JBL Tune 125 TWS Review - Big Battery Big Bass Zero Cables
Truly wireless (TWS) Earphones are quite the rage nowadays, everyone owns one or wants to own one. TWS earphones actually give you a lot of freedom and convenience being completely wireless. Amongst the hordes of TWS products available the audio products major JBL has updated its Tune 120 to Tune 125 with more features and battery life. We have had a chance to use it for some time now, and this is our report.
JBL is a well-known brand catering to the budget segment, JBL is also known for its bass-heavy signature, The Tune 125 TWS box packaging says that very clearly “Pure Bass, Zero Cables” – Me likey! So apart from some slick packaging what do we get inside the box? Well, how about an orange coloured USB-C charging cable and some ear tips of different sizes for a perfect fit. Oh, and you also get the JBL 125 earphones along with a charging case.
Design
The JBL Tune 125 TWS comes in a black pebble-shaped wireless charging case. The Charging case is one of the larger ones here compared to the competition. The lid here is magnetic and easy to open, yet they securely hold the earbuds inside. Right below the lid, you can find three white micro LEDs showing the charge available. The Charging Case provides 3x the charge to the TWS 125 earbuds. The good thing here is the availability of USB-C on the charging case. The plastic used here has a satin finish and will get scratched over time with usage.
The earbuds come with a minimalistic design in half matte and half glossy texture and feel well built. Each earbud has the JBL logo in the centre and an LED indicator, this is where the controls for music and phone calls are also present. The earbuds are also magnetic and snap onto the sockets inside the charging case. The buds are angled as well for a snug and secure fit in the ears. In our usage, we faced no problems with the fit. For a perfect fit, we would recommend you use the supplied ear tips depending on the size of your ear canals. Now because of their shape, they do jut out of the ears a bit.
Features
When it comes to features the JBL Tune TWS 125 are pretty vanilla, The lack of ANC, On-ear detection and touch control, is alright considering the price, but the lack of an IP rating is unfortunate. No IP rating rules out using these for those sweaty GYM sessions. Meanwhile Sony WF-XB700 and the now in the same price range the Jabra 65T come with an IPX4 rating.
There are physical controls available on the buds, for controlling music playback and calls. Play/pause music or answering an incoming call is handled by a single tap on the right earbud. Double-tapping will bring up the google assistant. Meanwhile, the left earbud handles the forward-backwards and skipping tracks. While we are on the controls, the volume cannot be controlled from the earbuds.
Sound Signature
Now JBL’s sound signature is typically focused on the lower frequencies and the JBL Tune 125 TWS do not disappoint here. The Bass signature here is awesome, the Mids are pretty pronounced as well. I was pleasantly surprised with the Mids actually since bass-heavy units usually have muffled mids. The 125 TWS were quite different here. The earbuds can get loud and the sound does not distort at all which is what I have come to expect from the newer JBL products. Unfortunately, there’s no mobile app support to access a custom EQ, so one has to use the EQ available on the phone. Having the same 5.8mm dynamic drivers as the JBL Tune 120TWS, the sound quality is great for EDM, House and HipHop genres of music. Apart from music even the vocals sound great, I used the 125s for listening to podcasts and zoom calls, webinars and it did not disappoint.
Coming to Phone Calls, The microphones on the JBL Tune 125 TWS are alright, the receiver could hear me loud and clear, the previous model (120 TWS) had latency issues during WhatsApp calls which I did not face with the 125 TWS. Meanwhile making calls outside in noisy environments, the 125 TWS did pick up ambient noise.
Battery
The JBL Tune 125 TWS comes with some class-leading battery life, The company claims the earbuds will last 8hrs on a single charge and that is quite a lot. Add to that, the charging case can charge the earbuds 3times. Our unit had some issue, where the left earbud would not charge completely, so we could not test the battery life.
Verdict
If you are looking for a mid-range Truly wireless earbuds from a reputed brand, then the JBL Tune 125 TWS Priced at Rs 8,499 are an excellent choice. They come equipped with exceptional battery life, a nice sound signature with good mids and lows along with a secure and comfortable in-ear fit. However, they do lack some features like an IP rating, In-ear detection and app support.
