Design and features:These headphones can be used wirelessly with Bluetooth devices or can be cord connected. When cord connected they have medium-high sensitivity so they can provide satisfying volume levels when used with home audio equipment and even lower-powered portable audio devices. The LIVE 500BT has an integrated microphone and volume, music player function, and call connect/disconnect controls for use with paired Bluetooth devices. Additional features include two monitor functions that make ambient sounds easier to hear while wearing the earphones, support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa digital voice assistants when it is used with Bluetooth devices that have those capabilities, and earcups that fold and swivel for ease of carrying and storage. This model comes with a detachable 47-inch long audio cable with built-in mic and answer/music player control button for cord connected iPhone/iPod/iPad and smartphone use (the cable's 4-contact mini-plug may not be compatible with other audio devices), and a USB charging cable. When the headphones are used in Bluetooth mode the free My JBL Headphone app for Apple and Android mobile devices can be used to change the sound of the headphones, to set up the digital voice assistants, and to change the ambient sound monitoring settings.
Sound quality: We found the LIVE 500BT delivers sound quality that falls in the Very Good range - it reproduces music and voice very well although it does have some noticeable sonic quirks. The overall sound can best be summarized as boomy and sizzly. The bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) has good impact and deep, but is prominent and boomy. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is a bit thin and hazy and somewhat grainy. The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is fairly extended, but slightly prominent, smeared and sizzly (sounds that should have a delicate shimmer sound blurred and also have a sound reminiscent of bacon frying). While the sound has a decent sense of liveliness and is somewhat open sounding (sound-wise it almost seems like you don't have anything covering your ears) this model only does a so-so job of recovering the room ambience of a recording (the sense of the acoustic space in which the audio program that's being listened to was recorded). When cord connected the sound is very similar to Bluetooth but the treble is slightly less sizzly.
Comfort: We found that these headphones produce a sense of moderate pressure around the ears. As typical of over-ear models the pads might feel hot and/or sticky after prolonged use. Users with larger ears might find that the over-the-ear fit of the ear pads feel cramped, or that the ear pads sit on, rather than around their ears. Some users might find that the headphones feel unstable and shift forward a bit when they lean far forward. When using this model with the audio cable model the sound of the cable rubbing on clothing may also be heard faintly through the headphones.
