Pressing the volume up or down button for two seconds will skip the track forward or back, and there are also LED lights to tell you if ANC is activated and when your battery is low. The only slight downside to this is that the USB charging connection has been moved to the top of the housing where it now rests under the hinge. Holiday season is upon us and the idea of a self contained pair of headphones that offer a little bit of scope for blocking the world out start to look like a tempting proposition.

Play Disarm by Smashing Pumpkins and the track sounds as taut as Cristiano Ronaldo's stomach muscles. There’s no mention of AAC or aptX codec support, so it seems that they use the standard SBC codec for stereo music. This would be less of a problem if the headphones came with a hard case, or even a carry pouch, to protect them once they're folded down, but sadly they don't.That can make for a looser fit and one that doesn’t envelop the ear as much, though we found the JBL Tune600BTNC a little tight, especially in comparison to some of the other pairs of on-ears we try out. It has a variable bit rate (between 279kbps and 420kbps), which means it can adjust the bit rate for different scenarios, such as listening to HD audio or reducing interference from other devices.

As a one stop, ‘block the world out’ option, they make a huge amount of sense and as they are active, their performance is less dependent on the equipment that they are connected to. Peter Gabriel’s This Is The Picture (Excellent Birds) is delivered with a convincing sense of space and drive. For example, Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” is playing right now as I’m typing, and it’s controlled, with good space around the instruments. But if you’re using the headphones in a quiet environment, you will start to notice significant white noise whenever you pause the music.To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. I wouldn't like to be totally cut off from my surroundings, but at the time I like to be able to appreciate the music I listen to. Its design is sleek and elegant, making it a suitable choice for people who value style and performance. While the JBL Tune600BTNC headphones are indeed Bluetooth-equipped and wireless, you can always plug right back in using the included standard 3.