Review of classic JBL Tune 225TWS wireless headphones

JBL Tune 225TWS are comfortable little earphones with a colorful design and decent audio quality. However, they offer too little for the price.

Find out why below.

Earphones with a classic design are a reasonable choice for people who don’t like the feel of ear tips inside their ear canals.

However, that brings compromises, which are especially evident in JBL Tune 225TWS.

Firstly, passive noise isolation is almost nonexistent.

Secondly, earphones are prone to fall out of your ears, especially if their shape doesn’t compliment the buds’ shape.

And lastly, the bass extension is poor due to the lack of an in-ear seal.

On the other hand, the sound is too bright, but clean and relatively open, with great imaging capabilities.

More on that below.

Sound

Star Rating 2.5 Average

The sound quality is somewhat mixed. Earphones lack bass extension and sound a bit bright. At least good soundstage and imaging help with immersion.

JBL tuned the Tune 225TWS to sound cleaner in the midrange and highs.

However, they should’ve made them more balanced instead of pushing the midrange forward. The results are mixed.

Bass: It’s Lacking Sub-bass under 60Hz

The biggest problem with even the best classic earbuds is that the bass doesn’t reach very low. It’s unsuitable for genres like hip hop and EDM.

Thankfully, the advertised “Pure Bass” isn’t half bad. The low end on JBL Tune 225WTS is quite pleasing to listen to. It’s fairly tight and offers a decent punch depending on how well earbuds fit in your ears.

In my case, if I sit calmly, I can adjust the earbuds to sound quite punchy and even slightly warm.

However, earbuds tilt as soon I start moving, and the bass goes away.

I want to point out that my ears aren’t friendly with classic earphones, so your mileage may vary.

It’s worth noting that no matter how you put them in your ears, the sub-bass is simply missing. The low bass starts cutting away at around 60Hz, which is similar to some portable Bluetooth speakers.

Consequently, bass guitars are sometimes absent or lack the bite you expect to hear.

Drums also don’t sound as full as they should, but at least they sound tight and don’t get lost in the mix.

Midrange: Bright but natural

For some reason, JBL pushed the midrange forward. Presumably to increase the perception of clarity and maybe distract from the fact that the bass isn’t very full.

Nevertheless, everything sounds brighter than usual, albeit still pretty natural. Drivers do a good job of maintaining enough detail and dynamics.

Note that while the added brightness isn’t that much of an issue on normal volume levels, it can get harsh once you crank the earbuds up.

Thankfully, I haven’t experienced any sibilance.

Treble: Where’s the Energy?

Higher frequencies are nice and shimmery for the most part. But because of the dip between 7-15kHz, they miss some energy and sparkle.

You can hear this imbalance when some cymbal crashes sound pretty good and airy, whereas others are hard to hear.

Lowering that 7kHz peak and bringing up the 10-11kHz region would help with treble delivery, but there’s sadly no companion app or custom EQ.

Comfort & Fit

Star Rating 2.5 Average

As usual, the lack of in-ear fit makes JBL Tune 225TWS very comfy, but the stability is simply non-existing.

JBL earbuds strongly resemble Apple AirPods shape, from the stems to the housing itself. That makes the Tune 225TWS very comfortable earbuds to wear.

Paired with their lightweight design, you can barely feel them in your ears.

However, they simply don’t want to stay inside. As soon as you start moving, you feel them sliding out.

In my case, if I barely tilt my head on one side, they pop right out. In comparison, TaoTronics Soundliberty 80, other classic earphones, don’t fall out, even if I tilt my head for 90°.

Therefore, I don’t even feel confident walking around the house with the Tune 225TWS in my ears.

Of course, some users report that earbuds stay in fine, so you might have a different experience. Especially if you’re used to wearing classic earphones.

What’s the conclusion?

The earbuds provide a comfortable fit for long listening sessions in your room. However, don’t buy them for sports activities.

Durability

Star Rating 2.5 Average

Both earbuds and the charging case feel sturdy and shockproof. But surprisingly, they lack even the basic IP rating against water damage.

On close inspection, earbuds look pretty solid. They’re glued together from 4 different parts, which isn’t ideal (the lesser parts, the better), but they don’t seem to break that easily.

Earbuds are primarily covered in soft matte plastic. Only the silver ring around the housing lacks the softness.

This is strange since that silver plastic touches your ears the most. You’d expect it to be extra rubbery to prevent earbuds from slipping out.

Nevertheless, the biggest issue is the lack of water resistance. While I’m sure earbuds can survive some excess sweat, I see no reason why JBL brand couldn’t get them officially tested for durability.

Moving to the charging case, it has a decent weight to it and feels reassuring. The hinge is made of metal for extra durability, and it’s nicely cold to the touch.

What’s the carrying case lid like?

All good. It sits firmly in place and provides a satisfying noise when shut down.

Battery

Star Rating 2.5 Average

The battery life of only 4 hours and 18 minutes is quite low. And the charging case doesn’t support wireless charging.

JBL Tune 225TWS have a slightly lower battery life than advertised. At 50% volume, we got 4 hours and 18 minutes in the battery test, which is 42 minutes less than promised.

Of course, that will still be enough for a typical day of use, and the charging case will quickly juice them up during breaks.

Sadly, there’s no Qi wireless charging. For the price, it should be included.

Features

Star Rating 2.0 Adequate

A lackluster set of features for earbuds that cost $100, with uncomfortable-to-use physical controls and a limited list of commands.

JBL Tune 225TWS are a strange product, especially considering the asking price of $100. JBL really didn’t bother making these more compelling.

Thankfully, there’s strong competition. More on that below.

While the lack of active noise cancellation and ambient sound mode is understandable, the absence of JBL app compatibility isn’t.

Consequently, you can’t remap button controls nor tweak the sound signature to your liking.

To make matters worse, the baked-in commands are painfully basic. You only get playback controls and the ability to summon a voice assistant.

Since using those buttons isn’t particularly comfortable, you’ll probably only use them to answer phone calls.

Noise Isolation

Star Rating 1.5 Meh

Without a proper seal, you can’t expect effective passive noise isolation, which is precisely the case with JBL Tune 225TWS.

Another compromise you have to take with classic earphones is poor passive isolation.

The difference between having earbuds in or out is almost inaudible. The ambient sound does get slightly thinner when having earbuds in your ears, but that’s it.

That means it’s impractical to wear the JBL Tune 225TWS on public transport or near a busy road since you won’t hear the music.

On the other hand, hearing surrounding noise can be helpful when you want to be aware of your surroundings while listening to your favorite tunes.

Bluetooth

Star Rating 3.0 Good

The Bluetooth connectivity strength is good with average range. Earbuds support mono mode but no multipoint. Using the AAC codec introduces some audio lag when watching videos.

JBL Tune 225TWS use Bluetooth 5.0 to ensure a stable overall functionality without any random stutters during regular use.

On the flip side, the Bluetooth range is somewhat average. Earbuds manage to endure around 40 feet and break the audio as soon as I pass the second brick wall.

How to pair JBL Tune 225TWS?

As for the pairing process, it’s pretty straightforward. For the first time, simply place them out of the charging case. You’ll see a Google Fast Pair pop-up on your Android device.

To pair them to a different device, turn them off and back on, and hold both buttons for 5 seconds or until you hear a beeping sound (indicating “pairing mode”).

While JBL Tune 225TWS don’t support multipoint, they can work individually as an earpiece (mono mode). The latter is great if you want to save some battery.

Bluetooth Codecs in JBL Tune 225 TWS?

Earbuds support SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs.

Strangely, Android uses AAC by default, even though SBC works better on that operating system (AAC is better optimized for iOS).

Is There Audio Lag in JBL Tune 225 TWS?

When watching videos like YouTube, you can see a minimal yet annoying delay in the audio. That affects both Android and iOS devices.

Fortunately, on Android devices, you can quickly resolve the issue by forcing your Android gadget to use SBC instead.

However, be aware that the next time you connect earbuds to your gadget, it will continue using AAC.

On the other hand, you’ll have to live with that minor delay on your iOS since there is no workaround.