[Listening test] JBL Tune110 in-ear dynamic headphones

Product: JBL by Harman Tune110 (T110) earphones
Cost: ∼€10
Manufacturer: JBL - USA
Reviewed: Lucio Cadeddu - TNT-Audio Italy
Reviewed: May, 2024

Foreword

It's not the first time I've ventured into borderline territories, looking for very low-cost, high-performance headphones. For example, I recently evaluated three headphones under €10, a test in which a headphone emerged as clearly superior to its competitors. In my never-ending and curious - perhaps bizarre - research, I came across a very popular product, which boasts wide appreciation, even on some specialized sites, it is the JBL Tune110 interaural headphone or, in short, T110. The recommended cost is €10, therefore in line with the others previously reviewed, but the brand's reputation and the beautiful packaging give rise to some hope.

A closer look

The JBL T110 are defined as in-ear phones, therefore they, by means of silicone caps of different sizes (S, M, L), are meant to be inserted inside the ears. They use a 9mm driver and are claimed to have “JBL Pure Bass” sound, whatever that may mean. They are wired headphones (no Bluetooth, for that there is the T110BT version) and the comfortable flat anti-tangle cable also hosts a switched microphone, for use with your telephone or other devices. They are available in black, blue and white.

Claimed tech specs

Listening

Since I still had the other similar headphones, comparisons were extremely easy. I'll immediately clear the field from easy expectations: the Venture Monk headphones, which had already won the previous comparison, sound better even than these JBL T110s, and the difference is NOT subtle. However, the over 75,000 reviews on Amazon are very good (4.4 out of 5 stars) and therefore the sound of these JBLs deserves some further investigation. The reason for so many positive reviews, I imagine, is the price, which is actually very low for a branded product, which is also well presented and packaged. At the moment they can be purchased on Amazon for €7. At this price, objectively, it wouldn't be politically correct to complain. However, I am well known to not be a politically correct chap.

The difference between these two earphones is not small, in almost every area of audio reproduction: linearity, cleanliness and control of the low range, all in favour of the Monk, plus general dynamics and fidelity of the medium-high range, where the JBL lose heavy points compared to competitors.

Out of curiosity, I read some of those positive reviews, and many buyers focus mainly on the quality of the bass. This is, unfortunately, an extremely widespread misconception among those who buy low-cost headphones, young people in particular: if there is a lot of bass, then the sound is good. We enthusiasts, however, know well that the quality of an audio product lies in balance: there must not only be bass, but also everything else.

The fancy claims on the “power” of the bass range are never lacking, and are expressed in many different ways: Extra-bass, Pure Bass, Mega Bass, Hyper-Bass and so on and so forth. Every headphone manufacturer places strong emphasis on this. Evidently this is what customers, completely uneducated in sound quality, want. Well, let's listen to this extraordinary bass from the JBL T110 then: first of all they lack linearity, in the sense that some frequencies are more present than others. The extension of the bass isn't bad, on the other hand. Secondly, both the speed and the articulation of the bass are missing: let's say that what is perceived is a sort of fairly uniform sound molasses, as if instruments that produce low frequencies all sound like this. An electric bass is very different from a double bass, a drum kit or an organ. A HiFi component must allow you to distinguish every single note and every instrument that acts in the bass range. For comparison, the Venture Monk's bass is more credible, linear, dynamic and clean, with excellent attacks and releases, a real weak point of the JBL. With the Venture Monk the electric bass sounds like an electric bass and the kick drum doesn't sound like a snare drum.

The quality of the mid-high range, then, doesn't seem to worry customers too much: they typically write that the headphones sound clean, which says everything and nothing at the same time. If the high frequencies are emphasized, then, they judge the sound is clear. It is the infamous loudness effect (emphasized bass and highs) that makes us believe that this is a good, faithful sound, as if in real music the mid range, an area where our hearing has its greatest sensitivity, was optional.

In the case of the Tune110, the mid-high range actually has a rather unpleasant emphasis, tending to a rather metallic sound, which highlights the sibilants of the vocals, for example. The distortion rate isn't exactly low, either. Voices and string instruments appear unnaturally characterized.

The claimed sensitivity is lowish, at 96dB/1mW, compared to 118 dB/1mW of the Venture Monk, but the impedance is also different: 16Ω versus 64Ω. The result is that - even with standard sources such as the headphone output of a notebook or that of a smartphone - the Venture Monks always sound a little louder, despite the higher impedance.

Finally, even that annoying feeling of inside the head sound is more evident with the JBLs than with the Ventures, which can be listened to for long periods of time without fatigue, which is a welcomed plus when it comes to headphone listening.

Out of curiosity, I also asked my daughter to carry out the comparison, as she uses her Apple AirPods as a reference. Well, even in this case, the verdict was the same. Venture Monk's win hands down. Obviously she had not been previously informed of my findings, nor of brands and prices. Does this mean that even young ears are able to distinguish a good sound from a worse one! Why can't adults?

Conclusions

This JBL Tune110 - to my great regret - was not a nice surprise: it is true that it costs peanuts but the sound is not convincing and it is not something that can be corrected with some imaginative equalization either. Maybe it's the type of performance one expects from this type of entry-level product, but the Venture Monk, which costs the same, beats it on all parameters, beyond any reasonable doubt. As I always say... the search goes on!

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JBL Tune110 in-ear dynamic headphones

Is a good brand a guarantee for good sound?

Foreword

A closer look

Claimed tech specs

Listening

Conclusions