Could JBL's new noise-cancelling headphones compete with Sony and Bose?

JBL's one of the biggest brands in worldwide audio, if you're going by the number of devices it sells in a given year, but it perhaps doesn't quite have the cultural cachet that people attach to brands like Sony and Bose – especially when it comes to the higher end of its lineup of audio devices.

In particular, I'm thinking about flagship noise-cancelling headphones, which in many ways are a showcase of everything that an audio brand is capable of, and an area where JBL has perhaps not always had its total focus applied, excelling in the mid-range instead.

It might be looking to change that with its latest headphone launch, though: the JBL Live 780NC, which looks for all the world like an over-ear flagship and has a price to match that label.

The 780NC is being announced today and should start shipping from 15 March if you pre-order now, but they come with an interesting price tag of $249.95 in the US, with regional pricing around the world not yet confirmed to me. That makes them pricy, for sure, but also a clear cut below the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM6 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 2, which come in a chunk more expensive.

The 780NC is also a bit poppier to look at compared to those other flagships, bringing a range of colours to the table (black, white, cream, green and blue), and a slightly rounder and more bulbous design. It looks like the cushioning is seriously plush, too, which hopefully means good comfort levels.

Metallic accents should mean they're decently premium in the hand and on the head, meanwhile, and 40mm drivers should power very good sound. Along those lines, LDAC is supported, which is always a good sign for hi-fi lovers.

Upgraded active noise-cancelling, meanwhile, takes advantage of six microphones on the headphones in total, and should give that all-important cocooning effect nicely. Battery life rounds thing out impressively, at 50 hours with ANC on and 80 hours without it.

Interestingly, JBL's also launching a very similar set of on-ear headphones, the Live 680NC, featuring almost all of the same features and performance in a different design, for the lower cost of $159.95.

Noise-cancelling is dialled back to four microphones, though, and will presumably be far less effective due to the on-ear design, but we'll find out more if we can get our hands on both new launches.