New JBL Everest Elite 750NC Review

JBL has certainly been in the thick of the wireless wave, designing Bluetooth-based headphones and earbuds for the budget-conscious consumer and higher-rolling commuters. During CES, the subdivision of Harman Kardon unveiled a new wireless noise-cancelling headphone that we are over the moon to get our hands on. MajorHiFi’s “JBL Everest Elite 750NC Review” is in full detail below.

New JBL Everest Elite 750NC Review

Packaging

The Everest Elite 750NC box looks pretty similar to the rest of its Everest line brethren (Everest Elite 300) – with a white box, orange logo, and the headphone printed front and center. Though, upon picking up the box, there’s a noticeable difference in it’s size. The box is thinner and smaller. That’s a plus in my book, since the Everest Elite 300 and 700 were big – at least for me! I’ve got a tiny head. Inside the box, there’s a hard-grade carry case the features a pocket both inside and outside the box for easy cable storage. And yes, these headphones include a micro USB to USB charging cable and audio cable. Like that of Matryoshka “Russian nesting” dolls, the cables are found inside another hard-grade carry case inside of the larger carry-case.

Build & Design

Inside the case, the JBL Everest Elite 750NC found laying flat inside the box, a feature that cannot be achieved in the Elite 700. While both headphones are collapsible, the 750NC allows for more versatility. The ear cups can rotate 90 degrees which makes them more commuter-friendly. You can wear them around your neck without the ear cups nudging your chin. This also allows for a better angled fit against your head. The 750NC is also built with what looks and feels like an aluminum frame, which makes it lighter. The ear cushions are that of really comfy leather. They feel like pillows and make for a great sound barrier. The headband is split into three parts, with a top portion padded like that of the ear cushions and two extenders situated towards the top of the band. I like this because the headphone is able to apply a nice clamping force and takes a more ergonomic fit against your head. The Elite 700 appeared to protrude from the top of the head because it’s extenders were located at the top of the ear cup since the headband was basically a solid unit.

Features

The left ear cup is built with a port for the detachable cable while the right ear cup features the charging port and controls. There’s a power button, volume and track controls, a pause and play button, a Bluetooth pairing button, and a smart button. Unfortunately, distinguishing the buttons from one another can be a pain at times. The JBL Everest Elite 750NC also took a departure from other headphone remotes and/or controls. If you’d like to skip forward a track you won’t be pressing the pause/play button twice, but you press and hold the volume up button. To skip back a track you’ll press and hold the volume down button. You can queue ya’girl Siri by double tapping the pause/play button.

As for the smart button, it let’s you adjust the amount of ambient noise you allow in through your ear cups. There are three levels: ambient aware off, low, and high. There’s actually a distinct difference between the different levels. There’s a pretty loud AC unit running in my office and ambient aware off puts the unit on mute when paired with some music. I like this adjustable feature because too much ANC (active noise cancellation) makes me sick. P.S. If you download the JBL app, you can manually adjust these levels as far as different levels per ear. This app has an equalizer too.

When ANC is engaged the headphones are said to get up to 15 hours of use (and 20 hours without it), though some other reviewers have reported between 12-13 hours at three-quarters volume. Unfortunately couldn’t test this feature completely because I’m too sensitive to ANC. If you run out of battery, it should take 3 hours to fully rejuice.

For those who are Android users, you can access the JBL Everest Elite SDK (Software Developer’s Kit). This kit was launched at CES 2017 along with JBL Everest Elite 750NC. It’s a special program that gives users the ultimate customizable experience with the ability to further adjust their ANC, change the control of the headphone soft button, alter the equalizer, and much more. As of now, it is available for download on Android devices.

Sound

The sound is pretty good. IT’s not the best, but that’s part of the trade off for a wireless device with ANC. There’s a nice deal of depth to the bass and separation is pretty nice. The mids are full and have a good amount of details. The same goes for the highs. However, if there happens to be an overwhelming amount of highs or female vocals, there goes some of the clarity. Overall, the listening experience is pleasant.

Specs

Driver: 40mm

Frequency Response Range: 10-22,000 Hertz

Impedance: 16 Ohms

Sensitivity: 92dB@1kHz, 1mW

Run Time: 15 Hours (ANC), 20 Hours

Charging Time: 3 Hours

Battery:  Polymer Lithium-ion Battery

Bluetooth: 4.0

Overall Performance

The headphones have a lot of pretty cool features to account for at the $300 price range. I do understand that $300 is a hefty amount of money to fork over, but these headphones deliver on good sound with a ton of features including customizable ANC. If you are interested, head over to JBL.com and grab the JBL Everest Elite 750NC for $299.99.