The JBL brand is more known for their audio speaker but lately, they’ve been churning out decent personal audio equipments as well. The JBL J33 is a simple in-ear pair of headphones that does only one thing, output good audio.
We have the white one here and it looks something not cheap with its pristine white cube-ish drivers accompanied by matching dirty white transparent silicon tips. It also comes with 2 other silicon tip sizes plus a pair of foam tips for a more snug fit.
The cables are flat and rather thick which adds a little bit of heft but also makes it more durable than your traditional cables. It doesn’t have an in-line mic and all you get is a cinch to keep the cables in order. I did observe a huge amount of microphonics with the thick cable. This is the “œechoey” sound you hear when the cable is rubbing your skin or shirt.
It’s interesting to note the chrome buckle-like contraption where the cable attaches to the driver. This makes it hard to damage the connection between the cable and the driver from accidental pulls or from bending.
There’s very minimal sound leakage coming from the J33 even at high volume and it does a decent job in blocking outside noise. I was able to enjoy my in-flight movie even while seated beside a crying baby using these headphones.
Now trying it on a few songs using a Sony VAIO Pro 13 laptop as my source, here’s what I observed.
The strings on Avicii’s Wake Me Up was pleasantly vibrant and the vocals smooth with just the right amount of bass as to not drown the song. On Drake’s Hold On, We’re Going Home, bass was quite deep highlighting the wide sound stage being delivered by these headphones. Even Lady Gaga’s Applause showed the wide range and levels the J33 can produce with distinct clarity. Trying something light, Gone Gone Gone by Phillips Phillips was vibrant with just the right amount of thump to make you tap your feet along with the song for some easy chill time.
Overall, the JBL J33 is another great product from JBL, huge improvement from the previously reviewed (and liked) JBL J22. This one gives more punch, wider sound stage, and deeper bass response. It won’t make your chest beat with bassy tunes but you definitely won’t miss it either.
This in-ear headphones has a retail price of Php3,290 which is warranted by its premium build and exceptional sound quality although some would be looking for a mic and in-line remote already at that price.