JBL CLUB One review: Great ANC headphones with up to 23-hours of battery life

JBL has been around for a very long time, and we’ve been reviewing JBL audio products for several years. The company makes some of the best audio products out there. Not everyone is a hit, but many are excellent. The JBL CLUB One ANC headphones are the latest pair of premium headphones from the company.

JBL calls their ANC here “True Adaptive Noise Cancelling.” The JBL CLUB One also sports the latest craze in situational awareness with a “Smart Ambient” mode. Along with these two features, the CLUB One also gives you up to 23-hours of battery life. Read on for the full review of the JBL CLUB One ANC headphones.

Specifications

The JBL CLUB One have the following features and specifications:

• Speaker drivers: 40mm dynamic
• Impedance: 32Ω
• Passive frequency response: 10 Hz – 40 kHz
• Active frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
• Sensitivity: 95 dB SPL@1kHz/1mW
• Maximum SPL: 95 dB
• Maximum input power (Passive): 3500 mW
• Microphone sensitivity: -38 dBV@1kHz/Pa
• Bluetooth version and profiles: BT5.0 | A2DP 1.3, AVRCP 1.5, HFP 1.6
• Bluetooth transmitted frequency and power: 2.402 GHz – 2.480 GH z
• Battery type: LITHIUM-ION BATTERY (730 mAh/3.7 V)
• Battery life:
  • With Bluetooth On: up to 45 hrs
  • With Bluetooth and ANC On: Up to 23 hrs
  • With AUX-In and ANC On: Up to 25 hrs
• Battery charge time: 2 hours from empty
• Weight: 378.5 g

What’s In The Box

• JBL CLUB One ANC Headphones
• Aux-in cable with remote & mic
• Aux-in coiled-cable
• USB Type-C charging cable
• Hard Case & Flight adapter
• 1 x Warranty / Warning/ QSG/ Safety Sheet / App QSR
• 6.3mm adapter

Design

The JBL CLUB One ANC headphones come with a very nice hardshell case that’s super compact and easy to take on the go. The case has a loop that allows for hanging on a backpack or purse and the CLUB branding is on the spine.

The first thing you notice about the headphones is their weight. While 378.5 grams doesn’t sound like much, for headphones these are hefty. But, they’re not so heavy that they’re uncomfortable. Not at all. In fact, these are very comfy, and it doesn’t feel like you have a brick on your head.

The headband feels like it’s covered in real leather, but it is actually pleather. While I would have preferred leather, the material here feels very nice and looks premium. The frame and a good portion of the earcups are made of aluminum with a nice chamfered diamond cut around the earcup. The JBL logo is subtly placed on each earcup.

The earpads are made of the same material as the headband and are very cushy and comfortable just like it. There are a series of mics on each headphone for noise cancelling and helping with calls. Both ear cups have n AUX port so you can use either side.

The controls on the JBL CLUB One are pretty straight forward. The Google Assistant/Alexa button is actually the entire left side of the earcup. Just push in on the JBL logo to activate your assistant. Here’s what you can do with those controls:

Function	What it does
Talk to your Google Assistant	Press and hold the Action button to begin. Requires pairing with eligible phone and internet connection. For examples of questions and things you can do, visit: https://assistant.google.com/platforms/headphones
Get your notifications	Press the Action button.
Stop your Google Assistant	Double press Action button.
Reply to a message (where available)	After receiving a message notification, Press and hold the Action button to respond. When you’re done, release the button.

The remaining controls are on both the left and right earcups, and here’s what you can do with those controls.

Function	What it does
Power/Bluetooth On Left Ear Cup	Press and hold for 3-seconds to power on or off. Press and hold for 6-seconds when powering on to enter BT pairing.
Multi-Function Button On Left Ear Cup	Press and hold for 1-second for TalkThru feature. Press and hold for 2-seconds to turn ANC on/off.
+ and – Button on Right Ear Cup	+ hold for 2-seconds track forward. Click once for volume up. – hold button for 2-seconds track reverse. Click once for volume down.
Center button on Right Ear Cup	Answer/Reject calls and Play/Pause one click. 2-clicks for Siri or Bixby.

Overall, the design of the JBL CLUB One ANC headphones is classic JBL with some refinements that make these a bit more premium feeling than normal. The aesthetic is pleasing but it is the comfort that shines here, these are very nice to wear for long stints.

Ease of Use

The JBL CLUB One ANC headphones are pretty straight forward to use. Be sure to plug them in and get them charged to full before setup. Once that is done just hold that power button for 6-seconds to get into pairing mode and then find them in your device Bluetooth settings.

Once connected, you can use the app for some small tweaks and features. We will cover the app in the app/software section, but it is very easy to use with just a few simple features. Overall, these are super simple to use.

Sound

JBL has always done a good job of creating great audio quality in its more premium devices, and the JBL CLUB One is pretty great. You could use these right out of the box without touching the included app, but the JBL Headphone app does have some great tweaks. More on the app in the next section.

Out of the box, the JBL CLUB One ANC headphones are fairly neutral in soundstage. Tweaking the app can really tune in the sound to your liking, and I’d recommend that.

The sound I settled on produced a nice even soundstage with a slight tweaking to the bass levels. This is how I prefer my sound, everything but the bass mostly flat with just a small bump in low end.

The active noise cancellation being used is fairly good, just about the same from JBL. JBL calls it “True Adaptive Noise Cancelling.” With music on, the world is pretty much non-existent. With podcasts that are vocal only, you can hear some stuff if it’s abrupt enough. With nothing on, you can tell the ANC is working and stuff is muffled, but you can still make things out. The ANC works well and is really going to do its best with movies and music.

The other feature JBL has packed in here is Smart Ambient Mode. This isn’t a new technology as it’s been used over the past few years on many other headphone applications. What Smart Ambient Mode does is allow sound from the outside to come into the headphones. This allows you to listen to your content but still hear what is going on around you. It can be a useful feature, but I never found myself using it.

Overall, the sound of the JBL CLUB One ANC headphones is solid. The app really gives you control over the EQ, and I recommend using it.

App/Software

The JBL Headphone app is not required to use the JBL CLUB One ANC headphones but it is highly recommended. It’s not a super feature-packed app, but what it does offer is an EQ. You can turn ANC off and on here as well as Smart Ambient Mode.

It’s the EQ you’re going to want to use here. First, it gives you a 10-band EQ so you can customize the sound exactly how you like it. JBL also offers some presets that are basic and others that are tuned by the likes of Nicky Romero and Ryan Marciano. Honestly, I have no clue who these artists are, but I did settle on the preset tuned by Ryan Marciano.

Overall, the app isn’t needed but the EQ it offers is pretty valuable and well worth it.

Reception/Call Quality

Bluetooth reception is solid. Bluetooth 5.0 helps with the stability and distance and these work really well and keep connection. Keep in mind that distance and obstacles will play a role in reception.

Call quality was good. I could hear my callers crystal clear as if they were standing next to me. Callers could hear me well but did say my voice was slightly tinny. But, there was no echo unless the other person was on speakerphone.

Battery Life

Up to 23-hours of battery with ANC active. I did not have a chance to really test this, but I can say I’ve used these for a few days and they’re still going strong. I think you can achieve 23-hours of battery very easily. If you turn ANC off you’ll get even more. Overall, battery life is excellent.

Price/Value

Priced at US$349.95 the JBL CLUB One aren’t the cheapest out there. That being said, I think they are competitively priced for the features you get. I think the price point and value proposition are inline.

Wrap Up

The JBL CLUB One ANC headphones are pretty great headphones. I think they compete on the same level as some of their competition. If you’re looking for a pair of over-ears ANC headphones, then these should be on your shortlist of choices.

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Last Updated on February 3, 2021.