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Updated April 11, 2024·
If you greatly value sound quality for music and a broad soundstage for an immersive experience, especially in quiet environments like home listening, the HifiMan Arya Stealth headphones are an excellent choice, but they're open-back, non-wireless, heavy, and don't isolate noise well, making them less versatile and portable. They also need an amplifier for optimal performance. In contrast, JBL Tune Buds are much less expensive, wireless with good battery life, and offer features like sweat and dust resistance, making them suitable for exercise and travel. However, their sound quality and noise isolation are only fair, and they're not optimal for high-quality music listening or immersive TV and gaming experiences. Choose according to your primary use case and budget constraints. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the HifiMan Arya Stealth
Best in class for music
Good for gaming
Excellent for TV and video
Very good for podcasts and audiobooks
Advantages of the JBL Tune Buds
Good for exercise
Very good for air travel
Key differences
Music
10.0/10
6.2/10
The HifiMan Arya Stealth is best in class for music, while the JBL Tune Buds is only fair.
Gaming
7.1/10
5.4/10
The HifiMan Arya Stealth is good for gaming, while the JBL Tune Buds is poor.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
8.1/10
5.8/10
The HifiMan Arya Stealth is very good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the JBL Tune Buds is poor.
TV and Video
9.4/10
6.1/10
The HifiMan Arya Stealth is excellent for TV and video, while the JBL Tune Buds is only fair.
Noise Reduction
2.5/10
6.7/10
The JBL Tune Buds is only fair for noise reduction, while the HifiMan Arya Stealth is poor.
Battery
N/A
10.4 Hours
The HifiMan Arya Stealth does not have a battery. The JBL Tune Buds has 10.4 hours of battery life.
Cost
$599
$50
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
The HifiMan Arya Stealth has a price of $599 and the JBL Tune Buds costs $50.
Build Quality
9.0/10
8.5/10
The HifiMan Arya Stealth has excellent build quality, while the JBL Tune Buds has very good build quality.
"The Arya can easily be end-game headphones for 99% of consumers, satisfying most audio desires. Priced well above USD$1000, the Arya are obviously and gloriously not for the mass market consumer; they are designed and built by enthusiasts for enthusiasts – especially those who view their expenses on this level of gear as investments."
"JBL’s Tune Buds stick with the company’s signature bass-heavy sound by default, but a quality in-app EQ lets you sculpt the audio to taste. These noise-cancelling true wireless earphones also mitigate environmental distractions fairly well for the price and offer good battery life. If you're specifically seeking bold, bass-tuned audio out of the box, the Tune Buds are worth a listen."
Get a great deal on the HifiMan Arya Stealth or the JBL Tune Buds
About HifiMan
HiFiMAN is a Chinese, high-end, audio product manufacturer, with 20 years of experience, that specializes in amplifiers, digital audio players and planar magnetic headphones, some of which have become a staple in the audiophile community such as the entry-level Sundara, the midrange Edition X, and the very well-regarded, high-end, Arya.
About JBL
JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer. Owned by Harman International which is, itself, owned by Samsung Electronics. JBL markets a wide array of monitoring speakers, professional headphones and consumer market headphones and earbuds. It was founded in 1946 by James Bullough Lansing (whose initials give the company its name) and has become one of the most prolific audio companies ever. Their products were responsible for audio during the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.
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