The JBL Tune 130NC TWS Truly Wireless are the newer version of the JBL Tune 125TWS Truly Wireless. They are more comfortable and better made than their predecessor, and with a battery life of 7.6 hours, they should be able to get you through long days at the office. They also have a default sound profile that is very neutral and works for a wide range of genres. If you prefer, you can change their sound to your liking with the parametric EQ and presets in the app that goes with them. But even though they have active noise cancellation (ANC), it only works okay and might not be enough to block out the low rumble of bus and plane engines.
The Tune 130NC earpieces are pretty small and come in black, blue, or white. There are small, medium, and large pairs of silicone eartips in the package. 10mm dynamic drivers have an impedance of 32 ohms and a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz. The earphones work with Bluetooth 5.2 and support the AAC and SBC codecs, but not AptX. The control panels on the outside of each earpiece are sensitive to touch and can be accidentally turned on when you put the earpieces in your ears or the charging case.
By default, a single tap on the left earpiece switches between ANC and Ambient modes, while a single tap on the right earpiece controls playback. Two taps on the left ear turn on TalkThru mode, which turns down the music so you can hear what’s going on around you. When you double-tap or triple-tap the right ear, you can move forward or backward through the tracks. You can also answer or end calls by double-tapping either earpiece. Press and hold either earpiece to call up the voice assistant on your device. You can change how these functions work in the app to suit your needs.
So, let’s talk about comfort quickly, since that’s what TWS is all about. The JBL Tune 130NC weighs about 52 grams as a whole, and each bud weighs about 6 grams. They aren’t the lightest headphones on the market, but they don’t feel bulky at all, which is good. At first, I didn’t think the JBL Tune 130 NC earbuds would be comfortable because they were so big. However, after using them for a while, I found that they were very comfortable. You can use them for 3–4 hours straight without your ears getting tired.
When it comes to the charging case, it’s pretty small and has a smooth outside. The front has an LED light, and the back has a USB-C port that lets you charge it with the USB-C-to-USB-A cable that comes in the box. JBL says that the earpieces’ batteries can last for about 10 hours, and that the case can hold another 30 hours of charge. Both of these numbers are great for true wireless earphones, but they will change depending on how much noise cancellation (ANC) and volume you use.