JBL JR300 BT Review: No Wires, No Worries!

Written by Kelly Latimer (Tech360.tv Community Creator) (@kellylatimer)

Who better to test out the latest Junior headphones from JBL, than Tech360’s youngest reviewer and my very own Junior: Sienna. Watch the video for the cuteness, or read on for my take.

The new JBL JR300 BT headphones from parent company Harman are designed with little ears in mind. Key features include a volume limiter, set at 85 decibels, and Bluetooth capability.

Children aren’t supposed to be exposed to noises over 85 decibels, so these headphones take away the worry that your child will be listening to excessively loud sounds of Olaf screaming whilst singing about completely normal events. There is also an absence of volume controls on the headphones themselves so they won’t have control over the volume unless they have access to the phone/tablet.

If that’s the case, I would highly recommend setting your parental controls to disable volume control for extra peace of mind. 85 decibels really isn’t very high though, so I wouldn’t worry too much. In fact, whilst listening on a plane, I felt it was a little soft. Or maybe my ears have been destroyed from my former life of clubbing, dancing and youth in general. Ah, good times.

The only downer about the volume control is that there isn’t actually any way to remotely monitor the volume on these headphones. Some wired models, like the Kinder 1 from SonicGear, feature a splitter which allows you to plug into your child’s headphones and monitor the sound. But that’s like comparing chalk and cheese, because this set from JBL is wireless after all.

Speaking of being wireless, Bluetooth setup was a breeze. As there are only two buttons on the headphones, there was no confusion. Sienna easily identified the “on” button and set it up almost all by herself. Kids these days.

Battery life was also pretty impressive. She went several days without a charge, totalling about 10-11 hours. The box says 12, but either way, it got us through a flight to KL, the drive from the airport, playtime whilst we were there, the trip back to the airport and the flight home, all without a charge. Not too shabby!

Comfort-wise, considering she used them nonstop for quite some time, Sienna found them quite comfortable. Her only gripe was that she didn’t like the letters written on the inside of the earcups. Go figure. If that is her only complaint though, then I think it’s safe to say that these are a good buy.

They retail for S$79.90, which may seem a tad steep. But then again, can you really put a price on your child’s hearing? Apparently so. I believe it to be a reasonable price for a good pair of headphones that will last your child till they get to around the age of 12. Although with the expandable headband that actually enabled it to fit me, I think your kid might outgrow the volume limiter before they outgrow the size.

Sienna’s verdict:

“I would recommend it th——————is much.”

That’s a lot, by the way.

More information and purchase options for the JBL JR300 BT (S$79.90) headphones can be found on JBL’s website.