The JBL Vibe Beam 2 Wireless Earbuds are JBL’s entry-level ANC earbuds, pitched between the no-name supermarket options and the $200 Sony and Bose pairs that dominate every best-of list. The price is the interesting part. Active noise cancellation used to be reserved for earbuds that cost $150 or more, and the Vibe Beam 2 drops that floor to $40 on sale.
Earbuds with fantastic active noise cancellation
The Vibe Beam 2 features active noise cancellation that works across all frequencies, eliminating the droning low-end sounds of an airplane cabin, the rumbling of a subway car, and the constant white noise of an office air conditioner. On the flip side, they also feature Smart Ambient Mode to do the opposite. Smart Ambient brings the outside world into your earbuds using the built-in mics when you want to hear what is going on outside, such as traffic, gate announcements, etc.
Sound comes from 8mm dynamic drivers tuned with JBL’s Pure Bass profile, which emphasizes punchy low-end rather than a flat reference curve. The bass-forward tuning works for hip-hop, pop, and electronic music and is less ideal for acoustic or classical, where a more neutral signature pulls out detail. The JBL Headphones app includes a full EQ to dial the sound back toward neutral if the default is too heavy, and a handful of presets cover common genres.
Battery life hits 10 hours on a single charge with ANC off and around 8 hours with ANC on, plus three charges from the case for 40 total hours of playback. A 10-minute quick charge over USB-C adds three hours, enough to get through a workout or commute from near-dead.
Four microphones handle calls, with two mics per earbud that track the speaker’s voice and filter out wind, traffic, and background chatter. The setup isn’t on par with AirPods Pro for outdoor calls, but it’s a clear upgrade over the single-mic setups typical of $30 earbuds.
The Vibe Beam 2 supports multipoint Bluetooth pairing with two devices at once, so a laptop on a work call and a phone playing music can both stay connected. Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair handle one-tap pairing on Android and Windows. An IP54 rating on the buds and an IPX2 rating on the case cover sweat, rain, and splashes, but not submersion.
The JBL Vibe Beam 2 Wireless Earbuds are on sale for $40 instead of the usual $65. Active noise cancellation, IP54 water resistance, 40 hours of total battery, and multipoint pairing for under $45 is a deal you won’t want to pass up.
