[hodgjy]

I recently picked up the JBL Everest Elite 300 On-Ear Bluetooth Noise Canceling Headphones for $209.99 from the local Best Buy. They are a new product, and since they haven't been discussed around here, I thought I'd post my brief impressions for the holiday shopping season.
 
TLDR; In short, I really like them. They are going to be my go-to travel and portable headphones for quite some time. They sound very similar to the V-Moda Crossfade M-80s, which I also really like. The JBLs appear to be pretty rugged and can survive years of regular, and perhaps aggressive, use.
 

 
I have a full confession, though. I went to Best Buy fully expecting to purchase the Bose QC 25 based on the favorable reviews posted here. However, once I tried the Bose, they didn't sound very natural to me. The noise canceling was excellent, but the sound signature wasn't really for me. Nothing against the Bose, but I knew I wasn't going to like the sound they produced.
 
I tried a bunch of noise canceling headphones in the store, and none of them really impressed me. But, the sales lady asked me to try the JBL line. I'm glad she did because the JBLs weren't even on my radar. I was immediately impressed with the sound. I wasn't in the market for Bluetooth headphones, but since these were also noise canceling, I went with them. They were $90 cheaper than the Bose (although the Bose were over-ear and these were on-ear). The JBL Everest Elite 700 are their over-ear offering ($249.99), but I thought their on-ear version sounded better.
 
Compared to the Bose, they sounded more natural and musical. In the store, I couldn't tell any difference in noise canceling, but since the Bose are specifically known for that technology, I'm assuming the JBLs won't quite measure up to them. I haven't done any special tests for the noise canceling, but they seem to work. The real test will be when I fly for the holidays. I took them out for a walk the other night, and I had a hard time hearing passing cars. Also, it was windy, and these blocked all sound of the wind hitting the ear cups. Non-noise canceling headphones really pass the sound of the wind to your ears.
 
There is the typical low-level white noise hiss you can hear with noise canceling activated in quiet settings. I didn't hear this at all while in the store, so I can't say one way or the other how this compares to the Bose. It's certainly no louder than other noise canceling headphones I've owned and used in the past. You cannot hear it when the music plays anyway, so it's not of any consequence. It's no worse than plugging closed headphones or ear buds into the noisy headphone jack in a cheaper Windows laptop computer.
 
Sonically, these remind me a lot of the V-Moda Crossfade M-80s. Not an exact match, but they are very similar to my ears. I have those as well, and I really like them, so it's no surprise why I like these JBLs so much. The V-Modas have much boomier bass, but the mids and treble seem mostly similar. The V-Modas have been my go to travel and portable headphones for a few years now, so I'm really pleased I'll be able to retain that sound signature with the new JBLs while also getting noise canceling. I'm not sure if JBL tuned them to sound like the V-Moda on purpose or on accident, but since the V-Moda house sound seems to be popular, I suspect JBL will sell a fair amount of these headphones.
 
If I had to pick the sound signature of either the JBLs or V-Modas, I like the JBLs better because the bass is less boomy and blends in much better with the mids.
 
Overall, I'm pleased with these headphones. They sound pretty darn good, have noise canceling, and have the convenience of Bluetooth. They have a non-removable rechargeable battery that offers up to 10 hours of use. This may not be ideal for people on long trips, but JBL does include a 3.5 mm cable so you can use the headphones in passive, non-noise canceling mode. They do have a hint of that "typical" noise canceling etch and artificial sound to them, but they are much better than others I have owned or used. They are very natural sounding compared to the other offerings I am aware of.
 
These headphones have a few quirks that you should know about it. 
 
First, the Bluetooth didn't really play nicely with the Google Play Music app on my Android phone. There were lots of pops and temporary drop outs. However, when I used the Amazon Prime video app on the same phone, the sound stream was perfect. There were no issues when streaming music or videos on my Amazon Fire Tablet or music from my iPod Nano. Therefore, I'm assuming it's an issue with how my phone interfaces with the Google Play Music app. 
 
Second, you can only pair these with a single device at once; there is no multi-device memory. Every time you want to pair with a new device, you must delete the pairing settings from within the headphones themselves.
 
Third, they have an "ambient aware" feature for the noise canceling that varies between off, high, and low. As far as I can tell, all this does is pass and amplify outside noise picked up by the mic such as wind and cars. It's quite annoying, actually, so I leave it off at all times.
 
Fourth, they have some sort of mysterious TrueNote sound calibration based on how the headphones seal over your ears. I can't tell one bit of difference when I use this. I have no idea if it actually works or does anything at all.
 
Fifth, while you can use the noise canceling feature when using the wired connection, I don't recommend it. The cable picks up additional noise and passes a slight buzz through the headphones. The buzz is present on every device I tried and even when there was no device connected to the cable.
 
Overall, I recommend these. They sound good, appear to be rugged, have a rechargeable battery (which may or may not be good based on your usage patterns), and cost less than the Bose. They also have a more stout construction than the Bose and will instill a little confidence in your usage patterns.

 

[hodgjy]

When I wrote this review, there wasn't a dedicate review post in the Head Gear section. I made a dedicated page for these headphones, so this thread can be abandoned if the mods deem. 
 
The dedicated review can be found at: http://www.head-fi.org/products/jbl-everest-elite-300-noise-canceling-bluetooth-headphones/reviews/14701

 

[trellus]

Thanks for the review, hodgjy.
 
 I scooped these up last week when they were on sale at Best Buy for $199 and I'm still evaluating them; they are my first pair of noise canceling headphones of any variety, wired or wireless, and I'm pretty impressed so far with how much detail I can hear in some of my music even on the go, although it sounds to my ears as if the ANC sometimes exaggerates the attack of zings and thwacks in my EDM and electro tunes -- not always, but some "stick out" to my ears as compared to how they sound to my wired cans like my JBL Synchros S500 over-ear phones and my Sennheiser HD 558's.
 
I did notice some marginal improvement from the "TruNote" calibration; it seemed to make the sound slightly cleaner/detailed with a little more bass, maybe?

 

[hodgjy]

You're right about some of the exaggeration due to the noise canceling and internal amplification. I've heard much worse, and these are pretty good. For the price, I can't complain.
 
Also, these blocked airplane noise much better than I thought it would when I flew for Christmas.

 

[jnorris]

I listened to the Everest 700 and 300 pretty extensively using my own music on my iPhone 5s.  I thought the 700 was too bass heavy, with bass drums, guitars and other bass instruments lacking in definition.  The 300 however sounded very good with punchy, well defined bass, extended but unexaggerated highs and a slight midrange depression that serves to add warmth to the sound.  Overall quite pleasing and easy to listen to so I bought them.   I've had these for a month now and I'm still enjoying them.  I use Shure SE535's for serious listening and the JBLs are a satisfying alternative for those times that I don't want to stick things in my ears.  The JBL displays at most BestBuy stores allow you to play your own music through them.

 

[Mauro Gerner]

I recently bought the JBL Everest Elite 300 but I was wondering if they were OK or if I'm having some battery issue. I'm getting about 6 to 7 hours of battery with bluetooth and anc on, instead of the 10 hours that is supossed to last. Can someone comment of real battery experience? I also noticed that after a full charge but not using them for a day, if I turned them on I have a 90% battery and not the full charge. 
 
Also, do you know if there is way not to have ANC automatically on when you turn them on ?
 
Thanks !

 

[anotherscott]

   do you know if there is way not to have ANC automatically on when you turn them on ?
 

 
Almost. Using the app, you can set it so that a tap of the "smart button" turns off the ANC. So it just means one more button tap after you turn them on. Almost as good as being able to set it to default to off (which really should be an option too).
 
I was glad I found that feature myself, otherwise I might well have returned them. I'm not usually listening where I need ANC, and the hiss it adds is annoying. Personally, I bought the Elite version for its other features, not for ANC, which *maybe* I'll use a few times a year. 

 

[anotherscott]

  I did notice some marginal improvement from the "TruNote" calibration; it seemed to make the sound slightly cleaner/detailed with a little more bass, maybe?

 
As I understand it, the purpose of that calibration is to adapt the headphones for the sonic space they are playing in... that is, the particular resonances of your own ear canal. That being the case, with everyone's ears potentially being different, for some people it might (to use your example) increase bass (or at least some bass frequencies), for other people I guess it could as easily decrease those frequencies, or not alter them at all. So I would expect some people would notice more significant differences than others with this processing engaged, and it's effect on a particular person would not be predictable. But it should mean that everyone hears the sound that JBL thinks the headphones should be creating, regardless of differences in ear anatomy that might otherwise lead to two people hearing slightly different things out of the same headphone design. Interesting idea.

 

[87112]

I agree with the poster about the 700, too much bass that impacted the sound. I sold them and took a chance on the Everest 710, the 710s are wonderful. The bass is controlled and just short of punchy but still there, its a unique sound that is not found in many bluetooth headphones today. The 710s shine with higher notes, I might just get a 2nd since JBL might not ever make such a sound again in HPs