According to the packaging, the Reference Series 510 claims to screen out up to 70% of ambient noise, and the claim is well-founded. When the noise-cancelling module is activated, the low bass growls and rumbles of a car, bus, and street noise disappear, and there is a quite noticable drop in volume. Since the noise module is external to the headsets, you can sometimes hear a “chirp” when you drop the module on a desk or accidentally hit it. This is a result of the non-recessed noise-sampling microphone on the module.
There is some slight hiss that comes from the headphones, sounding very much like tape hiss (if you’re old enough to remember that). This hiss is present in all noise-cancelling headphones (although Bose’s hiss is a little quieter), but really isn’t noticable once you start playing music (unless you listen to classical music that loud and soft parts). If the hiss realy bothers you then it can always be turned off, unlike the Bose headsets. Midrange ambient sound isn’t filtered out, so you can still hear people talking, or a shrieky cell-phone ringing, but they are muffled and much quieter than normal (although this may be due to the natural obstruction properties of the headphones).
The music quality coming from the headphones is absolutely phenominal for its price. JBL’s Reference 510 has detailed treble, excellent midrange, and deeper bass than one would expect from headphones of this size. The bass is deep and very, very tight, so although it will reproduce very low sounds of great quality, it doesn’t have the “rumble” that a bigger set could produce. For most types of music listening and movie watching, this is a great sounding headset. I have compared these headphones to others within its price range, and none of them sound as good as the JBL, mostly in the bass-reproduction department.
As mentioned earlier, these headphones can function without the noise-cancellation circuitry, which means you can always listen to music even if your batteries have run down: a problem with Bose QuietComfort headphones. They provide good noise-cancellation for their size, and because of the folding mechanism they are much more portable; taking up much less space than Bose, Logitech, or ther comparable headphones.
Because of the on-ear design, rather than an over-the-ear cup-style design, sound both leaks in and out of these earphones. They can also become uncomfortable after an hour or so, even after several tension adjustments. If you wear glasses, then the tention will pinch the ear-pieces into your temples, and if you exercise, then the all-leather cups will trap some serious sweat.
JBL’s Reference Series 510 headphones is a mixed bag. On one hand these are some of the best-sounding compact headphones you can get for under $150. On the other hand, the noise-cancelling circuitry isn’t as good as some other brands, and they can become uncomfortable after a while. Also, the noise-sampling module gets in the way, and is easily tangled up.
Prices have been dropping on these headsets, and you can find them for under $100, and I picked mine up at Costco for $50. This makes the JBL Reference 510 a serious value, as they sound better than headsets costing 3 times as much, even if you nix the noise-cancelling feature. You get 90% of what the Bose Quietcomforts can do for 1/6th of the price.
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