JBL noise-canceling earbuds: An affordable AirPods Pro alternative

By

These JBL noise-cancelling earbuds sound fantastic.
These JBL wireless earbuds pack a big sound -- and active noise cancellation -- for a small price.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Every year, the standard for wireless earbuds gets higher while the price gets lower and lower. A few years ago, it was hard to find anything even close to competing with AirPods Pro, but now you can pick up a pair of affordable wireless earbuds with many of the same refined features.

JBL Live Free NC+ in-ear noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones are on sale for only $74.99 (regularly $149) — and it’s amazing what they can do.

JBL earbuds at half price

Style, comfort and impeccable sound are what you get from these noise-canceling Bluetooth earbuds. That sound is crystal clear, whether it’s your favorite song or a call you can’t afford to miss a beat on. Active noise cancellation will keep you immersed in what you’re doing.

You also can turn on Smart Ambient mode, which lets natural sound through, enabling natural conversation and letting you hear the sounds of your surroundings.

It’s great if you’re working out and want to be aware of the people around you. Or, like one Amazon reviewer wrote, if you just want to be able to have a conversation: “I really like the noise cancellation feature, as well as the talk through. I’m no longer pulling out an earbud to have a conversation.”

For any wireless earbuds, battery life is important. That means making sure you can listen for a long time on a single charge and that the case has at least a couple full recharges in it. The JBL Live Free NC+ earbuds have a battery life of seven hours. That was enough for one Best Buy reviewer who wrote, “Bought for my Father-in-law as a birthday gift. He is a carpenter so finding wireless earbuds that would last at least 7 hrs was amazing. He’s been using them for a few weeks now without an issue and absolutely loves them.”

With the charging case, you can bring that play time up to 21 hours, and they can charge wirelessly with any Qi-compatible wireless charger. Between the comfort fit and being totally sweat-proof, these earbuds are perfect for those long listening sessions.

Save on JBL Live Free NC+ earbuds

Give your ears a treat. Get JBL Live Free NC+ in-ear noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones on sale for $74.99 (regularly $149).

Prices subject to change.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.