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Updated April 11, 2024·
If budget is a primary concern and you're looking for on-ear headphones for general use or air travel, the JBL 510BT is suitable, though they offer fair sound quality and poor comfort. For active lifestyles, especially exercise, the JBL Live Beam 3 earbuds are better, providing very good sound quality, sweatproof and dustproof features, and very good noise isolation. They also support wireless charging and have a smart charging case with an LED touch display. However, the Live Beam 3 comes at a premium price and is optimized for both Android and Apple devices, offering more advanced features like active noise cancelling and app customization. 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 JBL 510BT
The JBL 510BT has no clear advantages over the JBL Live Beam 3.
Advantages of the JBL Live Beam 3
Good for music
Very good for exercise
Very good for air travel
Key differences
Music
6.2/10
7.8/10
The JBL Live Beam 3 is good for music, while the JBL 510BT is only fair.
Noise Reduction
5.3/10
8.3/10
The JBL Live Beam 3 is very good for noise reduction, while the JBL 510BT is poor.
Battery
38.0 Hours
12.0 Hours
The JBL 510BT has 38 hours of battery life. The JBL Live Beam 3 has 12 hours of battery life.
Cost
$30
$216
$0
$50
$100
$150
$200
$250
$300
The JBL 510BT has a price of $30 and the JBL Live Beam 3 costs $216.
Build Quality
6.5/10
8.5/10
The JBL Live Beam 3 has very good build quality, while the JBL 510BT has only fair build quality.
"The JBL Tune 510BT is affordable and compact, making it a great companion for a commute, so long as you don't need active noise canceling. If you wear glasses or have ear piercings, the on-ear design might not be comfortable, since the ear cups will squish your ears."
Get a great deal on the JBL 510BT or the JBL Live Beam 3
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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About the Earbuds or Headphones team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Earbuds and Headphones Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Luis Torres
Earbuds and Headphones Expert
Luis is a Mexico-based headphones expert. He’s been making headphone recommendations for five years and has close to 100 pairs in his personal collection.