'The year of price hikes continues': JBL unveils new two new headphones, as well as an AI party speaker that you don't need to fear | Tech Radar

Overview

'The year of price hikes continues': JBL unveils new two new headphones, as well as an AI party speaker that you don't need to fear

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Details

JBL announces its new Live 780NC and 680NC headphones

Not to be confused with Tune 780NC / Tune 680NC, unveiled last September

The Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) aren't the only best wireless headphones worth spending a lot of money on; you might not associate JBL with premium headphones, but the hugely successful brand does have a few mid-range options, and two more are on the way.

The company has just announced two new pairs of cans — not to be confused with the two 780 and 680-suffixed options unveiled last September, and available from November — both upgrades on pairs released in 2023.

And unlike the Tune 780NC and 680NC unveiled six months ago, this new "Live" duo cost a little more than the mid-range or cheap headphones I associate the brand with.

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The first release of the duo is the on-ear JBL Live 680NC, costing

Then there's the over-ear JBL Live 780NC, which go for

Key takeaways? Compared to the X70NC or Tune prefixed models, the Live range sees small tweaks and improvements across the board, and they do look more premium... but are also slightly more expensive. Such is life, I suppose; the year of price hikes continues.

Lest we forget, there's a third present under JBL's tree: the Party Box On-The-Go 2 Plus, the latest in its line of portable speakers-come-karaoke machines. It offers 100W output, with two tweeters and a woofer, and lasts for 15 hours on a charge.

The selling point of this

All of these have the 'AI' marketing label stamped across them, but reading between the lines, it seems to be the specific-task algorithmic type of AI (rather than the actively super-intelligent, stealing-our-jobs, bad kind of AI).

The Party Box comes with a wireless microphone, which seems to be what facilitates these features, but JBL is also selling them separately: there's the Easy Sing Mics for

➡️ Read our full guide to the best noise cancelling headphones

1. Best overall: Sony WH-1000XM6
2. Best mid-range: Bose Quiet Comfort Headphones
3. Best under $100/£100: 1 More Sonoflow Pro HQ51
4. Best under $60/£50: Soundcore Q30

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Tom Bedford is a freelance contributor covering tech, entertainment and gaming. Beyond Tech Radar, he has bylines on sites including Games Radar, Digital Trends, Whatto Watch and BGR. From 2019 to 2022 he was on the Tech Radar team as the staff writer and then deputy editor for the mobile team.

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Key Takeaways

• 'The year of price hikes continues': JBL unveils new two new headphones, as well as an AI party speaker that you don't need to fear

• When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission

• JBL announces its new Live 780NC and 680NC headphones

• Not to be confused with Tune 780NC / Tune 680NC, unveiled last September

• The Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) aren't the only best wireless headphones worth spending a lot of money on; you might not associate JBL with premium headphones, but the hugely successful brand does have a few mid-range options, and two more are on the way