I’m a big fan of Bluetooth headphones, but when it comes to headphones, there’s never one pair that’s ideal for every situation. For example, the recently reviewed JBL E50 BT is a long lasting Bluetooth headset that can deliver awesome sound for up to 18 hours straight. However, it’s pretty bulky and its over-ear design blocks out nearly all ambient noise. That’s great if you’re at home, but if you’re commuting, that can actually be downright dangerous. That’s why it’s great to have an on-ear pair of Bluetooth headphones as well, and the JBL E40 BT is as good an option as any.
Note: The headphone stand used in this review is the Just Mobile Headstand. Check out my review here!
Build Quality and Design
The JBL E40 BT shares pretty much the same design language as its bigger brother, the E50 BT. However, there is one key difference in that the band is almost entirely plastic save for a bit of padding.
The E40 BT can be extended or retracted for a better fit. However, the sliding mechanism is a bit loose, so if you leave it on a headphone stand, it’s likely to extend itself with only the force of gravity pulling down on it. Of course, that’s not going to happen when you’re actually wearing it on your head so it’s a minor issue.
The E40 BT’s ear pads are also capable of swiveling and being folded up, either for a more exact fit when listening, or when simply putting them away.
Features
Seeing as it comes from the same lineup as the E50 BT, it shares many of the same features as well. It too comes with stellar battery life, promising up to 16 hours of straight listening. Although I didn’t measure battery life while I had it, it certainly delivered as promised, and it took me a few days to run the battery down before I had to charge it again. Of course, on those rare occasions where the battery does run out, you can plug in an aux cable and listen to it via a wired connection. It also comes with a neat ShareMe feature that lets you wirelessly “share” your music with another ShareMe capable pair of Bluetooth headphones.
Sound Quality
The JBL E40 BT is equipped with 40mm drivers to pump sound into your ears. It excels when listening to highs and does well across the mids. Where it stumbles though is the lows as the drivers and on-ear design aren’t capable of delivering ear-thumping bass.
It’s also because of the on-ear design that you’ll find a fair amount of ambient noise leaking in and whatever you’re listening to leaking out. From an audio enjoyment standpoint, this isn’t exactly ideal, but they’re perfect if you still want to be aware of your surroundings, which is particularly important when commuting or other public places.
So Should You Buy the JBL E40 BT?
The JBL E40 BT is a comfortable pair of on-ear headphones that can last for multiple commutes and it’s lightweight enough that you won’t feel bogged down while navigating public transportation. The plastic build does leave a bit to be desired since you’ll be shelling out Php4,599 for them. If you can afford them, they’re an awesome pair of cans for everyday commutes.
JBL E40 BT Specs
- Driver: 40mm
- Freq: 20 – 22kHz
- Impedance: 32 ohms
- Connections: 3.5mm jack
- BT frequency range: 2.402 – 2.480GHz
- BT transmitter power: <4dBm
- BT transmitter modulation: GFSK π/4 DQPSK 8-DPSK
- Support BT 3.0, A2DP v1.3, AVRCP v1.5, HFP v1.6, HSP v1.2
- Rated power input: 30mW
- Microphone sensitivity: -42dBV/Pa @ 1kHz
- Battery type: Lithium polymer (3.7V, 610mAh)
- Music playing time: 16 hours
- Talk time: 24 hours
- Weight: .205g
- Price: Php4,599
