakage reduction performance has been well received by users since Wissonly released the sound leakage reduction technology. This technical scheme is the best leak-proof among bone conduction headphones at present.

The headphones’ body of Wissonly Hi Runner is made of memory titanium, which can self-adjust the contact area, ensuring a good wearing experience of headphones for gym, considering more users with different head circumference. Hi Runner can be said to be very sincere in configuration. It is equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 chip, which makes the connection more stable, and can realize fast connection and switching of multiple devices while used them at the gym.

Built-in 32GB memory can store 5000 songs, weighting only 28 grams. When you go for a workout in the gym, you can enjoy music without your mobile phone. These headphones also support dual playback in Bluetooth mode and MP3 mode, so if you're not comfortable bringing your phone to work out at the gym, then you can enjoy your music using the MP3 mode of these headphones.

Plus, these Hi Runner bone conduction headphones are IPX8 waterproof rating. If you sweat while exercising at the gym, these headphones won't be scrapped due to sweat, making them a good choice for those who like to exercise in the gym. The battery life is also very good, and it can be played continuously for more than 8 hours at normal volume, which is good for me, because I work out in the gym on weekends, and I often go out for a whole day.